How reflective is it? (Aura Glow)

[LuckiestLiz]

At the risk of sounding stupid - do you anticipate the mirror-like finish of Aura Glow would be distracting to others when taking photos/videos; would it throw any kind of weird prisms or light refraction?

I regrettably barely put hands on the Note 10+ when doing my mom's pre-order at Costco - just long enough to send her two quick photos, before realizing you could only get black there (her choice anyway) and hurrying along with it. My BestBuy didn't have them in.

I take a lot of photos and videos of dogs, kids, and in group settings outside - I'm second guessing my pre-order in Aura Glow hard if there's any chance it interferes. I'd do blue in a heartbeat if it were an AT&T option, but I'm not keen on going unlocked with AT&T.

 

[SpookDroid]

If there is direct sunlight, yes. You can definitely shine a light and blind someone with this. That being said, it's not much worse than the current models in terms of how reflective the glass is. What might be 'distracting' is how the colors shift with every movement and shift in viewing angle and having a clearer reflection on the back than the darker, previous models.

It definitely won't be a problem taking everyday pictures, but you will get looks from curious folk and comments about the color for those who notice it (and most people will). Now if THAT qualifies as 'distracting' for you, then I'd go with the more muted colors like the Black or White versions (or blue if you're going unlocked, which is closer to current models but in a deeper shade of blue).

If you're still on the fence, go test one out! They're on display pretty much everywhere, even Microsoft stores.

PS: In any case, the clearer reflection on the back might help for 'selfies' using the back cameras.

 

[LuckiestLiz]

If there is direct sunlight, yes. You can definitely shine a light and blind someone with this. That being said, it's not much worse than the current models in terms of how reflective the glass is. What might be 'distracting' is how the colors shift with every movement and shift in viewing angle and having a clearer reflection on the back than the darker, previous models.

It definitely won't be a problem taking everyday pictures, but you will get looks from curious folk and comments about the color for those who notice it (and most people will). Now if THAT qualifies as 'distracting' for you, then I'd go with the more muted colors like the Black or White versions (or blue if you're going unlocked, which is closer to current models but in a deeper shade of blue).

If you're still on the fence, go test one out! They're on display pretty much everywhere, even Microsoft stores.

PS: In any case, the clearer reflection on the back might help for 'selfies' using the back cameras.

Thanks. Very limited options here, I may have to step foot in AT&T to see it better (if they have them). The Costco display was awkward (you can't move it far and it was in a corner basically) but I'll go back. BestBuy doesn't have them (here) this year for some reason.

I don't care about distracting in terms of an interesting color, but throwing light I think could be reason enough to change my pre-order.

 

[SpookDroid]

Thanks. Very limited options here, I may have to step foot in AT&T to see it better (if they have them). The Costco display was awkward (you can't move it far and it was in a corner basically) but I'll go back. BestBuy doesn't have them (here) this year for some reason.

I don't care about distracting in terms of an interesting color, but throwing light I think could be reason enough to change my pre-order.

It won't be much different than current models in that regard. The only one that might see a difference would be the darker models (black). In the what's doing most of the glare and light bounce-back is the glass back. The color plate underneath, in the case of the Aura Glow, while reflective and showing more of a mirror image, doesn't bounce light back much more than, say, the current blue S10.

 

[eyedoc2020]

Ordered the Aura Glow just to have something different. I am very tired of black, white and blue phones. So I decided to try something different. If I don’t like it, I will put a skin on it and/or a case. Not a big deal in the least.

 

[swarlos]

At the risk of sounding stupid - do you anticipate the mirror-like finish of Aura Glow would be distracting to others when taking photos/videos; would it throw any kind of weird prisms or light refraction?

I regrettably barely put hands on the Note 10+ when doing my mom's pre-order at Costco - just long enough to send her two quick photos, before realizing you could only get black there (her choice anyway) and hurrying along with it. My BestBuy didn't have them in.

I take a lot of photos and videos of dogs, kids, and in group settings outside - I'm second guessing my pre-order in Aura Glow hard if there's any chance it interferes. I'd do blue in a heartbeat if it were an AT&T option, but I'm not keen on going unlocked with AT&T.

Yes I do. This is just a pic I took of it in Best Buy and it already annoyed the crud out of me.

The pictures and advertising for this color are very deceptive I think the red one looks the best but of course we don’t get that color, so thanks Samsung.

 

[srgonu]

I just see it compared to our old CD's in a YouTube comment

 

[Nostromo79]

I just see it compared to our old CD's in a YouTube comment ??????

That's how it struck me; an ultra-thin aluminum substrate laminated to the glass backing.

 

[jeetu4444]

Here Aura Glow vs Note 9

 

[Lobwedgephil]

At the risk of sounding stupid - do you anticipate the mirror-like finish of Aura Glow would be distracting to others when taking photos/videos; would it throw any kind of weird prisms or light refraction?

I regrettably barely put hands on the Note 10+ when doing my mom's pre-order at Costco - just long enough to send her two quick photos, before realizing you could only get black there (her choice anyway) and hurrying along with it. My BestBuy didn't have them in.

I take a lot of photos and videos of dogs, kids, and in group settings outside - I'm second guessing my pre-order in Aura Glow hard if there's any chance it interferes. I'd do blue in a heartbeat if it were an AT&T option, but I'm not keen on going unlocked with AT&T.

Going caseless?

 

[LuckiestLiz]

The reason I was looking for feedback rather than just slap a case on it is primarily the Costco deal. They're offering a $200 gift card rebate on top of the Samsung credit for pre-orders of the Note 10+, black only, and limited number per store to be pre-sold. If I was planning to cover the phone I'd much rather take advantage of that and stick to black.

I'd already pre-ordered Aura Glow days ago because I do like something a little unique. I love my lavender N9, and I have only used a clear case (which I already ordered for my N10+). I'm still torn on how I feel about the color, but the more I see a variety of images/videos it's clear Aura Glow is as temperamental as I'm being about the damn color.

It's probably not worth the hassle to change this late in the pre-order game, particularly because my local Costco could be out of the deal by now. (I've been busy and didn't get back there.) I do like that it'll have the blue s-pen out of the box at least. (I know the s-pens can be bought separately but I'm injecting a positive to this.) Plus, maybe I'll surprise myself and wind up loving it and glad I gave it a chance.

Ultimately - it's a new phone, not the solution to world peace. I'll almost surely be upgrading in yet another year, so I'll plan to slap a skin on it if I really hate Aura Glow and move on.

 

[neil74]

I’d be interested in seeing how it compares to the prism silver s10.

I had one briefly and it looked totally different to the Samsung promotional images, slightly more bling to it.

 

[Lobwedgephil]

The reason I was looking for feedback rather than just slap a case on it is primarily the Costco deal. They're offering a $200 gift card rebate on top of the Samsung credit for pre-orders of the Note 10+, black only, and limited number per store to be pre-sold. If I was planning to cover the phone I'd much rather take advantage of that and stick to black.

I'd already pre-ordered Aura Glow days ago because I do like something a little unique. I love my lavender N9, and I have only used a clear case (which I already ordered for my N10+). I'm still torn on how I feel about the color, but the more I see a variety of images/videos it's clear Aura Glow is as temperamental as I'm being about the damn color.

It's probably not worth the hassle to change this late in the pre-order game, particularly because my local Costco could be out of the deal by now. (I've been busy and didn't get back there.) I do like that it'll have the blue s-pen out of the box at least. (I know the s-pens can be bought separately but I'm injecting a positive to this.) Plus, maybe I'll surprise myself and wind up loving it and glad I gave it a chance.

Ultimately - it's a new phone, not the solution to world peace. I'll almost surely be upgrading in yet another year, so I'll plan to slap a skin on it if I really hate Aura Glow and move on.

Here is a picture from the Verge.

https://twitter.com/backlon/status/1162022750820528128/photo/1