Samsung Galaxy Note 9

The Note 9 does most things rather well and a handful of things spectacularly well. The problem is simply that so does the Note 8. As such, theres little reason to upgrade

- Nathan Spendelow

THE GALAXY NOTE 9 was an inevitability. Following the success of last year’s Galaxy Note 8 (Shopper 361), the Korean firm’s newest plus-sized phone was always going to make a stylish appearance at some point in 2018, and this new phablet is well placed to build on the luxurious Galaxy S9 (Shopper 364).

Much like the Galaxy Note 8, the Note 9 is a high-end, plus-sized Android phablet, which comes equipped with Samsung’s own S Pen stylus for on-the-go note taking. It may look largely similar to last year’s model – something that could also be said of the Galaxy S9, compared to the S8 – but it’s the core specifications that are particularly intriguing.

Inside the Note 9 is Samsung’s Exynos 9810 processor, along with either 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, depending on how much cash you have to spare. The rear camera module is similar to the Galaxy S9’s, with a pair of 12-megapixel sensors complete with a variable aperture.

Sadly, another thing the Note 9 shares with its stablemates is scarily high pricing. We thought the Note 8 was ambitious for starting at £869, but this time the base 128GB model (which we’ve tested here) costs £899, while the 512GB model, at £1,099, surpasses even the iPhone X on sheer costliness.

SQUARE BRAINED

The Galaxy Note 9, rather unsurprisingly, looks remarkably similar to its predecessor, which is a little underwhelming if you were hoping for a more noticeable visual upgrade. The sprawling 6.4in screen wraps around the sides of the device – now a Samsung design staple – with slim bezels bordering the top and bottom of the display.