Samsung Galaxy Note9 review

20 August 2018
How time has passed - we're at nine now. Seven years after the original, the Samsung Galaxy Note9 stands before us. The numbers don't add up, no, because Samsung chose to skip the 6, and it didn't really quite work out splendidly with the Note7. But that's all in the past and we're looking ahead.

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Anonymous, 21 Aug 2018Do not buy the exynos. It has weak gpuI don't do anything graphics-intensive, so the GPU isn't a big deal to me.

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    • AnonD-762416
    • JbS
    • 21 Aug 2018

    Schumi, 21 Aug 2018People please tell me, in Friday 24.08 i should choose betw... moreAperture beats pixel count for night photos. Increasing the pixel count helps little if they don't get light. Two times nothing is still nothing. So, I'd confidently say the Note 9 will beat the Huawei handily for low light imaging.

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      • AnonD-762416
      • JbS
      • 21 Aug 2018

      You know it's a beast when one of the cons is "Where them Alcantara cases this year, Samsung?!"
      Really? Why would that even count as a con on a phone review? :)

        Droidtard, 21 Aug 2018They're using the same camera since Note 8. That's why.What are you smoking? Same sensors? Sure, MAYBE because of the resolution, but the blades are different and rotary, it's sharper, and the Telephoto is longer lenses than N8 (and I used N8)

          AnonD-632062, 21 Aug 2018Nope, you're wrong. All Opinions, reviewers, specifications... moreI agree with you, excellent! ^~^

            Schumi, 21 Aug 2018People please tell me, in Friday 24.08 i should choose betw... moreGo with your heart. And more MP doesn't NECCESARILY mean better low light preformance. Imo: NOTE 9 all the way. But up to you

              Great review as usual, although I'm not switching to a Note 9, GSM arena is the go to choice for unbiased and detailed reviews.
              But what about the last con, is it for real??? Come on!

                Shanti Dope, 21 Aug 2018You mean that the Note 9 has 4000mAh battery but delivers s... moreNo offense, but you really sound like a someone who can't accept facts. Note 9's display is the best mobile display to date. Not only Display mate says so, lots of reviews agree with it. You need numbers? Just look at the charts regarding color temperature, min and max brightness, reflectivity, and delta RGB values. These are top notch across the board. You can't just disregard such information.
                That battery powers a bigger display than the competition and it's still better than most. The P20 Pro can't compete although it has same battery size, a smaller display and less powerful chipset. You want more proof? Check youtube.
                RAM, Storage and cameras are top quality. Don't bring up products Sony has not released, we all know they're not the best while implementing their HW to their own SW, such a shame. They'd rather remove features like the headphone jack.
                What about the rest of the features, there is no single phone with more features than the Note 9. Wireless charging, headphone jack, no notch, micro sd, stereo speakers, 128GB base storage, IP68, DeX without dock....

                  s-pen pusher, 21 Aug 2018that's the thing. i was considering the nova 3 or nova 3i b... morewell i hope u enjoy it.i heard is a really fast and fluid phone but not the brightness of the screen which is low but thats a personal preference .

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                    • SDS
                    • Ikf
                    • 21 Aug 2018

                    Anonymous, 21 Aug 2018In the bezeless era Samsung makes the bezels thicker over i... moreHave you even looked at the dimensions?

                    Note 9: 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm (6.37 x 3.01 x 0.35 in)
                    Pixel XL: 154.7 x 75.7 x 8.5 mm (6.09 x 2.98 x 0.33 in)

                    It's marginally bigger then a 2 year phone with a screen that's nearly a full inch smaller. It is in no way shape or form unpocketable unless big phones THAT EVERYONE MAKES are already too big for you.

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                      • Anonymous
                      • vjw
                      • 21 Aug 2018

                      Shanti Dope, 21 Aug 2018You mean that the Note 9 has 4000mAh battery but delivers s... moreyawn

                        Nick Tagataka, 21 Aug 2018While Galaxy Note 9 has: -The world most color accurate 3K... moreExactly

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                          • allanon
                          • nM5
                          • 21 Aug 2018

                          Might the unconvincing camera performance in lab tests due to the fact that the tested model has Samsung's ISOCELL sensors rather than Sony's IMX?

                            Nick Tagataka, 21 Aug 2018While Galaxy Note 9 has: -The world most color accurate 3K... moreYou mean that the Note 9 has 4000mAh battery but delivers similar battery life to phones commonly with 3500mAh battery??
                            And f/1.5 lens with insane corner softness??
                            Stereo speaker that's super tinny despite being loud??

                            And most accurate display? From where? That Samsung's subsidiary brand named DisplayMate, who only test out 4 out of more than 10 brands and then declares a world champion?? LMAO what a concept!

                            S Pen is the only thing to make this phone to stand out. 512GB storage will start to become a norm as early as next year as well. Sony will announce a new generation sensor with improved super slow motion video capabilities, maybe something that could record 10s of 960fps in 1080p.

                              It got the best battery endurance, as a flagship its hard to find alternative. Was inferior in past to plus version, now its not. Exynos is great even in tablets. Shame that most of hw is half year old, hard to buy for that money, but as its still unparalleled as whole package, they can afford to do that. This will change however with new coming flagships bringing new hw.

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                                • Schumi
                                • gKB
                                • 21 Aug 2018

                                People please tell me, in Friday 24.08 i should choose between Huawei P20 Pro or Samsung Note 9, i was waithing for Note 9, but .....wich Camera is better for night pics with low light ?
                                Note 9 = F1.5, Pro 20 = 40 MP....

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                                  • Samuel
                                  • GX%
                                  • 21 Aug 2018

                                  Guess what folks? The Note 9's price in nigeria converts to $899 in Nigeria. Hurrah.

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                                    • Anonymous
                                    • 0TK
                                    • 21 Aug 2018

                                    In the bezeless era Samsung makes the bezels thicker over its own last gen.

                                    Shame on you Samsung. You just made this phone unusable by making it too tall/unpocketable

                                      Anonymous, 21 Aug 2018LMAO One Plus = no sd card, no ip rating, no stereo sp... moreWhile Galaxy Note 9 has:
                                      -The world most color accurate 3K HDR AMOLED panel which is perfectly calibrated to all sRGB, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 color spaces
                                      -HD 480fps/960fps super slowmo with predictive capture + FHD 240fps regular slowmo + 4K 60fps very well stabilised HDR video recording capability
                                      -Video Enhancer which upscales SDR video to near-HDR level of saturation and brightness
                                      -A headphone jack with integrated high quality Cirrus Logic DAC
                                      -4000mAh battery which lasts the full day no matter how you use it

                                      Note 9 comes with just as much as marketing buzzwords as XZ2 Premium does, but the difference here is that Note 9 actually delivers them in practical forms which people can actually see the differences, while XZ2 Premium just throw them around all over the place to create massive hype and end up being a disappointment due to its features being too niche to average consumer/unnecessary. Now, does your XZ2 Premium have any of those features? Nope.

                                        Syuser, 21 Aug 2018Having same camera processing for 2 years now, same design ... moreAs soon as I read "camera sensors copying Snapdragons" I noticed that your comment isn't worth reading.