It’s been close to seven years since the first Samsung Galaxy Note was launched. When a company has worked so long on a particular model, it tends to perfect everything on it.
But it also tends to run out of ideas on how to take the device to a whole new level. Samsung seems to have been in a similar predicament with the Galaxy Note 9. Then it thought out of the box and decided to innovate on the S Pen stylus that is an integral part of this phone. The result is a smartphone that has no frayed edges, does everything to the best of its potential and has an accessory, which is capable of doing stuff no one would have expected it to.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 looks just like its predecessor, but the company has actually done some smart design changes here. This phone now has a 4000mAh battery, but this does not look like a phone with such a big battery inside. In fact, it is actually a thick and heavy phone, but you don’t see or feel it. The diamond cut on the edges makes the phone slimmer and thinner than it actually is.
With the flowing edges, the Note 9 actually feels like a slab of glass. There are some parts, especially above and below the display that remind one of the Samsung Galaxy S9. The fingerprint scanner is just below the dual camera module. The S Pen is still where it used to be, under the display at the right.
The 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display offers 1440 x 2960 pixels at 514ppi. So this is a larger display, but again you won’t feel it. The display is maybe the best in a smartphones and will let you read even under the bright sun. For those who want to consume a lot of video, this also has the best speaker I have heard in a Samsung phone.
While it might look the same, actually a lot has changed in the Note 9. When it comes to sheer performance, this phone has enough for Samsung to start pitching it to gamers.
However, with all the things being done to push performance, the Note 9 has become one of the coolest phones you will use whatever you force it to do.
The other big factor is the storage capacity of the Note 9. The base model comes with 6GB of memory and a 128GB internal storage. There is a 8GB/512GB version for those who think this is not enough.
This, along with the 4000mAh battery which lasted well over a day for me on our horrid 4G networks, means the Note 9 is one of the most dependable phones for those who cannot afford their device to run out of space or battery at crucial junctures.
Another performance enhancement is DeX. Now, you don’t need a dock to power a desktop environment using the Note 9. This means a lot of people can use the Note 9 as a portable computer — smartphone when on the move, and desktop when you are at work — thus saving some money.
Also, the Note 9 is powerful enough to do two things — one of the desktop screen and another on the phone screen — at the same time.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 camera
Galaxy Note cameras have always been top of the line. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, the camera adds quite a bit of (artificial) intelligence too. For instance, the camera can now recognise 20 scenarios or subjects.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Should you buy?
Yes, if you are looking for an Android work horse. Yes, if you are looking for an upgrade from your earlier Note devices. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is clearly one of the best Android phones you can buy, but the S Pen is the one reason why you might end up buying it in the end.
