The Note 10's frame is actually made out of aluminum, not stainless steel
What you need to know
- Samsung's early marketing material for the Note 10 mentioned a stainless steel frame for the phone.
- Today, the company updated its marketing to say it's actually "polished metal."
- In other words, the Note 10's frame is aluminum.
During its Unpacked event in New York this past Wednesday, Samsung introduced us to the Galaxy Note 10 and did everything in its power to get us excited for the new flagship. There's a lot going on with the phone, and in the company's marketing material and hype video that played during the keynote, Samsung mentioned that the Note 10 was made out of stainless steel. However, this no longer appears to be the case.
As spotted by Max Weinbach from XDA Developers, Samsung refreshed its website and marketing video for the Note 10 to now say that the phone's made out "polished metal."
Um...what?
We reached out to Samsung with that very question, and the company confirmed to AC that the Note 10 is, in fact, made out of aluminum.
Some of Samsung's early Note 10 marketing materials said the phone's frame was stainless steel, but it was refreshed today to say it's "polished metal."
Samsung just confirmed that it's actually made of aluminum just like every Galaxy since the GS6.Some of Samsung's early Note 10 marketing materials said the phone's frame was stainless steel, but it was refreshed today to say it's "polished metal."
Samsung just confirmed that it's actually made of aluminum just like every Galaxy since the GS6.— Daniel Bader (@journeydan) August 9, 2019August 9, 2019
What caused the change in material? Samsung didn't provide a reason for the mix-up, but the mention of stainless steel on the company's website and in a video that was obviously seen by lots of people before being published indicates that the original intent was for stainless steel to be present on the phone.
As David Ruddock suggested, it's likely that Samsung switched back to aluminum to save money or ran into manufacturing issues. In any case, the retail version of the phone will feature aluminum.
Most people likely won't care either way, but it is interesting that Samsung decided to switch back to aluminum after making such a big deal about stainless steel being present on the phone. It would have been cool to have the more premium material present on a phone that starts at $950, but such is life.
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New Note
An impressive flagship, even without stainless steel.
The Galaxy Note 10 is here, and even though it might not have a stainless steel frame, it's still more than worth checking out. It has a gorgeous display, powerful specs, and a promising triple rear camera system.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10: Everything you need to know!
Joe Maring was a Senior Editor for Android Central between 2017 and 2021. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoeMaring1.