Samsung’s S Pen-wielding Note 10 is now receiving Android 10, only a couple weeks after the Galaxy S10. Google’s newest operating system comes with a host of new features worth getting excited about and the South Korean tech firm has thrown some exclusive additions in there for extra measure. Reports of a stable Android 10 update for the Note 10 first emerged in Germany last week. Since then, Samsung fans in numerous countries across the globe – including O2 customers in the UK – have reported its arrival.
If you haven’t already received an alert prompting you to download Android 10, it’s worth checking for the upgrade manually. This can be done by heading to Settings > About phone > Software update.
It’s worth noting that at the moment it seems only the 4G variants of the Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ are receiving the new operating system. The 5G editions of both are not expected to be treated to Android 10 until the start of next year.
The update, that weighs in at around 2GB, introduces Samsung’s One UI 2 software that builds on the solid foundation laid by the original One UI from last year.
One UI 2 is certainly more of an iterative update than a substantial overhaul of the South Korean tech giant’s software. The new operating system retains the same design as its predecessor but comes with a number of refinements that are worth shouting about.
First and foremost, One UI 2 improves every Android fan’s favourite feature – dark mode. The gloomy theme is now system-wide, meaning more apps should adopt it the moment you switch it on in your phone’s settings.
Google’s new Android 10 gestures also make an appearance in Samsung’s One UI 2. The new navigation option ditches the operating system’s traditional back button in favour of an inward swipe from the left or right-hand side of the device.
Elsewhere, the new gestures work very similarly to those introduced by Apple for its first all-screen smartphone – the iPhone X – back in 2017. That means a swipe from the middle of the device upwards will take you home and a half swipe will bring up a multitasking menu will all your open apps.
Notifications have also been overhauled in One UI 2. First and foremost, alerts will now allow you to quickly jump to other apps based on context. That means if someone messages you an address, the notification in question will come with a button that’ll let you quickly find it in Google Maps.
Additionally, Samsung has also made alerts in One UI 2 smaller in an effort to make them less distracting overall.
Explaining the decision, the Seoul-based company said: “The clean and easy-to-use interface allows users to enjoy minimised pop-ups, embedded loading indicators and simplified button arrangements.
“The new One UI features a streamlined design where notifications take up less space, so users are kept up-to-date while being able to focus on the task at hand. You stay focused while enjoying your favourite content in full screen and never miss any essential information.”
Finally, One UI 2 also introduces a number of nifty tools you won’t find on Google’s stock version of Android 10. The most notable of these is certainly a screen recorder that allows you to capture clips from your device.
You can read about our favourite features in Android 10 here.