Exceed the limits of your smartphone.
Samsung has been slowly catching up with Chinese manufacturers recently, but everyone still recognizes the performance of the Galaxy S series and Note series. And this year's Note9... it seems to be a monster packed with all the technology we have right now... Reviewed by Sam Rutherford of Gizmodo.
Since it was first released, the biggest feature of the Galaxy Note has been its huge screen. However, as other manufacturers jumped into the bandwagon and most smartphone screens were standardized at around 6 inches, the appeal of the Note began to fade. So I have one question for the new Note9. In this day and age, what's the point of a big $1,000 flagship?
What is this? : A huge, powerful, and expensive 6.4-inch phone.
Price: Starting at $1,000. High-spec version with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $1,250
Likes: Long battery life, S-Pen that works like a remote control, easy-to-use Dex mode, great screen, powerful specs
What I don't like: No Android 9 Pie, no design changes except for new colors, can't change Bixby button
Samsung's answer was to "provide everything." It's as if the over-the-top Ferrari Stretch Limousine has been restored to its original performance and reworked with the kind of attention to detail that you'd only find in a three-star Michelin restaurant. As a result, what should have been just a Galaxy S9+ with an S-Pen stuck into it has become a symbol of the limits of what can be packed into a smartphone.
The Note9 has a 6.4-inch screen (0.2 inches larger than the S9+), and it's more vibrant and colorful than any smartphone on the market today. expressing colors. Considering that Samsung also provides screens for the Galaxy and iPhone X, this is quite a feat.
On the inside, it comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of standard storage, while the higher-end $1,250 model comes with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. In other words, you don't need to close background apps, so you can multitask and install more apps without worrying about running out of space.
In addition, if you insert a 512GB microSD card, it will evolve into a smartphone with 1TB of storage. Of course, most people don't need that much. But since you're paying $1,000, wouldn't you rather be thorough?
Samsung is also particular about the Note9's cooling system, with a carbon fiber heat spreader three times larger than the Galaxy S9 and Note 8. . This means that the Note9's Snapdragon 845 processor can run more freely and for a longer period of time with high performance (the Geekbench 4 score also improved slightly, with a high score of 9,012 compared to the S9+'s 8,414). issued).
In order to test it, we first ran a series of benchmark tests, then played a few rounds of the Battrois game "Fortnite" in quick succession on the Note9 and Galaxy S9+, ran 3DMark's Slingshot Extreme graphics test several times, and used Torrent I downloaded some files. In short, I did a stress test to get as hot as possible.
We then used Geekbench again to check how much performance was affected by heat. In the end, the S9+ was down 25% to 6,171, while the Note9 was down only about 10% to 8,053. However, graphics performance doesn't seem to benefit as much from the Note9's cooling system, and when I ran 3DMark Slingshot Extreme Unlimited again, the Note9 dropped to 4,974 and the S9+ to 4,923, about the same amount from 5,021 and 5,033 respectively.
Personally, I wish Samsung would change the Note9's exterior design, even if just a little. But aside from new liveries like Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple (which is pretty much the same as the Galaxy S9's lilac), the only difference from last year's model is the weighting, which is almost insane.
Also, Samsung says that the camera's image processor has been reworked from scratch, but in terms of hardware, the 12MP dual camera on the back is the same as the S9. . However, two functions have been added to the camera app. The first is “Scene Optimization,” a feature that was also found on Huawei and LG smartphones. Image recognition technology identifies objects and automatically adjusts camera settings accordingly. The use of machine learning is no longer new, but it can certainly help improve the quality of frequently-taken types of photos.
One word of advice: If you're arguing that the Pixel 2's camera is the best phone camera out there, stop. Whether it's the iPhone X, Pixel 2, Huawei P20 Pro, or Galaxy Note9, none of them have a 100% win rate against the competition. Or even 75 percent may be difficult. For one thing, Google's excellent HDR+ processing gives the Pixel 2 a tiny edge over the Note 9 in bright daylight, but in low light, the Note 9 beats the Pixel 2 XL on a number of occasions.
For example, when I took a photo of my neighborhood church, the Note9's photos were excellent in terms of vivid colors, low noise, sharp details, and brightness. There were two spotlights shining on it, so it wasn't that dark.
The Note9 also excelled in photos taken in a restaurant at night, especially with less background noise and sharper objects. In both situations, the Note9's scene optimization feature correctly identified night shots, and the Note9 won out, partly because of its maximum aperture of f/1.5.
But I was most interested in shooting in the rain. Both smartphones produced images that would have surprised me a year ago if I had heard that these photos were taken with a smartphone. It's hard to choose which one is better. The Pixel 2 XL does a better job of recreating the concrete texture of the parking lot, but the Note9 does a good job of getting rid of the yellow that coats the center of the frame. If there's one thing the Pixel 2 can't match the Note9 for, it's the 2x optical zoom of the Note9's secondary rear camera.
But the Note9 wasn't perfect everywhere. As you can see in the photo of the cake, the Note9 not only missed the white balance adjustment, but also failed to recognize the cake.
Another new feature is called "failure detection," which alerts you to take another shot if something went wrong. It's a nice bonus, but I would have liked to see more of this feature. Now, if the photo is blurry, the lens is dirty, the light is backlit, or the person's eyes are closed, it will recognize it as a failure and issue an alert.
But if that's the case, it would be nice to have the camera settings automatically changed like a scene optimization function. This includes increasing the shutter speed to prevent blurring, and using a flash so that the subject does not become completely dark due to backlight. It's an interesting feature, but as soon as I used it, I had an idea for an improvement.
Another feature of the Note series is the S-Pen, and Samsung thankfully left us with Air Command. The ability to translate, the ability to create GIF animations on your smartphone very easily, and the ability to have fun sketching on anything. But Samsung doesn't stop there. The S-Pen is equipped with Bluetooth Low Energy (power-saving Bluetooth) and can be used like a remote control.
In the Note9's settings, you can assign multiple shortcuts to open apps to the S-Pen's buttons, hold down to switch between the front and back cameras, and quickly press once to release the shutter without touching your phone. . It may seem like a small detail, but being able to pause music and YouTube videos with the push of a button makes it so much easier to switch between work and rest, and I love it.
For business people, I think it's a little convenient to be able to operate Powerpoint slides with the pen buttons. You don't have to rely on someone else's computer you've never used or ask them to switch during your presentation.
What I would like to introduce here is Dex mode. This feature, which allows you to connect your Note9 to a monitor and use it like a desktop PC, has been refined and even easier to set up. Unlike the S8 and S9 systems, all you need is a USB-C to HDMI adapter to connect to your monitor.
Samsung officially states that only $50 dongles and Dex pads are supported methods, but technically any adapter should work. All you have to do is connect a Bluetooth-compatible mouse and keyboard, and oh my God, a complete desktop environment is complete.
In my opinion, Dex mode is great for teasing other players in competitive Fortnite. Especially since other mobile players are only up against unresponsive touchscreen controllers (although you'll need to plug in an adapter with ports for wired peripherals to do this).
Huawei P20 can also use similar desktop functions by using a USB-C / HDMI conversion adapter, but the UI in Dex mode is far superior, making it a dream of a smartphone that transforms into a computer at any time. I think it's the smartphone that came closest. Also, I think it's a waste of money, but I wish they'd built a laptop dock like HP's Elite x3 or Motorola's Atrix.
Now, we've talked a lot about performance, but what about battery life? Let's face it, this is the best part of the Note9. It came in second on the endurance test at 14 hours and 11 minutes, with only the Asus Zenfone 4 Max, which was designed with endurance in mind, only surpassing the Note9. Last year's Note8 had a 200mAh smaller battery than the S8+, but this time the Note9 has a battery that's about 15 percent larger than the S9+, which makes a big difference.
However, this also leads to the Note9's biggest drawback: it's not running Android 9 Pie. Google's new OS was released a few days before the release of Note9, so I was hoping that Samsung would cooperate with Google to install the new OS, but it's a shame.
12 things you can do with Android 9 Pie
An OS that you can use more like yourself. Android 9 Pie is finally here, joining first Pixel devices and then Android P beta program...
https://www.gizmodo.jp/2018/08/android-9-pie-12-new-features.html
In addition to useful features like App Actions, Pie also has improved volume control and a "battery manager" feature. In particular, it is attractive that the battery manager will further improve the Note9's battery endurance. But given the timing of when the Note8 received the Oreo, it's only natural to think it's at least a few months away.
The only one I need more time to try is Bixby. Samsung introduced that the voice assistant, which has been greatly improved by natural language recognition, can be used to purchase tickets and make restaurant reservations without a special app. However, I didn't know how much I could learn in less than a week.
AtSo, bottom line, what do you get with the $1,000 Note9? The largest and most beautiful screen in the history of smartphones, explosive performance, top-level camera functions, and battery durability. Plus an S-Pen, Dex mode, additional storage, more RAM than your average laptop, headphone jack, wireless charging and IP68 water resistance. These are the best smartphones in their class.
Right now, no phone is as packed with tools, features, and little tricks as the Note9. It's not affordable for everyone, but it does give those who want to push the limits of their smartphone the chance to do so.
The standard comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the higher spec model has 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, more than even an average laptop.
・With the scene optimization function, the camera can take pictures of quality comparable to Pixel 2. In addition, it will issue an alert when you fail to shoot due to failure detection
・The S-Pen has the potential to be more than a simple gimmick, but it will likely need to enlist the help of third-party developers to do so.
・Amazing battery endurance of 14 hours and 11 minutes. In our tests so far, it ranks second only to Asus Zenfone 4 Max
・$1,000 isn't cheap, but it's the most feature packed smartphone with powerful specs, S-Pen, dual camera, big screen, Dex mode, etc.
・Dex mode, which can be used like a desktop, is even easier to use. Officially, a Samsung dongle is required, but a USB-C/HDMI adapter is sufficient.