Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Review

For some reason, it feels like the Galaxy Note9 is the end of a long road for Samsung. Perhaps it's because we've seen this same design now in the last 5 major Samsung releases. The Note9 is remarkable in that it is the culmination of so many of Samsung's smartphone ideas. It is the most fully realised version of a Samsung smartphone vision to date. To say this is the best Samsung phone yet is also to say it is one of the best phones you can buy.

For better or worse, this phone has everything. Samsung's best screen, all the major connectivity options, one of the world's fastest processors, 6GB or 8GB RAM, 128GB or 512GB storage, face recognition, iris recognition, a huge 4000mAh battery, and, of course, the famous S Pen stylus.

That's a lot to pack into your pocket, but if you've followed Samsung over the years, you'll know Samsung never removes features or components, it just adds new ones. In one way, this is great: you always get more for your money. But on the flip side, there is so much going on in its latest handsets that finding the things you want, like specific settings or tools, can be tricky when lost in a jungle of superfluous extras.

As you might expect from a phone of this calibre, and price, the day to day performance is exceptional. Not only does the Note9 has a powerful processor and a lot of RAM, but Samsung has created a new liquid cooling system to keep everything running fast without overheating. It's hard to push a phone hard enough to really test this, but we can say that we haven't seen a single performance glitch yet.

Battery: a long day's journey into night

With so much of this year's model similar to last year's Note, Samsung is banking on a bigger battery to catch your attention. A 4000mAh capacity battery is huge for a smartphone but Samsung's battery life claims are somewhat cautious, suggesting users will get a full day between charges.

In our tests this seems accurate: a solid day of use, maybe a day and a half, but never two. Other phones we've reviewed with similar sized batteries, like the Huawei Mate 10, easily make it to the end of a second day and beyond. So why doesn't the Note9 last longer?

The difference could be in the display. Samsung's smartphone screens are consistently impressive, and the Note9 is no exception. The 6.4-inch screen sounds huge, and it is, but it won't feel huge to anyone who is used to using a phone with a bigger display (dare I say, a phablet). A screen this big and bright, with its 4.2-million pixels, is bound to burn through the battery.

We also wonder how many of these glut of tools and features in the Note9 contributes to this shortened battery life. For example, you've got Samsung Health counting your steps all day long, and Bixby listening while waiting for you to speak its wake command. Each app and feature would play a small part, but it adds up.

S Pen: a stylus with power

The Samsung Galaxy Note used to be known for its size, it was the first 'phablet', but nowadays so many phones stretch the seams of the pockets on our jeans, that the Note isn't the behemoth it once was. It's still one of the only phones you can buy that comes with a  stylus, though.

Samsung has rejigged the S Pen stylus this year, added Bluetooth, and added the ability for the stylus to control simple tasks in a number of apps. For example, when you are listening to music you can press the button on the S Pen to play and pause the music, or double tap the button to skip tracks.

You can also slide through your photo gallery with the S Pen, take photos in the camera app, control PowerPoint presentations. For now the actions are limited to a handful of supported apps, but Samsung plans on releasing the functionality to all developers so that they can put the tools into their apps.

Otherwise, the S Pen is as reliable as it always was. You can still take notes on the screen without having to unlock the phone, which is handy, and there is a collection of fun art apps to play around with.

Camera: picture perfect?

As it is with all of the top-tier smartphones, the camera is one of the key components you pay for these days. For many it is the number one priority in a new phone, and if that were the case then the Note9 would be on the top of their list.

The three cameras on the Note9 (two on the back, one on the front) are all fantastic at doing what you expect them to do. Leaving the settings all in default, automatic modes yields great results, with vibrant colours and sharp recreation of whatever you put in front of the lens.

Most impressive is the ability of the cameras to shoot at night, even when there is little light around. You'll see in the examples below the way that the image sensor translates very dark spaces into a sort of night-vision green, and I can tell you as the photographer, that the camera could see much more than I could when I was lining up the shot. The end result is a bit synthetic looking, but impressively detailed.

A vision for Bixby

With a smartphone that has everything there is always going to be a number of superfluous features. Samsung will strongly disagree, I'm sure, but Bixby is at the top of this list. Bixby, if you haven't heard of it before, is Samsung's take on Siri, a voice-powered assistant that can operate a number of functions on your phone, and search the web for answers to simple questions.

The thing is, all Android phones now come with Google Assistant which does exactly the same thing. This means that the Note9 (and a number of other recent Samsung phones) has both voice assistants standing by, which also means that Bixby needs to be really good to compete head-to-head with Google's AI.

Bixby has a few clever ideas. I like that you can combine multiple actions into a single 'Quick Command', so that when you tell Bixby 'movie time' it can put your phone on silent, dim the brightness of the screen, and turn off WiFi to save battery. Or when you wake up you could say 'good morning Bixby' and have your phone start playing music while opening your calendar so you can see what you have on for the day.

Bixby Vision is AI for the camera, where Bixby can identify objects in the real world and then find references to the same things online. Unfortunately the results are often more hilarious that useful, like the box of cough drops that Bixby linked to a tube of haemorrhoid cream.

But the core problem with Bixby is that the voice recognition just isn't as good as Google, or Amazon Alexa. I want to speak to it quietly and with a natural cadence, but Bixby is still up to the point in its evolution where you need to speak loudly and slow down so it can catch every word. No doubt it will get there in the end, but it still feels a bit half-baked.

Who is the Galaxy Note9 for?

In an industry that champions innovation, it is easy to criticise the Note9 for looking like last year's model (it does) or for having no meaningful new features (it doesn't). But that would be to miss the point of this handset. The Note9 is the culmination of everything we've loved about Samsung phones over the past two or three years, packed into a sleek design, with an amazing screen and Samsung's biggest battery to date. It has everything we expect in a smartphone, plus a little more.

Of course, all of this tech doesn't come cheaply, and the Galaxy Note9 isn't a phone for bargain hunters. Its high outright price also means that the cost of the phone on plans is also more expensive than other models you can choose from in the phone stores.

This is the phone for anyone who wants the best of the best, and for anyone who loves to have a stylus with their smartphone (and I know a few). There is a bit of bloat in the software and tools, but these are easy to ignore and don't seem to impact performance. All in all, the Note9 is a superb handset.

I don't want a Note9, what else can I buy?

Apple iPhone X

If you're after tech on the bleeding edge, you're best alternative to the Galaxy Note9 would be the Apple iPhone X. Both represent the best of the best from their respective manufacturers, and both have price tags to make your bank manager's eyes water.

Huawei P20 Pro

Priced at just $1,099, the Huawei P20 Pro is easily the best value flagship smartphone on the market. And it just so happens that it's got the best camera on any smartphone right now. If you're after a premium Android device, the P20 Pro is hard to go past.

Samsung Galaxy S9

If you want a flagship that still has a headphone jack, the Galaxy S9 is one of the few remaining high-end devices with a humble 3.5mm port. Thankfully, it's a pretty good phone, even if it's pretty similar to last year's S8.

Joseph Hanlon

Editorial Director | X | LinkedIn

Joe Hanlon has been immersed in mobile phones, plans and the internet for over a decade, having written for publications like CNET, Techradar, Gizmodo and Lifehacker. He steers the editorial ship and makes sure that we are always serving up the most useful guides and recommendations. If you ever bump into Joe on the street, don't be afraid to ask for a phone recommendation. It's embarrassing how much he enjoys talking about this stuff. He also loves listening to podcasts, so feel free to email Joe with recommendations.

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