The most autonomous smartphone of all. Meet the huge Samsung Galaxy Note9. The most autonomous smartphone of all Who would be interested in a flagship

Design, control and packaging

Samsung Galaxy Note9

The exterior of the Samsung Galaxy Note9 remains almost the same as it was a year ago. However, the new product still looks no worse than any other smartphone in the upper price category, so there are no complaints. The screen has become larger by 0.1 inches, but the body, on the contrary, has lost one millimeter in height. This, as before, is a very healthy smartphone; after all, the display diagonal is 6.4", which would be difficult to operate with one hand.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

The gadget is beautiful in any of the colors: there is black Note9, dark blue, purple and even copper. The colors are unusual, but each smartphone looks very rich. The layout of the case is quite familiar: a glass panel at the back and front and a metal edging between them. Both the front and rear panels are strongly curved and seem to flow down to the side edges. The display is also slightly curved at the edges, but still does not fit on the “sides”.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

One of the noticeable visual (and ergonomic) changes is that the fingerprint scanner is no longer located on the side of the rear camera, but below it, like most. And this, of course, is much more convenient. I would like it to be a little larger and lower, but this is a matter of taste and color.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

On the left side, in the same place, there is a button to launch the Bixby voice assistant, but so far only native speakers of four languages ​​can enjoy its capabilities: English, Korean, Chinese and Spanish.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

The SIM card tray is located right on the top edge. It is designed for either two SIM cards or one SIM card and a memory card.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

Interestingly, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 ignored the fashion for “bangs” and other similar experiments. So there is still a strip above the display for the speaker, front camera, infrared facial recognition sensor and LED event indicator. There is also a small black stripe below the display. Since both of them are quite narrow, the design of the new product does not look outdated. It’s just a little less impressive at the level of those models that abandoned the frame altogether and moved the camera and speaker in all directions. For example, in Mi MIX 2S the selfie camera is traditionally closer to the bottom edge (which is inconvenient), while in Vivo NEX it generally extends out of the body only when it is activated. But Note9 has a convenient LED indicator that will notify you about the end of charging and missed calls and messages, as well as an iris scanner, which we will talk about below.

Not all expensive smartphones have this, so it is worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy Note9 is not afraid of splashes, is not afraid to lie under water at a depth of 1.5 meters for half an hour, and is not afraid of dust, as it is protected according to the IP68 standard. This is an important point if you like to read books or watch videos from your smartphone in the bathroom, or float with him on an air mattress in the pool - anywhere where there is a high chance of giving him a bath.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

The Samsung Galaxy Note9 comes with all sorts of goodies. In addition to the charger, the box contains Samsung EO-IG955 earbuds, an adapter from USB Type-C to Micro-USB, and an adapter to full USB 3.0. But there is no bumper cover.

Display and sound

The AMOLED display of the Samsung Galaxy Note9 is capable of producing very bright colors and highly saturated images. This year, many manufacturers have released smartphones with a screen diagonal of 6 inches or more, but not all of them have a resolution higher than Full HD+. Note9 has QHD+, namely 2960x1440 pixels, thanks to which its pixel density is 516 ppi. It supports Always On mode, when the clock, date, charge percentage, notification icons, playing track, etc. are always lit on the locked screen.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

In the settings you can change various color modes, color temperature, and enable support for the sRGB color space. In general, the display supports the reproduction of more colors than are included in the sRGB standard. Thanks to this, everything on it looks very rich. But there are also disadvantages - the mega-beautiful photos that you take on the Samsung Galaxy Note9 will look less interesting on the vast majority of devices precisely because these devices support fewer shades. It would seem that these are the problems of the owners of such devices, and not yours, but this is not entirely true. For example, most PC monitors and laptop displays do not support wide color gamut, and the trend so far is that it is unlikely that anything will change in the near future. In other words, if you want your photos to look the same on your Galaxy Note9, and on your laptop, and on the Instagrams of a large number of people, not all of whom have the same display as you, it is better to immediately turn on the mode "Main" display. If you are one of the growing number of people who take photos only on a smartphone, and store, view and show them on it, then you can completely forget this paragraph and leave the display settings at default.

Samsung Experience

According to subjective feelings, the display of the main character of the review is excellent, but a strict and impartial colorimeter tells us that the maximum brightness of the display could be higher and the color accuracy a little higher. Everything is fine with gamma, here it is equal to the reference one, and with contrast - for AMOLED displays it is infinite.

As is now often customary, the sound of a smartphone is something between mono and stereo, because the second speaker after the multimedia one on the lower edge is the conversational one, but it plays, of course, quieter and more modestly. But, in general, the sound is quite spacious and rich; watching videos on YouTube or listening to your favorite tunes to the delight (or despite) of those around you is more than pleasant.

As I already mentioned, Samsung EO-IG955 headphones are included with the smartphone, but we are testing smartphones with large Sony WH-1000XM. When we tested the sound in the Galaxy S9, the smartphone first had to be configured to get good sound through the headphones. Fortunately, the menu has several different “twists” in order to “play with frequencies”, try out different proprietary effects, etc. Apparently, in six months the company has listened to users, and with the Galaxy Note9 you can listen to music on headphones almost immediately. Of course, turning on Dolby Atmos and adjusting the equalizer still wouldn't hurt, but it doesn't make as noticeable a difference as it did on the Galaxy S9. On the other hand, it seemed to me that the sound could still be better, and mid-price smartphones can play at this level.

Cameras

The cameras are cool. This, of course, is not a “DSLR”, but I took some photos for the news site from presentations and press tours on the Galaxy Note9 and was pleased. But, by and large, the cameras here are the same as in the Galaxy S9+. The rear module is double, and, notably, one of the cameras has a variable aperture, which is something you won’t find in smartphones. This means the Note9 is better able to adapt to different lighting conditions and perform better in both night shots and scenes that require a wide dynamic range. True, their aperture is adjusted within rather modest limits, or rather there are two options: either f/1.5 or f/2.4. But for smartphones this is also a breakthrough.

Galaxy Note9 can do all the modern tricks: if you want, here's a 2x optical zoom, if you want, background blur for portrait photos, if you want, slow-motion video shooting, if you want, automatic detection of what you're shooting. The latter is worth talking about separately. Now this is still a relatively new feature in flagship smartphones and each manufacturer approaches it differently. For example, Huawei P20/Pro, after determining the scene, dumps all possible and impossible effects into the photo. This is very convenient if you don’t like natural shots and take a long time to process photos in editors. The Note9 takes a different approach. It also detects the scene automatically (food, architecture, etc.) and selects the best settings, but the photos still remain quite natural (with the exception of HDR mode).

Example of a photo taken with the rear camera of a Samsung Galaxy Note9

But, as I mentioned above, I really liked the quality of the pictures. And the automatic mode does a good job, except that, to my liking, I often made the frame darker than the smartphone wanted. Moreover, a separate impression is shooting in poor lighting. Of course, taking a cool picture in the dark for such a physically small matrix is ​​not easy. But in dim light - please. You get much clearer photos than with mid-range smartphones. Although the special night mode of the Huawei P20/Pro is still cooler.

Example of a photo taken with the rear camera of a Samsung Galaxy Note9

The Note9 can also automatically detect scenes, but it doesn't apply effects to photos as vigorously as the Huawei P20 or Vivo NEX. This, again, depends on taste and color, since some people like more natural pictures, others – full of cosmetics, colors turned up to the maximum, more contrast, etc. It would be nice, of course, if this were regulated for everyone.

Example of a photo taken with the rear camera of a Samsung Galaxy Note9

The front camera also takes good pictures, but it doesn't do well with HDR. In other words, if there is not enough light falling on your face, and the background behind you is bright, then it is more likely to be overexposed in the photo. There are noticeably cheaper smartphones that do this better. But for the first time in the series, Note9 has automatic focusing instead of a fixed focus.

Example of a photo taken with the front camera of a Samsung Galaxy Note9

Samsung has added a few tiny but useful features to the camera experience. For example, it will warn you if the photo is blurry, if someone blinked, or if it’s time to wipe the lens glass with a cloth. It’s very convenient, since not all of these annoying troubles can be seen right away, especially in a hurry.

Example of a photo taken with the rear camera of a Samsung Galaxy Note9

It's also nice that both rear cameras have optical stabilization, which allows you to take clear pictures in low light. By the way, there is a very convenient manual shooting mode with the ability to save not only in JPG, but also in RAW.

Finally, the video. This is where Samsung lags slightly behind some competitors because it can't shoot 4K video with HDR. The problem is that the company's own processor - Exynos 9810 - does not support such a function. The Snapdragon 845 has support, but in Note9 with any of these chips this feature is disabled. True, this is the only negative. Otherwise, you are free to shoot with quality up to 4K at 60 frames per second (though up to 5 minutes at 60 fps and as long as the memory lasts at 30 fps). Again, there is stabilization even in 4K and at 60 fps, so shooting video on the Note9 is a blessing.

Performance, interface, stylus and battery life

As before, Samsung releases its top-end smartphones with two different processors for different markets. In Russia you will find it with the just mentioned Exynos 9810. And, as you can see for yourself in our diagrams, it performs very differently in comparison with the Snapdragon 845, also a top-end SoC, which can often be found in flagships from other manufacturers. For example, in the popular gaming benchmark, 3DMark Sling Shot Extreme, the Exynos 9810 clearly lags behind its competitor, and in the purely processor test, GeekBench 4, on the contrary, became the leader in our table. Fortunately, the smartphone is not designed specifically for mobile gamers, although they shouldn’t have any problems either.

Test results for Note9 in Antutu Benchmark 7

Note9 has two modifications that differ in memory capacity. We tested a version with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. This in itself is quite a lot, but the second version has even more: 8 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. 512! And at the same time, you can still use a microSD card with a capacity of up to 512 GB. By the way, Note9 became the first smartphone that can have a total of one terabyte. Whether a terabyte is needed in a smartphone is another question, and each person has his own answer to it.

In general, in terms of filling, everything is clear - complete stuffing. Let's move on to other features. For example, Note9 has a bunch of options to protect your data. To unlock your smartphone, you can use, in addition to the PIN code, a fingerprint scanner, a front camera for face unlocking and, finally, an iris scanner. Moreover, the last two can be used together. However, my experience has shown that the fingerprint scanner is the fastest and most reliable, especially since it is located more conveniently in the new Note than in the previous model. And all these cool bells and whistles with scanning eyes and faces - they are also convenient, but they do not work equally quickly in all conditions. For example, in the dark there may be no problems, since the scanner shines infrared light on you, but if the sun shines directly into the sensors, this can make it think for a long time.

Samsung Galaxy Note9

We almost forgot about the main thing - the Note9 now has not a regular stylus, but a wireless stylus. The very fact that a smartphone that is not exactly huge in size can accommodate a large stylus is already surprising. Yes, you don’t need to carry it somewhere separately on a string, it fits entirely inside and can be easily removed, you just have to press on it. But what’s new is that it now works with a smartphone via Bluetooth. It has its own battery, which lasts for 30 minutes, but it charges inside the smartphone in just 40 seconds, so this is not another gadget that needs to be charged overnight.

Samsung tried to come up with many uses for the stylus, because “yay, you can take notes and sketches with our stylus!” “, you won’t surprise anyone; I’m afraid to imagine how many years. Therefore, in Note9 he can do a little more. For example, with just one key on it, you can turn on the camera application on your smartphone, select the one you want (rear or front) and take a photo - all without touching the phone at all. You can also flip through photos back and forth, but not only photos, but also presentation slides. What other presentation on a smartphone, you ask? But the Note9 easily connects to external monitors, so why not. You can also customize which application will open on Note9 with the power of the S Pen and how it can be controlled. With the stylus you can quickly take screenshots, switch music, and you can also lose it on a plane for several hours, but that’s a completely different story about crooked hands.

Samsung has also opened an SDK for developers to work with the stylus, so third-party applications will soon have support and new interesting features for the S Pen.

Traditionally, the smartphone runs its own shell, Samsung Experience, which is a nice addition to Android 8.1. The only annoying thing about it is that you can't reconfigure the Bixby button to something more useful in countries where Bixby doesn't support the language. However, as we recently learned, this may change in the future.

You shouldn't expect any revolutions from the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. This is a modified and slightly improved version of last year's Note 8, where the main emphasis was placed on the ability to interact with the system and work with the S-Pen. And thanks to these improvements, the Note 9 becomes more like a compact computer than a smartphone.

Design and appearance

The biggest change that catches your eye is that the fingerprint scanner has moved under the camera. It has become more convenient, but now it all doesn’t look as neat as in Note 8. Otherwise, the device is very similar to last year’s smartphone, although there are other changes, such as a changed angle of the screen or camera design. But these are such unnoticeable things that the new product feels exactly the same as last year’s version. A large, rectangular, solid and serious smartphone made of glass and metal. The colors have changed. In addition to the standard black, there is copper, lavender and indigo (aka blue). To be honest, last year’s blue color looked more impressive, but the “indigo” version has its own bright accent - a yellow stylus. Perhaps the most beautiful color is copper.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a very large smartphone. No one-handed operation to speak of, but it's a handy tool for the job. In fact, the positioning of the smartphone tells us that it is more designed for business people, and therefore the requirements for it are somewhat different.

Display

The display in the new product measures 6.4 inches, it has increased by 0.1 inches compared to last year’s model, hence the similar dimensions. Although it has become a little wider, thicker and heavier. SuperAMOLED display, QuadHD+ resolution, but the default is Full HD and in this mode the charge is consumed less, and you won’t see much of a difference. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 display has many settings, including changing the color profile. The default setting is “Adaptive Mode”, in which the colors are very bright and saturated. In the “Basic” mode, the colors become more natural and faded, but this is up to your taste and choice. Samsung's signature Always On Display feature allows you to see information on the locked screen and there are a lot of options for customizing it. From scheduling when Alwas On Display is active to what information to display.

Unlock

The unlocking options are no less generous in the smartphone. From fingerprints to iris unlocking. In principle, everything works, but the most preferred mode is “Smart Scanning,” which simultaneously uses both the face and the irises of the eyes. In this mode, performance decreases and accuracy increases. In general, the speed of unlocking by face and eyes is not the highest. In any case, you always have the opportunity to unlock your smartphone using your fingerprint, although the scanner is still located quite high. By the way, it is not necessary to press the power button every time, because Samsung, starting with the Galaxy S8, has implemented a virtual button at the bottom of the screen. You can click on it when the smartphone is locked and it is activated.

Performance

Of course, Samsung and hardware were updated. Galaxy Note 9 is powered by an eight-core Exynos 9810 processor, which it inherited from the S9. The amount of RAM and the amount of internal memory depend on the version. The most affordable one received 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. The second version, which is also the most expensive, has 8 and 512 GB, respectively. By adding a 512 GB micro-SD card to such a smartphone, you can get a device with a built-in memory capacity of 1 TB. It is worth considering that such cards cost from $300 and above. Synthetic tests show 249,000 points in AnTuTu - this result is comparable to the Galaxy S9 and ranks approximately 10th in the overall ranking. In Geekbench, the results are better and the smartphone comes out on top even in the basic version. In real life, the Note 9 is actually very fast. It's faster than the Galaxy S9 and most other flagship smartphones. It seems Samsung managed to overcome some of the sluggishness of its own launcher. However, it does not appear immediately, but after some time.

Sound and S-Pen

It should also be noted that the smartphone now has stereo speakers. The sound is loud, high-quality, and the implementation is reminiscent of how it is done on the iPhone. But what's most encouraging is that Samsung continues to equip its flagships with a headphone jack. Koreans in this segment are one of the few who did not give up the mini-jack. Included with the smartphone is a headset from AKG already familiar to fans of the brand. The same company also helped with setting up the sound from the speakers.

And speaking of sound, we must mention the new capabilities of the S-Pen. From now on, the stylus has a built-in battery and Bluetooth, which allows you to control your smartphone from a distance. For example, you can turn music on or off and even switch tracks by pressing the stylus button once or twice. The function is unusual, but controlling the camera with a stylus looks more interesting. You can take pictures with the camera at a distance without the need for a shutter timer. In the same mode, it is convenient to take pictures in Pro mode, when you are shooting at shutter speed and the smartphone must be motionless.

Easier DeX connectivity

The ability to conduct presentations also looks interesting. Connect the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 to a projector or TV, for this, by the way, you now only need an HDMI adapter, go to DeX mode and flip through the presentation using the S-Pen. The DeX station is no longer needed because Samsung has worked on cooling the Note 9 separately, using an additional heat sink inside the case. There are quite a lot of settings for the stylus. It runs for about half an hour on a single charge, and is fully charged in 40 seconds, so there should be no problems with charging.

Camera

In principle, everything you know about the Galaxy S9+ also applies to the Note 9. Dual camera with a 12 megapixel main module and a variable aperture from f/1.5 to f/2.4. The camera is truly one of the best on the market. The aggressive noise reduction typical of Samsung is noticeably less here, and the overall quality of the images has increased. If you consider the Galaxy Note 9 as a good camera, then this is an excellent choice.

The camera has a bunch of additional features, a pro mode, 2x optical zoom and a background blur mode. The second camera module is responsible for these functions - also 12 megapixels, with f/2.4 aperture. There is optical stabilization, and it works great in video. The video itself is recorded up to 4K 60 fps; there is a super-slow motion mode, when a small fragment is taken at 960 fps and then stretched. The camera is definitely the strong point of this smartphone.

Shell

The branded shell remains for everyone. However, this is always a matter of taste, even though in recent years the launcher has been heavily redrawn and looks quite modern. However, Samsung has something to spoil you with. For example, the Edge panel, which always seemed useless. This is the menu that appears when you swipe from the right side of the screen. In the settings, you can choose which panels will appear, for example, music controls, frequent contacts, or weather. You can find a few more different options in the Samsung app store. In general, the thing is comfortable, once you get used to it. It’s also captivating to work with the stylus, which allows you to do a lot - from screenshots or copies, to convenient notes on the locked screen. Dual applications, distributing music via Bluetooth to two devices at once, working in computer mode and a lot more. Perhaps the most controversial point in this smartphone is the Bixby button and the smart assistant of the same name. Bixby was updated, but still didn’t speak Russian. Fortunately, since the existence of a separate button for the smart assistant, separate software has appeared that allows you to assign different actions or applications to pressing. The speed of updates also remains open, but Note 9 will definitely be updated to Android Pie, but for now it runs on Android 8.1.

Moisture protection and autonomy

Of course, there is IP68 water and dust protection, wireless charging, fast wired charging and even an increased battery capacity. Yes, the smartphone has become a little thicker for a reason; the battery here is 4000 mAh. It cannot be said that the smartphone has become much more autonomous than last year’s version, but it does provide 6 hours of screen operation. Most likely, in the long run, a larger battery will perform better.

Price and conclusions

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 looks and feels expensive and rich. It’s actually not cheap, and it’s not intended for everyone. The 128 GB version costs $1,000, the older one will cost $1,250. In Russia, the price tag is at about the same level due to the fall of the ruble, but in Kazakhstan the new product will cost $1,100 for the younger version. In Ukraine it’s 1280 dollars.

A flagship smartphone is always a compromise: to make money, you need to make the device mass-market. It's like a Hollywood blockbuster that should appeal to children, teenagers, their parents and grandparents. Such a smartphone, in its design and capabilities, should be appropriate in any environment - from a student campus to the office of a large company. It should also be comfortable to use for both a man with large hands and a gentle woman. And it should not unnecessarily pull down the pocket - both literally and figuratively.

At some point, the engineers said: “Stop putting up with this!” And they began to make, in parallel with the main ones, ultimate lines of gadgets, where they were deployed to the fullest. At the same time, they tested all sorts of cool new products on living people. This is the Note line from Samsung, the Mate line from Huawei, and Sony Mobile does something similar in Premium devices.

Large, heavy and stand like two cast iron bridges. Actually, this description fits the new ultimate flagship. The top version of Note 9 will cost 89 thousand 990 rubles, the “budget” version will be available from August 31 for 69 thousand 990 rubles. In the first case, you will get 512 GB of memory and 8 GB of RAM, in the second - 128 GB and 6 GB of RAM. The latter is also not bad, considering that microSD memory cards are supported. Otherwise, the devices are identical in their filling.

Display

Note 9 has the best display on the market. These are not my words, this is what the experts from DisplayMate think. However, I see no reason to argue with them. The screen is of very high quality, color rendition is excellent, and the resolution is off the charts. QuadHD is supported, but the default is Full HD+, and that’s enough. The same can be said about brightness: the 6.4-inch SuperAMOLED display shines so brightly that 70-80% brightness in the settings is enough to use it without any problems even on a sunny summer day.

The smartphone is large: length 161.9, width 76.4 mm, weight 201 grams. The edges of the case are quite sharp, so it looks a little unusual against the backdrop of the eternal desire for rounded corners. And the device does not lie very comfortably in the hand. I’m serious now, this is precisely a design issue, since the dimensions of the Note 9 are generally comparable to the “plus” version of the iPhone, and such a problem does not arise there.

Camera

The Note 9's camera is the Galaxy S9's camera. The same module, which I consider close to the reference one. Experts from DxOMark Mobile found the Note 9's camera to be inferior only to the Huawei P20 Pro, but in my opinion it's prettier. There are fewer programmatic decorations of the picture inherent in the Chinese.

There is no point in talking much about the camera - let the pictures do the talking. I will only note that I was impressed by the automatic mode, which very clearly recognizes even very specific modes, such as shooting flowers or nature (these are two different modes). And everything with focusing is very cool. The camera managed to take clear pictures even of such restless models as playing dogs. Rate it!

In general, it's hard to find fault. Here's some more zoom and evening/night shots.

Well, when it comes to shooting video, the Note 9 has no equal - just as the Galaxy S9 had none.

Filling

All this wealth is controlled by the Samsung Exynos 9810 processor; there is also a version based on the Snapdragon 845 from Qualcomm - it will be sold in other markets. The top solution receives a rather modest 240,000 points in AnTuTu, but this is normal - the synthetic test is tailored primarily for Qualcomm processors.

Chips for work

Look what's here? Well, of course, a stylus. Some people mistakenly perceive this accessory as the main feature of the Note line. This is certainly not true. The stylus in this case is the pinnacle of that semantic superstructure that explains why, in fact, all this power is needed. But it is needed for work - for this reason the device is niche. Many people like to consume content, watching videos and photos using mobile gadgets, but only a few people like to do something serious.

The Note 9's stylus is still great for drawing and handwriting, taking quick notes, sketching a small drawing or plan, or making notes on text or photos.

Galaxy Note 9 stylus. Photo: website

What's added? The stylus has become a remote control for Note 9. Now you can use it to take photos, switch music tracks, flip through photo galleries and switch presentation slides. The stylus is charged in the smartphone body. This happens almost instantly - in one or two minutes. After which you can safely demonstrate another presentation or do a photo shoot.

Another option to work with is the built-in Samsung Dex. Let me remind you that this is an external module that turns Samsung gadgets, by connecting to a monitor, into some kind of computer. Now you just need to plug a special HDMI adapter cable into the USB-C connector - and you’re good to go.

Safety

In terms of security, nothing fundamentally new: a fingerprint scanner on the back surface under the camera, face and iris recognition using an infrared camera on the front side. It all works surprisingly quickly. The system is not bothered by the absence or presence of glasses, or insufficient lighting. The sensors easily coped with unlocking in the evening. For old-school fans, there are still passwords and PIN codes.

Battery

During the presentation, Samsung speakers said that the Note 9 lasts “all day long.” I have lived for a long time and remember that this is, in general, normal. But if the iPhone (as well as the Galaxy S9) needs to be fully charged at least twice a day, then with the Note 9 everything looks really good: the 4000 mAh battery charge is enough for a full working day and even for a working night.

But as usual, everything depends on the tasks. If you just make occasional calls, surf the net, and read Facebook, you'll be fine. But if you charge tanks or some Asphalt, then everything will turn out to be much sadder. The battery drains within a few hours. There are no miracles.

By the way, those who pre-ordered will get wireless charging. This device costs almost 7 thousand rubles, but here it’s free.

Money

In general, Samsung's pricing strategy looks interesting. On the one hand, 89 thousand 990 rubles for the “older” version of Note 9 (with 512 GB) is a little too much. On the other hand, the Chinese offered to buy the Huawei Mate RS Porsche Design with the same amount of memory for 147 thousand rubles, presented in the spring. Well, on the third side: Samsung announced the Samsung Forward program, with the help of which you can happily fall into credit slavery. By paying Koreans 3 thousand 990 rubles every month, after 6 months you can exchange your device for a new Galaxy S10 by paying another 3 thousand 990 rubles on top. Or after a year, exchange your device for another new product for free. Well, not counting the money you will have already paid by then... and will pay every month in the future. As a bonus - the Samsung Smart Care+ program. If you break the glass, it will be replaced for you free of charge. Which in the case of Note 9 is not bad at all, because glass costs something like 18-20 thousand rubles.

Sound

Another bonus of the Note 9 is the sound. The smartphone supports Dolby Atmos sound and is equipped with excellent AKG headphones from Samsung's Harman/Kardon brand. The sound quality from the built-in speakers is almost flawless, and as for the headphones, they are a very cool accessory. At some point, manufacturers began to save on headphones, but it’s great that the Note 9 has done everything right. I've listened to several live concerts with this headset and I can say that it's one of the best examples of a set of ears I've encountered.

Should I buy the Galaxy Note 9?

If you are buying a smartphone to “make calls” and are based on the cost of the basic set of functions, then there is no point. You can buy last year's Note 8, look at the Galaxy S9 or Huawei P20. If you need to get a cool gadget with the maximum of everything, if you need ample stylus capabilities and a business component, then you need to boldly grab the free 90 thousand and run to take it. There won't be anything similar in terms of characteristics on the market in the near future. Yes, of course, Huawei is about to show the new Mate, and it will be cheaper than the budget version of Note 9 by about 8-10 thousand rubles. But without a stylus, and we already decided that this was important.

Samsung, according to the established schedule, also updated its line of Galaxy Note tablets this year - already the ninth model. The Galaxy Note 9 has not received as significant updates as is usually the case, but still, the new product, as always, turned out to be very outstanding, and today we will talk about it in detail in our review.

Main characteristics of Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (SM-N960F)

• SoC Samsung Exynos 9810, 8 cores (4×Exynos M3 @2.7 GHz + 4×Cortex-A55 @1.8 GHz)
• GPU Mali-G72 MP18 (572 MHz)
• Operating system Android 8.1
• Touch display Super AMOLED 6.4″, 2960×1440 (18.5:9), 516 ppi
• Random access memory (RAM) 6/8 GB, internal memory 128/512 GB
• Nano-SIM support (2 pcs.)
• microSD support up to 512 GB
• GSM/WCDMA networks (2G, 3G)
• LTE networks (4G) Cat.18 FDD B1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/13/17/18/19/20/25/26/28/32/66, TD B38—41
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4 + 5 GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024-QAM
• Bluetooth 5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbit/s)
• Dual GPS, A-GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo
• USB Type-C, USB OTG
• Main camera 12 MP, F1.5/F2.4 (dual aperture) + 12 MP, F2.4; 4K video
• Front camera 8 MP, F1.7, autofocus
• Proximity and lighting sensors, magnetic field, accelerometer, gyroscope, barometer, heart rate sensor, iris scanner
• 3.5mm audio output
• S Pen support
• IP68 protection
• Fingerprint scanner
• Battery 4000 mAh
• Dimensions 162×76×8.8 mm
• Weight 201 g

Appearance and ease of use

With the positioning of the Galaxy Note line, everything is very clear: this family has always stood apart, not only arousing genuine interest among people of creative professions due to the presence of an electronic pen, but also, in principle, with its appearance, giving rise to a general transition to a “shovel-shaped” format with dimensions that were previously simply unthinkable for handheld mobile devices.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9, like all devices of the latest generations of Galaxy S and Note, has a specific, well-recognized design, and this time the Koreans did not make any significant changes to it.

Here everything is familiar to us: the gracefully curving metal side frame, tapering at the sides, and almost flat glass panels with cool functional curves on the sides. The new smartphone differs from the Galaxy Note 8 and S8, in fact, only in the corner parts that are more pointed in plan, which give the body a very rectangular brick-like appearance. The Koreans may have gone too far with the sharp corners; they literally dig into the palm of your hand; holding a smartphone is not always comfortable.

There are no complaints about the assembly. The body is solid and strong, there are no creaks when compressed. All surfaces are slippery, the smartphone is very heavy, smooth, and can jump out of your hands at any moment; you probably can’t do without a case.

On the back side there are two eyes of the dual camera, located horizontally. A powerful and very bright LED flash is installed nearby. The camera hardly protrudes beyond the surface; the smartphone lies stable on the table.

The eyes of the cameras themselves are not centered relative to the holes in the body, literally everyone noticed this. It looks sloppy, and for some reason Samsung constantly has such confusion with symmetry. The fingerprint scanner area is slightly recessed, it is easy to touch, but it is located quite close to the camera unit, so your finger sometimes gets on the glass covering the lenses, and then you have to wipe off fingerprints from it.

On the front panel above the screen there is a place for an LED event indicator. They did not provide their own flash for the front camera, but the front camera is equipped with autofocus. Samsung did not use the notorious “bangs” in this model, for which honor and praise should be given to it.

There are no elements below the screen, including touch buttons, but this part of the frame is narrow and takes up virtually no extra space on the front panel. The corners of the display are strongly rounded.

The mechanical keys are located on different sides, so when you press the power button with your thumb, your index finger rests on the Bixby button, this gets in the way, and in general it has long been clear that the abundance of keys on the body is unnecessary for most users.

The keys themselves are very thin; previously in Samsung devices they were the largest and most comfortable, but now you can’t say the same.

A connector for two Nano-SIM cards and a memory card was installed on the top end and made hybrid (a microSD card can only be installed instead of one of the SIM cards). Hot swapping of cards is supported.

When you open the connector cover, a warning appears on the smartphone screen about the need to close it tightly; in this case, the smartphone can be used even in water, since it is protected according to the IP68 standard.

Here, on the top end, you can find a small hole for an auxiliary microphone; there are three of them in the smartphone.

The main speaker is located at the bottom end, where the USB Type-C connector is also located. The speaking microphone hole is located near the speaker grille. Both speakers - conversational and main - work in a stereo pair for dubbing games, movies, etc.

Separately, it is worth mentioning a unique tool, which also traditionally has its own slot at the bottom: the S Pen. The pen is easily removed and has foolproof protection: it is no longer possible to insert it the other way, as before.

The end tip of the pen protrudes slightly beyond the body; it may well be pressed by some object in the bag.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is available in three colors: black, blue and copper. All of them have a black front panel.

Screen

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is equipped with a Super AMOLED display covered with 2.5D glass with sloping edges of Gorilla Glass. The physical dimensions of the screen are 71x146 mm, diagonal - 6.4 inches, while the screen resolution is 2960x1440 with an aspect ratio of 18.5:9 and a pixel density of about 516 ppi. The frame around the screen is approximately 2 mm thick on the sides and 8 mm thick on the top and bottom.

It is possible to use automatic brightness adjustment based on the operation of the ambient light sensor. With default settings, multi-touch tests diagnose support for 10 simultaneous touches. There is an Always On Display function.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the “Monitors” and “Projectors and TV” sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the sample under study.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface that is scratch-resistant. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are better than those of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) screen (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected when the screens are turned off (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy Note 9, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is noticeably darker (brightness according to photographs is 109 versus 118 for the Nexus 7) and does not have a pronounced tint. The ghosting of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of boundaries (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of intense external illumination, but their repair in the case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be replaced. On the outer surface of the screen of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (very effective, better than that of the Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much easier and appear at a lower speed than in the case of regular glass.

When displaying the white field in full screen and manually controlling the brightness, its maximum value was 320 cd/m² in normal conditions, and in very bright light it rises to 540 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case, the smaller the white area on the screen, the brighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. As a result, screen readability during the day in the sun should be at a good level. The minimum value is 1.7 cd/m², that is, the reduced brightness level allows you to use the device even in complete darkness without any problems. There is automatic brightness adjustment based on the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot and shows light values ​​close to reality). The operation of this function depends on the position of the brightness adjustment slider; with it, the user can try to set the desired brightness level in the current conditions. If you leave everything at default, then in complete darkness the auto-brightness function reduces the brightness to 7 cd/m² (dark), in an artificially lit office (approximately 550 lux) it sets it to 100 cd/m² (normal), in a very bright environment (corresponding to lighting on a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) increases to 440 cd/m² (enough), and conditionally under direct sunlight - up to 580 cd/m². We were not entirely satisfied with the result, so in complete darkness we slightly increased the brightness, resulting in the following values ​​for the four conditions indicated above: 12, 150, 485 and 605 cd/m² (ideal combination). It turns out that the auto-brightness function works adequately and allows you to customize your work to individual requirements. At any brightness level there is significant modulation with a frequency of 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum (as “100++” we designated the mode with additional illumination of the light sensor with bright light) and close to it, the modulation amplitude is not very large, as a result there is no visible flicker. However, as the brightness decreases, modulation appears with a large relative amplitude; its presence can already be seen in a test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, this flickering may cause increased fatigue. Note that at very low brightness, for example at 25%, the nature of the modulation changes: a U-shaped section appears, the amplitude of the modulation also changes, and the flicker becomes slightly less noticeable.

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light-emitting diodes. A full-color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are half as many red and blue subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphotograph:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

In the fragment above you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), and by repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without breaks or overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer calculates the screen resolution based on the green subpixels; based on the other two, it will be two times lower. There is some edge contrast and other artifacts, but due to the high resolution these have only a minimal impact on image quality.

The screen has excellent viewing angles. True, the white color, when deviated even at small angles, acquires a slight blue-green tint, but the black color remains simply black at any angle. It is so black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. For comparison, here are photos in which the screens of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (profile Basic) and the second comparison participant, identical images were displayed, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to approximately 200 cd/m², and the color balance on the camera was forced to switch to 6500 K.

White field:

We note good uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field (with the exception of barely visible darkening and a change in hue towards the curved edges).

And a test picture (profile Basic):

Color rendition is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens varies slightly. Recall that photography can't serve as a reliable source of information about color quality and are provided for illustrative purposes only. In particular, the pronounced reddish tint of the white and gray fields present in photographs of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 screen is visually absent when viewed from a perpendicular view, as confirmed by hardware tests using a spectrophotometer. The reason is that the spectral sensitivity of the camera sensor does not exactly match this characteristic of human vision. Note that in this case, the image occupies in height (in landscape screen orientation) the entire area available for image display and extends onto the curved edges of the screen, which leads to slight darkening and color distortion. Also, in the light, these areas almost always glare, which makes it even more difficult to view images displayed on the entire screen. And even the picture of films with an aspect ratio of 16:9 comes to bends, which interferes with watching movies.

The photo above was taken after selecting a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:

Profile Adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment of color rendering to the type of output image and environmental conditions:

The saturation is greatly increased, it looks terrible. What happens when you select the two remaining profiles is shown below.

Movie AMOLED

Saturation is slightly less.

Photo AMOLED

The red saturation is slightly lower than in the case Movie AMOLED.

Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Basic).

White field:

The brightness at an angle for both screens has noticeably decreased (to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed has been increased compared to previous photographs), but in the case of Samsung the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness, the screen of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 visually looks much brighter (compared to LCD screens), since you often have to look at the screen of a mobile device from at least a slight angle.

And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of the Samsung smartphone at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the matrix elements is performed almost instantly, but at the switching edge there may be a step with a width of approximately 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, this is what the dependence of brightness on time looks like when moving from black to white and back:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high clarity and even some “jerky” movements. The graph above shows how after a few tens of milliseconds the brightness begins to decrease when white is displayed in full screen.

A gamma curve constructed using 32 points with equal intervals based on the numerical value of the shade of gray showed that there is no significant blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows. The exponent of the approximating power function is 2.07, which is slightly less than the standard value of 2.2, while the actual gamma curve deviates slightly from the power function:

Let us recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for generally light images. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve) most likely slightly does not correspond to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential display of shades of gray on almost the entire screen.

Color gamut in the case of a profile Adaptive display very wide - wider than DCI-P3:

In profile Movie AMOLED The coverage is a little narrower, it is almost equal to DCI-P3:

When selecting a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is adjusted to Adobe RGB boundaries:

When selecting a profile Basic coverage is compressed to sRGB boundaries:

Without correction (profile Adaptive display) the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In case of profile Basic with maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut (without appropriate correction), the colors of regular images optimized for sRGB devices appear unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation: in most cases, watching movies, photographs and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on an Adobe RGB setting, does it make sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Likewise, profile Movie AMOLED appropriate when viewing video material with DCI-P3 coverage adopted in digital cinema.

The gray scale balance is acceptable. The color temperature is close to 6500 K, while in a significant portion of the gray scale this parameter does not change very much, which improves the visual perception of color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) over most of the gray scale remains below 10 units, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device (but the spread is still large):

(The darkest areas of the gray scale can be ignored in most cases, since color balance there is not very important, and the error in measuring color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

For some reason only when selecting a profile Adaptive display It becomes possible to adjust the color balance by three adjustments of the intensity of the primary colors, but due to the too wide color gamut in this profile there is no point in correcting the balance. There is a fashionable function nowadays Blue light filter, for which a more or less correct description is even given in the settings (in the menu at the level above there is nonsense written about “reducing eye strain,” but oh well):

Why such a correction can be useful is described in the article about iPad Pro 9.7. In any case, when entertaining with a tablet or smartphone at night, it is better to reduce the screen brightness to a minimum, but still comfortable level. Yellow screen setting Blue light filter there's no point.

Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has excellent anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors even on a sunny summer day without any problems. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is acceptable to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works adequately. The advantages of the screen include an effective oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB (if you choose the right profile) and an acceptable color balance. At the same time, let us recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected in the screen), a noticeably smaller drop in image brightness than LCDs when viewed at an angle. Disadvantages include screen brightness modulation. For users who are particularly sensitive to flicker, this may cause increased fatigue. However, overall the screen quality is very high. Separately, we note that from the point of view of image quality, curved edges are only harmful, since this design discovery introduces color tone distortions and reduces brightness at the edges of the picture, and in ambient light conditions it leads to inevitable glare along at least one long side of the screen.

Camera

The front camera has an 8 MP sensor (1/3.6″ matrix size) and an autofocus lens with F1.7 aperture. Various picture enhancement effects and portrait mode with background blur are supported. The ability to recognize faces even in complete darkness has been implemented. There is no own flash. In general, the front camera takes pictures quite well, there are no complaints about sharpness or detail.

The rear camera uses two 12-megapixel image sensors: one with a wide-angle lens with dual apertures of f/1.5 and f/2.4, and the second with a telephoto lens with f/2.4 aperture that provides double optical zoom. The camera is equipped with an optical stabilization system and the flash is extremely bright. There is a popular modern background blur function (separate portrait mode).

Algorithms allow the camera to recognize 20 different scenes and try to select the optimal shooting settings for a given lighting. Accordingly, when pointed at food, greenery, buildings, etc., the camera not only reports this with an icon directly on the viewfinder screen, but also applies appropriate (in its opinion) filters to the picture.

Examples of shooting with the main camera:

The quality of the shooting is pleasantly amazing. Of course, Samsung's flagship smartphones have featured cutting-edge cameras before, and the Galaxy Note 9 at least keeps its banner held high. Detail and sharpness are simply excellent across the entire field of the frame, practically not falling even in its very corners. Reasonable image resolution also contributes to this: the sensors and lenses of smartphones, for obvious reasons, are seriously inferior to those used in full-frame DSLRs - so why try to surpass their images in resolution? Neither 18- nor 24-megapixel images from regular smartphones come close to providing the declared resolution and only multiply the amount of colored noise that has to be stored in the device’s memory. In the case of the Galaxy Note 9, the opposite is true: it doesn’t make sense to take pictures with a resolution less than the maximum 12 megapixels, in which everything is fine. Perhaps the only drawback we noticed in the test frames was traces of noise reduction on very contrasting edges, such as wires in the sunny sky, which are not visible in 99% of ordinary photographs. Overall, this is definitely one of the best cameras we've seen in a smartphone. To compare it with other contenders for this title (like the Huawei P20 Pro), we'll need a direct comparison.

Optical zoom, realized by switching to the second module of the main camera, also makes the most pleasant impression. The pictures are equally detailed and have no visible imperfections. This component in the smartphone is certainly not installed for show.

Video can be shot in 4K format at 60 fps, there is optical image stabilization. There is a slow motion mode with a frame rate of 960 fps in 720p resolution and 240 fps in Full HD resolution. The quality of video shooting is high, the picture is bright and clear, there are no complaints about detail and autofocus speed. The only criticism is that the paints are unnatural, oversaturated and caustic, which is common to all Asian developers; they like these better. The sound is recorded clearly, the noise reduction system with support for three microphones works adequately.

• Video No. 1 (120 MB, 3840×2160@60 fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video No. 2 (52 MB, 1920×1080@60 fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video No. 3 (60 MB, 3840×2160@30 fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video No. 4 (95 MB, 3840×2160@60 fps, H.264, AAC)
• Video No. 5 (59 MB, 3840×2160@30 fps, fast, H.265, AAC)
• Video No. 6 (12 MB, 1280×720, slo-mo, H.264, AAC)

Telephone and communications

Exynos 9810 uses a Gigabit LTE Cat modem. 18 (1.2 Gbit/s for reception, 200 Mbit/s for upload) with VoLTE support. Several LTE frequency bands are supported, including all three LTE FDD bands used in Russia (Band 3, 7, 20). In practice, within the city limits of the Moscow region, the device demonstrates reliable operation in wireless networks, does not lose connection, and quickly restores connection after a forced interruption.

There are also no complaints about the operation of the Wi-Fi module (2.4 and 5 GHz, there is support for 802.11ac). There is also an NFC module that works with Troika travel cards and the My Travel Card application.

The navigation module works with all modern satellite navigation systems, including even Galileo (including, of course, GPS and the domestic Glonass). The first satellites, even during a cold start, are detected quickly, within the first seconds, and the positioning accuracy does not cause any complaints. A magnetic compass, necessary for navigation programs, is installed in the smartphone.

The phone application supports Smart Dial, that is, while dialing a phone number, a search is immediately carried out by the first letters in contacts. Methods for setting up sorting and display of contacts are standard for the Android interface. The power of the vibration alert is adjustable, and in maximum mode its intensity is very high, there are no complaints.

The hardware platform allows the smartphone to support both SIM cards in 4G mode at the same time. This way, the voice SIM card will work in 4G standby mode even if another card is assigned to 4G data. The cards operate in Dual SIM Dual Standby mode, there is only one radio modem. VoLTE support is available.

Software and multimedia

The software platform uses Android OS version 8.1 with Samsung's own proprietary shell, Samsung Experience 9.5, and the ability to update over the air (OTA).

Everything in the interface is familiar: the maximum number of settings, there is support for gestures, you can reduce the working area of ​​the screen, change the set of buttons in the navigation bar, clone applications, work in split screen mode and pin screens separately, and much more. You can even lower your screen resolution to improve performance and reduce power consumption. There is a hardware button on the case to call the Bixby voice assistant, but this service, as before, does not work with the Russian language.

One of the unique features of the Galaxy Note series has always been support for working with its own S Pen. Now you can use it not only to create notes in a notebook or write signatures under hand-drawn drawings - the pen can work as a remote control for some smartphone functions. For example, you no longer need to set a timer, take selfies at arm's length, and try to fit all your friends in a group photo—the shutter can be released from a distance using the S Pen. Holding down the button on the pen launches the camera, and double-pressing switches between the front and rear cameras. Also, using the stylus, you can switch frames in the presentation mode in PowerPoint, play a video and pause viewing - all while being at a distance of 10 meters from your mobile device.

You can also note the ability to unlock the Galaxy Note 9 using intelligent identification with recognition of the owner’s face and iris, regardless of lighting conditions. And it really works, unlocking in any lighting conditions occurs without failure. Of course, you can unlock your smartphone using your fingerprint, password, PIN code and other familiar methods.

To play music, you use your own player; there is support for Dolby Atmos with a lot of settings and a ten-band equalizer. The sound is high-quality, loud, clear, and any user can adjust it to themselves using the Adapt Sound service. The speakers work in a stereo pair, they are loud and produce clear, bright and quite high-quality sound. The smartphone comes with branded high-quality AKG headphones.

There is no built-in FM radio, but the existing voice recorder demonstrates excellent recording quality and sensitivity, working with three microphones at once.

Performance

The hero of the review operates on the Exynos 9 Series 9810 single-chip system, Samsung’s flagship mobile platform (in the USA and China, the model will be released on Snapdragon 845). The configuration of this SoC includes two clusters of four processor cores: Exynos M3 (M3 Mongoose) with a frequency of up to 2.7 GHz and custom Cortex-A55 with a frequency of up to 1.8 GHz. LPDDR4X RAM is 6 or 8 GB, storage is 128 or 512 GB. Of the 128 GB on the new smartphone, about 108 GB are free. It also supports the installation of memory cards that are formatted only as external storage.

Exynos 9 Series 9810 is created using the proprietary FinFET LPP 10 nm process technology. This is a powerful flagship platform from Samsung, quite comparable in capabilities to the top solution from the mobile SoC market leader - Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, judging by the tests. Without a doubt, this is one of the most powerful smartphone solutions available today.

The hero of the review demonstrates maximum performance both in benchmarks and in real use; in this regard, there are no obstacles for him. The video accelerator effortlessly copes with the most demanding games at maximum settings. All the games we tested, including Modern Combat 3, Mortal Kombat X, Injustice 2, run confidently without the slightest slowdown. The smartphone certainly has a significant headroom for future updates.

Testing in comprehensive tests AnTuTu and GeekBench:

For convenience, we have compiled all the results we obtained when testing the smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks into tables. The table usually adds several other devices from different segments, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry figures). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, so many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions of test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in gaming tests 3DMark, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark, the most powerful smartphones now have the ability to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (which can cause the speed to rise above 60 fps).

Testing in browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowance for the fact that their results significantly depend on the browser in which they are launched, so the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this is possible during testing not always. For Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

AndroBench memory speed test results:

Thermal photographs

Below is a thermal image rear surface obtained after 10 minutes of battery testing in the GFXBenchmark program:

The heating is highly localized around the vertical center and close to the left edge, which seems to correspond to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat camera, the maximum heating was 40 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is the average heating in this test for modern smartphones.

Playing video

To test the omnivorous nature of video playback (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Internet. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is often impossible to process modern options using processor cores alone. Also, you shouldn’t expect a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a table.

Further testing of video playback was performed Alexey Kudryavtsev.

This device supports DisplayPort Alt Mode for USB Type-C - outputs image and sound to an external device when connected to a USB port. We tested working in this mode together with an adapter equipped with a pass-through USB Type-C connector with support for USB Power Delivery, an HDMI output, a card reader for SD and microSD cards, and two USB 3.0 ports. Video output is carried out in 1080p mode at 60 Hz frame rate. There are two modes of operation: duplicating the smartphone screen and working in the mode - displaying an alternative desktop. The operating mode is selected by the user when connecting the smartphone to the display device:

Note that in this case, to work in Samsung DeX mode, it is not necessary to use a proprietary adapter. An image of an alternative desktop is displayed on the monitor screen, and the smartphone screen can be used as a touch pad for coordinate input or work as usual. The DeX desktop can run most Android apps.

The control panel at the bottom of the screen is removed when the image is displayed on the entire screen (for example, when playing a video). Output to the monitor is carried out in a true resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, dot to dot. Note that simultaneously with image and sound output, you can connect a mouse and keyboard to your smartphone via USB or Bluetooth, turning it into a basis for your workplace. In addition, USB drives and memory cards connected to the adapter are read. For the physical keyboard, language switching and a number of hotkey shortcuts are supported (the Meta key is apparently the Win key on a PC keyboard).

To test the output of video files on the screen of the device itself, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see “Method for testing video playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)”). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output of frames of video files with various parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In the tests we used the MX Player video player in the “Hardware” mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

2018 wasn't a great year for phones. Sales of Samsung's flagship Galaxy S9 have been a bit slow and it has become one of the least successful S-series devices. The Galaxy S9 is a great phone, but it doesn't have any innovation or anything particularly new.

From what I've seen, it could be a similar story with the Galaxy Note 9, which at first glance looks like a redesigned version of the 8. It has a bigger battery and some new features that debuted with the Galaxy S9, but will that be enough?

I've always liked the Note series. It's certainly for everyone, but it has features that you simply won't find anywhere else. With such a big battery, a huge amount of storage, and that gorgeous display, the Note 9 really shines. I'd like to see more. The lack of real updates to the camera is a sore point.

Performance

Autonomy

Pros

• Excellent performance
• Opening hours
• Not a bad design

Cons

• No significant update
• Expensive price

Total Score

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 release date

You can pre-order the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 now. It will start shipping on August 24th. There are a number of pre-incentives available and these will vary by region.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 price

In the UK, the price of the Galaxy Note 9 is as follows:

128GB – £899
512GB – £1099
If you want to buy a phone in the US, these are the prices:

128GB – $999
512 GB – $1299

In Russia its average price is:

128GB – 70 thousand rubles

512 GB – still in question

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – Design

If you've seen the Note 8, then you've seen the Note 9. Samsung has kept the overall design very similar, and that's not entirely a bad thing. Even though it's over a year old, the curved lines and metal bezel still feel thoroughly modern. Many phones have taken a similar look to this, but none feel high-tech and polished to perfection.

Glass is still a magnet, and I'm constantly worried about giving up such a large device, but I'm inclined to forgive these shortcomings for such a well-designed phone.

The biggest design difference is that the fingerprint sensor is now located below the camera instead of next to it. This small change makes a difference: I no longer mess up the camera every time I want to unlock my phone.

Samsung rarely changes the colors of its products, but with the Note 9 things are a little different. There's a vibrant blue finish that contrasts with the sharp yellow S-Pen. I love it and feel like it's a real step forward for a device that was once known for being too businesslike.

I'm also a big fan of the fact that you can buy S-Pens separately for the first time, allowing you to experiment with different combinations. The Note 9 will also come in standard black, the same lavender purple as the S9, and copper and gold - although unfortunately these won't be available everywhere.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – Specifications and Features

• Screen 6.4-inch, quad-core HD AMOLED, HDR
• Snapdragon 845 / Exynos 9810 performance
• RAM 6GB/8GB
• Storage 64GB / 128GB / 256GB / 512GB + microSD
• Rear camera 2 x 12MP (f/1.7 – f/1.5 – f/2.4 – main), OIS, 4K video, Dual Pixel
• Front camera 8MP, f/1.7
• 4000 mAh battery, fast charging, wireless charging
• S-Pen Yes (with Bluetooth)

There was a time in the earlier generations of the Note where it was superior to the S-series when it came to performance. Now it just matches its smaller sibling. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is powered by a Snapdragon 845 in the US and an Exynos 9810 elsewhere (same as the S9 and S9 Plus). It contains the same 6GB/8GB RAM as the S9 Plus and a Quad-HD HDR AMOLED display.

The display is slightly larger than the S9, but only by 0.2 inches. This is an absolutely stunning display that delivers an unforgettable experience. There's also improved AKG-tuned speakers so your media will look and sound great.

The biggest differences in specifications come down to battery and memory sizes. If you want to store everything on your phone, then the 512GB (now 128GB is the starting base) Note 9 is for you. You can even expand this thing up to 1TB with the addition of a microSD card. The battery is also huge: 4000 mAh.

During the release of the Note 9 version, Samsung also unveiled a partnership with developers Epic for Fortnite. Samsung will be the first device to debut Fortnite, with other Android phones coming later.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – S Pen

The S-Pen remains the Note's biggest selling point. The Wacom-supported stylus gives the Note a feature that may seem like an unnecessary thing, but that's far from true. Adding Bluetooth seems out of place: will I ever use this to control the camera or flip through presentations? Perhaps not.

When using the S Pen, everything is as good as before - it's fluid, smooth and uber-responsive. I've never been able to use the S-Pen for long, but considering how many Note fans use them, the S-Pen remains a positive addition.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 – Camera

There's a new camera on the back of the Note 9. The 12MP variable aperture (f/1.5 + f/2.4) camera has been taken straight from the S9 and S9 Plus. Next to it is another 12MP camera, this time with a longer focal length for 2x zoom.

The setup appears to be unchanged from the Galaxy S9 Plus, which may be a disappointment for those hoping the Note 9 will compete with the Pixel 2 or Huawei P20 Pro for the best phone camera. I took a few quick shots with the Note 9 during my demo, and they looked very similar to the S9: colors were very vibrant, but details were a bit washed out. I like having control over the aperture, especially since f/1.5 is good for blurring backgrounds and enhancing low-light shots.

In the camera app, Samsung has taken a note from the Huawei P20 series and added automatic scene detection. Samsung says there are 20 scenes it can detect, which will change the image depending on your environment. There is also a mode that can notice shortcomings and offer to correct them.