Aesthetically, the device doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor, the Note 8, which was such a pretty device anyway. I guess if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Subtle changes like the fingerprint sensor at the back is placed lower than the dual camera sensors instead of the side Note 8’s alongside the camera are some of the few pointers that you’re looking at the new Note and not it’s predecessors.
Internally, the Note 8 has been maxed out. The U.S version is powered by 2018’s Snapdragon chip, the 845 while the international version should be powered by their in-house Exynos chip like has been the case with previous Samsung Galaxy Notes and the flagship S-series. The killer cameras from the Galaxy S9 Plus have made their way onto the new Note, complete with the dynamic aperture. The Note 9 comes in two variants. The base model spots 6GB of RAM 128GB of internal storage. The souped-up version spots a whopping 512GB of storage. The Note supports expandable storage and coincidentally, Samsung is working on a 500GB SD Card. The Note will support this card and that effectively gives you 1TB of storage on your phone. How insane is that!?
The new Note still spots a 3.5mm headphone jack, supports fast wireless charging, supports fast wired charging, spots a humongous 6.4-inch UHD display, covered by glass on both faces, it really is the perfect smartphone. One of the major updated to the new Note over the previous version is the S-Pen. The new stylus has low power Bluetooth built in and that makes it the perfect remote control for the Note 9. You can now use the button on the S-Pen to perform tasks on the phone like say open the camera, switch between the front and rear cameras and even take a photo. The best thing about this button is that it is remapable meaning you can easily program it to any other task.
What isn’t remappable however is the Bixby button which makes its way onto the new Note. Samsung’s digital assistant Bixby is here and the company says it’s gotten a lot smarter but we have to wait to play with it to really tell if this is true. The Note 9 has a 4000mAh battery powering the mammoth of a phone. In light of the Note 7 mishap, the company has taken precaution throughout the production process to ensure quality and safety control. They’ve also had independent companies perform extensive tests on the battery to ensure its safety so prospective users have that peace of mind. To take advantage of the device’s immense power, at launch, it is one of the devices that’ll see the launch of Fortnite on Android. At least in beta for now. The super popular game is now also available on Galaxy devices and later on a wider launch on Android.
Pricing and Availability
The base model 128GB should retail at $1000 while the 512GB model should go for $1250. Of course, when these devices get to this side of the planet, these prices will be adjusted upwards by about 10%-15% if history is anything to go by. This is certainly a premium price-tag for a premium device. International preorders begin August 10th and shipping starts August 24th. We still don’t know much about local availability but that should be announced in the next few days.