The Note9 is arguably the best Android phone, if not the best phone of 2018. Top flagship phones are not cheap these days and it’s important to get the best bang for your buck. What I want to accomplish in this review is to keep things simple and to the point. There’s a lot to this phone, which will make it is a challenge to make this a brief review.
The Good
- Fully Loaded – There is not another phone that packs as many features as what the Note9 does. Sd card, water resistant, large screen, S Pen, fully loaded camera app, headphone jack, snappy, latest processor, and the list goes on. Basically, the only thing it is lacking is an IR blaster.
- Great Camera – The quality is top notch, has all the features, and is easy to use.
- Display – When your eyes hit the screen it become the standard of what all phone screens should look like. Looks nice, but is one of the best screens that are visible in daylight.
- Speakers – Samsung has come a long way with their speakers. They get loud and give a nice stereo quality. Great for watching videos and streaming music.
- S Pen – The S Pen got a decent upgrade in features. It has everything you had from last year plus the ability to program the button. A nice function is to snap a photo using the button.
- Gives what the user wants – No notch, still has a headphone jack and SD card support. As minimal as that might sound, it’s a big deal to some people including me. I’ll spare you my notch rant.
- Performance – So far so good.
- Samsung Pay – The reactions of cashier’s when using Samsung Pay is priceless. So many times they think it won’t work because the NFC reader doesn’t function on their card machines, but Samsung Pay uses the magnetic strip just like a credit card.
The Bad
- Price – It’s not cheap. There are some ways to save some money and most of the time requires a trade-in of some sort. However, if there is any device to justify its price in comparison to other phones out there, the Note9 is the best because it has so many features.
- Curved glass – This is a preference issue on my end. I like to use tempered glass screen protectors. The only good one is the Dome, which costs about $60. Normally glass protectors cost less than ten bucks for a pack of 2 or 3. You can get an orange peel type of screen protector, but it feels like plastic, not glass.
- Time will tell – Samsung has a reputation for getting laggy once used for a few months. Unfortunately, because I had a loaner phone from Verizon I will not be able to tell what the longevity of the device will be like unless someone I know reports back to me.
- Glass back – Prone to fingerprints. Glass is glass and a lot more likely to break if dropped vs other materials.
Final Thoughts
The Note series is one of my favorite Android line of phones. I love the fact it’s got so many features. The camera app has everything you need. No need to download any 3rd party apps to get the job done. The quality of the phone is one of the best. It’s worth saying, I am so glad there is no notch. Samsung keeps the bezel minimal and still has no notch. Thanks, Samsung!
If you can afford it or find a deal, I think you’d be happy with this purchase. You can’t go wrong with it.
