A week with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 - 2020 feedback

Is it worth upgrading your Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in 2020? What are the alternatives and how much it will cost you?

It has been almost a week since we got a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and we are excited to share our feedback with you.

The Note 9 is a wonderful high-end smartphone, even in 2020. But it lacks some essential features that could make you look for a newer model like the Note 10 and the Note 10 Plus, or even the Note 10 Lite.

There are literally thousands of reviews for the Galaxy Note 9 since it came on the market in mid-2018. We don't want to go through all of its basic features and specs but just point out some key aspects of it as a smart device in 2020 and answer couple basic questions.

Is the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 a good camera-phone in 2020?

Well, Yes and No at the same time. For what it has as a main camera setup it is adequate enough - optical stabilization, crisp 12 MP photos with proper night mode and 2x optical zoom thanks to the second lens. It can also shoot good 4k videos in 30 or even 60 frames per second. You can even do proper time-lapses and hyper-time-lapses in good quality.

The main dual-camera setup in the Note 9

So you may be asking yourself what's the problem then? The problem for the Note 9 in 2020 is the speed of innovation that drives the smartphone industry. Nowadays high-end smartphones have 3 or even 4 main cameras with advanced features and almost professional grade quality if the photos and video.

Samsung Galaxy A50 - live focus camera test

The Note 9 is lacking many of these features - for example it has no super wide-angle camera which is present in phones like the A50 or A51 which are way cheaper. Selfie cameras in $200 Samsung smartphones now have more megapixels and perform better than the 8 MP sensor in the Note 9.

That is why we can't give it a clear Yes, especially if we consider the significant distance between the Note 9 and 2020 top-performers like the Huawei P40 Pro.

Is the Note 9 better than its successors - Note 10 and Note 10 Plus?

Again, it is a Yes and No answer. The Galaxy Note 9 has some amazing qualities that does not need to be touched even for years from now - like the amazing Super AMOLED display which we prefer and like much more than the new equivalents.

  

The audio features like the 3.5 mm headphone jack and the 2x stereo speakers cannot be found in any of the new Samsung flagships.

Android 10 and One UI 2.0 for the Note 9 in the latest 2020 software update

Of course that the Note 10 Plus has some new features that are a big advantage over the Note 9, like the upgraded camera setup which does an amazing job.
But still, there are some qualities that are lost for the new models and others that are brand new and not present in the Note 9.

Is it worth upgrading your Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in 2020? 

No, it is not. At least for us. If you are already a Galaxy Note 9 owner and it is in a good condition we would recommend you to stay with this device, especially if you don't need some fancy features like an ultra-wide angle cameras and such.

The alternatives

We already mentioned the alternatives - Note 10 and Note 10 Plus, Note 10 Lite or even the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 Pro which comes with an amazing 108 MP AI rear camera. Check the big stores for prices as they vary depending on your location, carrier and plan.

Should You Buy Galaxy Note 9 in 2020? - video

Thank you for checking our Samsung Galaxy Note 9 consumer review in 2020! We hope our feedback will help you decide if you want to buy this smartphone used, refurbished or brand new this year.

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