INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Samsung can take credit for sparking an interest in big phones
The original Galaxy Note (Review) with its 5.3-inch screen was met with scepticism and a bit of ridicule at first, but by today's standards,
it would seem almost dainty
The trouble for Samsung is that with nearly all phones (including its own) pushing the limits of what a pocket can hold, what sets the
Galaxy Note line apartWith nearly identical hardware and software as the Galaxy S series, the new Galaxy Note 9 doesn't even serve as a
half-yearly refresh, like so many other companies push out
The answer, then, is the S Pen, which Samsung is now leaning heavily on
Over the years, it has become slimmer and more sensitive, and now it has gained a whole new set of functions.We're curious to see whether
there's anything else to this phone that we haven't seen before, and whether the S Pen really elevates Android to a place that none of
Samsung's competitors can reach
Read on. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 designSamsung is one of the few companies resisting the industry's current obsession with notched screens,
which might come as a relief to some people
It is a little surprising, considering that Samsung was one of the first companies to kick off last year's shift towards tall screens with
It even went as far as to come up with the name Infinity Display to boast of its screens' curved edges and narrow sides
While the overall look of this phone is still slick, it isn't anywhere near cutting-edge anymore.The Galaxy Note 9 is a really big phone,
and despite Samsung's best efforts, it's very unwieldy
It's more squared-off at the corners than its Galaxy S siblings
Thankfully, the glass back is not slippery at all, because you'll have to keep shifting your grip on it to reach all corners of the screen,
even when using both hands
It weighs 201g and you'll definitely feel it, whether you're watching a video, typing a message, or just carrying the phone around in a
pocket.The front and rear are glass, and the frame is aluminium
This phone feels incredibly well crafted, and the materials seem to flow into each other perfectly
The cameras on the rear protrude by less than a millimetre, and there's a slightly raised border around the module for protection
The only real downside in terms of design is that there's nothing very new or interesting compared to the Galaxy Note 8 (Review), or for
that matter, the Galaxy S9 series. The screen has grown to 6.4 inches, from 6.3 on the Galaxy Note 8 (and 6.2 on the Galaxy S9
It's hard to say that this is a huge improvement
As with the first time we tried an Infinity Display on the Galaxy S8 (Review), the curved edges are extremely reflective, which is
distracting when watching videos and tends to obscure display elements such as the status bar in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)
In all other respects though, this is an excellent panel
Samsung's own Super AMOLED production line has been serving its flagship phones well for years, and this one is no different
It's bright, crisp, and punchy.The hallmark of the Galaxy Note series is the S Pen
This little stylus was meant to help position the original Galaxy Note as a smartphone for getting work done on, but the novelty and utility
of it has had much wider appeal over the years
With the Galaxy Note 9, Samsung is turning it into a style statement as well
The Ocean Blue variant, which we're testing, has a bright yellow S Pen with a gold end cap, for no reason other than to draw attention
The other colour options for this phone have matching S Pens
We found that we had to use a fingernail to push the clasp that releases the stylus from its silo .One big change compared to last year's
Galaxy Note 8 is that the fingerprint sensor on the rear has thankfully been moved into a central position
The asymmetrical placement next to the camera lens was widely panned last year, and Samsung clearly took note
Because of the sheer size of this phone though, it's still somewhat out of reach
The heart rate and oxygen saturation sensors are still to one side of the cameras, and it would be easy to forget that they're even there
Another little annoyance is the Bixby button which is right where you'd expect the volume buttons to be
We wound up pressing it by accident all the time.Most people will be very happy to note that Samsung has not dropped the 3.5mm headphones
There are times when it makes sense to reject trends, and this is one of them
The Galaxy Note 9 still has an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 specifications and softwareWith no new
flagship SoC generation on the horizon, Samsung has had to make do with the same Exynos 9810 that powers the Galaxy S9 siblings, and that
also means that there are no compelling new hardware features to boast of
The Exynos 9810 is still a very powerful SoC, but we have found in our tests of the Galaxy S9 and multiple Snapdragon 845-powered phones
this year that Qualcomm's offering comes out on top in many benchmarks.Most low-cost flagships don't go beyond full-HD for their displays,
but the Galaxy Note 9's Super AMOLED screen has a resolution of 1440x2960
This makes for a pixel density of 516ppi and it is super crisp
You can choose to reduce the resolution in software to save power or improve game performance if needed
The panel is capable of HDR-10 video playback in apps that support it
There's also Samsung's trademark always-on feature that shows the time and notification icons dimly while the phone is in standby.You can
choose between two variants of this phone
The base variant now has 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, and there's also an option of 512GB of storage with 8GB of RAM
In India, the Galaxy Note 9 has a hybrid dual-SIM design so if you don't need a second SIM, you can use a microSD card for more storage
Samsung points out that its own 512GB microSD card is launching soon, and while it will no doubt be expensive, you can have up to 1TB of
combined space.A lot of this phone's weight can be attributed to its 4000mAh battery, which Samsung says will last all day
Wireless charging and quick charging are both available
You get high-speed Cat 18 LTE (1.2Gbps up, 200MBps down if networks support carrier aggregation) on both SIMs
Of course, there's also dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5 with high-res aptX audio support.The USB Type-C port actually works at USB
3.1 speed (5Gbps) and one of Samsung's neatest tricks is the ability to plug in a desktop monitor with a single USB Type-C to HDMI cable and
essentially turn your phone into a desktop computer
You'll need a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, but it's relatively simpler than last year's Samsung DeX docking station
Unfortunately, Samsung did not send us the accessory in time for our review, so we can't evaluate this functionality.Above the screen is an
iris scanner, which promises far more reliable biometric authentication than simple face recognition
You can also turn on Samsung's Intelligent Scan option which uses both iris and face recognition together
Registration took us barely a second, but recognition was a little slow in our experiences over several days, delaying each unlock by 1-2
seconds depending on available light
You'll also have to tap the power or home buttons; you can't just lift the phone to recognise your face when it's in standby.Our review unit
was running Android 8.1 Oreo with the July 2018 security patch
Samsung has not commented on when it will release an Android Pie update, but we'd expect that to take time considering Samsung's track
record and the heavily customised nature of Samsung Experience 9.5 UI
Many of the value-adds concern the S Pen, which we'll talk about shortly, but there are also plenty of other usability tweaks
The Settings app is completely rearranged, the first-party apps are mostly useful, Samsung's Knox encryption gives you data security and
privacy, and Samsung Pay is now widely accepted
You can run two instances of specific social networking and messaging apps
There is some bloatware, like a redundant Gallery app on top of Google Photos, and several Microsoft Office apps. The S Pen has had its
biggest reinvention in many years, and now features Bluetooth LE connectivity which turns it into a remote control for the phone
There's only one button, so you're limited to single- and double-clicks
The most useful application of this is the ability to remotely set off the camera shutter
You can prop up your phone somewhere and frame shots, especially group selfies, without having to stretch your hand
You can also use the S Pen to advance slides in a PowerPoint presentation, scroll through photos in your gallery, and play/ pause media
Third-party apps will soon be able to configure custom S Pen button actions.The S Pen's miniscule battery (a supercapacitor, actually) won't
last longer than 30 minutes on a single charge, so it makes little sense as a remote while watching a movie or giving a long talk
On the upside though, it takes just 40 seconds to recharge completely, so it's ready to go every time you pop it out of its silo
After running out of power, it actually takes less time to recharge than to re-establish the Bluetooth connection to the phone
Another advantage of Bluetooth connectivity is that you'll get an alert on screen if you've left your S Pen behind somewhere.There's a lot
to be said in favour of as well as against custom Android implementations vs stock Android, but in the case of the Galaxy Note series, the
customisations were necessary to make the S Pen feel like a natural part of your workflow
Its functionality has been integrated very smoothly into the UI as well as native apps
For example, if you tap any text field with your finger, you'll see the usual Samsung keyboard, but if you tap it with the S Pen, you'll see
a handwriting pad instead
You can just write naturally while the Note 9 converts your handwriting into text.You can use it to jot down notes and scribble out
sketches, and Samsung has added even more functionality over the years such as the ability to quickly capture selective-area screenshots or
highlight text for translation
You can create a quick GIF of a message or sketch, with animation effects, and share it via any messaging app
The Samsung Notes app is easy to use, with separate text, scribble, and sketch modes
Surprisingly, handwriting recognition is missing here.Physically, the S Pen is extremely thin and not as easy to hold as most styli,
including the Apple Pencil and Microsoft Surface Pen
That's the tradeoff for being able to slot into a smartphone body
Writing and sketching just aren't very easy or comfortable with the phone in one hand and S Pen in another
The curved screen edges also really waste usable writing area. Samsung Galaxy Note 9 performance, cameras, and battery lifeThe Samsung
Experience UI might have a lot going on, but we found it to be highly responsive and easy to live with
Our review unit was the variant with 6GB of RAM, and we doubt that anyone will find this to be too little
There are a few shortcuts that make it easier to deal with a phone this size, but it's always going to be unwieldy
Simple things such as typing a message with one thumb require a bit of awkward manoeuvring.The size of the screen makes this a great phone
for gaming and videos, but that is with the caveat of reflections caused by the curved edges
Unless you're in a completely dark room, there's no way to find an angle that doesn't either cut off a little content or distract you with
reflections.The Galaxy Note 9 also has surprisingly loud and powerful stereo speakers
There's one on the bottom, and the earpiece doubles up as the second
The stereo effect isn't perfect, but all our music, games and videos sounded rich, and voices were crisp and clear without any
distortion.Samsung says it has used a unique water-carbon cooling system to diffuse heat
We found that playing games and recording videos did cause our review unit to get a bit warm, but we were able to get through two rounds of
PUGB without feeling too uncomfortable.Speaking of gaming, we were happy to report positive experiences with both PUGB and Fornite (the
Android beta was officially released at the Galaxy Note 9 launch event, and Samsung Galaxy users have been promised priority access)
We were able to run both games at high quality, and gameplay was completely smooth with no stuttering or lag at any point
The brand new Asphalt 9: Legends looked gorgeous, with buttery smooth graphics even using the High quality setting.Is Samsung Galaxy Note 9
the Best Phone to Play Fortnite MobileAs for our standard benchmarks, the Galaxy Note 9's performance was consistent with its Galaxy S9
The AnTuTu score of 241,993 is considerably lower than what the increasing number of Snapdragon 845-powered phones have been achieving
We also got 3,756 and 8,997 points in Geekbench 4's single-core and multi-core tests respectively, and 5,213 points in PCMark's Work 2.0
Graphics scores were good, with GFXBench maxing out at 60fps in the T-Rex scene, and managing 25fps in the more demanding Manhattan
scene.The 4000mAh battery lives up to Samsung's all-day claim and then some
We took our review unit off its charger at 9am and went about our day
We spent some time surfing the Web, taking loads of photos, playing some games including a round of PUBG, and streaming a full-length movie,
and we still had 25 percent left at midnight
Our HD video loop test ran for an incredible 17 hours, 50 minutes
With relatively conservative usage, we could see people only needing to charge this phone every other day. The Galaxy Note 9 has exactly
the same camera configuration as the Galaxy S9 Plus on paper, including Samsung's much-hyped variable aperture on the primary 12-megapixel
The idea is that by switching between f/2.4 and f/1.5 in different conditions, the camera can let in more light without having to leave the
shutter open or use software tricks
You can toggle between the two values manually using the Pro mode, and
You'll actually see the physical aperture changing
We didn't notice a lot of difference in shots unless we were also overriding the camera app's shutter speed and ISO settings, because these
three parameters usually compensate for each other automatically
In very low light, you should be able to get crisp shots with very low noise.Other features of the primary rear camera include a 1.4um pixel
size, dual-pixel PDAF, and optical image stabilisation
Interestingly, the secondary camera has a 2X zoom lens but also has a matching 12-megapixel sensor and OIS
Samsung deliberately did this so that portrait shots taken using both sensors don't need to be cropped
The secondary camera doesn't have a variable aperture, and makes do with smaller 1um pixels.Samsung's camera app is thankfully restrained in
You still get dedicated top-level modes for Live Focus, Panoramas, AR Emojis, Hyperlapse video, and Super Slow-Mo video (960fps)
Live Focus gives you background blur level and skin tone adjustments
Pro mode lets you change the usual ISO, shutter, exposure compensation, white balance, and focus, as well as metering and AF area settings
A Dual Capture toggle makes the camera grab shots from both sensors simultaneously, so you always have a close-up and a wide shot
If you dive into the settings, you'll be able to enable additional Food and Slow Motion modes
We also quite liked the ability to record bursts or GIF videos just by long-pressing the shutter button.Manufacturers are racing to add AI
enhancements into their camera apps, and Samsung's effort is called Bixby Vision
You'll need to have a Samsung account and agree to the terms and conditions to use it
Bixby Vision has modes for recognising landmarks, food, wine bottle labels, objects, and text
Most of the time it worked well, but sometimes object recognition in particular was hilariously wrong. Additional third-party tools include
an Adobe-powered OCR and PDF creator, and shopping shortcuts for Amazon and AliExpress
The Galaxy Note 9 also lets you create an 'AR Emoji' character using a model of your face
You can then find a few dozen animated stickers featuring yourself in the Samsung keyboard's sticker chooser.(Tap to see full-sized Samsung
Galaxy Note 9 photo samples) The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus earned very high scores from us for their photo quality, and the Galaxy Note 9 is no
We were able to take shots with extraordinary detail and vibrant colours
In the daytime, this phone was always quick to lock focus
Close-ups looked the best, but even in wide shots, distant objects were reproduced well
The shots we took at night came out looking very bright, with a surprising level of clarity
However, we did see signs of aggressive software sharpening and a loss of fine details when zooming in to 100 percent on a PC
monitor. You can record up to 10 minutes of 4K 30fps video at a stretch, or 5 minutes if you choose 60fps
This is a limit that we'd like to see lifted, but video quality is just as good as it is for photos
The Galaxy Note 9 had no trouble locking focus and following moving objects
Stabilisation also clearly worked well, because our test clips came out looking crisp and smooth
Hyperlapse video lets you record timelapses at 4x, 8x, 16x or 32x speed, and this could be used in fun, creative ways
The Super Slow-Mo mode lets you start recording at normal speed, and motion within a set area of the viewfinder will kick off about one
second's worth of 960fps recording at 720p
Sadly, clips end abruptly very shortly after the burst
The quality is not great, and this mode requires a lot of light so it's nearly impossible to use at night
It's still more of a novelty than anything else.The 8-megapixel front camera features autofocus, an f/1.7 aperture, and 1.22um pixels
Video recording can go up to 2560x1440
The quality of stills and video is very good
Beautification is on by default but thankfully it isn't too aggressive.Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in pictures VerdictThe Samsung Galaxy Note 9
is a brilliant smartphone with a lot of top-end features
It could easily be the number one choice for people who are willing to spend as much as it takes to have the latest and greatest features
However, it isn't very significantly differentiated from the Galaxy S series anymore, and in fact due to the vagaries of online pricing in
India, all variants of the Galaxy S9, Galaxy S9 Plus and Galaxy Note 9 (except the 512GB Galaxy Note 9) are priced within roughly Rs
10,000 of each other right now
The 128GB version of the Galaxy Note 9 costs almost exactly as much as the 128GB Galaxy S9 Plus
The experiences you get will be nearly identical, so the choice really comes down to having the S Pen versus having a slightly more portable
device, or saving a bit of money
If you already own a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy Note 8, there's practically no reason at all to upgrade.You might also not see any point in
spending so much on a smartphone when the likes of OnePlus 6 (Review), Asus ZenFone 5Z (Review), and the newly announcedPoco F1 deliver
comparable performance and features
What none of them can offer are the S Pen and the accompanying Android integration
No wonder Samsung concentrated on this and gave the S Pen more functionality than ever this year.The phenomenal battery life you'd get is
another huge point in favour of the Galaxy Note 9
On the other hand, the size and weight will be a bit too much for a lot of people too
We aren't really considering this a phone for productivity because even Samsung isn't differentiating it as such anymore, but it definitely
will serve a power user who wants to get work done
In a world full of nearly identical smartphones, the Galaxy Note 9 does stand out, and while it is expensive, you get what you pay for.
