Samsung Galaxy Note 9 preview: Everything we know so far
UPDATED: The Note 9 launch could be imminent after official FCC filing
RUMOURS ABOUND
After the Galaxy Note 7’s… erm, explosive debut, Samsung thankfully saved the brand with last year’s drama-free Galaxy Note 8. Phew. So what’s next, then? Believe it or not, it’s probably the Galaxy Note 9. Rumours are already surrounding Samsung’s expected next super-phone, but will the company be able to justify the continued need for a stylus-driven handset in 2018? Especially given the swelling price point of late… We’ll have to wait and see on that front, but until then, here’s everything we’ve heard so far about the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.
WHEN WILL THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9 BE OUT?
The Galaxy Note 7 was announced and released in August 2016, while the Galaxy Note 8 was announced in August 2017 and released the following month. Given that, along with the need to beat Apple’s expected iPhone XI announcement in September, we initially expected that Samsung would show off the Note 9 in August and release within a few weeks of the debut. However, a recent report from the Korea Herald suggests that Samsung is trying to bump up its usual smartphone release cycle, and may debut the phone in July and release in August – ahead of a January 2019 reveal for the Galaxy S10.
WHAT WILL THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9 LOOK LIKE?
History suggests that the Galaxy Note 9 will look a lot like the Galaxy S9 (pictured throughout). The S9 is identical to the Galaxy S8, which the Note 8 took its cues from. So will the Note 9 be just like the Note 8? That’s probably a safe bet. The Note 8 looked a lot like the S8+, just slightly larger and with a flatter screen for stylus scribbles and interactions, and we don’t expect that Samsung will make any dramatic shifts with the Note 9.
WHAT ABOUT THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9’S SCREEN?
The Galaxy Note 8 boasted an impeccable 6.3in Super AMOLED display running at 2960×1440, and the Galaxy Note 9 will probably do much the same. One rumour suggests that Samsung will nudge it up to 6.4in, which could help set it apart further from the Galaxy S9+… although 0.2in is hardly an obvious difference. In any case, it should be about the same as last year’s display, albeit a little brighter – just like the Galaxy S9’s screen is compared to the Galaxy S8. The Korea Herald says that display industry sources claim that it’ll be a 6.38in display, more specifically, but we can probably safely call it 6.4in.
HOW MUCH POWER WILL THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9 PACK?
Plenty, we assume! The Galaxy Note 9 is likely to use the same Exynos 9810 chip as the Galaxy S9, and right now it’s the Android leader. Apple’s A11 Bionic chip scores higher on benchmark tests, but in everyday usage, the Exynos 9810 feels a fast as anything out there. In some territories, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chip should sub in, like the Galaxy S9, and it’s almost as powerful as the Exynos. The Note 8 had 6GB RAM, as does this year’s Galaxy S9+, and that’s what we’d expect to see in the Note 9 as well. We suppose Samsung could bump up to 8GB, like the top-specced OnePlus 6 model will have, but that honestly seems like overkill.
WHAT KIND OF CAMERAS WILL THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9 HAVE?
With the Galaxy Note 8, Samsung embraced the dual-camera trend – and then they continued that with this year’s Galaxy S9+. Huawei’s P20 Pro recently took the smartphone camera throne with a triple-camera main setup, but we haven’t heard anything to suggest that Samsung is going in that direction. Quite likely, the Galaxy Note 9’s camera setup will be much like the S9+ one: two 12-megapixel back cameras, one at f/1.5 with adjustable aperture that can switch to f/2.4 for more detail when there’s plenty of light. The other would have a fixed f/2.4 aperture.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9?
Here’s one thing we can expect from the Galaxy Note 9: Bixby 2.0. Samsung’s maligned virtual assistant has been confirmed to get a big upgrade with the company’s next flagship, according to the Korea Herald. The publication reports that the new edition will feature “enhanced natural language processes, improved noise resistance capability and quicker response times.” As usual, Samsung will probably work in some clever and hopefully useful new S Pen stylus tricks with the Galaxy Note 9. And it’ll surely work with both the Gear VR virtual reality headset shell and the updated DeX Pad, which lets you plug in an external monitor and use the phone like a proper desktop PC.
