Microsoft helps make the Galaxy Note 10 Plus a compelling business phone
I believe the Note 10 Plus is the current best smartphone available and after spending another week with the device and exploring the deep Microsoft integration I am convinced its the best smartphone available for the enterprise user. The partnership with Microsoft for the Note 10 is so strong that reviewers were actually issued a Reviewer's Guide from Microsoft as part of the Note 10 Plus evaluation period.
I'm eligible to trade in my Note 9 for a Galaxy Note 10 Plus through the Samsung Upgrade Program in two days and as I continue to discover all that the Note 10 Plus has to offer it is likely that I am going to upgrade to the Note 10 Plus. Some functions mentioned in this article are also possible with the Note 9, but others require an update to the Note 9 for the functionality to appear.
DeX for PC
I've detailed turning your Galaxy phone into your primary computer and even sold my iPad because I found DeX to be more capable of getting work done. When I first checked out the Note 10 Plus at a pre-briefing, I honestly didn't think much of the DeX for PC capability that lets you use DeX on a Windows PC or Mac computer because I didn't see why someone would need to use DeX when they have a full computer at their fingertips.
See also: Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus review: Best business phone improves in speed and S Pen capability
While there are some excellent use cases, such as using your Samsung phone as a guest on another computer, it wasn't until I connected the Note 10 Plus to my work computer that I understood that DeX for PC offered an ability to keep some separation between my work and personal lives. While in the office, the Note 10 Plus can serve as a personal device so then connecting it to my Surface Pro 6 used for engineering means I can keep a full DeX setup on one screen while my work PC is taking up the two external displays connected to that Surface Pro 6. I've actually been using DeX at work as a separate personal computer experience and then when away from work connecting and using the Note 10 Plus as my work computer on a simple large external display.
DeX for PC lets you use the keyboard and mouse on your PC in the DeX environment while supporting the ability to simple move the mouse between DeX and your native PC environment with ease. It's truly a fantastic setup and I can't believe it took me more than a week to test it out.
Your Phone
Android users have had the ability to connect their phones to Windows 10 computers using the Your Phone app for a while now, but with the Note 10 Plus Microsoft and Samsung bundled the app with the phone and the connection actually appears as a Quick Control labeled Link to Windows. You can tap on this icon to connect and disconnect your PC to your Note 10 Plus.
After tapping to enable this on your Note 10 Plus, launch the Your Phone utility on your Windows 10 computer. You can be connected via a cellular connection to enjoy the photos, messaging, and notification functionality, but need to be connected to the same WiFi network to mirror your phone on your PC.
Opening up a photo through the Your Phone app, you can view your 25 most recent photos, opens it up in the default Windows photo browser, while messaging works by mirroring what is on your Galaxy Note. You can drag and drop photos into other Windows applications, which is one handy function of the Your Phone app. Notification settings are available for you to manage within the Your Phone app so you can control what notifications appear on your PC.
After connecting your Note 10 Plus and Windows 10 PC to the same WiFi network, you can mirror your Note 10 Plus on the PC and fully controlling it with your mouse. While I tried this first, I prefer to have DeX for PC enabled and perform everything on my PC on a separate display in DeX mode rather than through the Your Phone utility.
Microsoft and the Galaxy Note 10 Plus: in pictures
Outlook app
I'm a huge fan of the Microsoft Outlook app for both Android and iOS for my engineering consulting firm email account management. Outlook is an outstanding app and I cannot wait for dark mode to launch soon on Android. While Samsung has a solid email app that works well with Office 365 accounts, there are a few things that make Outlook better.
Most of the advanced functionality is directly related to the S Pen and with the Note 10 Plus you can perform the following with the S Pen:
- Hover over a contact in your email to tap the card that pops up to call, text, or email that contact.
- Hover over an event invitation to quickly respond to the invite.
- Hover over an attachment in your email to view what documents are being shared with you.
See also: Galaxy Note 10 Plus: So far I'm undecided and here's why
OneDrive app
There is a Microsoft app on your Galaxy Note 10 and inside it you will find Outlook, Office Mobile, LinkedIn, and OneDrive. As an Office 365 subscriber, I enjoy 1TB of storage capacity with my paid subscription. OneDrive is an excellent service to store your important documents and also backup your Note 10 Plus full resolution photos.
The OneDrive app can also be used to quickly scan in documents captured through the fantastic cameras on the Note 10 Plus, including the ability to scan these documents or store photos/videos directly into the secure Personal Vault space of OneDrive. After experiencing a shocking SIM swap attack I have been looking for more secure methods of storing my data and am moving things to secure areas of my OneDrive account.
The Galaxy Note 10 Plus has a large display and through OneDrive you can edit documents on your Note 10 Plus that are automatically reflected on your Windows PC. Seemless usage of your Windows 10 PC and Galaxy Note 10 Plus help make the Note 10 a fantastic business phone that enhances your productivity.