Galaxy Note 9: Hands on with the iPhone X rival that no one cares about – but should

Not many people are interested in the Galaxy Note 9. For about two hours on 9 August, as Samsung CEO DJ Koh announced the thousand-dollar device on a stage in New York, online searches for the new phone briefly peaked above the similarly-priced iPhone X. It had been almost a year since Apple – Samsung's chief antagonist in the smartphone space – announced its flagship handset, yet within minutes of Koh leaving the stage, searches for the Galaxy Note 9 plummeted back below that of its rival.

It is not that the iPhone X is inherently better than the Note 9. In fact, on almost every metric that matters, the Note 9 outperforms Apple's best iPhone. Its 4,000 mAh battery is almost 50 per cent bigger than than the iPhone X's, which makes sense considering the amount of power the Samsung device is packing behind its 6.4-inch screen. The top-of-the-line Note 9 features 8GB of RAM and enough capacity to fit more than 1TB of storage.

These specs make it perhaps more appropriate to compare the Note 9 to a laptop than a smartphone. Tools like DeX mean it only takes a cable connected to a screen to transform it into a pocket-sized PC, meaning some users may even choose to forego their laptops entirely. This is also where the over-sized screen of the so-called phablet – a portmanteau of 'phone' and 'tablet' – comes into good effect, as it doubles as a keyboard and trackpad. New bluetooth-capabilities of the stylus S-Pen, which slides out from the bottom of the device, means it also comes with a remote control when playing videos and music, taking pictures or presenting slides.

open image in gallery

Styluses continue to divide smartphone users and manufacturers (Steve Jobs famously once said "Who wants a stylus?... Yuck") but each new version of the s Pen makes it even more useful. There may only be one button on the S Pen but it is infinitely customisable, with a single click, double click and long-hold click all offering differing functionality. For example, a long click could open the camera app, a double click could switch it from the rear-facing to the front-facing camera, while a single click could take the photo. And with great power comes great rechargeability, with just 40 seconds back inside its slot enough to boost the S Pen back to 100 per cent.

open image in gallery

Speaking of the camera, the introduction of artificial intelligence into its software makes a big difference when taking pictures when compared to the same 12-megapixel dual-lens snapper used in the Galaxy S9+. The AI recognises 20 different scenes, including portraits, sunsets and plates of food, allowing it to automatically adjust its settings to capture the best possible image.

The AI-enabled camera follows on from similarly-capable offerings from LG and Huawei, however one area Samsung stubbornly refuses to follow other high-end Android is in the introduction of a 'notch'. The decision to stick with a rectangular design may limit the size of the screen but it also allows the Note 9 to remain visually distinct from its Apple rival, which Samsung mocked as gimmicky when it was first introduced.

open image in gallery

It would take more than a notch to garner the same levels of buzz and intrigue that still surrounds the iPhone X. But for Samsung this is not what matters.

The Note 9 isn't meant for the masses, nor is it marketed in the mould of over-hyped hubris that comes with any new Apple gadget. Instead, as Koh put it, the Note 9 is designed for an ardent band of "power users" that care more about performance than the prestige of what's in your pocket. "Note fans are Samsung's most loyal," Koh said when he unveiled the smartphone. "We know they want it all, to get the most out of work and play, and Galaxy Note 9 is the only phone that can keep up with their busy lives."

It is therefore unsurprising that there is nothing very remarkable about how the new Note looks. Even held in the hand, it is almost indistinguishable from its predecessor – the Galaxy Note 8 – but inside it packs every one of its 201 grams with the power and performance that will probably please every single person who actually does care. And that, so Samsung says, is what matters most.