Samsung Galaxy Note9 hands-on review

09 August 2018
The latest UNPACKED event is over and the Samsung Galaxy Note9 is now official. It wasn't too hard to guess the next Galaxy Note though - it's a bigger Galaxy S9+ with an S-Pen. It employs every cutting-edge technology Samsung has right now and builds on the legacy that once sparked the phablet revolution.

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Foxtrot2Novmbr, 10 Aug 2018Users like me who experienced using a galaxy note 8? I won'... moreYour loss. Don't lump us in with your terrible experience. We don't share it. Nearly a year with the note8 and everything is as snappy as the first day. Maybe you should take better care of your things.

    Excited for the note10 (or note x) already. From what we see with the note9, the 10th iteration promises to be an absolute must have for note lovers. Not taking away anything from the note9, but i agree that note8 users would be hard pressed to upgrade to it. Still, the note line is definitely heading in the right direction.

      chester, 10 Aug 2018Where are the benchmarks GSMArena? Very disappointed. Pe... moreIt's still new and this is a "hands on" review, not "full" review. Lmao!

      Maybe they'll release the full reviews two weeks after the release.

        • c
        • chester
        • CDp
        • 10 Aug 2018

        Where are the benchmarks GSMArena? Very disappointed.

        Performance review without atleast Geekbench is useless.

        Doesn't take a month to do that test.

          Users like me who experienced using a galaxy note 8? I won't even bother thinking of getting anymore samsung galaxy devices after screen flickering, performance issues, and no updates at all.

            • M
            • Malice
            • LHg
            • 10 Aug 2018

            David Elliott Lewis, 10 Aug 2018It's a tough decision about whether I should invest a thous... moreThere is no need to update flagship phone every year unless you are emotionally invested. Improvements are so small and incremental that they doesn't justify the price difference you get when you sell your phone and what new phone costs.

            Current Samsung Galaxy S and Note lines are still the same generation that hasa started with Galaxy S8, differences are minimal indeed. If you want Samsung you better wait until whole new redesign which might or might not come with S10 and tricke down to Note 10

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • uEy
              • 10 Aug 2018

              Anonymous, 10 Aug 2018Of course it is overpriced. You can still buy it next year ... moreYeah. Maybe now i can get a note 8 with bigger discount after this... or buy note 9 when note 10 comes out.

                the new samsung galaxy note 9 comes in two new colos....i cant ....afford it...:(

                  • N
                  • Nzi97
                  • tug
                  • 10 Aug 2018

                  David Elliott Lewis, 10 Aug 2018It's a tough decision about whether I should invest a thous... moreWait for the Note 10, coz it will be better base on the active s pen foundation, and the camera will also be better too

                    David Elliott Lewis, 10 Aug 2018It's a tough decision about whether I should invest a thous... more21:9 screen, finally I can watch blockbuster movies without black bars ...

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • wc6
                      • 10 Aug 2018

                      Too expensive. Note 8 is a good deal since the price will fail. Note 9 is kind of disappointing. Same camera from s9+. Really. What's the point of buying this then. Bigger battery is the only good thing about this phone for me.

                        • R
                        • Robert
                        • nDU
                        • 10 Aug 2018

                        David Elliott Lewis, 10 Aug 2018It's a tough decision about whether I should invest a thous... moreI also have the Note 8.I think you should wait till note 10 to see a significant improvement.Maybe the design will change also .

                          • j
                          • jon
                          • 2Am
                          • 10 Aug 2018

                          i am waiting for this phone to get burn in. i will but this device again for the 6th time of buying high end device of samsung with multiple times of burn in. and not fix at all. good display with a bad result after. burn in is a sick thing into my eyes.

                            • s
                            • swa
                            • 2Am
                            • 10 Aug 2018

                            Anonymous, 10 Aug 2018Maybe the exynos can perform better with better cooling rea... moresnapdragon is the best chipset

                              No noise but also not so sharp... a shame.

                                • r
                                • r33fd
                                • mEA
                                • 10 Aug 2018

                                This phone is great on paper but it will not sell well.

                                It's basically s9 plus with S pen.
                                But the thing is : S9 plus is significantly cheaper nowadays (Note 9 is 40 percent more expensive in my country ! - no sane person would choose it over S9 plus at that price)

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • IVM
                                  • 10 Aug 2018

                                  Maybe the exynos can perform better with better cooling reach its benchmark potential in the real world.

                                    It's a tough decision about whether I should invest a thousand dollars, plus sales tax, to upgrade from my Samsung Galaxy Note 8. While the bigger battery sounds helpful, my current battery already lasts all day. While the low light F/1.5 aperture camera also sounds promising, my Note 8, at F/1.7 already takes excellent low light photos. The factors that tempt me the most are the S-Pen remote camera shutter release feature and its larger base memory of 128GB. I do wonder, however, how well the promised scene recognizing "intelligent camera" will improve my photos. More information is needed.

                                    I do like the Note series and have enjoyed how its S-Pen lets me precisely select text for copy, cut and paste. I could not easily edit documents on my phone without it. I am surprised that no other phone manufacturer is using it. Once you have used the S-Pen for text selection, it's hard to go back to finger tips only.

                                    I also believe that this phone's high end specifications will raise the bar for the entire industry. That is one of the best features of this new release.

                                    The new Note 9. I am thinking about it.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • sxr
                                      • 10 Aug 2018

                                      "...and builds on the legacy that once ignited the phablet...revolution."

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • XNk
                                        • 10 Aug 2018

                                        Kuba, 10 Aug 2018ugly ugly, i would never buy it for this money. Buy vivo ne... moreOf course it is overpriced. You can still buy it next year for a discount.