The Samsung Galaxy Note 10+ 5G Is a Huge Mess

You'll have to choose between coverage and speed if you go for the new 5G model of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, according to multiple sources involved in the development of the phone.

While AT&T and T-Mobile both plan to run hybrid 5G networks that use high-frequency millimeter-wave for speed and lower or middle-frequency cellular bands for coverage, their versions of the Note 10+ 5G are currently only able to use low-band and mid-band networks, my sources tell me.

That's flipped from the Galaxy S10 5G, which can only use the high-band networks. It's not clear to me yet why the phones can't handle both kinds of networks, although I confirmed with Qualcomm that the new X55 modem chipset is able to do so.

"You can expect commercial 5G devices based on this modem supporting both sub6 GHz (FDD, TDD) and mmWave bands. We are working closely with OEMs, operators and infrastructure vendors to enable certain capabilities throughout the second wave of 5G device launches starting later this year," Qualcomm told me in a statement.

The X55-based Galaxy Note 10+ is months away from launch, and it's possible that Samsung could yet figure out how to use the carrier's full, multi-band systems. It isn't looking good, though.

This is my brain on 5G

Verizon First, Then Everyone Else

Verizon will have an early exclusive on the Note 10+ 5G. Samsung confirmed that Verizon's model will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chipset with the older X50 modem, the same one that's in the Galaxy S10 5G, and it will access the same millimeter-wave Verizon coverage in eight cities.

The Galaxy Note 10+ 5G for Verizon will be available on August 23, with pre-orders starting August 8, at the same time as the 4G models. It will cost $1,299.99 for the 256GB model and $1,399.99 for the 512GB model. That's the same price as the S10 5G, so unless the S10 5G gets a price drop, you might as well but this one.

The big question with Verizon is whether the Note 10+ 5G will overheat in hot weather the way the S10 5G and LG V50 have been doing on Verizon's network. The Note 10+ 5G will have a vapor chamber for cooling that isn't present on the S10 5G, so in theory it might do a bit better. When I asked Samsung about this, I wasn't given a clear answer.

With the manufacturers and carriers pointing fingers at each other regarding overheating, it sounds like the problem could be cured by cooling phones, somewhat slowing down networks, using future chipsets that run cooler, or some combination of the three.

Beyond Verizon, the Note 10+ 5G plans get very hazy. AT&T promises a Note 10+ 5G model "by the end of the year" that will support its upcoming long-range, low-band 5G network, which will have much better range than its current millimeter-wave network, but will be much slower than mmWave. That model will have to use the new Qualcomm X55 modem.

But wait! While AT&T does not specify this, my sources say that the AT&T Note 10+ 5G will not support millimeter-wave—only low-band. So AT&T will be selling one phone (the S10 5G) that supports one kind of 5G in parts of 21 cities, one phone (the Note 10+ 5G) that supports a different kind over potentially a much broader area, and no phones that support both. AT&T will continue to only sell its 5G phones to business customers. It all looks something like this:

T-Mobile is in the same boat with the same unit. The Note 10+ 5G will be the first "5G for all" low-band phone for T-Mobile's nationwide network. But it will not support the fast, six-city millimeter-wave network T-Mobile has recently turned on. It will support Sprint's mid-band network, eventually, if the carriers merge down the road.

T-Mobile is claiming that their model is an "exclusive," but it looks to me like that refers to using both low and mid-band, as AT&T will not use mid-band. "Our exclusive version of the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G that will tap into both low and mid-band spectrum will break 5G from the confines of urban centers," T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a press release.

How about Sprint? Sprint will have some form of Note 10+ 5G that will support its network, but it will have to choose a unit that will support either its mid-band network and T-Mobile's fast millimeter-wave (the X50), or its mid-band network and T-Mobile's broad low-band (the X55.)

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What Is 5G?

Once again, this just the current state of things. Things can change.

Confused? That's OK

This is, to put it mildly, a mess. US carriers are now working on three kinds of 5G networks: low-band (maybe 100Mbps, great coverage), mid-band (maybe 300Mbps, citywide coverage), and mmWave (1Gbps+, but very limited coverage.)

No phone handles all of them. Qualcomm says the X55 can do both low and high bands, but apparently Samsung hasn't been able to implement that. Samsung hasn't answered any of my questions on the topic.

This affects all the carriers. AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all have high-band right now. AT&T and T-Mobile are planning low-band launches by the end of this year, with Verizon launching in 2020. Sprint has mid-band, which works with everything, but it may merge with T-Mobile, at which point it would use all three approaches.

Needless to say, this doesn't make the Note 10+ 5G terribly compelling in the US. No matter what model you choose, you'll be missing out on key elements of 2020 coverage.

This isn't a problem anywhere else in the world, as other countries are using a combination of mid-band and high-band networks that function much better on current devices.

Hands On With the Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+