Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Full Review; a well designed, with beast inside.

There is no denying that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the best flagship, available in the Nepali market. The Samsung Nepal claims the pre-order for this device was way higher than their expectation. Indeed, the device is so beautiful and pack a powerhouse, over pre-order was obvious. It also took a while before we can get our hands on the latest flagship. Now, it’s been almost a month since I have been using the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Now, here’s my experience and review of the Galaxy Note 9.  

Let’s start with the design and display | Galaxy Note 9

First of all, let’s start with the design and look of the device. At the first glance, it’s “WoW”, the curved front glass, premium glass on the back, and metallic frame between them, makes the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 look and feel premium. The buttons are tactic and perfectly on right place. However, in personal experience, I didn’t use the Bixby Button at all, but every time I try to volume down the sound, I end up pressing the Bixby button.

Further, thank god, there is 3.5mm audio jack still alive, at the bottom, along with Type-C, mic, speaker and S-Pen, lining up simultaneously. The interesting feature or part of this device is the S-Pen. However, I will cover the feature and impression of S-Pen in another article. On the top, there is SIM and Micro-SD tray with noise cancellation hole.

Talking about the display, it’s beautiful, probably the most beautiful display in any smartphone devices. The best part of the display is that there is no notch, for me, it’s the best part. The display is sharp, dark colors are deep, colors are rich, stunning display with gorgeous contrast.

Since the screen is pretty big, it’s not possible to use it single handed. For some, it might be a problem. But for me, it provides me with an extra space for multitasking. I can use two apps at once, which is pretty handy for me, like splitting Gmail and MS Word file.

Probably the best camera on any smartphone | AI camera

The Note 9 features the Galaxy S9’s main camera lens, which changes the aperture when it detects the low light condition, automatically. For selfies, there is also an 8-megapixel on front.

The camera on Galaxy Note 9 isn’t something to get excited about if you are already using Galaxy Note 8 or S8 or S9, devices. For those who have switched from another brand, the camera will be a feature you will remember. The cameras are really really good, probably the best feature this device. There are a bunch of modes, Panorama, Pro, Live Focus, Super Slow, AR Emoji, and Hyperlapse. Among these features, I liked the Pro mode, because you can customize the features and setting as per your preference and lightening condition. Actually, with this mode, you will forget your professional DSLR camera.

Taking selfies is also fun, with four different modes, like live focus, selfie, and AR Emoji and wide selfie.

The Note 9’s camera is integrated with new AI, which needs a quite update and improvements.  Like, if you shoot food, person, or anything else, it only detects it. Actually, there are 20 options, you can get. Then after, the AI or Camera optimizes saturation, contrast, and white balance, making the images to pop.

Besides the AI, there is also another feature: flaw detection, which simply detects if there is any problem with the photo. For example: if someone blinks an eye or moves, or if the photo comes blurry, etc. it automatically detects the situation and informs you immediately, prompting you to retake the picture.

As I already mentioned, the AI on Note 9 needs to improve, however, I really like the flaw detection features. It comes in handy and was quite useful for me, most of the time.

The battery is Huge | 4,000mAh

For this review purpose, I maxed out some features, like screen resolution, 2-3 hours of 4G data, Iris scanner and fingerprint scanner, full brightness all the time ( even at nights or dark environment), wi-fi is turned on all the time, dual-SIM, etc.

After such configuration and usage for a while, the battery life in Note 9 is satisfactory. Sometimes, it won’t last for a day.  I am using the Exynos 9810 version, hopefully, the Snapdragon version is doing well. That doesn’t mean that the battery is bad, I have a very bad habit of using the devices to its optimum level. Actually, I was expecting more juice from 4,000mah battery, which it could not deliver. The battery backup is good but it should have been better.

If you watching YouTube, Netflix, or whatever, the average screen on time was just 5+ hours or so. Talking about gaming, I played Fortnite, PUBG and Asphalt 9. The battery back-up for each was different, the Asphalt 9 and Fortnite stayed for 3+ hours or so, while the PUBG drained the battery lot quicker.

Keep in mind that the battery will degrade over time, reducing the backup time. So, I will continue to keep an eye on the battery drain in the coming days.

Performance and internal speeds

With Exynos 9810 and 6GB of RAM, the device should be pretty smooth and yes it is. There is no lag or error for normal usage, like using social media, watching YouTube, listening to music, etc. at all. I also didn’t find any problem while using the camera, smooth as butter.

Before going further, keep in mind, the Galaxy Note 9 is not designed for gaming. However, it will handle any task thrown.

The performance was as smooth as butter. When it comes to using apps like Fortnite and PUBG, I noticed some lags. Playing games like Fortnite, PUBG, Asphalt, etc. requires more energy and speed of the processor, which this device can deliver, but with some lags. While playing Fortnite, I didn’t notice much heat, just a warm feeling on my fingers and palm. The heat rises as you continue playing, which is obvious though. However, while playing PUBG, I noticed the device heats up more. Sometimes, the game froze and lags were also noticed, which I didn’t get in other flagships. However, playing the Asphalt 9 was quite smooth, not a single problem though. 

Besides these issues, everything else is smooth, without a single problem. The multitasking was also quite smooth. I opened 50 different apps and try to switch among them, it worked perfectly.

Fingerprint, Facial Unlock,  Scanner, and Heartrate monitor

Considering the fact, how many times do user unlock their device in a single day, it is quite an important facet of any smartphones. There are three different biometric methods to secure your device, fingerprint, facial unlock and Iris scanner. Among these, I recommend you using the fingerprint scanner, its quick and less hassle. The fingerprint scanner is easy to register and unlock as well. Just swipe your finger and you are registered. However, while registering facial or iris, it’s more complicated and unlocks is also not as quick as compared. The Iris scanner is worse, your eyes have to be the perfect place and also it uses more battery and internal processing. Besides, the heart rate scanner was also not much of use for me.

Should I buy the Galaxy Note 9?

Well, if you are comparing between the Galaxy Note 9 and iPhone X series. I would recommend you to go with iPhone XS Max, otherwise, the Galaxy Note 9 is the best. For $1000 Galaxy Note 9 v/s $1000 iPhones, it would be wise to choose the Note 9.

The Note 9 is designed with professional use, and power user in mind. With this device, you will have numerous options for professional usage. On the top, the large screen provides more space and easy to use apps. Galaxy Note 9 is a complete all-in-one device.