Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note 9 phablet is now available for purchase through major U.S. carriers and national retailers, with its new Bluetooth-enabled S Pen stylus, data storage capacity of 128GB or 512GB and prices starting at $1,000.
The Note 9, which was unveiled by Samsung in New York on Aug. 9, also includes other upgrades over the year-old Note 8 model it supersedes including a larger 4,000mAh battery which Samsung says will provide all-day use without a recharge, a faster processor for improved performance and a microSD card slot that will handle storage cards of to 512GB.
When combined with the built-in storage of the 512GB model, users will have 1TB of storage in their handsets, which is a first for mass market smartphone models.
AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless and Xfinity began offering the 128GB Note 9 for sale on Aug. 24 in stores and online for $1,000, while the 512GB Note 9 priced at $1,250, is now available at select retail locations and online at AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, U.S. Cellular and Samsung.com.
Also making its retail debuts are Samsung’s latest smartwatches, the Galaxy Watch, which starts at $330 for a 42mm Bluetooth model or for $350 for the 46mm Bluetooth model. The LTE-enabled version, which works with T-Mobile’s wireless network, is available from Samsung.com or T-Mobile, starting at $380 for the 42mm version and $400 for the 46mm model. All models are compatible with Android 5.0 and later and Apple iOS apps.
The New Note 9
Some of the biggest improvements in the latest Note 9 are the increases in internal storage, which are significant compared to the 64GB, 128GB or 256GB storage capacities of the older Note 8, the higher-capacity battery and its support for faster LTE wireless network speeds.
The smartphone’s display size is up slightly, with a new 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Quad HD+ model, with 2960 x 1440 resolution and 551 ppi, compared to its former 6.3-inch display.
Also significant is the upgraded S Pen stylus that is built into the handset. The latest S Pen has Bluetooth Low-Energy connectivity to turn it into a remote control for on-screen presentations and many other creative productions, which extends its abilities for enterprise users.
The larger and more powerful 4,000mAh battery was added to address user complaints about the previous 3,300mAh unit in the Note 8, which didn’t provide the long battery life desired by many users.
Anchoring the Note 9’s hardware is a more powerful 64-bit octa-core processor along with 6GB of LPDDR4 memory for the 128GB model, and 8GB of memory for the 512GB model. Also included is a new Intelligent Scan feature that lets users unlock the device using both iris and facial scanning. Fingerprint authentication is also included for addition user security.
The Note 9 improves on the dual 12-megapixel rear cameras used in the previous Note 8 by adding dual aperture lenses, giving users improved picture quality. All Note 9 models get the same 8-megapixel front camera that was included in the Note 8.
The new Note 9 also meets the same IP68 water resistance standards as the earlier model and now runs on Android 8.1, compared to the Note 8’s Android 7.1 operating system. It can also be connected to an external desktop monitor using an optional HDMI connector and the Note 9’s Samsung DeX desktop feature, which allows users to do their work on a larger screen.