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Note 9
- Thread starter Bigbacon
- Start date
It's a good phone with excellent cameras, a nice display and healthy battery life, but it's also more than a year old and will be abandoned by Samsung in about a year. What's your phone budget? There may be newer, better-supported alternatives.
If you want good cameras and that kind of money, you have a number of choices. The Note 10 is an option, though you could go with a Galaxy S10 or S10+ if you don't really care for a stylus. There's there Pixel 4 XL if you don't mind so-so battery life and the face-only biometric authentication. And there is the iPhone 11 family if you don't mind iOS -- arguably the best cameras overall (no one else is as good at video), excellent battery life, and of course OS updates beyond 2-3 years.
T4rd
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My wife has had one since launch and it's been fine. Camera will be a big step up for sure, but it's not the best either, esp. when taking pics in low light and/or moving subjects. From what I've seen, Samsung phones haven't been much better each iteration over the other, so I don't see much value in considering the newer S10/Note 10 phones for a negligibly better camera. Note 9 still even has the wide and zoom lens as well. If you can get one for $400-$500, then I'd say it's worth it over spending more than twice that on a newer Note 10 and will be fine for you even after it stops receiving updates in a year or so. Pretty sure Samsung still releases quarterly updates for another year or so for the 3rd year of their phone's life too if that's important to you. Otherwise I don't see you missing out on much for not receiving another Android version since the last couple updates haven't added anything significant to the OS either.
M
mls1995
Guest
We've had Note 9s for over a year, no complaints.
I just got a note 9 to replace my LG v20, which had been becoming more and more slow over time. The note 9 has been the perfect replacement. The battery is very large and as such I can squeeze an entire day onto it with ease. Camera quality also blows it away. Performance is buttery smooth, honestly the best I've experienced on an android device in a LONG time.
My only gripe is the curved display, getting a screen protector for it is kind of a PITA, as most of the tempered glass ones are domed with adhesive only on the edges and this -can- affect touch sensitivity and they also are not as durable in terms of their adhesion. There were some plastic-composite based ones, but afaik they don't mfg them anymore. And then there are some of the traditional 'film' style ones, but I was impatient during the installation process because I was just so used to a flat screen, that I got frustrated and didn't even bother. So now I just try to treat the phone with care so as to not scratch the screen.
My only gripe is the curved display, getting a screen protector for it is kind of a PITA, as most of the tempered glass ones are domed with adhesive only on the edges and this -can- affect touch sensitivity and they also are not as durable in terms of their adhesion. There were some plastic-composite based ones, but afaik they don't mfg them anymore. And then there are some of the traditional 'film' style ones, but I was impatient during the installation process because I was just so used to a flat screen, that I got frustrated and didn't even bother. So now I just try to treat the phone with care so as to not scratch the screen.
T4rd
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Yeah, that's the main reason I hate curved screens too; you can't find any decent screen protectors for it, at least ones that aren't way overpriced at $50 or more. I had the same issue trying to find any protectors on my 2 XL and had to settle on a film one that's been good enough for me, though it's torn now from a few nasty spills so I need to replace it again at some point.
yea the xa2 ultra has a curved screen so I know about the screen protector crap. haven't been a huge issue on that with the case I have. Just a shit phone (the sony) its awfully slow and the camera is just the worst. I have 5 year old cell phones that take better photos.
CannibalTrout
Gawd
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I had a Note 8, replaced it with a Iphone 11 (hate it) so picked up a used (hopefully decent note 9 from fleabay) that should arrive in a couple days.
I assume the note 9 is a step up from the 8 from every review I've watched/read so I would say you would be really happy with the move if you pick one up.
Just from my experience with the Note 8, it was a phenomenal phone and Samsung isn't what it used to be, their phones/bloat/speed is soooo much better than they were back in the day when they got all the bad rap for that stuff.
I assume the note 9 is a step up from the 8 from every review I've watched/read so I would say you would be really happy with the move if you pick one up.
Just from my experience with the Note 8, it was a phenomenal phone and Samsung isn't what it used to be, their phones/bloat/speed is soooo much better than they were back in the day when they got all the bad rap for that stuff.