The Galaxy Note 9 has made me impatient like no other Samsung flagship
I don’t usually buy flagship phones on my money. That’s just a perk of working at SamMobile, where I get to use flagship phones and plenty of lower-end Galaxy phones as part of the job description. If I don’t get a phone from SamMobile, Samsung is nice enough leave review units with us until the next flagship is nearing launch (the review units that we don’t have to return go to our Netherlands office). And as a user of only Samsung devices for the last couple of years, it’s been hard for me to get truly excited about a new phone and, therefore, impatient for the day it will go on sale. But the Galaxy Note 9 has changed that.
Galaxy Note 9’s big battery is its best feature. Period.
No, I’m not trying to get people to buy the Galaxy Note 9 because Samsung paid us or something like that, as we have often been accused. But I do want to tell you why the Note 9 has me excited. The reason is that big battery on the Note 9. I’ve written about how the bigger battery is the only new Galaxy Note 9 feature I needed, and really, I have been getting very impatient about the day I’ll get the Galaxy Note 9 in my hands. Why? Because the Galaxy Note 8, to me, was darn near perfect, except for its battery endurance.
The Note 8 does well enough with a 3,300 mAh battery, but like many smartphone users, I hate how battery life on flagship phones hasn’t been dependable for so long. We have all the backups and alternatives we need these days, including car chargers, power banks, and fast charging. But there’s no substitute for a battery that doesn’t require constant charging and has enough capacity to power a flagship smartphone through the day, especially with a fair bit of mobile data usage.
So I was elated when the Note 9 was confirmed to have a 4,000 mAh battery. Unless fate has other plans for Samsung and the Note 9 has some glaring issues, it’s looking more and more like a perfect phone. Well, perfect for me at least, who was only disappointed with the battery life on the Galaxy Note 8 (and the poorly placed fingerprint sensor, but thankfully I’ve never been a fan of keeping my phone secured with a password) and loved everything else about it. Things like the stereo speakers and 128GB of storage are the icing on the cake.
August 24 can’t arrive soon enough
I haven’t had the opportunity to play with an actual Galaxy Note 9 yet. I wasn’t at the New York launch, and Samsung India will only send a review unit around the time of the phone’s launch in the country. But I can’t wait for the day I do get a Note 9 in my hands, and I’m ready to spend my own money on the device even though I will have to purchase it on credit card instalments. Flagship Galaxy smartphones phones are exciting again, and it’s funny how the excitement comes from something as fundamental as battery life.
Are you among those who think the 4,000 mAh Galaxy Note 9 battery is enough reason for you to buy the phone?
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Yea, can’t wait for 24 August too! Little Dragon’s Cafe for the Nintendo Switch comes out … ah and the Galaxy S9 with the added pen (I guess they called it Note 9 if I remember correctly) should release around the same time, with – no worries – it will have no notch – it will have instead huge bezels compared to S9, there you go, your prayers were listened to! 🙂 Honestly, for a 1 year phone, 1000 Euros+ is insane, and without any “future-proof-ness” it does not justify its price; the Note 4 was 700 Euro-ish when it… Read more »
that just about says it all. or a global vacation.
I have ran the gamut, since the note 7 fiasco. Two N7s. I was lost, and ran to whatever I could. I climbed the Samsung ladder of devices. S7edge, s8, s8 plus, then the lg v20, then iPhone 7 plus, then to the note 8.Now, I’m set with waiting for the shipping of the note 9. Now the unknown. When will Samsung open the floodgates and let it rip with shipping. I too must finance it. Last year was easy with trading my s8 plus, but due to tight carrier constraints, and the mind blowing requirements monetarily, this will probably… Read more »
Every “next year’s phone” will supersede the previous year phone. That will always be true, as SoCs get faster and faster (even though they are quite at the limit of what they squeeze out). The dolby atmos is a gimmick that I almost bet is done in SW (check dolby atmos wiki … and other ways of “enabling dolby atmos” on about anything which did not come with it, including PCs, so I’m quite sure it’s just some “fancy” name for some software library which processes the sound a bit – just like HTC had their beats audio app at… Read more »
No, an extra $3 worth of Lithium ion battery does not justify a $1000 purchase.
Then it’s good that the price is the same as the Note 8 here in India, one of the reasons why it’s so attractive. $970 according to current conversion rates. Locally making them is apparently helping Samsung keep a lid on pricing here, S9 launched for the same as the S8 as well.
I have pre-ordered and i cant tell you how excited i am. i had the note 7 but unfortunately i had to give it back. God i miss that phone so i had to go with the s7 edge. I cant wait to have a note in my hand!!!!
“I don’t usually buy flagship phones on my money. That’s just a perk of working at SamMobile, where I get to use flagship phones and plenty of lower-end Galaxy phones as part of the job description.”
Then how are you able to understand value, or the price concerns that people have when deciding what phone to buy? If I was given review units every few weeks, or months, I certainly would have a different opinion on the long-term expectations of the device.
Well, I understand by the fact that I can’t really afford them, either. But yes, it’s a different thing for us, that’s why our opinions are not often similar to anyone but those who tend to regularly upgrade phones, either because of contracts or otherwise.
Long-term value is also great these days. The Note ‘s software does well, the batteries don’t lose more than 5 percent total storage capacity in a year, and the specs overall are quite amazing as well.
Cm’on, no, starting with the S6 design, long term value was killed. Once you reach the lowest repairability score on the market, we are not talking about long-term value. In best case if something goes wrong, you will get a refurbished one, if you manage to prove to Samsung that it was a factory failure. When my Gear S3 Watch battery life went down to 4 hours, from 3.5 days, after one update (and there were many complains on the internet about the January/February patch, leading to this issue), I was lucky that the big retailer I bought it from,… Read more »
But then that’s no reason to stop buying newer ones, since glass and poor repairability are standard now. I use a case for my phones so fewer chances of issues.
But I agree that’s why our opinion isn’t exactly suitable for the regular consumers, since we will keep moving to a newer device at some point as part of the job. Still, not sure long-term value is a problem for everyone, people are buying the new glass phones, and the Note 9 just happens to have everything, like a big battery and stuff.
Yes, that with subpar glass and device quality and so on is true for “almost everyone” – won’t defend any side here; that discussion is for another day. But Samsung lacks one major thing. Consistency! I would not have an issue – at least not monetary – to switch even every half a year to a new device – of course if the price tag is justified (which for the latest Samsung flagships isn’t, since they sell less for more – at least if you know what you are talking about in tehnical terms, and it is not deniable), but… Read more »
And one more thing, what is this everything it has? Bigger battery, ok … and then? FM radio? IR blaster? Removable battery? A decent audio chip (no sorry the MAX chips which come with the Snapdragon are real krap, and the magical dolby atmos software to make it more bearable is not a feature, but a miserable excuse for failure and being cheap)? S Pen had every Note before it, and if you have a Smartwatch you can do more with your phone than the bluetooth part in the S Pen … so what is this “stuff” you are talking… Read more »
more then a 1000€ for a phone that will have a bad support from Samsung… no thank you i will stay with my galaxy S9 plus that already have bad timing updates.They should focus on bringing Samsung Pay to rest of Europe… because if i don’t have some features the phone should be cheaper…
I also think the big battery is a gamechanger. My son has an S7 Active, which also has a 4000mAh battery, and it easily lasts all day, only needing a charge overnight. It’s a great feature they should have introduced years ago.
Depends how you use it, how many apps are active at any given time, and how much data is your phone pulling every minute … bigger battery is really negligible if you install a lot of “free apps” which finance themselves through tons of adds. My current smartphone has a 1600mAh battery, and it lasts me through 2 days on average use, or 1.5 day with smartwatch paired, 8hrs+ music over bluetooth headphones and 1-2 hours of netflix.
But then again, it does not run the resource-hoggy droid anymore 🙂
I’m still holding out for the S10
My experience with the performance on S series phones has been quite disappointing compared to the Notes here in India, or I would be buying the S series as well. That extra optimization on Note devices is great for someone as nitpicky as me about performance.
I have always had the S series although my network did give me a brand new Note 3 for free when that was the latest one out as I was their top contributors on their forum. I loved the note but I stuck with the S series.
I’m hanging for the S10 due to the in fingerprint reader it should be having (hopefully).
But the Note 9 looks and sounds amazing.
So the note 10 would be even better so I may jump back to the note from next year.
There is so much hype about the s10 which make’s me wonder if the note 10 would be great as well or would it be the 11
This will be my first note that I will buy. While the battery is a plus, its all the other features that have helped. In New Zealand one telco (2 Degrees) has made an amazing deal the Note 9. $300 off any version. I chose the 512 version which brings the price down from $2000 to $1699. Plus Samsung are doing tradeins for older Samsung devices. I have S7 and the will give me $569 in return for buying a Note 9. All prices in NZ dollars.
Wow, that was a great deal.
similarly in the UK, you can get the Note for as little as £22 a month (trading in for a £300 phone)
I was wowed by this offer from samsung in mz country (Serbia), as in my countrz phone costs 1050eur, and in pre-order it gets 100eur down on price, and if you give some device (I asked for price if I give my Note8), they offer me discount of more than 50%, they offer mi a 550eur discount, so phone in pre-oredr would cost as low as 500eur. That is offer of a life time espacially considering how much money I could get by selling phone (450-500eur)… unfortunatly, I had to by phone on another way because I could not get… Read more »
tooo many type errors, sorry guys ahaha