Samsung takes Note
THERE’S A WHOLE NEW GALAXY OF TECHNOLOGY ON OFFER
IN MANY ways the Note series smartphone is Samsung’s flagship device. It’s usually where Samsung is at its most innovative. Not this year. The Galaxy Note9 is a very solid device, but the upgrades over last year’s device are minimal, if most welcome.
It’s as if Samsung has decided to avoid making any major breakthroughs, and to focus instead on improving the areas that matter most to the user.
BATTERY
THE Note9 features a 4,000mah battery, which probably means as much to you as it does to me – not a lot. In layman’s terms, though, it means a great deal – the battery holds enough charge to be able to power the device for a whole day without issue.
That holds regardless of what you do – watch video or surf the web all day. The Note9 will be able to cope.
CAMERA
THE Note9’s camera is the same as you’ll find in the Galaxy S9 smartphone. And its a cracker.
It uses AI to analyse the scene and chooses one of 20 different pre-sets according to what it thinks you are trying to capture.
A very useful feature is the phone’s immediate analysis of the image you have captured with the camera. It’ll tell you straight away if the image is out of focus, if someone has their eyes closed, or if there are any smudges on the lens.
The hope is, you’re able to take another photo quickly if you are aware of any flaws.
The camera also has the dual lens system, which sports the mechanical aperture – this makes it more useful in a wider variety of lighting conditions.
The aperture can close if it’s bright, or open if it’s dark. Just like the human eye.
S PEN
ONE feature that sets the Note series apart is its included smart stylus, the S Pen. This year’s version has been upgraded to include low-power Bluetooth connection to the phone.
This might not seem like a massive deal, but it expands the usefulness of the pen beyond just writing and drawing. You can use the button on the pen to take photos with the phone remotely, and to control things like advancing slides when giving presentations.
DISPLAY
WE might call the Note9 a smartphone, but with a huge 6.4in screen its more like a tablet in some ways, or perhaps something in-between the two. And what a screen it is – with a resolution of 516ppi its super sharp, and renders colours beautifully.
DETAILS AND DEVICES
THERE are a couple of other details worth mentioning about the Note9.
Firstly its storage capabilities – it comes in two variants, one with 128GB of built-in storage and one with 512GB. But the inclusion of a Mircosd slot that can take a card of up to 512GB means you could be walking around with a terabyte of storages in your pocket.
The Note9 is also waterproof for up to 30mins in up to 1.5m of fresh water, has three different kinds of biometric security (face scanner, fingerprint scanner, and iris scanner), and can be used with Samsung’s neat DEX system, which allows you to connect it to a monitor and use it like a real computer.
All in all it’s a splendid package, and could be the one device you carry, if you like that kind of simplicity.
If you like more than one device for different uses you might prefer a couple of other items Samsung has revealed. It has a new smartwatch in the form of the Samsung Galaxy watch.
This won’t be available here in the UK until later this year, and pricing has not yet been announced.
When it does land, it will boast a more traditional watchlike appearance, 4G mobile connectivity and a remarkable-iftrue battery life of seven days.
It does all the usual health and fitness stuff, as well as offering remote control for any of Samsung’s connected smart devices.
Samsung also has a new tablet out. The Galaxy Tab S4 comes with an S Pen, and can switch over to the DEX system, which brings a more traditional folder-based desktop to the platform, and allows you to connect it up to a larger monitor.
The S Tab 4 costs £599 And is available now.
And finally, Samsung has revealed its own smartspeaker – predictably titled the Samsung Galaxy Home. It does exactly the things you expect (music, home device control), and will be powered by Samsung’s own AI voice assistant Bixby. No release date or prices have been revealed.
The Samsung Galaxy Note9 is available to order now for delivery on its release date, August 24. It will come in black, purple, and blue, and cost £899 for the 128GB version, or £1,099 for the 512GB version.