Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Hands-On: This Is What A $1,250 Android Phone Feels Like

Another first for the Note.

- Michael Simon

The Note 9 doesn’t come in black.

That was the second biggest surprise Samsung had for me during my Note 9 briefing in early August. The first was the price: $1,000 for the 128GB base model and an eye-popping $1,250 for the 512GB version. That’s $100 more than the top-of-the-line iPhone X (which only has 256GB of storage), for those keeping score. So Samsung’s Note 9 brings another first for the Android world: sticker shock.

Otherwise, Samsung’s newest phablet is pretty much exactly what I expected it to be, what with an endless stream of leaks and rumors spilling nearly every bean there was to be spilled. I already knew about the processor, the new S Pen, the storage increase, and the AI camera. The Note 9 is basically a Note 8 (go.pcworld.com/n8rv) with Galaxy S9+ specs (go.pcworld.com/ s9rv) and a more logical fingerprint sensor placement.

The display is a tenth of an inch bigger than its predecessor, but I might not have noticed when I picked up the Note 9 for the first time, if not for its weight. The Note 8 is already one of the heaviest phones you can buy, but the new Note adds noticeable heft, pushing it over the 200 gram mark.

But the Note has never been designed for use with one hand, so that probably won’t be an issue for anyone who buys one. The new handset doesn’t bring any truly revolutionary features or wild innovations like prior Galaxy phones, but if you’re a Note fan, No. 9 checks off more than enough upgrade boxes. Whether that’s worth four figures is another story.

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