Sve je više korisnika u velikim telefonima s velikim prekrasnim zaslonima visoke razlučivosti, kao što su Googleov Pixel , OnePlus 6 ili Appleov iPhone X, ali Samsungov vodeći brend Note (sada do verzije 9) prednjačio je u velikim i lijepim od Note 1 prije nekoliko godina.

Zove se, naravno, “ Note ”, zbog svoje ugrađene i dobro implementirane pisaljke S Pen , koja postaje sve bolja sa svakom novom verzijom Note pametnog telefona ili phableta. Između ostalog, najnovija S Pen je doista impresivna, kao i sam Note 9.

Prednosti:^{(Pros: )}

• Prekrasan Super AMOLED^{(Super AMOLED)} 6,4-inčni zaslon visoke rezolucije
• S Pen sazrijeva da uključuje Bluetooth daljinski upravljač
• Izvrsne kamere s ugrađenom umjetnom inteligencijom
• Ogroman prostor za skladištenje
• DeX način rada bez dodatne priključne stanice (sve što trebate je HDMI kabel i adapter)
• Velika baterija, dug život
• Brzo
• Impresivna kvaliteta izrade
• Sjajan stereo zvuk

Protiv:^(Cons:)

• Skupo
• Bixby je i dalje bezveze
• Čitač otiska prsta preblizu fotoaparatu

Presuda:^(Verdict:)

Samsungov vodeći Galaxy Note 9 može koštati koliko i iPhone X, ali se isplati na mnogo načina, uključujući prekrasan zaslon, dugo trajanje baterije, čuvenu Noteovu S Pen olovku^{(S Pen)} , pametnu kameru s dvostrukim otvorom na stražnjoj strani i još mnogo toga.

Specifikacije za Galaxy Note 9^{(Galaxy Note 9 Specifications)}

Battery	4,000 mAH
Battery Life (Hrs:Mins)	12:36
Colors	Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, Cloud Silver, Midnight Black
CPU	Snapdragon 845
Debut Price	$999 list (128GB), $1,249 list (512GB)
Display	6.4 inches Super AMOLED (2960 x 1440)
Front Camera	8 MP (f/1.7)
microSD	Up to 512GB
OS	Android 8.1 Oreo / Upgradeable to Android Pie
RAM	6GB or 8GB
Rear Camera	Dual 12 MP Cameras (f/1.5 and f/2.4)
Size	6.3 x 3 x 0.34 inches
Storage	128GB or 512GB
Weight	7.1 ounces

Oblikovati^(Design)

Fizička konstrukcija i izgled Notea 9^{(Note 9)} nisu baš novi^(new) . S 6,3 x 3,0 x 0,34 inča ( HWD ) i težinom od 7,1 unce, osim što je nešto veća i teža od Note 8 , najnovija novčanica izgleda vrlo poput svog prethodnika.

Također ima veliku sličnost s Galaxy S9 i Galaxy S9+ . Zapravo, ako ne trebate ili želite olovku, Galaxy S9 ili S9+ su oboje atraktivne, jeftinije alternative.

U svakom slučaju, osvrnimo se oko Galaxy Note 9 , počevši od njegovog vrlo atraktivnog, vrlo dobro građenog aluminijskog kućišta. Ovo je jedan telefon glatkog izgleda i osjećaja, s glatkim, čvrstim, blago zaobljenim rubovima i uglovima s gotovo neprimjetnim šavovima.

Ovisno o tome gdje ga kupujete, također ćete dobiti svoj izbor živih boja, uključujući ljubičastu lavandu^{(Lavender Purple)} i oceansko plavu^{(Ocean Blue)} . Ocean Blue dolazi sa žutom S olovkom^{(S Pen)} koja piše žutom bojom na zaslonu u modu za isključivanje zaslona^(Screen-Off) , ​​a model lavande dolazi s ljubičastom olovkom koja koristi ljubičastu digitalnu tintu – zanimljiv, nenametljiv dodir.

Ubrzo nakon prošlogodišnjeg izdanja, Samsung je najavio dostupnost novih verzija Cloud Silver i Midnight Black . Cloud Silver se prodaje isključivo putem Best Buy i Samsungove^(Samsung) vlastite web stranice, dok će se model Midnight Black prodavati kod svih trgovaca i operatera, koji uključuju: AT&T, Verizon , Sprint , T-Mobile i US Cellular .

Na desnom rubu nalazi se samo tipka Power/Sleep/AwakeNa desnom rubu ćete pronaći tipku za aktiviranje Samsungove značajke glasovne aktivacije, Bixby , koja je slična Siri iPhoneu i Windows Cortoni, te kontrole glasnoće, kao što je prikazano na donjoj slici. Kasnije ćemo pobliže pogledati Bixby i ovaj gumb.

Donji rub sadrži priključak za slušalice, mini-USB priključak za punjenje/podatak, otvor za resetiranje, rešetku stereo zvučnika i, naravno, pretinac za S Pen , kao što je prikazano ovdje…^{(S Pen)}

Ovaj dizajn pokazuje da Samsung ima dosta iskustva u tome da olovku učini nenametljivom i smješta je s puta (a S Pen se tamo puni).

Ovaj pristup je mnogo, puno glatkiji od Appleove iPad Pencil -a – nema se kamo sakriti. Kao što ćete vidjeti kada budem detaljnije govorio o S Pen olovci^{(S Pen)} niže, Noteova olovka je najvjerojatnije najnaprednija dostupna digitalna olovka.

Na stražnjoj strani Note 9 nalazi se kamera s dvostrukim otvorom blende i čitač otiska prsta, prikazan na donjoj slici. Tu je i kamera sprijeda, naravno. O kamerama se također detaljnije govori nešto kasnije.

Na gornjem rubu nalazi se pretinac za pohranu ladice u koju se nalaze i SIM kartica i microSD kartica za povećanje pohrane za čak 512 GB, ili, ako želite, možete koristiti ladicu za umetanje dvije SIM kartice, što zauzvrat omogućuje da dodijelite dva telefonska broja vašoj Bilješki 9 — recimo, možda, radni i osobni broj.

Ako kupite model od 512 GB, a zatim dodate microSD karticu od 512 GB, vaš Note 9 postaje uređaj od 1 TB, što je prvi u tehnologiji pametnih telefona. Samsung nudi SD karticu od 512 GB za oko 200 dolara, što je otprilike sadašnja cijena.

Međutim, između samog Note 9 od 512 GB i SD kartice od 512 GB, lako biste mogli potrošiti blizu 1500 dolara za svoj telefon, što je nedvojbeno puno novca.

Dobra vijest je da sam dok sam ovo pisao pronašao model od 512 GB na Amazonu^(Amazon) i drugdje za oko 200 USD s MSRP -om od 1250 USD (i verziju od 128 GB, koja također podržava microSD karticu od 512 GB, za oko 150 USD manje od cijene na listi.

Konačno, ne samo da je Note 9 dobro izrađen, već također ispunjava IP68 standard vodootporan i otporan na prašinu - sa ili bez S Pen olovke^{(S Pen)} ugrađene u njegov pretinac.

Samsung kaže da ga možete potopiti u vodu do pet stopa, što je mnogo dublje od vaše WC školjke. Tu je i mnoštvo sigurnosnih značajki, uključujući prethodno spomenuti čitač otiska prsta, prepoznavanje lica i šarenice, PIN , točkasti uzorak i druge.

Zasljepljujući zaslon^{(Dazzling Display)}

Od pametnih telefona, preko Galaxy tableta, preko računalnih monitora, do 90-inčnih UHD televizora^{(UHD TVs)} , nitko ne proizvodi bolje zaslone od Samsunga^(Samsung) , a Super AMOLED Infinity Display u ^{(Super AMOLED Infinity Display)}Note 9 razlučivosti 2.960 x 1.440 najbolji je u poslu.

Puno je svjetliji i ima oko trećinu veći omjer kontrasta od Note 8 , koji sam po sebi nije povučen. A Samsungovi zakrivljeni rubovi gotovo bez okvira nisu ništa drugo do, pa, fenomenalni.

Unatoč tome, razlučivost zaslona je ista kao na Note 8 i Galaxy S9+ . Ne samo da je ovo sjajna veličina za gledanje filmova u pokretu, već bez obzira na to gledate li ga iz krajnje desnog, lijevog, gornjeg ili donjeg kuta ili ravno, kvaliteta slike izgleda ista, bez primjetne degradacije.

Prema mom testiranju, zaslon Notea 9^{(Note 9)} reproducira 228% sRGB raspona boja (raspona), u usporedbi s 209% kod Notea 8^{(Note 8)} , 217 posto kod S9, a 135% kod iPhonea.

Osim specifikacija^(Specs) i mjerila na stranu, međutim, nakon godina ocjenjivanja zaslona tableta, prijenosnih računala i pametnih telefona, Note 9 je zasigurno najbolji zaslon pametnog telefona koji sam do sada vidio—a to uključuje impresivni Retina zaslon^{(Retina Display)} iPhonea X 2.436 x 1.125 . Dok su zasloni Galaxy S9 i S9+ slični, čak ni oni nisu tako spektakularni za gledanje kao na Note 9 .

S Pen: Stylus Plus

S Pen^{(S Pen)} samo postaje sve bolji. To je već neko vrijeme najbolja olovka za bilježenje bilješki, crtanje, odabir teksta i još mnogo toga, ali uz Note 9 , Samsung je dodao Bluetooth LE i gumb koji se može ponovno preslikati za daljinsko upravljanje kompatibilnim aplikacijama.

Prema zadanim postavkama, dugi pritisak na gumb otvara aplikaciju kamere, a kratki pritisci, ili klikovi, snimaju slike, što vam omogućuje snimanje selfija ili grupnih snimaka bez ugrađenog timera aplikacije kamere ili mahanjem rukom ispred kamere. objektiv za aktiviranje tajmera kamere pokrenutog neugodnom kretnjom.

Gumb S Pen^{(S Pen)} možete koristiti i za premotavanje slajdova u PowerPoint prezentacijama, pomicanje kroz slike u Galeriji^(Gallery) , reprodukciju, pauziranje i preskakanje na sljedeću pjesmu u Music Playeru^{(Music Player)} , prebacivanje između prednje i stražnje kamere i tako dalje.

Za sada, osim Googleovih^(Google) i Samsungovih^(Samsung) osnovnih aplikacija, postoji nedostatak aplikacija koje podržavaju S Pen , ali Samsung nudi komplet za razvoj softvera ( SDK ) kako bi pomogao programerima trećih strana u stvaranju aplikacija kompatibilnih sa S Pen , što bi trebalo pomoći u povećanju broj aplikacija spremnih za S Pen^{(S Pen-ready)} prije predugo.

Mogao bih još neko vrijeme pričati o tome što S Pen može učiniti, ali jedna od impresivnijih značajki je mogućnost uzimanja bilješki s ekrana. Kada uklonite olovku dok je zaslon isključen, Note 9 ulazi u sučelje za bilježenje na crnoj pozadini.

To vam omogućuje bilježenje bez otključavanja telefona i pokretanja određene aplikacije, čime je bilježenje brzo i jednostavno. Bilješke o isključenju zaslona spremaju se automatski.

Kao što je spomenuto, S Pen zahtijeva punjenje, koje traje samo oko 40 sekundi u njegovom pretincu. Tih 40 sekundi bi vam trebalo dati, prema mom testiranju, oko 40 minuta u stanju pripravnosti ili oko 220 klikova na gumb na daljinskom upravljaču.

Profesionalne kamere^{(Professional-Grade Cameras)}

Tijekom posljednjih nekoliko godina, kamere za pametne telefone napravile su velike korake, do te mjere da neke od njih snimaju fotografije i videozapise u rangu s profesionalnim fotografskim kamerama niže klase.

Kao i većina današnjih pametnih telefona, Note 9 dolazi s prednjom kamerom prvenstveno za snimanje selfija, no stražnja je kamera s dvostrukim otvorom blende i širokokutnim telefoto objektivima. Naslijeđene od Galaxy S9+ , kamere Note 9 podržane su naprednom, vrlo učinkovitom aplikacijom za kameru.^{(Note 9)}

Prednja kamera Note 9 od 8 MP (megapiksela) uključuje autofokus (prvi za marku ^{(Note 9)}Note ), kao i bezbroj opcija načina rada: Super Slow Motion digitalni video pri 960 sličica u sekundi pri 720p rezoluciji, AR naljepnice, široka grupa selfije i još mnogo toga – što ga čini jednom od aplikacija za kameru s najbogatijim značajkama, točka. Unatoč tome, jednostavan je za korištenje.

Ali stražnja kamera pokazuje snagu aplikacije za kameru. Dvostruki objektivi od 12 MP koriste tehnologiju s promjenjivim otvorom blende za automatsko prebacivanje s otvora blende f/1,5 za uvjete slabog osvjetljenja na otvor f/2,4 za fotografiranje s normalnim osvjetljenjem.

Jedan od brojnih trikova aplikacije za kameru je ugrađena umjetna inteligencija (AI) koja automatski konfigurira postavke ovisno o vašem subjektu. Note 9 prepoznaje 20 scena, uključujući plaže, predmete s pozadinskim osvjetljenjem, hranu, snijeg i zalaske sunca.

Zatim prilagođava svjetlinu, kontrast, zasićenost, balans bijele i niz drugih postavki koje se obično konfiguriraju ručno u Pro načinu aplikacije, s isključenim Scene Optimizer . Moje iskustvo s Scene Optimizer je da većinu vremena radi dobro, posebno u usporedbi s fotografijama koje sam snimio s isključenom značajkom.

Ipak, Scene Optimizer^{(Scene Optimizer)} nije savršen; par mojih fotografija, posebno nekoliko snimaka hrane, ispalo je prezasićeno i bez detalja, ali prelazak na Pro način je to popravio.

Jedna od impresivnijih značajki je detekcija nedostataka^{(Flaw Detection)} , koja vam govori kada vaša fotografija nije snimljena kako želite. Otkrivaju se nedostaci poput zamućenja, crvenih očiju, zamrljane leće, zatvorenih očiju, a zatim vas aplikacija upozorava i nudi drugu priliku, kao što je prikazano ovdje...

Istina je da sam vjerojatno jedan od najgorih svjetskih fotografa; Imam problema sa snimanjem fotografija IT hardvera u savršenom osvjetljenju i bez pozadine za ove recenzije.

Trebam svu pomoć koju mogu dobiti, kako bi mi dualne leće, umjetna inteligencija i detekcija nedostataka^{(Flaw Detection)} Note 9 bili pravi izbor. Sada kada mi sve fotografije nisu bezveze, snimam puno više slika nego prije. Također je vrijedno napomenuti da su potrebni i odlični 4K videozapisi.

Bixby

Ovdje neću puno govoriti o Bixby , Samsungovoj aplikaciji za glasovnu aktivaciju, prvenstveno zato što je oduvijek bila inferiorna aplikacija u odnosu na konkurente i nikome se ne sviđa. Verzija Oreo koja dolazi na Note 9 nije puno poboljšanje. Još uvijek pogrešno tumači mnogo riječi i fraza koje Siri , Cortana i Amazonova Alexa ne rade.

I, da, gumb Bixby — za one od nas koji ne žele koristiti Bixby —^(Bixby—is) još uvijek je na nezgodnom mjestu i ne možete ga preslikati na drugu aplikaciju ili funkciju. Međutim, dok sam završavao ovu recenziju, Android Pie ( Android 9 ) postao je dostupan za Note 9 i instalirao sam ga.

Samsung tvrdi da Android 9 popravlja Bixby i da sada parira svojim kolegama. Iskreno^(Frankly) , nisam imao dovoljno vremena da ga testiram prije nego što sam prijavio ovu priču, ali mogu vam reći da, da, sada možete ponovno mapirati gumb Bixby na gotovo svaku drugu aplikaciju ili funkciju.

Što se tiče samog Android Piea^{(Android Pie)} , nisam proveo puno vremena s njim. Međutim, to je osakatilo pokretač treće strane koji sam koristio, kao i nekoliko drugih aplikacija koje redovito koristim, kao što je Samsungov File Manager . Čini se kao da sam za sat ili dva ponovnog podešavanja početnog zaslona i drugih područja kako bih ga vratio onako kako želim.

Zvjezdana izvedba^{(Stellar Performance)}

Iako sam proveo nekoliko mjerila, uključujući testove ukupne performanse s Geekbench 4 i grafičko umijeće s 3DMark Slingshot Extreme, neću trošiti puno vremena na detaljno raspravljanje o rezultatima testa—osim da kažem da je Note 9 malo zaostao za iPhoneom X i OnePlus 6 , malo ispred Galaxy S9+ , te znatno ispred Note 8 i Google Pixel 2XL.

Dovoljno je reći da Note 9 nije baš tako brz kao iPhone i superbrzi OnePlus 6 . Što se tiče mog iskustva korištenja telefona u proteklih nekoliko tjedana, do sada nisam čekao da se otvori nijedna aplikacija; prebacivanje između aplikacija, bez obzira koliko ih imam otvorenih, glatko je kao rezanje toplog maslaca.

Ne igram puno igrica, ali za vrijeme dok sam igrao 3D igru ​​Fortnite koja opterećuje hardver (nedostupnu za Android 9 osim u beta verziji dok sam ovo napisao), nisam imao zastoja, ekran je bio prekrasan i, dok telefon se malo zagrijao, ne pretjerano.

Sve to, i pokrenuo sam nedavni film Zvjezdanih staza^{(Star Trek)} na petlji dok se baterija nije ispraznila na 12 sati i 36 minuta. Zašto tako brza, glatka, dugotrajna izvedba? Pa, već smo govorili o Infinity Displayu^{(Infinity Display)} , koji objašnjava prekrasnu grafiku.

Ispod^(Below) je popis ostalih performansi hardvera Note 9 i što on radi. Moja testna jedinica bila je verzija od 128 GB sa 6 GB RAM-a^(RAM) . (Pretpostavimo da model od 8 GB RAM-a^(RAM) radi još malo bolje u nekim scenarijima.)

• Snapdragon 835 procesor:^{(Snapdragon 835 Processor: )} Iako nije tako brz kao Appleov A11 Bionic CPU ili OnePlus 6 s 8 GB RAM-a^(RAM) , CPU u Note 9 nipošto nije pokvaren. Ali, kao što sam rekao, nemam pritužbi na performanse ovog CPU -a (i njegovog ugrađenog GPU -a ). Imajte na umu da je ovo isti CPU koji je u S9+ . Također imajte na umu da u Velikoj Britaniji i na nekoliko drugih lokacija izvan SAD-a Note 9 dolazi sa Samsung Exynos 9810 , koji je malo brži od Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 .
• 6 GB RAM-a^{(6GB RAM)} : Očito, u razumnim granicama, što više memorije računalni uređaj ima, to bolje. Tijekom mojih testova, 6 GB mi se činilo više nego dovoljnim, barem za način na koji koristim pametni telefon. I, kao što je spomenuto, pokrenuo je Fortnite bez oklijevanja.
• CPU s vodenim hlađenjem:^{(Water Cooled CPU: )} Note 9^{(Note 9)} zaštićen je od pregrijavanja sustavom hlađenja vodenim ugljikom "klase prijenosnih računala". Samsung tvrdi da to štiti telefon od pregrijavanja i omogućuje mu da radi na svom vrhuncu tijekom dužih razdoblja. Mogu samo reći da mi nikad nije prevrulo, niti sam primijetila da se usporava kako bi nadoknadila preveliku toplinu.
• Baterija od 4.000 mAh:^{(4,000mAh Battery:)} Sa 700 mAh većom od Note 8 i 500 mAH većom od S9+, baterija Note 9 od 4.000 miliamper sati dosad je najveća u poslu. Opet^(Again) , trajalo je više od 12,5 sati tijekom mojih testova pražnjenja baterije.

Galaxy Note 9 u odnosu na konkurente^{(Galaxy Note 9 versus Competitors)}

	SG Note 9	SG S9 Plus	iPhone X	OnePlus 6
Display size, resolution	6.4-inch Super AMOLED; 2,960×1,440 pixels	6.2-inch; 2,960×1,440 pixels	5.8-inch; 2,436×1,125 pixels	6.28-inch OLED; 2,280×1,080 pixels
Pixel density	516ppi	529ppi	458 ppi	402ppi
Dimensions (Inches)	6.4x3x0.35 in	6.2×2.9×0.33 in	5.7×2.8×0.30 in	6.1×0.3×0.31 in
Weight	7.1 oz	6.7 oz	6.1 oz	6.2 oz
Mobile software	Android 8.1 Oreo, upgradeable to Android 9 Pie	Android 8.0 Oreo, upgradeable to Android 9 Pie	iOS 11	Android 8.1 Oreo, upgradeable to Android 9 Pie
Camera	Dual 12MP (wide), 12MP (telephoto)	Dual 12MP	Dual 12MP	16MPstandard, 20MPtelephoto
Front-facing camera	8MP	8MP	7MP	16MP
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor (2.8GHz + 1.7GHz), or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.7 GHz + 1.7 GHz)	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor (2.8GHz + 1.7GHz), or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.7 GHz + 1.7 GHz)	Apple A11 Bionic	2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Storage	128GB, 512GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB	64GB, 256GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB
RAM	6GB, 8GB	6GB	3GB	6GB, 8GB
Expandable storage	512GB	400GB	None	None
Battery	4,000mAh	3,500mAh	2716mAH	3,300mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Back	Back	None	Back
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	Lightning	USB-C
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Special features	Water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; S Pen with Bluetooth; Iris and facial scanning	Dual-aperture camera, water-resistant (IP68); wireless charging; iris scanning	Water resistant (IP67); wireless charging; Face ID 3D unlock	Portrait mode, dual-SIM, Dash Charging
Price MSRP (USD)	$1,000 (128GB), $1,250 (512GB)	Varies: $840-$930 (64GB)	$999 (64GB), $1,149 (256GB)	$529 (64GB), $579 (128GB), $629 (256GB)

Više od lijepog lica^{(More than a Pretty Face)}

Čitao sam svaku recenziju Note 9 o kupovnoj cijeni od 1000 dolara, ali ako budete kupovali, naći ćete ga za mnogo manje. eBay, naime, ima neke nove ponude u neotvorenim kutijama za čak 700 dolara.

Doduše, to je još uvijek puno novca, ali ako koristite svoj pametni telefon koliko i ja, isplati se. Zaslon je dovoljno velik da moje stare oči mogu istraživati, a S Pen je savršen za isticanje odlomaka u Microsoft OneNoteu^{(Microsoft OneNote)} ili bilo gdje. Kad ga uparim s tipkovnicom, nije baš kao da koristim računalo, ali više je nego dovoljno za tipkanje izvan kuće.

Osim ako niste zaključani na iPhone X ili jednostavno morate imati najbrži Android dostupan, ne mogu smisliti razlog da ne kupite ovaj telefon, osim ako, naravno, ne želite se družiti s onim što sada imate do Galaxy Note 10 izlazi kasnije ove godine.

Ali pretpostavljam da će to biti na popisu za nešto više od 1K...

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Review

More and more users are in to big phones with big beautiful high-resolution diѕplays, such as Google’s Pixel, OnePluѕ 6, or Apple’s іPhone X, but Samѕung’s flagship Note brand (nоw uр to version 9) has led the way in big and beautiful since the Note 1 several yeаrs ago.

It’s called the “Note,” of course, because of its built-in and well-implemented S Pen stylus, which just keeps getting better with each new iteration of the Note smartphone, or phablet. Among other things, the latest S Pen is indeed impressive, as is the Note 9 itself.

Pros:

• Beautiful high-res Super AMOLED 6.4-inch display
• S Pen matures to include Bluetooth remote control
• Excellent cameras with built-in AI
• Huge storage allotment
• DeX mode without the optional dock (all you need is an HDMI cable and adaptor)
• Big battery, long life
• Fast
• Impressive build quality
• Terrific stereo sound

Cons:

• Costly
• Bixby still sucks
• Fingerprint reader too close to the camera

Verdict:

Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note 9 may cost as much as the iPhone X, but it’s worth it in many ways, including a gorgeous display, long battery life, Note’s famous S Pen, dual-aperture smart camera on the back, and much more.

Galaxy Note 9 Specifications

Battery	4,000 mAH
Battery Life (Hrs:Mins)	12:36
Colors	Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, Cloud Silver, Midnight Black
CPU	Snapdragon 845
Debut Price	$999 list (128GB), $1,249 list (512GB)
Display	6.4 inches Super AMOLED (2960 x 1440)
Front Camera	8 MP (f/1.7)
microSD	Up to 512GB
OS	Android 8.1 Oreo / Upgradeable to Android Pie
RAM	6GB or 8GB
Rear Camera	Dual 12 MP Cameras (f/1.5 and f/2.4)
Size	6.3 x 3 x 0.34 inches
Storage	128GB or 512GB
Weight	7.1 ounces

Design

The Note 9’s physical build and appearance aren’t really new. At 6.3 by 3.0 by 0.34 inches (HWD) and weighing 7.1 ounces, aside from being ever so slightly larger and heavier than the Note 8, the latest note looks very much like its predecessor.

It also bares a strong resemblance to the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. In fact, if you don’t need or want the stylus, the Galaxy S9 or S9+ are both attractive, less-expensive alternatives.

In any case, let’s take a look around the Galaxy Note 9, starting with its highly attractive, very well-built aluminum chassis. This is one slick-looking and -feeling phone, with smooth, tight, slightly rounded edges and corners with nearly imperceptible seams.

Depending on where you buy it, you also get your choice of vibrant colors, including Lavender Purple and Ocean Blue. The Ocean Blue comes with a yellow S Pen, which writes in yellow on the display in Screen-Off memo mode, and the lavender model comes with a purple pen that uses purple digital ink—an interesting, understated touch.

Shortly after last year’s release, Samsung announced the availability of new Cloud Silver and Midnight Black versions. Cloud Silver is sold solely through Best Buy and Samsung’s own website, while the Midnight Black model will be sold at all retailers and carriers, which include: AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, and US Cellular.

On the right edge resides only the Power/Sleep/Awake button. On the right edge you’ll find the button for activating Samsung’s voice activation feature, Bixby, which is similar to the iPhone’s Siri and Windows’ Cortona, and the volume controls, as shown in the image below. We’ll take a closer look a Bixby and this button later.

The bottom edge holds the headphones jack, the mini-USB charging/data connection port, a reset pinhole, the stereo speakers grill and, of course, the S Pen compartment, as shown here…

This design demonstrates that Samsung has plenty of experience with making the stylus unobtrusive and placing it out of the way (and the S Pen recharges itself in there).

This approach is much, much slicker than Apple’s iPad Pencil— it has nowhere to hide. As you’ll see when I talk more in-depth about the S Pen further down, the Note’s stylus is most likely the most advanced digital pen available.

The back of the Note 9 holds its dual-aperture camera and the fingerprint reader, shown in the image below. There’s also a camera on the front, of course. The cameras are discussed in depth a little later, too.

The top edge hosts a compartment for storing a tray that holds both the SIM card and a microSD card for increasing storage by as much as 512GB, or, if you prefer, you can use the tray to insert two SIM cards, which in turn allows you to assign two phone numbers to your Note 9—say, perhaps, a work number and a personal number.

If you buy the 512GB model and then add a 512GB microSD card, your Note 9 becomes a 1TB device, which is a first in smartphone technology. Samsung offers a 512GB SD card for about $200, which is about the going rate.

However, between the 512GB Note 9 itself and the 512GB SD card, you could easily spend close to $1,500 for your phone, which is undoubtedly a lot of money.

The good news is that as I wrote this, I found the 512GB model at Amazon and elsewhere for about $200 off the MSRP of $1,250 (and the 128GB version, which also supports the 512GB microSD card, for about $150 less than its list price.

Finally, not only is the Note 9 well built, but it also meets the IP68 waterproof and dust-proof standard—with or without the S Pen embedded in its compartment.

Samsung says you can dunk it in up to five feet of water, which is much deeper than your toilet bowl. There’s also a wealth of security features, including the aforementioned fingerprint reader, facial and iris recognition, PIN, dot pattern, and others.

Dazzling Display

From smartphones, to Galaxy tablets, to computer monitors, to 90-inch UHD TVs, nobody makes better screens than Samsung, and the Note 9’s 2,960 by 1,440 resolution Super AMOLED Infinity Display is the best in the business.

It’s much brighter and has about a third more contrast ratio than the Note 8, which is no slouch itself. And Samsung’s near-bezel-less curved edges are nothing short of, well, awesome.

Even so, the screen resolution is the same as on the Note 8 and Galaxy S9+. Not only is this a great size for watching movies on the go, but whether you’re looking at it from an extreme right, left, top, or bottom angles or straight on, the picture quality looks the same, with no noticeable degradation.

According to my testing, the Note 9’s screen reproduces 228% of the sRGB color gamut (range), compared to the Note 8’s 209%, the S9’s 217 percent, and the iPhone’s 135%.

Specs and benchmarks aside, though, after years of evaluating tablet, laptop, and smartphone screens, the Note 9’s is certainly the best smartphone screen I’ve seen so far—and that includes the iPhone X’s impressive 2,436 by 1,125 Retina Display. While the Galaxy S9 and S9+ displays are similar, even they are not as spectacular to look at as is the Note 9’s.

S Pen: Stylus Plus

The S Pen just keeps getting better. It has been the best stylus around for jotting notes, drawing, selecting text, and more, for some time now, but with the Note 9, Samsung has added Bluetooth LE and a remappable button for controlling compatible apps remotely.

By default, a long press of the button opens the camera app, and short presses, or clicks, snap pictures, allowing you to take selfies or group shots without the camera app’s built-in timer or by waving your hand in front of the camera lens to activate the awkward gesture-initiated camera timer.

You can also use the S Pen button to advance slides in PowerPoint presentations, scroll through pictures in Gallery, play, pause, and skip to the next track in Music Player, toggle between the front and rear cameras, and so on.

So far, aside from Google and Samsung core apps, there’s a shortage of apps that support S Pen, but Samsung offers a software development kit (SDK) to aid third-party developers in creating S Pen-compatible apps, which should help increase the number of S Pen-ready apps before too long.

I could go on for a while about what S Pen can do, but one of the more impressive features is the ability to take screen-off memos. When you remove the stylus while the display is turned off, Note 9 goes in to a note-taking interface against a black background.

This allows you to take notes without unlocking the phone and launching a specific app, thereby making note taking quick and easy. Screen-off memos are saved automatically.

As mentioned, the S Pen does require charging, which takes only about 40 seconds in its compartment. That 40 seconds should give you, according to my testing, about 40 minutes of standby time or about 220 clicks of the remote-control button.

Professional-Grade Cameras

Over the past few years, smartphone cameras have made great strides, to the extent that some of them shoot photos and videos on-par with lower-end professional photographer cameras.

Like most of today’s smartphones, the Note 9 comes with a front camera primarily for taking selfies, but the rear shooter is a dual-aperture camera with wide-angle telephoto lenses. Inherited from the Galaxy S9+, the Note 9’s cameras are supported by an advanced, highly effective camera app.

The Note 9’s 8MP (megapixel) front-facing camera includes autofocus (a first for the Note brand), as well as countless mode options: Super Slow Motion digital video at 960 frames per second at 720p resolution, AR stickers, wide group selfies, and much more—making it one of the most feature-rich smartphone camera apps, period. Even so, it’s easy to use.

But it’s the rear camera that shows off the camera app’s prowess. The dual 12MP lenses use variable-aperture tech to switch automatically from an f/1.5 aperture for low-light conditions to an f/2.4 opening for normal lighting photography.

One of the camera app’s many tricks is a built-in artificial intelligence (AI) that automatically configures settings depending on your subject. The Note 9 recognizes 20 scenes, including beaches, backlit subjects, food, snow, and sunsets.

It then adjusts the brightness, contrast, saturation, white balance and a slew of other settings normally configured manually in the app’s Pro mode, with Scene Optimizer turned off. My experience with Scene Optimizer is that it works well most of the time, especially compared to the photos I shot with the feature shut off.

Scene Optimizer isn’t perfect, though; a couple of my photos, especially a few shots of food, came out a bit over saturated and lacking some detail, but switching to Pro mode fixed that.

One of the more impressive features is Flaw Detection, which tells you when your photo didn’t shoot as desired. Flaws like blurriness, red-eye, a smudged lens, closed eyes, are detected, and then the app warns you and offers a second chance, as shown here…

The truth is, I’m probably one of the world’s worst photographers; I have trouble shooting stills of IT hardware in perfect lighting and no background for these reviews.

I need all the help I can get, making the Note 9’s dual lenses, AI, and Flaw Detection just right for me. Now that not all my photos suck, I find myself taking a lot more pictures than before. It’s also worth noting that it takes great 4K videos, too.

Bixby

I’m not going to say a lot about Bixby, Samsung’s voice-activation app, here, primarily because it has always been an inferior app to its competitors, and nobody likes it. The Oreo version that comes on the Note 9 isn’t much of an improvement. It still misinterprets a lot of words and phrases that Siri, Cortana, and Amazon’s Alexa do not.

And, yes, the Bixby button—for those of us who don’t want to use Bixby—is still in an inconvenient place and you can’t remap it to another app or function. However, as I was finishing this review, Android Pie (Android 9) became available for the Note 9 and I installed it.

Samsung claims that Android 9 fixes Bixby and now it rivals its peers. Frankly, I didn’t have enough time to test it before filing this story, but I can tell you that, yes, you can now remap the Bixby button to almost any other app or function.

As for Android Pie itself, I haven’t spent much time with it. It did, however, cripple the third-party launcher I was using, as well as a couple other apps I use regularly, such as Samsung’s File Manager. It looks like I’m in for an hour or two of re-tweaking my home screen and other areas to get it back the way I want it, though.

Stellar Performance

Though I did run a few benchmarks, including overall performance tests with Geekbench 4 and graphics prowess with 3DMark Slingshot Extreme, I’m not going to spend much time discussing test results in detail—except to say that the Note 9 fell slightly behind the iPhone X and OnePlus 6, slightly ahead of the Galaxy S9+, and well ahead of the Note 8 and Google Pixel 2XL.

Suffice it to say that the Note 9 isn’t quite as fast as the iPhone and the super-fast OnePlus 6. As for my experience using the phone over the past few weeks, so far, I haven’t waited for any app to open; switching between apps, no matter how many I have open, is as smooth as cutting warm butter.

I don’t play a lot of games, but during the time I played the hardware-taxing 3D game Fortnite (unavailable for Android 9 except in beta as I wrote this), I experienced no lags, the screen was beautiful, and, while the phone did heat up some, not excessively so.

All that, and I ran a recent Star Trek movie on a loop until the battery conked out for 12 hours and 36 minutes. Why such fast, smooth, long-lasting performance? Well, we’ve already talked about the Infinity Display, which explains the gorgeous graphics.

Below is a list of the Note 9’s other performance hardware and what it does. My test unit was the 128GB version with 6GB of RAM. (Assume that the 8GB RAM model runs a little better still in some scenarios.)

• Snapdragon 835 Processor: While not as fast as Apple’s A11 Bionic CPU or the OnePlus 6 with 8GB of RAM, the CPU in the Note 9 is by no means a slouch. But, as I’ve said, I have no complaints about this CPU’s (and its built-in GPU) performance. Note that this is the same CPU that’s in the S9+. Note also that in the UK and several other non-U.S. locations the Note 9 comes with the Samsung Exynos 9810, which is a little faster than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835.
• 6GB RAM: Obviously, within reason, the more memory a computing device has the better. During my tests, 6GB seemed more than adequate, at least for the way I use a smartphone. And, as mentioned, it ran Fortnite without hesitation.
• Water Cooled CPU: The Note 9 is protected against overheating with a “notebook-class” water carbon cooling system. Samsung claims that this protects the phone against overheating and allows it to run at its peak over longer periods. All I can say is that it never got too hot for me, nor did I notice it slowing down to compensate for excessive heat.
• 4,000mAh Battery: At 700mAH bigger than the Note 8 and 500mAH bigger than the S9+, the Note 9’s 4,000 milliampere hours battery is to date the biggest in the business. Again, it lasted over 12.5 hours during my battery drain tests.

Galaxy Note 9 versus Competitors

	SG Note 9	SG S9 Plus	iPhone X	OnePlus 6
Display size, resolution	6.4-inch Super AMOLED; 2,960×1,440 pixels	6.2-inch; 2,960×1,440 pixels	5.8-inch; 2,436×1,125 pixels	6.28-inch OLED; 2,280×1,080 pixels
Pixel density	516ppi	529ppi	458 ppi	402ppi
Dimensions (Inches)	6.4x3x0.35 in	6.2×2.9×0.33 in	5.7×2.8×0.30 in	6.1×0.3×0.31 in
Weight	7.1 oz	6.7 oz	6.1 oz	6.2 oz
Mobile software	Android 8.1 Oreo, upgradeable to Android 9 Pie	Android 8.0 Oreo, upgradeable to Android 9 Pie	iOS 11	Android 8.1 Oreo, upgradeable to Android 9 Pie
Camera	Dual 12MP (wide), 12MP (telephoto)	Dual 12MP	Dual 12MP	16MPstandard, 20MPtelephoto
Front-facing camera	8MP	8MP	7MP	16MP
Video capture	4K	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor (2.8GHz + 1.7GHz), or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.7 GHz + 1.7 GHz)	Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor (2.8GHz + 1.7GHz), or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.7 GHz + 1.7 GHz)	Apple A11 Bionic	2.8GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 845
Storage	128GB, 512GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB	64GB, 256GB	64GB, 128GB, 256GB
RAM	6GB, 8GB	6GB	3GB	6GB, 8GB
Expandable storage	512GB	400GB	None	None
Battery	4,000mAh	3,500mAh	2716mAH	3,300mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Back	Back	None	Back
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	Lightning	USB-C
Headphone jack	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Special features	Water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; S Pen with Bluetooth; Iris and facial scanning	Dual-aperture camera, water-resistant (IP68); wireless charging; iris scanning	Water resistant (IP67); wireless charging; Face ID 3D unlock	Portrait mode, dual-SIM, Dash Charging
Price MSRP (USD)	$1,000 (128GB), $1,250 (512GB)	Varies: $840-$930 (64GB)	$999 (64GB), $1,149 (256GB)	$529 (64GB), $579 (128GB), $629 (256GB)

More than a Pretty Face

Every review of the Note 9 I’ve read rants about the $1,000 purchase price, but if you shop around, you’ll find it for much less. eBay, in fact, has some new-unopened-box offers for as low as $700.

Granted, that’s still a lot of money, but if you use your smartphone as much as I do, it’s well worth it. The screen is big enough for my aging eyes to do research, and the S Pen is perfect for highlighting passages in Microsoft OneNote or wherever. When I pair it with a keyboard, well, it’s not quite like using a PC, but more than adequate for typing away from home.

Unless you’re locked in to the iPhone X, or simply must have the fastest Android available, I can’t think of a reason not to buy this phone, unless, of course, you want to hang out with what you have now until the Galaxy Note 10 comes out later this year.

But I’m guessing that it will list for a bit more than 1K…

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