The Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10 Plus have one less button than previous Samsung phones, with the area where the power button used to be now housing nothing. Instead, the Bixby button — which launches Samsung’s virtual assistant — is now the sleep/wake key.
Why? Samsung wanted a more streamlined and iconic look.
But what happens when you press and hold the Bixby button to turn off or restart the phones? By default, Bixby launches. So how do you turn off the Note 10 or Note 10 Plus? Pull down the notification drawer and you’ll see a power icon next to the settings gear icon. Tap this, and you’ll get the traditional power options.
That’s not necessarily ideal or intuitive, but don’t worry, there’s a way to stop Bixby from launching and revert the button’s function to a more traditional power button experience.
First, head to Settings by swiping down the notification drawer and tapping the gear icon, or find the Settings app in your app drawer. Now go to Advanced features > Side key. You’ll see an option to customize the Press and hold function of the button. Simply choose the Power off menu option, and that’s it. Your sleep/wake key will now also offer the power off menu when you press and hold it.
As you might have noticed above this setting, you can also customize the double-press function of the button. By default, it launches the camera app, but you can set it to turn on Bixby, or open any other app you have installed. The choice is yours. Tap the toggle next to Double press if you want to turn off the functionality completely.
Having one less button on its phones doesn’t necessarily mean Samsung is looking to remove more buttons and go for a buttonless phone in the future, but it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a phone with no physical buttons.
If you just got your Note 10 or Note 10 Plus, you may want to take a look at our guide to the key settings you’ll want to change to get the most out of the phone. And if you don’t have one yet, it’s a good idea to snag a case to protect the beautiful glass back.
