Samsung's Galaxy Note9 is official - 4000mAh battery, S Pen remote, 128GB/512GB storage

[AlTech]

Am I only the only disappointed in the Note 9?

 

I couldn't care less about flagship phones cos that's not the type of phone I buy.

 

I think that the midrange phones we have today are not good enough and the flagship phones these days are overpriced as hell.

 

If Samsung took the S9 and cut down the SOC to an Exynos 9610/Snapdragon 710 and cut the price to £399 (from £769 S9 Unlocked price) then I'd buy that.

 

I'd never buy a full priced $699 or above flagship. I'm not eligible for monthly instalments in most places and so buying a phone is an investment and I'm not gonna buy a £699 phone or more expensive just because it has a new camera or awesome specs. For £699 or heaven forbid £999, it better be able to shoot out lasers and double as an invisibility cloak and bulletproof vest.

 

The only phones I find interesting are the ones I can actually afford like budget and midrange. A few months back I saw some used Galaxy S8s on eBay for £499 and I thought that was still overpriced. 

 

OEMs wonder why the smartphone market isn't doing as well as it used to, imho it's cos the prices have become so unreasonable nobody can buy a phone every single year and sometimes people can't afford even every 2 years.

 

Unless unlocked phones cease to exist and everybody pays on a monthly plan, there's no way I can support OEMs with their flagship phone stupidity.

[dizmo]

I don't get the hate.

 

I mean, yeah it looks the same, but there's a ton of upgrades over it's predecessor.

• Much larger battery
• Gets the variable aperture camera from the S9+
• Smaller body while cramming in a larger screen
• 4k60 video vs 4k30

It's hard to make a monumentally better phone every year, when you basically already make the best phone on the market.

 

For all those saying it's not "worth" it, you're only speaking for yourself. Worth is relative, and I know a ton of people that are going to pick this up.

How much do you spend on your PC, that you likely replace every couple of years? Or hell, your flagship video card?

 

21 hours ago, emosun said:

my car i bought 7 year ago was 1000$ , doubt the phone will be as useful or last as long lol. it's amazing what they price stuff at that they expect to only have a few year lifespan.

You got ripped off. I've gotten 9 years use out of my electric razor. Cost a third of what your car did.

21 hours ago, Airdragonz said:

After a certain price point, I really don't see why people will continue to buy the phones. I can get the same performance out of something like a Oneplus 6 for half the price. What are you really paying extra for? A beautiful screen that wastes more battery life? Water resistance? Is that all worth over 500 bucks?

They want the best of the best. Plus the OnePlus doesn't have a pen, which a lot of people find useful.

21 hours ago, Konrad_K said:

The price though. Phones are getting more and more expensive and give little benefit for the huge price difference. A 300$ phone can do most of the things a 1000$ phone can do. I doubt the camera is 800$ better than a mid range phone. Neither is the processor, and a 4000mah battery should be a standard for flagships. They kind of announce it as a feature while they should say "Hey we caught up to the 150$ Chinese phones when it comes to battery capacity".

 

Anyways, thanks for the news OP!

Haha, I completely disagree here. Midrange phones have poor cameras compared to flagships; I've used both extensively. The difference is quite significant.

Battery size isn't the only thing that matters in terms of battery life, optimization and component selection play a massive role.

19 hours ago, D13H4RD2L1V3 said:

Actually, the S9 hasn't been a hot seller. I don't think the Note9 would be much different.

I don't really think 35 million units counts as poor. I mean, it hasn't been as hot as other years, but it's still far from poor sales.

18 hours ago, Airdragonz said:

Note 9 probably won't sell too well based off the rumors of the upcoming S10 and foldable phone. Anyhow, I'm personally done with Samsung phones based on my poor experiences with their previous phones. 

I think it will. They're different form factors. Especially the foldable phone, which is more of a niche.

17 hours ago, Mooshi said:

What's the actual point of the note series? Screen too small to do any artwork on comfortably. 

There's an SPen, and the pen is invaluable at note taking. Or editing documents. I used mine extensively in school to go over my gf's or lab partners essays and email them back so they could change the mistakes. It's also great at pointing things out on maps or images and sending the picture to someone else. Art is far from the only use for a stylus.

7 hours ago, AnonymousGuy said:

Seems like basically a rebadged Note 8 with marginally bigger battery.   I'm on iOS anyways though so I'm far more excited by the upcoming iPhone X Plus which is a big departure from the 8 Plus.

There's more differences than that.

[linkboy]

24 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

What? Note 8 charge would last a day easily with a lot of use. 

My Note can usually make it till around 5, depending on how I'm using it. I just took the Facebook app off, so that should help it's battery even more. I love my Note 8, it's been the best phone I've ever used.

[mynameisjuan]

3 minutes ago, dizmo said:

It's hard to make a monumentally better phone every year, when you basically already make the best phone on the market.

Thats exactly what most people cant grasp. I dont get what more people want. 

[dizmo]

4 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Am I only the only disappointed in the Note 9?

 

I couldn't care less about flagship phones cos that's not the type of phone I buy.

 

I think that the midrange phones we have today are not good enough and the flagship phones these days are overpriced as hell.

 

If Samsung took the S9 and cut down the SOC to an Exynos 9610/Snapdragon 710 and cut the price to £399 (from £769 S9 Unlocked price) then I'd buy that.

 

I'd never buy a full priced $699 or above flagship. I'm not eligible for monthly instalments in most places and so buying a phone is an investment and I'm not gonna buy a £699 phone or more expensive just because it has a new camera or awesome specs. For £699 or heaven forbid £999, it better be able to shoot out lasers and double as an invisibility cloak and bulletproof vest.

 

The only phones I find interesting are the ones I can actually afford like budget and midrange. A few months back I saw some used Galaxy S8s on eBay for £499 and I thought that was still overpriced. 

 

OEMs wonder why the smartphone market isn't doing as well as it used to, imho it's cos the prices have become so unreasonable nobody can buy a phone every single year and sometimes people can't afford even every 2 years.

 

Unless unlocked phones cease to exist and everybody pays on a monthly plan, there's no way I can support OEMs with their flagship phone stupidity.

Huh? The midrange phones we have today are the best they've ever been, and can actually replace most people's needs for flagships.

There are far more midrange phones than there are flagship phones. There will always be something at the top of the product stack. I don't see why you hate on those products.

They're clearly just not meant for you.

 

What exactly were you expecting from the Note9? How would they have made it better?

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Jeeeeeeeeeesus christ 512GB storage? In the name of God WHY?

[linkboy]

2 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

Jeeeeeeeeeesus christ 512GB storage? In the name of God WHY?

Especially since it still retains the MicroSD card slot, and Samsung mentioned a 512GB MicroSD card yesterday. 1TB on a phone is insane. I've got a 200GB in my Note and I'm nowhere close to filling it up.

[mynameisjuan]

3 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

Jeeeeeeeeeesus christ 512GB storage? In the name of God WHY?

Dont forget their 512GB SD card releasing soon to go with it for 1TB. I cant even figure out how to fill my 64GB S8+

[orbitalbuzzsaw]

Just now, mynameisjuan said:

Dont forget their 512GB SD card releasing soon to go with it for 1TB. I cant even figure out how to fill my 64GB S8+

RRRRRREEEEEEEEEEE PETABYTE PHONE

[Speed Weed]

[linkboy]

3 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

Dont forget their 512GB SD card releasing soon to go with it for 1TB. I cant even figure out how to fill my 64GB S8+

I want that card for my Switch, will solve the storage issues there pretty much immediately.

[AlTech]

Just now, mynameisjuan said:

Thats exactly what most people cant grasp. I dont get what more people want. 

What I want is for OEMs to start making better midrange phones.

 

And the best way to do that would be to take a flagship and cut down some specs whilst keeping the overall feel of the flagship phone.

 

The only person I know who owns an iPhone X can't really afford to and has compromised the way they live their life to do it.

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

Huh? The midrange phones we have today are the best they've ever been, and can actually replace most people's needs for flagships.

 

I've never needed a flagship and I've never bought into the hype of buying one.

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

There are far more midrange phones than there are flagship phones. There will always be something at the top of the product stack. I don't see why you hate on those products.

1

They're massively overpriced. The iPhone X should have cost no more than £699 imho but Apple being greedy decided to charge £999 for it.

1 minute ago, dizmo said:

They're clearly just not meant for you.

 

What exactly were you expecting from the Note9? How would they have made it better?

 

It would have been made better if the price actually reflected the quality of the phone. I don't think it does.

 

My premium laptop (with a core i7 by the way) cost a similar amount to the 512GB model. That is what I mean by overpriced.

 

I value the Note 9 at $699 USD max. $999 or $1250 are both too expensive for what is being offered. I was expecting a flagship phone for a flagship price. Not a flagship phone for the cost of a good laptop.

[mynameisjuan]

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

What I want is for OEMs to start making better midrange phones.

 

And the best way to do that would be to take a flagship and cut down some specs whilst keeping the overall feel of the flagship phone.

But the Note 9 is a flagship phone. You pay premium for the few extra features. Im not sure what this has to do with my comment. 

 

People are complaining about flagships not bringing much new to the table, when there is not much more a phone can do. 

[JCBiggs]

not worth the upgrade.    also, never update on the evens.  (note 2, note 4, note 6, etc)   this is technically the note 8, so wait til the real note 9 and which will be called the note 10.  (lol)  

[JCBiggs]

Just now, mynameisjuan said:

But the Note 9 is a flagship phone. You pay premium for the few extra features. Im not sure what this has to do with my comment. 

 

People are complaining about flagships not bringing much new to the table, when there is not much more a phone can do. 

DEX... the next big thing is co-processiong stations that give you gaming pc performance with the phone being nothing more than the boot ssd and storage. 

[AlTech]

7 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

But the Note 9 is a flagship phone. You pay premium for the few extra features. Im not sure what this has to do with my comment. 

 

People are complaining about flagships not bringing much new to the table, when there is not much more a phone can do. 

3

I don't want flagships to bring new features to the table. I just want them to become reasonably priced and actually affordable.

 

If Samsung released the S10 and instead of adding new features, kept it the same as the S9 but managed to reduce the price from $769 to $499 then I would be overjoyed and I would commend them. Instead of finding new ways of charging too much money for things, they should be looking at finding new ways of charging less for things.

[Guest]

40 minutes ago, dizmo said:

 

Haha, I completely disagree here. Midrange phones have poor cameras compared to flagships; I've used both extensively. The difference is quite significant.

 

The point is that the markup for that phone is just colossal. And i'd rather buy a 200$ mid range every year till 2023 than than a Note 9 that just won't last me 5 years. And even if it did, it would be extremely obsolete by the time I was going to switch. 

[mynameisjuan]

6 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

I don't want flagships to bring new features to the table. I just want them to become reasonably priced and actually affordable.

 

If Samsung released the S10 and instead of adding new features, kept it the same as the S9 but managed to reduce the price from $769 to $499 then I would be overjoyed and I would commend them. Instead of finding new ways of charging too much money for things, they should be looking at finding new ways of charging less for things.

I am not saying a price cut would be nice. I am arguing that people are bitching that huge features are not being released in phones. 

[dizmo]

43 minutes ago, OrbitalBuzzsaw said:

Jeeeeeeeeeesus christ 512GB storage? In the name of God WHY?

Haha some people need it. I have a friend with a massive music and movie library. He also takes tons of pictures and video. He's totally getting one. 

15 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

I've never needed a flagship and I've never bought into the hype of buying one.

They're massively overpriced. The iPhone X should have cost no more than £699 imho but Apple being greedy decided to charge £999 for it.

It would have been made better if the price actually reflected the quality of the phone. I don't think it does.

 

My premium laptop (with a core i7 by the way) cost a similar amount to the 512GB model. That is what I mean by overpriced.

 

I value the Note 9 at $699 USD max. $999 or $1250 are both too expensive for what is being offered. I was expecting a flagship phone for a flagship price. Not a flagship phone for the cost of a good laptop.

Yes, that's fine and understandable. But can you really not realize that, just maybe, there are people that do want that extra little bit of performance and will (obviously, given they haven't had to lower prices) pay to get it? 

 

Another thing you're forgetting is that these larger OEM's invest massive amounts into R&D. Then the smaller companies feed off of their hard work. That money has to come from somewhere.

5 minutes ago, Konrad_K said:

The point is that the markup for that phone is just colossal. And i'd rather buy a 200$ mid range every year till 2023 than than a Note 9 that just won't last me 5 years. And even if it did, it would be extremely obsolete by the time I was going to switch. 

$200 is far from a midrange phone, that's entry level territory. Midrange is around $400 - $500 depending on the company. You can easily use a flagship phone for 3 or 4 years, and it'll still perform significantly better than an entry level phone. 

5 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

I don't want flagships to bring new features to the table. I just want them to become reasonably priced and actually affordable.

And this is where I really think your whole argument is flawed. They are affordable. They're just not affordable for you, so you make it seem like no one else can either. 

[AlTech]

14 minutes ago, mynameisjuan said:

I am not saying a price cut would be nice. I am arguing that people are bitching that huge features are not being released in phones. 

Well yeah, what else can OEMs add to flagships at this point other than NVMe SSDs like iPhones have.

[AlTech]

7 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Haha some people need it. I have a friend with a massive music and movie library. He also takes tons of pictures and video. He's totally getting one. 

Yes, that's fine and understandable. But can you really not realize that, just maybe, there are people that do want that extra little bit of performance and will (obviously, given they haven't had to lower prices) pay to get it? 

 

Another thing you're forgetting is that these larger OEM's invest massive amounts into R&D. Then the smaller companies feed off of their hard work. That money has to come from somewhere.

$200 is far from a midrange phone, that's entry level territory. Midrange is around $400 - $500 depending on the company. You can easily use a flagship phone for 3 or 4 years, and it'll still perform significantly better than an entry level phone. 

3

No....... $100 is budget. $200-300 is midrange.

 

$400-500 is heavily overpriced midrange

7 minutes ago, dizmo said:

And this is where I really think your whole argument is flawed. They are affordable. They're just not affordable for you, so you make it seem like no one else can either. 

If a phone costs as much as a good laptop then it's not affordable. The only reason phones are so expensive is cos the profit margins are insanely high.

[mynameisjuan]

3 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Well yeah, what else can OEMs add to flagships at this point other than NVMe SSDs like iPhones have.

S9 is at 800/200 and X is 1200/170. Performance difference is next to nothing. NVME speeds are already in android phones.

[JCBiggs]

of course these phones are over priced.  t mobile had BUY ONE GET ONE on these last year. you think they lost money on the hardware just to sell plans?  VERY doubtful. that means the true retail price really should of been 450 which means Tmo probably paid 370 for them which means they were "probably" built for 140-180. 

 if they would just sell them for the 400-500 they are worth, they would sell 3 times as many and cost would go down further. 

[D13H4RD]

4 hours ago, mynameisjuan said:

What? Note 8 charge would last a day easily with a lot of use. 

That's based on my experience. Mine can last a day but just barely.

[D13H4RD]

2 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

No....... $100 is budget. $200-300 is midrange.

 

$400-500 is heavily overpriced midrange

Not entirely.

 

There's tons of sub-categories in the midrange section.

 

$200-$300 is what I'd call the lower midrange. This is where you find devices with SD62x processors with 3GB of memory and some might have 4GB. They don't have much features and usually have okay camera but they do the job fine.

 

$400-$500 is the upper-midrange territory. Phones with SD66x SoCs come here and usually pack guts that bridge the gap between a midranger and flagship. They have far better hand-feel, significantly more performance and generally feel more like budget flagships than actual midrangers. Nokia's 7 Plus comes to mind and it is one of the best $400 phones you can get. At times, you'll also find phones with SD8xx chips here.