Yesterday Samsung held their coveted Unpacked event and announced the new flagship Samsung Galaxy Note 9 smartphone. And today it’s available for pre-order with shipping expected on August 24th. I’m finally having time to process and sit down and talk about it. And let me tell you… I want one! I have been using a Samsung Galaxy S8+ for just about 1.5 years and I have zero complaints. I love it. The Note 9 takes everything that we love about this phone, and the previous Note 8 and makes them even better. I have carried a Note, Note 2, Note 3, Note 4, Note 5, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, and now Galaxy S8+. Yeah… love Android and I love my Samsung phones. So, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this announcement.
We’ve been hearing rumors for weeks about the features of the phone due to several “accidental” leaks. It’s great to finally know what’s real and what’s not.
Here’s the best of what we learned yesterday:
It Has a Beautiful 6.4″ Screen
The Galaxy Note 9 screen is slightly larger than the Note 8. The screen is 6.4 inches versus 6.3 inches on the previous model. They touched on this in the press conference… I can remember when the first Note was announced. At the time the screen was 5.3 inches. Some people thought that was way too big. I was all for it though. I got one when I switched from my iPhone, and I loved it! With each release, they have inched the size up little by little. 6.4 inches does sound huge, but I’m betting it won’t seem that much bigger than my Galaxy S8+ which is 6.2″. And it boasts a 2960×1440 Super AMOLED screen.
It Comes with Lots of Storage
The standard model of the Galaxy Note 9 comes with 6GB of RAM and a 128GB hard drive. It is also available with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB hard drive. And it has a microSD slot that will accept up to a 512GB SD card. And, Samsung is not going to let us rely on large cards by other manufacturers. They announced that a 512GB Samsung microSD card is coming soon. My guess is by the time that phone ships.
It Has a Bigger Battery
The Galaxy Note 9 comes with a 4000mAh which is the largest so far. They announced that the battery will last “all day”, but I have my doubts. It seems like every smartphone I get starts out with a great battery, but after a few months, the quality starts to go down. Of course, some of this is to due to apps running in the background, and that can be fixed. I am hoping that they are right though. Not having to charge my phone halfway through the day will be fantastic!
It Has An Awesome Camera
Friends and family always comment on the awesome photos that my S8+ take. When listening to the features of the new Note 9 camera, I got too excited! The feature that really tickles me is the ability to use the new, improved S Pen as a trigger for the camera. This makes taking selfies awesome! No more setting the timer and rushing into position. The camera is a dual 12MP telephoto camera. They also announced some cool features like the ability to have the camera detect when someone has their eyes closed or is not smiling. It will alert you and give you the chance to take another photo.
The S Pen is a Remote
In addition to using the S Pen as a trigger for your camera, you can also use it to control presentations and more. This is made possible by the addition of Bluetooth technology in the pen. You charge your pen by simply putting it back in your phone. But, if you are looking to do “normal S Pen stuff” charging is not necessary. It will fully charge in only 1 minute and the charge lasts for 30 minutes.
It Has An Internal Water Cooling System
Samsung does not want a repeat of what happened with the failed Note 7. The Note 9 comes with an internal water carbon cooling system. The sound of this makes me a bit nervous. I have some questions. LOL! It also has other improvements for better heat transfer.
It Has Samsung Dex
Although it’s been around for a while, I had not heard of Samsung Dex until yesterday. Dex allows you to use your smartphone like a desktop computer by simply plugging it into an external display using an HDMI adapter. You can then use the external screen to do one task like watching a movie and still do other things with the phone in your hand.
These are the things that got my ears tingling when watching the announcement. There is so much more to this phone though. They’ve got my vote! For complete specs, and details, or to pre-order check out the Samsung Note 9 site.
I have not gotten my hands on one just yet, but if you are looking for a good hands-on video, check out this video from The Verge.
The price that you end up paying will ultimately depend on your carrier, any deals, and whether or not you pay on a monthly lease or full price up front. But, the retail price of the 128GB version is $999, while the 512GB version will run you $1249.
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