Poll: **** The Official Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Thread ****

[ChrisD.]

Has anyone moved from an iPhone X? I must admit I am tempted. What's the cheapest way to get the phone? I'm on SIM only so don't need it on contract.

I am not sure if the upgrade plan is worth it, should I decide I miss iOS after a few days.

 

[zpos]

Anybody got past the " learning usage patterns" yet ?... Sure my note 8 had usage after 1st day

Minds still learning. Its trying to establish which apps we use and how regularly so figure out how best to manage them.

I hit 8.5hrs screen on time yesterday and was pretty much hammering it for most of the day. I let the battery drain completely.

I'm so satisfied with it and hope it maintains that as I was installing apps and configuring it yesterday so my usage wasn't typical. Saying that my SOT is 4hrs and I'm still on 60% battery.

Its so refreshing not having to nurse the battery.

 

[AndyCr15]

So... let me start by saying I'm really enjoying the phone, but...

I've been at Silverstone today, taking quite a few photo's and 4K videos and it has ripped through my battery. I came off charge around 5am and at 5pm I was on 12% with a SOT of only 2 hours 20 mins. I think it only uploaded photo's, not videos, so I'm a little surprised I got through the battery so quick.

Yesterday I did my light meter test on the screen, which I thought seemed very bright... but it barely gets 600 lumens? The last few Samsung I've tested get close to 900? But the screen does look really good? I don't really understand that. (I know I shouldn't worry if it looks good, but the result just surprises/confuses me)

Then the speakers, volume-wise are also quite low on my sound meter, but again, they sound really good. Not particularly important, again just surprised and confused me a little as I thought the Note9 would smash all my usual tests.

What I do love and have used several times already today is the S-Pen to cut bits of my screen and send them to people. Love that.

 

[Robzere31]

24 hours after initial setup & happy with phone.

4 hours ost & on 45% but time will tell how it goes.
Coming from a note 8 it's not a leap forward, but the £575 cashback was too good a deal to pass up & I'm happy I did.

Also the 99p ringke case is a bargain. Not the same quality as the official Samsung offering I'm used to, but the £30+ difference doesnt justify the price.

 

[doodah]

Not sure about my battery yet, my SoT has been shocking yet the general battery has been excellent. Nedd to have a tinker.

 

[zpos]

Everyone's usage will be different so battery comparisons will be very different.

Spending all day at home with a solid WiFi connection is going to be different to being out with crappy network range.

I disabled the battery hit Facebook There's like 3 components sucking your battery.

 

[chaparral]

Everyone's usage will be different so battery comparisons will be very different.

Spending all day at home with a solid WiFi connection is going to be different to being out with crappy network range.

I disabled the battery hit Facebook There's like 3 components sucking your battery.

Plus am guessing the screen brightness would be much higher when outside in day light compared to sitting inside

 

[zpos]

Yup that's true Plus right now everyone is in novelty factor mode hammering it.

Let it settle down after a few weeks and then we can start complaining about the battery life lol.

 

[AndyCr15]

I just finished my hour long test, not massively scientific, set screen to 300 lumens, play a certain video then have a webpage load every 30 seconds to complete the hour. Dropped to 92% just seconds before the time was up. I was pulling for it to hold 93% as only two phones I've tested have managed that (Ulefone Power with 6,000mAh battery and the LG G5). I will run it again in a few weeks though, once the battery optimisation has kicked in.

Also, I just realised there's a Dolby Atmos setting, which makes it louder. Just re-doing my speaker test.

 

[AndyCr15]

Btw, I was expecting to be able to use Bixby to dictate when I had the keyboard open and press the Bixby button... but it just opens Bixby instead. Anyone know why?

 

[The Matrix]

I'm just after a couple of honest opinions.

Would you say the Note 9 is a big leap up from the Note 8 ?

It's just i have a couple of options right now to upgrade my phone which is a Note 5, buy a Note 9 now or buy a Note 8 which have really come down in price and use that as a stop gap until the Note 10 comes out which is supposed to be a big step up in technology, probably Samsung's biggest step up in tech for a long time according to a few online reviews.

 

[Robzere31]

I'm just after a couple of honest opinions.

Would you say the Note 9 is a big leap up from the Note 8 ?

It's just i have a couple of options right now to upgrade my phone which is a Note 5, buy a Note 9 now or buy a Note 8 which have really come down in price and use that as a stop gap until the Note 10 comes out which is supposed to be a big step up in technology, probably Samsung's biggest step up in tech for a long time according to a few online reviews.

Having moved from a Note 8 to a 9 the leap isn't great. The only reason I did it is due to the £575 trade in CPW offered me otherwise I doubt I would have "upgraded"
There are a few nice little features, but nothing I've gone WOW over yet.

Battery on the 9 seems better, currently at 50 hours, with 5 1/2 hours screen time with 22% still remaining, time will tell once the initial usage settles down.
Other than that, general usage feels nicer, flicking between apps & screens is quick, sound quality it better than the note 8.

 

[chaparral]

I'm just after a couple of honest opinions.

Would you say the Note 9 is a big leap up from the Note 8 ?

It's just i have a couple of options right now to upgrade my phone which is a Note 5, buy a Note 9 now or buy a Note 8 which have really come down in price and use that as a stop gap until the Note 10 comes out which is supposed to be a big step up in technology, probably Samsung's biggest step up in tech for a long time according to a few online reviews.

Really only you can answer that …

IE
Things like the stereo speakers can be a really important thing to some people (gamer etc) but where the next person may never hardly use them
Same as the battery if someone spends a lot of time out and away from anywhere where they can charge there mobile the bigger battery would be very important (Like say maybe someone that works out on roads or building sites etc)
The Bluetooth pen is going be very handy if you're the type of person that takes loads of selfies

 

[dj-striker]

I'm just after a couple of honest opinions.

Would you say the Note 9 is a big leap up from the Note 8 ?

It's just i have a couple of options right now to upgrade my phone which is a Note 5, buy a Note 9 now or buy a Note 8 which have really come down in price and use that as a stop gap until the Note 10 comes out which is supposed to be a big step up in technology, probably Samsung's biggest step up in tech for a long time according to a few online reviews.

on the out side no not a lot on the inside yes 100%

 

[Cookie12]

I'm just after a couple of honest opinions.

Would you say the Note 9 is a big leap up from the Note 8 ?

It's just i have a couple of options right now to upgrade my phone which is a Note 5, buy a Note 9 now or buy a Note 8 which have really come down in price and use that as a stop gap until the Note 10 comes out which is supposed to be a big step up in technology, probably Samsung's biggest step up in tech for a long time according to a few online reviews.

Agree with Robzere31, i had an S8+ and if it wasnt for the £465 CPW trade in offer i would have stayed put. The note 9 is an obvious improvement and im loving the battery life so far. I would have felt dissapointed i think though if i had spent a £1k and it wasnt night and day different, which it isnt. Until a revolution in technology, like foldable phones, massive improvement in battery life etc i think those revolution days have passed us by. They are at the end of the day incremental updates now and have been for a while.

 

[zpos]

I can't get over how loud the sound is. They did a great job on that for sure over the Note 8.

Watching YouTube videos is so much more pleasant.

I'm thoroughly happy with this phone. I said this last year but I can't imagine why I'd want to change it next year for anything else. That is unless someone makes another ridiculous trade in offer. £575 for the Note 8 was insane. I upgraded to get 2 years warranty, a further 2 years of major updates and battery.

 

[Russinating]

As good as trading an S8 etc in, £200 off for my mate's broken Note 2 is even crazier.

 

[evohicks]

Btw, I was expecting to be able to use Bixby to dictate when I had the keyboard open and press the Bixby button... but it just opens Bixby instead. Anyone know why?

In your keyboard hit the top left button (with the 2 arrows and smiley face) and then the top row changes, hit the mic button and viola.

 

[evohicks]

Is anyone on the Samsung upgrade program and if so have you been sent instructions and a return bag for the Note 8 yet?

 

[AndyCr15]

In your keyboard hit the top left button (with the 2 arrows and smiley face) and then the top row changes, hit the mic button and viola.

Thanks, I'm asking about the use of the Bixby button not working for dictation as it should though.