Quick Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note9 offers the largest screen, the latest camera, and the unique Samsung S-Pen, which provides some useful advantages, both when using the phone, and when taking photos. The phone is large, with a 6.4inch screen, but for those who like the Samsung Galaxy Note series, this will be welcomed. There's a wide-angle camera, as well as a 2x telephoto camera, both with OIS, and results are excellent.
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The Samsung Galaxy Note9 sits at the very top of the Samsung Galaxy range of smartphones and has not only the best hardware but also the latest software. There’s a 6.4inch screen, a 4000mAh battery, plenty of ram and storage, and the fastest Qualcomm processor currently available. The Samsung Galaxy Note9 is available for pre-order priced at £899 sim-free for the 128GB version, or £1099 for the 512GB version.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 Features
The Samsung Galaxy Note9 features the same dual-camera setup as the Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, with a wide-angle 12mp f/1.5-2.4 lens (with two aperture settings), and a 2x telephoto f/2.4 lens, both with OIS (Optical Image Stabilisation).
However, the Samsung Galaxy Note9 benefits from the latest software, which includes “Artificial Intelligence”, detecting the scene, as well as letting you know if there are any problems with the photo(s) you’ve just taken.
These settings can be switched on and off:
- Scene optimiser – adjusts colour, contrast, white balance, exposure etc to match the subject.
- Flaw detection – notifies you if someone blinks or looks blurry. It will also notify you if there are smudges on the camera lens.
There’s a Pro mode so you can manually adjust settings, including the ISO, aperture, shutter, AF, WB and exposure, as well as shoot raw.
There’s a live-focus mode so you can create bokeh or background blur in photos. An LED flash will help in low-light. There's a motion photo option in the settings giving you a short video clip of what happens before you take each photo. A number of different colour effects can be applied in the camera app. The HDR mode can be used for better low-light photos, and Samsung says this reduces noise, as well as improving detail and colour. In low-light, the camera will take multiple shots and blend them together.
Samsung says the Note9 CPU is 53% faster than the Note8, with an improved GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) as well.
The camera records 4K UHD video at 60fps, and super slow-motion is available to record at up to 960fps.
The selfie camera is an 8mp f/1.7 camera, with auto-focus. You can create background blur, as well as adjust beauty settings.
The S-Pen features Bluetooth and using the button on the pen, you can take photos, or switch from the front to rear camera (but double pressing the button). The pressure-sensitive pen is certainly appealing, and it will be interesting to spend more time with the smartphone to see if it makes it suitable for editing photos.
The phone has built-in Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, a fingerprint reader, and there's even a headphone socket.
Key Features
- 12-megapixel Dual Pixel rear camera, 1.4micron pixels
- f/1.5-2.4 aperture, 26mm equivalent lens with Optical Image Stabilisation
- f/2.4 telephoto lens, 52mm equivalent, with Optical Image Stabilisation
- 8-megapixel front camera with f/1.7, and AF, 25mm equivalent.
- Auto HDR (front and rear cameras), Raw shooting possible in Pro mode
- 4K 60fps UHD video capability whilst capturing 9-megapixel stills
- 6.4inch WQuad HD+ Super AMOLED (2960x1440) with Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Dustproof and waterproof to 1.5m for up to 30 mins (IP68)
- 6GB RAM, 128GB or 512GB storage options
- 4000mAh battery
- Wireless charging
- MicroSD slot, Fingerprint Sensor
- Available in a number of colours
Samsung Galaxy Note9 Handling
The 6.4inch screen is large, and very clear, with a high-resolution display. Taking photos with such a large screen gives you a very good view, helping with composition. It also makes it easier to change settings when needed.
On the bottom of the phone, you’ll find a USB-C connection, a headphone socket, speaker, microphone, and the S-Pen socket. When the pen is in the phone, you press the end in, and it will pop-up giving you the ability to pull the pen out.
With a glass front and back, a case is strongly recommended, to avoid scratches and damage. The front and back of the phone are quite prone to fingerprints and scratches, particularly if you use the phone without a screen protector or case.
The black phone features a black pen, the lavender purple phone has a matching purple pen, and the ocean blue phone has a bright yellow pen.
The top of the phone features a sim card / microSD tray, and you can upgrade the phone with a 512GB microSD card if you want. There is a 128GB and 512GB phone available, so you could have up to 1TB storage! The phone has 6GB of RAM with the 128GB version, and 8GB RAM with the 512GB version.
The volume control is on the left, and underneath this is Samsung’s Bixby button, which brings up the Bixby assistant. On the right-hand side is the power and unlock button.
The rear features a fingerprint sensor, underneath the cameras. Next to the cameras, there are a number of sensors, which can be used for health monitoring, including a heartbeat monitor. Face detection is another way you can unlock the phone.
The camera app is easy to use and it's quick and easy to find options and change settings. The camera focuses extremely quickly, and shutter response is instant. Swiping up or down will switch to the selfie camera, and it's easy to accidentally activate the selfie camera. There are a number of default shooting modes available including:
- Auto
- Live Focus (blurred background)
- Pro (manual controls)
- Panorama
- Super Slow motion (high-speed video)
- Hyperlapse
- AR Emoji
To view the modes available you simply slide your finger left or right, and in settings, you can add "Food", and "Slow-motion". The selfie camera has a number of different shooting modes including Selfie focus, Selfie, AR Emoji, and Wide Selfie. You can expand the view so that the camera app uses the entire screen for composition.
In Pro mode, you can manually change the ISO speed (from 50 to 800), or leave it on auto and it can go up to ISO1250 in dark lighting. You can adjust the shutter speed, aperture (f/1.5 or f/2.4), colour, focus, white balance, exposure compensation, metering, AF area, and flash.
The scene optimiser will detect the subject in the frame, and choose from 20 different shooting modes, enhancing the photo to suit accordingly.
The camera is fast to focus, using phase-detection focus, and everything was quick and responsive.
Geekbench v4.3.0 results are single core: 3685, multi-core score: 9034. AnTuTu gives a score of 248067.
Battery life - The battery rating of 4000mAh is good, and battery management gives a number of different options to extend battery life, including reducing screen resolution. However, if you're going to be away from a power source, we'd recommend getting yourself a portable power bank just in case.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 Performance
The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the camera. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 Other sample images
Camera Performance - Using the wide-angle 4.3mm f/1.5-2.4 lens (26mm equivalent) and the telephoto 6.0mm f/2.4 lens (52mm equivalent), exposure is reliable, and when left on auto settings, the camera will automatically switch to the HDR mode when needed to record more dynamic range in photos, without looking unnatural. Holding the shutter release button down will let you shoot continuously.
Live Focus - You can focus on a subject close to the camera, and set the level of background blur. In playback (with dual capture on) you get to choose between the telephoto and wide-angle photos. You can also adjust the level of blur after taking the photo.
In some low-light conditions, the 2x button on the screen will no longer activate the second camera, and instead simply activates digital zoom. Checking the EXIF information will show which camera was used if needed.
The Scene Optimiser will automatically select the correct mode when detected. This can improve photos, however, it isn't as over-the-top as competitors phones, so you can quite happily use it without having to worry about it.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 Lens test images
Lens Performance - Colour reproduction is very good, with images looking good straight from the camera. When using the 2x telephoto zoom lens, the photos look very good as well, with the same colour reproduction, and good levels of detail. Noise is well controlled whichever camera you use. Switching to f/2.4 from f/1.5 does see a slight improvement in the sharpness of images. The aperture change happens in front of the lens, but behind the protective glass on the back of the smartphone.
The front selfie camera gives good results, thanks to autofocus (AF) to ensure that you and your friends are in focus. You can use "Selfie focus" and this will blur the background, giving you a "bokeh" effect. Wide-selfie can be used to get more of your friends, or more of the scene in to the photo. You can use the S-Pen as a remote trigger for taking photos (with any camera).
Using the Pro mode, you can select raw shooting, and the camera will record Adobe DNG files, as well as JPEG images. The camera is resistant to flare, as long as you keep the camera lenses clean.
Thanks to a bright aperture (f/1.5), optical image stabilisation (OIS), and a 12mp sensor with relatively large pixels (1.4micron), the low-light performance of the Note9 is good.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 ISO test images
Noise Performance - In the Pro mode you can manually set the ISO speed from ISO50 up to ISO800. Noise performance is good up to ISO800. The ISO speed can go higher and in auto mode, the camera will also go up to ISO1250. This is quite limiting, compared to other smartphones which offer much higher ISO speeds.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 White-balance test images
White Balance Performance - Auto White Balance (AWB) performs well under tungsten lighting with a slightly warm result, which most people will prefer. The tungsten preset gives a much more neutral result. AWB performs reasonably well under mixed light. Results under fluorescent lighting are reasonable but could be better. The fluorescent preset gives a magenta colour cast.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 Digital filters
Digital Filters - There are a number of different colour effects available in the camera app. Simply press the magic wand symbol and you can choose from a number of different presets. We've shown examples of these above, and there are a number of subtle effects that can be used easily and effectively. There are also a few different monochrome effects that look good.
Video - You can record 4K UHD video at 60fps, however, if you want to use electronic image stabilisation then you'll need to use a slower frame rate. Optical image stabilisation is available in all modes. Super slow-motion video is recorded at a resolution of 1280x720. Slow motion video can be recorded at 240fps, at FullHD resolution. The front camera can record at resolutions up to QHD (2560x1440), but not 4K.
Value For Money
The Samsung Galaxy Note9 is available for £899, which makes it quite expensive, however, none of the other smartphones offer the same built-in pen. Alternatives include the following smartphones:
- Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, 6.2inch screen, Dual camera (wide, telephoto), £819
- Huawei Mate 20 Pro, 6.39inch screen, Triple camera (ultra-wide, wide, telephoto), £899
- OnePlus 6T, 6.41inch screen, Dual camera (wide and blur), £569
- iPhone XS Max, 6.5inch screen, Dual camera (wide, telephoto), £1099
- Google Pixel 3 XL, 6.3inch screen, Single rear camera, dual selfie camera, £969
- Sony Xperia XZ3, 6inch screen, Single rear camera, £699
For more smartphone options, have a look at our 'Top 10 Best Smartphones for Photography' or, for more budget options, our 'Best Smartphones under £300 for Photography' round-up is worth checking out. You'll also need to buy a MicroSD memory card if you want to expand the smartphone's memory further.
Samsung Galaxy Note9 Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Note9 offers the largest screen, the latest camera, and the unique Samsung S-Pen, which actually provides some useful advantages, both when using the phone, and when taking photos. The phone is large, with a 6.4inch screen, but for those who like the Samsung Galaxy Note series, this will be welcomed. The cameras perform very well, with useful wide-angle and telephoto cameras on the back, both with optical image stabilisation, and a selfie camera with Auto-Focus, so that no matter what distance you are from the camera, you will look good. The camera has a number of different shooting mode, including manual, and unique to Samsung, you can even change the aperture of the wide-angle camera, with an impressively bright f/1.5 aperture available. The intelligent scene recognition makes it easier to get good shots, and the camera will warn you if you've taken a blurry photo. There's also a generous battery with a 4000mAh rating.
| The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 builds on the S9 Plus, and adds in some high-end features that make it even more desirable. |
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