The Galaxy Note family has a special place among other Samsung smartphones. After all, it is the models of this line that have always set the tradition of quality and technical capabilities. In each new smartphone in the series, the South Korean brand introduced new technologies, experimented with form and content, so that each new product necessarily became the best in some parameter.
The next flagship Samsung Galaxy Note 9, sales of which started in Russia in the summer of 2018, stands out somewhat against the background of its predecessors. There is no clear emphasis on a specific technology. Samsung did it easier - it combined all its most advanced developments and innovations in one model, raising the bar for technical performance to a truly unattainable height.
In our review, we'll take a look at the key specs of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and compare them to previous top-of-the-line flagships of the brand to find out why it's called the perfect smartphone.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 package contents
The top flagship and its owner must be fully equipped. Therefore, the manufacturer did not skimp on the contents of the smartphone's packaging. In addition to the gadget, in a stylish cardboard box we find:
- stylus S-Pen;
- instructions for the smartphone;
- a clip for the SIM card tray;
- USB-USB Type-C cable;
- USB-USB Type-C adapter;
- microUSB-USB Type-C adapter;
- a headset with two pairs of ear pads.
The care for the user is immediately visible - he does not have to buy additional small accessories, everything is already assembled in one box.
Design and ergonomics
Samsung's flagship glass and aluminum case is available in three colors: copper, black and indigo. At the same time, each stylus color has its own stylus color: yellow for indigo, bronze for copper and black for a black case.
The appearance of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 strongly resembles the appearance of the February flagship Galaxy S9. And such a decision is quite justified - why change something that already looks excellent.
Perhaps the most noticeable design difference is the location of the main cameras and the fingerprint scanner. The photomodules were placed horizontally and surrounded by a small frame, a scanner is located just below. As a result, it became more convenient to unlock the screen blindly, since the finger instantly finds the desired module, almost without touching the camera.
The form factor of the smartphone is a rectangular candy bar with slightly rounded corners. Yes, the ergonomics have become a little worse than that of the same streamlined Samsung Galaxy S8. But the weighty Galaxy Note 9 with an impressive dimensions of 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm and a weight of 201 g is more secure in the hand, while the S8 often complained that it was too slippery.
At the ends, the buttons for volume control, power on and call the Bixby voice assistant are habitually located. It's nice that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, being a real smartphone of the 21st century, remembers the classics. Despite the concerns of users, there is still a good old 3.5-mm headphone jack, and the screen has done without a fashionable, but still a little annoying "bangs".
Top-end gadget and top-end protection. The display is protected by durable Gorilla Glass 5, and the smartphone itself is assembled according to the IP68 standard - Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is not afraid of dust and diving to a depth of 1 meter for at least half an hour.
Picture and sound
The flagship Samsung Galaxy Note 9 received the largest display among its predecessors. With a 6.4-inch screen diagonal, a 2960 x 1440 pixel resolution and an 18.5: 9 aspect ratio, it delivers an extremely high 516 ppi image density and excellent viewing angles. Of course, the Galaxy S9's 529 ppi record is not broken, but the difference is not at all noticeable, especially since the S9's display was two tenths of an inch smaller.
Each description of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 regarding image quality is accompanied by a unanimous verdict - you will not find a clearer, juicy and colorful picture on any modern smartphone. The proprietary Super AMOLED technology allows you to display ideal, accurate and contrasting colors even under directional lighting, including by automatically adjusting the brightness. Moreover, such a screen consumes significantly less power than common IPS-displays.
Another distinctive feature of the Galaxy Note 9 display is its versatility. With one click, you can change the screen resolution to HD +, FHD + or WQHD +, as well as switch the settings to game mode or to watch videos.
The sound quality of the Galaxy Note 9 is also great. The smartphone is equipped with three noise-canceling microphones, and two speakers at the top and bottom provide clear stereo sound without the slightest interference.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 performance and software
The smartphone received the most powerful 8-core Samsung Exynos 9810 chipset at 2.9 GHz with 6 GB of RAM. With such characteristics, the gadget has truly endless possibilities.
The chipset enables machine learning based software. It is due to this technology that the face recognition function works. The smart sensor is complemented by infrared illumination that reads the iris of the eye, providing better protection for user data. And the more often you use face unlock, the faster it works.
The Exynos 9810 includes a third generation processor with optimized cache memory. This provides 40% more processing power than the Galaxy S9. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 does an excellent job of running heavy applications at the same time.
The latest ARM Mali-G72 GPU delivers more realistic graphics than its predecessor while consuming less power. The video chip with the real-time optimization function allows the smartphone to literally adjust to any game. Therefore, the highest quality graphics are provided both in conventional 3D games and in virtual reality.
You are unlikely to fill up the amount of internal storage quickly - after all, there is 128 GB of memory. However, if this is not enough and you decide to download several filmographies in HD quality, you can increase the capacity of your smartphone up to 512 GB using a memory card.
The synthetic tests of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 made for review are quite unambiguous - the smartphone fits on both blades of the main competitors in the sector of flagship Android smartphones.
CPU performance test:
Game performance test:
Screen brightness test:
Software
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 runs Samsung Experience 9.5 proprietary shell based on Android 8.1 Oreo. It contains a basic set of system utilities for customizing and personalizing your smartphone, as well as several applications designed specifically for the S Pen, such as the PENUP coloring book.
The key feature of this firmware is the redesigned and improved Knox encryption system, which provides an increased level of protection for user data.
Features of the S-Pen
One of the main features of the smartphone, which is noted in every review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, is the reimagined S-Pen stylus located at the bottom of the smartphone. It now supports Bluetooth connectivity, which turns it into a remote control such as a camera shutter.
The stylus is very convenient for drawing, flipping through slides in a PowerPoint presentation, scrolling through photos in the gallery and controlling the playback of multimedia files. In addition, the stylus is capable of interacting with third-party application interfaces.
The S-Pen got its own built-in battery, which lasts about half an hour. The stylus is charged directly into the smartphone in just 40 seconds. By the way, the smartphone has a special function that prevents the loss of the stylus. If the S-Pen is not in the smartphone slot for a long time, a notification appears on the screen.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 cameras
Both cameras on the Galaxy Note 9 came from the predecessor S9. The main photomodule is a dual 12-megapixel camera, while the first lens has a constant aperture of f / 2.4, and the other is a wide-angle lens with an aperture variable from f / 1.5 to f / 2.4. The front camera has a resolution of 8 MP and an aperture of f / 1.7. On-site and optical stabilization and zoom functions.
However, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9's camera software is clearly more sophisticated than the S9's. This is expressed in additional shooting functions. The Note 9 photo module automatically recognizes the elements in the photo, optimizing settings to capture as much detail as possible. Moreover, the system warns you about possible problems during shooting, for example, if the lens is dirty, the image lacks focus, or someone blinked in the frame.
Camera Pro-mode launches manual settings for aperture and ISO and allows detailed elaboration of each photo. The front camera has received a fashionable augmented reality add-on. You can shoot a funny video with an animoji overlay and send it to your friends in a private message.
In addition, the smartphone can shoot in 4K format at speeds up to 60 fps, and also records videos in Slow-Motion and Super-Slo-Mo modes.
Battery life
When the Samsung Galaxy S9 hit the market in February 2018, all industry publications praised its powerful 3,000mAh battery. However, the novelty is actively striving for leadership in its autonomy.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9's non-removable 4000 mAh battery with QuickCharge easily outshines its siblings. When playing video in FHD + resolution, the smartphone holds a charge for almost 20 hours. Active use of the Internet, games, working with the application and listening to music "eat up" only 75% of the battery capacity in a day. So with moderate use, the Samsung Galaxy S9 will work quietly for at least two days.
On the diagram below, you can see the test result in terms of battery life in minutes for the review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Without further comment, it is clear how much the smartphone is ahead of its closest competitors, including the Huawei P20 Pro and Apple iPhone X:
Verdict
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the absolute leader among the major league smartphones. Even in 2018, when a seemingly sophisticated user is difficult to surprise with the technical characteristics of a smartphone, the Galaxy Note 9 is capable of it. It is difficult to find an alternative to it, and is it worth it? The gadget does an excellent job with its functions and really sets the direction of development for the next generations of mobile devices.
