Samsung Galaxy Note9 specs and features revealed in detailed hands-on

The Samsung Galaxy Note9's launch is still over a month away, but that doesn't mean it's too early for the leaks to start pouring in. A we've got a big one from Eldar Murtazin - a well-known veteran in the industry.

He was able to spend some time in the US with a pre-production unit to evaluate the software and hardware. He talks about design, functionality, hardware specifications and even discloses some details about the future Galaxy S10 device.

The Galaxy Note9 will look almost identical to its predecessor, the Note8 with the only noticeable difference being the back. As previous rumors suggested, the fingerprint reader has moved under the dual camera setup to avoid any accidental touches on the lens and smudging it. The materials used for the build also remain the same.

Moreover, the Samsung Galaxy Note9 feels considerably heavier than the Galaxy Note8 due to the increased battery capacity. So yes, consider that 4,000 mAh battery confirmed. He even goes into details about battery endurance - one to two days of normal usage and 23 to 25 hours of video playback at maximum brightness. If that's not impressive, we don't know what is.

A new Exynos chipset is likely being used in the upcoming handset as the reviewer stresses on exceptionally fast operations and says even at this early stage this is one of the snappiest devices out there. This might also be due to the improved Samsung Experience overlay - Murtazin says that UI animations have been changed and they look great.

When it comes to memory configuration, the Galaxy Note9 will likely offer an upgrade for the high-end and the low-end models. The phablet will start at 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage and will go up to 8GB/256GB and 8GB/512GB supporting earlier reports of a 512GB variant.

As tradition goes, South Korea and the US will get the Qualcomm version with Snapdragon 845 while the rest of the world will get Samsung's own Exynos SoC.

As far as the camera goes, the report mentions some minor but still noticeable enhancements. Probably the improved ISOCELL technology that Samsung introduced the other day is the culprit, but an improved optical image stabilization is also possible.

Moving on to the S Pen, the leak mentions Bluetooth support and the ability to unlock the device remotely. In addition, Samsung will introduce various work modes that will likely appeal to business users.

The display on the Galaxy Note9 will introduce an improvement in sunlight visibility - so likely an even brighter panel. The prototype also had an updated Always On display, but the feature might not be ready in time and might be pushed back to coincide with the Galaxy S10 launch instead.

Rumor has it, Samsung has already stopped shipping the Galaxy Note8 to its retail partners for a few months now and the only available units are the ones they have in stock. This is definitely a first and if true, it could be yet another indication that the Note9 won't be radically different than the Note8. Apparently, Samsung is taking some precautions to boost the sales of the Note9 by not letting the price reductions of the Note8 undermine its performance.

Even though the hands-on leak comes from a credible source, we suggest that you leave a reasonably-sized portion of skepticism in there. We will know for sure on August 9.

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