The Samsung Galaxy Note 9, although not the latest Note series smartphone, but one of the best money can buy currently. The phone has been replaced by Samsung Galaxy Note 10 and its Plus model, but the Galaxy Note 9 is still a top-notch handset.
The Galaxy Note 9 has the best phone specifications you can find in the market right now. It’s equipped with a sizeable 6.4-inch AMOLED display, Exynos 9810 chipset, up to 512GB built-in storage with 8GB of RAM, and a huge 4,000mAh battery. Fortunately, you can slide in up to a 512GB SDcard which will give you in addition with the inbuilt storage up to 1TB space to save all your files, photos, videos, and music.
Also, the Note 9 camera is undoubtedly better than the Note 8, featuring a dual 12-MP rear camera set-up, and can record Super Slow Motion videos. Meanwhile, Samsung equipped the phone with an automatic scene optimizer and flaw detection that further enhances the photo quality.
As a Galaxy Note device, there’s an S Pen for jotting down notes and equally serves as Bluetooth remote control shortcuts. Undoubtedly, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a great smartphone but quite expensive. Unfortunately, you’ll have to pay almost the price of the Apple iPhone XS to get the entry-level 6GB and 128GB model. Notwithstanding the hefty price tag, the Note 9 is our top Samsung smartphone recommendation as it gives you a lot of giant-sized display, a power-filled phone, and a stylus pen for all professional and casual use.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Key Specifications
- Display: 6.4-inches Super AMOLED
- Resolution: 1440 x 2960 pixels
- Processor: Exynos 9810 chipset
- Front Camera: 8-megapixel + 2-megapixel
- Rear Camera: 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel
- RAM: 6GB /8GB
- Storage: 128GB /512GB
- Battery Capacity: 4000mAh
- OS: Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 10, One UI 2.5
Design and Display
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has a wonderful design with a slightly bigger size than its predecessor. It’s wider too and slightly shorter with dimensions of 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm compared to the Note 8’s 162.5 x 74.8 x 8.6mm. However, the former weighs more at 201g, but it’s more comfortable to hold than the S9 Plus, thanks to its less-rounded-off design.
Unlike most flagship devices, the Note 9 gives you a headphone jack and microSD card slot for expandable storage. Also, there’s a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner that acts as a security alternative to Samsung’s Iris scanner and Face Unlock. However, these two sensors don’t work as well as Apple’s Face ID on the iPhone X.
Fortunately, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is an IP68 rated water-resistant and dust-proof device that’s similar to the one on most flagship smartphones.
Undoubtedly, Samsung’s Super AMOLED screen doesn’t need any hype to be the best. Samsung has been known for their technology maestro when it comes to display, and they keep on updating it every year.
The Note 9 6.4-inch screen features a slight increase over the 6.3-inch Note 8 display. The almost bezel-less display is the best from Samsung so far and it’s confirmed to be 27% brighter and with a 32% more contrast ratio than the Note 8. Also, the Note 9 comes with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, alongside 516ppi density, and Samsung’s curvy edges screen.
Camera
Samsung has once again shown its camera prowess on the Note 9. This is one of the best camera phones you’ll be able to buy currently in Nigeria. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has a similar camera quality to the S9 Plus, although Samsung has tweaked its software to improve the Note 9 quality.
The dual 12-MP back cameras come with variable-aperture technology to switch between an f/2.4 aperture for normal lighting condition and an f/1.5 aperture for lowlight photos. Fortunately, the camera was able to pick up the main subject and blur the background for amazing bokeh effects. Also, the Note 9’s rear camera supports up to 2× optical zoom that gives you great telephoto shots. Meanwhile, the secondary camera with its f/2.4 aperture has optical image stabilization (OIS) to make up for your shaky hands.
As for the front camera, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has an 8-MP selfie camera, along with another 2-MP sensor (dedicated iris scanner camera). Fortunately, Samsung equipped the Note 9 camera app with a lot of features like Super Slow Motion video, AR Stickers, and wide group selfies.
Specs, Performance, and Software
Amazingly, the Galaxy Note 9 features a chipset with an upgrade over the Note 8, thereby giving us an S9 or S9 Plus-like performance. In the US and China, you’re getting Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset, while you’ll get an Exynos 9810 chip in other countries.
Although the Note 9 doesn’t have the fastest chip, it’s plenty fast and has RAM options of 6GB and 8GB, alongside either 128GB or 512GB inbuilt storage units. Meanwhile, the Note 9 got an average multi-core score of 9,051 and a single-core score of 3,698. However, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro has a multi-score of 9,792 while the iPhone X and iPhone XS are the highest with over 10,000 multi-score results.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 runs on Android 8.1 Oreo with an update to Android 10 promised. However, Samsung One UI 2.5 interface is well refined and contains a lot of features and tweaks to help you navigate a deep and complex operating system effectively.
Fortunately, the Samsung Bixby AI assistant is here, alongside Google Voice Assistant. However, we found Google Assistant better as it’s smarter to understand your voice better than Bixby.
Battery Capacity
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 has a 4000mAh battery capacity, thereby making it one of the best Samsung smartphones when it comes to battery life. If you’re a moderate user, the Note 9 can comfortably give you more than a day battery life.
Fortunately, there’s a 15W fast charging, alongside fast wireless charging. However, charging with the included USB-C cable is faster, powering the phone from 0 to 70 in 60 minutes and 100% in 1h 50mins.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Price in Nigeria and Availability
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 was officially released on August 24, 2018, just a few months after the launch of the Note 8.
The Note 9 Price starts at ₦180,000 (about $436) for the 6GB of RAM with 128GB of internal storage and ₦250,000 (roughly $605) for 512 built-in storage and 8GB of RAM variant. At this price, the Note 9 levels against Apple iPhone X at ₦240,000.
Read also Samsung Galaxy M62: Full Review, Specs, and Price in Nigeria
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Full Specifications
General
- Brand: Samsung
- Model: Galaxy Note 9
- Release Date: August 24, 2018
- Operating System: Android 8.1 (Oreo), upgradable to Android 10, One UI 2.5
- Weight: 201g
- Colors: Metallic Copper, Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Pure White, Alpine White
Display
- Touchscreen: YES
- Type: Super AMOLED, HDR10
- Display Size: 6.3-inches
- Screen Resolution: 1440 x 2960 pixels
- Dimensions: 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm (6.37 x 3.01 x 0.35 in)
- Facelock Support: YES
- In-display fingerprint scanner: No
- Sensors: Fingerprint (Rear-mounted)
Platform
- Chipset: Exynos 9810 (10nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (4×2.7 GHz Mongoose M3 & 4×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
- GPU: Mali-G72
Memory
- RAM: 6GB /8GB
- Inbuilt Storage: 128GB /512GB
- SD Card slot: Yes
Camera
- Rear Flash: LED Flashlight
- Rear Camera: 12-MP f/1.5 (wide), 12-MP f/2.4 (telephoto)
- Video: 4K@60fps (no OIS/EIS), 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR, stereo sound rec., gyro-EIS & OIS
- Front Camera: 8-MP, f/1.7 (wide), 2-MP (dedicated iris scanner camera)
- Front Flash: —
Connectivity
- Wi-Fi: YES
- Bluetooth: 5.0
- USB: MicroUSB-C 3.1
- GPS: YES
- WLAN: YES
Network
- SIM: Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Hybrid Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
- Technology: GSM | HSPA | LTE
- 3G Support: Yes
- 4G/ LTE Support: Yes
- 5G Support: No
Battery
- Capacity: Li-lon 4000 mAh, non-removable
- Fast Charge: 15W
Price
- Price in Nigeria: ₦180,000 – ₦250,000
- Price in Dollar: $436 – $605
