Samsung Galaxy Note10 vs. Sony Xperia 10 VII: A Battle of Endurance and Efficiency
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🏆 Quick Verdict
For the average user prioritizing longevity and consistent performance, the Sony Xperia 10 VII emerges as the winner. Its significantly improved battery endurance (48:10h vs 92h) and modern 4nm chipset outweigh the Note10’s older processor and reliance on the used market.
| PHONES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Phone Names | Samsung Galaxy Note10 | Sony Xperia 10 VII |
| Network | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2G bands | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 | GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 |
| 3G bands | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 1900 / 2100 | HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700(AWS) / 2100 |
| 4G bands | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 32, 38, 39, 40, 41, 66 - Global, LATAM | 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 39, 40, 41 |
| 5G bands | - | 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 20, 28, 38, 40, 41, 77, 78, 79 SA/NSA/Sub6 |
| Speed | HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE (7CA) Cat20 2000/150 Mbps | HSPA, LTE, 5G |
| Technology | GSM / CDMA / HSPA / EVDO / LTE | GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G |
| 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 46, 66, 71 - Canada | - | |
| Launch | ||
|---|---|---|
| Announced | 2019, August 07. Released 2019, August 23 | 2025, September 12 |
| Status | Discontinued | Available. Released 2025, September 19 |
| Body | ||
|---|---|---|
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 6), glass back (Gorilla Glass 6), aluminum frame | Glass front (Gorilla Glass Victus 2), plastic frame, plastic back |
| Dimensions | 151 x 71.8 x 7.9 mm (5.94 x 2.83 x 0.31 in) | 153 x 72 x 8.3 mm (6.02 x 2.83 x 0.33 in) |
| SIM | · Nano-SIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM | · Nano-SIM + eSIM· Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM |
| Weight | 168 g (5.93 oz) | 168 g (5.93 oz) |
| IP68 dust/water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 min) Stylus, 42ms latency (Bluetooth integration, accelerometer, gyro) | - | |
| Display | ||
|---|---|---|
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 6 | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, Mohs level 5 |
| Resolution | 1080 x 2280 pixels, 19:9 ratio (~401 ppi density) | 1080 x 2340 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~422 ppi density) |
| Size | 6.3 inches, 98.6 cm2 (~90.9% screen-to-body ratio) | 6.1 inches, 91.3 cm2 (~82.9% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Type | Dynamic AMOLED, HDR10+ | OLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR |
| Always-on display | - | |
| Platform | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Octa-core (2x2.73 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2x2.4 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4x1.9 GHz Cortex-A55) - EMEA/LATAMOcta-core (1x2.84 GHz Kryo 485 & 3x2.42 GHz Kryo 485 & 4x1.78 GHz Kryo 485) - USA/China | Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| Chipset | Exynos 9825 (7 nm) - EMEA/LATAMQualcomm SM8150 Snapdragon 855 (7 nm) - USA/China | Qualcomm SM6475-AB Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (4 nm) |
| GPU | Mali-G76 MP12 - EMEA/LATAMAdreno 640 - USA/China | Adreno 710 |
| OS | Android 9.0 (Pie), upgradable to Android 12, One UI 4 | Android 15, upgradable to Android 16, up to 4 major Android upgrades |
| Memory | ||
|---|---|---|
| Card slot | No | microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot) |
| Internal | 256GB 8GB RAM | 128GB 8GB RAM |
| UFS 3.0 | - | |
| Main Camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dual | - | 50 MP, f/1.9, 24mm (wide), 1/1.56", PDAF, OIS 13 MP, f/2.4, 16mm, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1/3.0" |
| Features | LED flash, auto-HDR, panorama | LED flash, HDR, panorama |
| Triple | 12 MP, f/1.5-2.4, 27mm (wide), 1/2.55", 1.4µm, dual pixel PDAF, OIS 12 MP, f/2.1, 52mm (telephoto), 1/3.6", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2x optical zoom 16 MP, f/2.2, 12mm (ultrawide), 1/3.1", 1.0µm, Super Steady video | - |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS | 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS, OIS |
| Selfie camera | ||
|---|---|---|
| Features | HDR | HDR |
| Single | 10 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/3", 1.22µm, dual pixel PDAF | 8 MP, f/2.0, 26mm (wide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm |
| Video | 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30fps | 1080p@30fps |
| Sound | ||
|---|---|---|
| 3.5mm jack | No | - |
| 35mm jack | No | Yes |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 32-bit/384kHz audio Tuned by AKG | - | |
| Comms | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bluetooth | 5.0, A2DP, LE, aptX | 5.4, A2DP, LE |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS, QZSS |
| Radio | FM radio (USA & Canada only) | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.1 | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e, tri-band |
| Features | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, ultrasonic), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass, barometer | Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass |
| Samsung DeX, Samsung Wireless DeX (desktop experience support) ANT+ Bixby natural language commands and dictation Samsung Pay (Visa, MasterCard certified) | - | |
| Battery | ||
|---|---|---|
| Charging | 25W wired, PD3.0 12W wireless (Qi) 4.5W reverse wireless | Wired, PD, QC |
| Type | Li-Ion 3500 mAh, non-removable | 5000 mAh |
| Misc | ||
|---|---|---|
| Colors | Aura Glow, Aura White, Aura Black, Aura Pink, Aura Red | White, Turquoise, Charcoal |
| Models | SM-N970F, SM-N970U, SM-N970U1, SM-N9700, SM-N970W, SM-N9700, SM-N970N, SM-N970X | XQ-FE54, XQZ-CBFE, xqfe54eukcl.gc, xqfe54eukcw.gc, xqfe54eukcb.gc |
| Price | About 590 EUR | $ 459.99 / £ 329.00 / € 379.00 |
| SAR | 0.85 W/kg (head) 1.08 W/kg (body) | - |
| SAR EU | 0.21 W/kg (head) 1.52 W/kg (body) | - |
| Tests | ||
|---|---|---|
| Audio quality | Noise -92.8dB / Crosstalk -94.0dB | - |
| Battery life | Endurance rating 92h | - |
| Camera | Photo / Video | - |
| Display | Contrast ratio: Infinite (nominal) | - |
| Loudspeaker | -26.2 LUFS (Good) | - |
| Performance | AnTuTu: 344442 (v7), 452400 (v8) GeekBench: 10353 (v4.4), 2241 (v5.1) GFXBench: 28fps (ES 3.1 onscreen) | - |
| EU LABEL | ||
|---|---|---|
| Battery | - | 48:10h endurance, 1400 cycles |
| Energy | - | Class B |
| Free fall | - | Class C (90 falls) |
| Repairability | - | Class D |
Samsung Galaxy Note10
- Integrated S Pen stylus for productivity and creativity
- Potentially higher peak CPU performance (Snapdragon 855 variant)
- Wireless charging and reverse wireless charging capabilities
- Older chipset with less efficient power consumption
- Reliance on the used market with potential battery degradation
- Limited software update support
Sony Xperia 10 VII
- Exceptional battery life and endurance
- Modern and efficient Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset
- Brighter display for improved outdoor visibility
- Lower peak CPU performance compared to Note10 (Snapdragon 855)
- Charging wattage not specified
- Lacks stylus support
Display Comparison
The Sony Xperia 10 VII boasts a significantly brighter display, reaching 1064 nits compared to the Note10’s 789 nits. This translates to superior visibility in direct sunlight. While the Note10’s display has an infinite (nominal) contrast ratio, the Xperia 10 VII’s brightness advantage is more immediately noticeable in everyday use. Both devices lack high refresh rate panels, focusing instead on power efficiency. The Xperia 10 VII’s newer panel technology likely benefits from improved color accuracy and viewing angles, though detailed calibration data is unavailable.
Camera Comparison
Both devices offer capable camera systems, but details are limited to 'Photo / Video' for the Note10. The Xperia 10 VII likely benefits from Sony’s image processing expertise, focusing on natural color reproduction. Sensor size and aperture data are unavailable for the Note10, making a direct comparison difficult. The Note10’s camera system, being older, may lack some of the computational photography features found in the Xperia 10 VII. The presence of OIS on the Xperia 10 VII would be a significant advantage for low-light photography and video stabilization.
Performance
The chipset difference is substantial. The Note10 utilizes either the Exynos 9825 (7nm) or Snapdragon 855 (7nm), depending on the region, while the Xperia 10 VII features the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 (4nm). The 4nm process node of the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 offers significantly improved power efficiency, despite being a lower-tier chipset than the Note10’s options. The Note10’s octa-core CPU, with its Mongoose M4 cores (EMEA/LATAM) or Kryo 485 cores (USA/China), delivers higher peak performance, but the Xperia 10 VII’s more efficient architecture sustains performance for longer periods without thermal throttling. The Note10’s LPDDR4X RAM is also slower than the likely LPDDR5 RAM in the Xperia 10 VII, further impacting multitasking responsiveness.
Battery Life
The Xperia 10 VII’s endurance rating of 48:10h and active use score of 12:57h dramatically surpasses the Note10’s 92h endurance rating. This difference is attributable to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3’s superior power efficiency and potentially a more optimized software experience. The Note10 supports 25W wired charging with PD3.0, 12W wireless charging (Qi), and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. The Xperia 10 VII supports wired charging with PD and QC, but specific wattage is not provided. While the Note10 offers faster wireless charging, the Xperia 10 VII’s longer battery life minimizes the need for frequent top-ups. The Xperia 10 VII also boasts a claimed 1400 charge cycles, indicating exceptional long-term battery health.
Buying Guide
Buy the Samsung Galaxy Note10 if you absolutely require the S Pen stylus for productivity or creative tasks and can accept the risks associated with purchasing an older device. Buy the Sony Xperia 10 VII if you prioritize exceptional battery life, a brighter display, and a modern, efficient processor with guaranteed software support.