This year’s Samsung Galaxy S9 is an excellent smartphone by all standards but it’s only an iterative update compared to the revolutionary Samsung Galaxy S8. So, for owners of the previous model, the improvements done on the S9 does not offer a very compelling value proposition. It’s already showing up in the sales charts as the Korean tech giant is experiencing a slump. It seems that the burden of picking up the slack is on the company’s next phone release – the Galaxy Note 9.
The invites are out and the venue is set in Brooklyn, New York. On August 9, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is expected to be announced. If the early leaks are to be believed, then it’s an exceedingly exciting time for Android fans as the expected enhancements on the new phone would bring the smartphone closer to perfection than its predecessor.
Externals
There isn’t much to expect in the way of design but, that might be a bittersweet thing. Samsung’s dual-curved design called the ‘Infinity Display’ has been the most innovative design feature to come our way in a while. The problem with that is that it’s been a long time since that feature was introduced and smartphone consumers are always hungry for innovation. What it’s got going for it though is that it’s been a well-received feature, unlike other design reinventions that have been controversial. The iPhone notch, for example, is something that people either absolutely loathe or just plainly tolerate.
Design-wise, the back is going to experience the most changes. One imperfection that plagued the Note 8 is the placement of the fingerprint sensor alongside the rear camera. It’s expected to be moved to under the cameras – yes, you heard that right, cameras. The Note 9 is highly likely to sport a dual camera set up just like the S9 Plus.
While it is big news that the Note 9 is going to sport the dual cameras, what’s truly exciting about the device is that its front-facing shooter is going to be greatly improved.
Other than that, the overall design of the phone is expected to be a carbon copy of the Note 8. Which, is not a totally bad thing. Overall, this just goes to show how on-point the Note 8 already was.
Internals
The Note 8’s battery has always been one of its weakness. The 3,300 mAh is average at best which does not go particularly well with the outstanding aspects of the rest of the handset. When it was updated to Oreo, this problem has become even more pronounced as the update greatly diminished the battery life when it comes to real-world use.
The Note 9’s proposed 4,000 mAh battery is excellent news for power-users who spend a lot of time using energy-hungry productivity apps. However, leaks also suggest that the charging port that only takes up to 10W of power from the Note 8 is getting carried over to the Note 9. This would make it one of the slowest charging top-of-the-line smartphones in the competitive high-end smartphone market. The 4,000 mAh should theoretically take about 3 hours to get it from 0% to 100%. That’s a significant part of the day spent tied to a wall charger or a power bank which might be a deal breaker to power-users who are always on the go.
Thankfully, FCC filings confirm that the wireless charging capacity of the Note 9 is top-notch. It states that compatible wireless chargers are already being manufactured for the device. They’re 12v 2.1amp chargers that have the potential to charge the Note 9 far quicker than just plugging it into a wall charger. However, this wireless charger will be sold separately from the handset so you’re going to have to cough up some more money if you want to have that feature.
As always, Samsung’s latest device is going to rock the best and most powerful chipset available in the market. That means that it will be equipped with a Snapdragon 845 in some regions and the latest in-house Exynos chipset in some markets. What’s notable about this is that the Snapdragon chipset is powerful enough to fully power modern laptops. That same processing power, when put inside a smartphone should translate to some serious productivity for its user.
Software
Not a lot is known about the Note 9’s software except that it should rock the latest version of Android currently available. That means it’s going to either be powered by the Android Oreo 8.1 or Android P if that version is launched before the phone’s release date.
Samsung’s S-Pen, the defining feature of the Note series, is expected to make a return. You’d think that there wouldn’t be much improvements on the already stellar stylus experience that it lends to the Note 8 but the leaks seem to suggest that there’s still room for improvement. One of the most significant enhancement is that the stylus will now have Bluetooth functionality which means that it should be able to have some utility even when it’s far from the handset. Theoretically, it should work as a camera clicker and a music controller at the least and one could only imagine the possibilities.
Verdict
Overall, the Note 9 looks like it’s going with the current trend. It’s going to be largely an iterative update to the Note 8 which is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s still going to be an excellent phone that’s going to get a lot of attention. At its core, it’s a worthy successor to the Note 8. However, if you look at the bigger picture, you may want to wait for Samsung’s flagship next year for the company’s 10th-anniversary edition phones because those phones would surely pack the latest innovations from the Korean giant.
The invites are out and the venue is set in Brooklyn, New York. On August 9, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is expected to be announced. If the early leaks are to be believed, then it’s an exceedingly exciting time for Android fans as the expected enhancements on the new phone would bring the smartphone closer to perfection than its predecessor.
Externals
There isn’t much to expect in the way of design but, that might be a bittersweet thing. Samsung’s dual-curved design called the ‘Infinity Display’ has been the most innovative design feature to come our way in a while. The problem with that is that it’s been a long time since that feature was introduced and smartphone consumers are always hungry for innovation. What it’s got going for it though is that it’s been a well-received feature, unlike other design reinventions that have been controversial. The iPhone notch, for example, is something that people either absolutely loathe or just plainly tolerate.
Design-wise, the back is going to experience the most changes. One imperfection that plagued the Note 8 is the placement of the fingerprint sensor alongside the rear camera. It’s expected to be moved to under the cameras – yes, you heard that right, cameras. The Note 9 is highly likely to sport a dual camera set up just like the S9 Plus.
While it is big news that the Note 9 is going to sport the dual cameras, what’s truly exciting about the device is that its front-facing shooter is going to be greatly improved.
Other than that, the overall design of the phone is expected to be a carbon copy of the Note 8. Which, is not a totally bad thing. Overall, this just goes to show how on-point the Note 8 already was.
Internals
The Note 8’s battery has always been one of its weakness. The 3,300 mAh is average at best which does not go particularly well with the outstanding aspects of the rest of the handset. When it was updated to Oreo, this problem has become even more pronounced as the update greatly diminished the battery life when it comes to real-world use.
The Note 9’s proposed 4,000 mAh battery is excellent news for power-users who spend a lot of time using energy-hungry productivity apps. However, leaks also suggest that the charging port that only takes up to 10W of power from the Note 8 is getting carried over to the Note 9. This would make it one of the slowest charging top-of-the-line smartphones in the competitive high-end smartphone market. The 4,000 mAh should theoretically take about 3 hours to get it from 0% to 100%. That’s a significant part of the day spent tied to a wall charger or a power bank which might be a deal breaker to power-users who are always on the go.
Thankfully, FCC filings confirm that the wireless charging capacity of the Note 9 is top-notch. It states that compatible wireless chargers are already being manufactured for the device. They’re 12v 2.1amp chargers that have the potential to charge the Note 9 far quicker than just plugging it into a wall charger. However, this wireless charger will be sold separately from the handset so you’re going to have to cough up some more money if you want to have that feature.
As always, Samsung’s latest device is going to rock the best and most powerful chipset available in the market. That means that it will be equipped with a Snapdragon 845 in some regions and the latest in-house Exynos chipset in some markets. What’s notable about this is that the Snapdragon chipset is powerful enough to fully power modern laptops. That same processing power, when put inside a smartphone should translate to some serious productivity for its user.
Software
Not a lot is known about the Note 9’s software except that it should rock the latest version of Android currently available. That means it’s going to either be powered by the Android Oreo 8.1 or Android P if that version is launched before the phone’s release date.
Samsung’s S-Pen, the defining feature of the Note series, is expected to make a return. You’d think that there wouldn’t be much improvements on the already stellar stylus experience that it lends to the Note 8 but the leaks seem to suggest that there’s still room for improvement. One of the most significant enhancement is that the stylus will now have Bluetooth functionality which means that it should be able to have some utility even when it’s far from the handset. Theoretically, it should work as a camera clicker and a music controller at the least and one could only imagine the possibilities.
Verdict
Overall, the Note 9 looks like it’s going with the current trend. It’s going to be largely an iterative update to the Note 8 which is not necessarily a bad thing. It’s still going to be an excellent phone that’s going to get a lot of attention. At its core, it’s a worthy successor to the Note 8. However, if you look at the bigger picture, you may want to wait for Samsung’s flagship next year for the company’s 10th-anniversary edition phones because those phones would surely pack the latest innovations from the Korean giant.