Samsung Galaxy Note 9

[BigSky20]

They also instituted a new policy this year that made it really unpleasant for two or more people living under the same roof to preorder if the preorder also involves processing a trade in phone.

I preordered a few days before my husband. I got a ship date for next week, so it still would not have gotten here before an iPhone.

I also specified a trade in of my S8+.

My husband made a similar preorder with trade a few days later. They put a hold on his preorder, saying they would not process it until MY transaction was fully completed. Meaning not until after I ship my phone in and they approve the trade for the agreed on amount. What the what? Yeah, they have a new one trade transaction per household at a time. They didn’t have that last year.

Well given that I wasn’t going to ship my phone to them until I was darned sure all was good with the Note 9, my poor husband would have been waiting until middle of next month for his Note 9.

We like to get our phones together if possible or close to it. That right there sucked some of the wind out of my sails. Then as luck would have it, I happened to be on vacation when all that was going on. On vacation, I tend to use my Android phones exclusively. I was reminded how excellent my S9+ is and it would be a waste to retire it so soon. Then I thought of how much more money I could save waiting until the end of the Note 9 life cycle. So I canceled my preorder.

Now thanks to my husband and I being groggy and miscommunicating, I have the XS Max, instead of the smaller XS, coming to me next week. If I get along well with it,I probably will just hold on and wait for Note 10 now, because I want the stainless steel gold Apple Watch and that’s going to cost a bit. Fortunately I can trade in my series 3 watch and get a bit of a break but it’s still going to cost.

I’m still groggy so goodness only knows what I’m going to think once I get some coffee in me.

My husband is canceling his Note 9 preorder, too. He decided he is going to do the same as I am.

How can they be that bad at business? My wife and I would have the same issue. Surely, they could just copy how Apple does orders and trade ins like they copied the first iPhone! I also ordered the new apple watch....looks nice!

 

[5105973]

How can they be that bad at business? My wife and I would have the same issue. Surely, they could just copy how Apple does orders and trade ins like they copied the first iPhone! I also ordered the new apple watch....looks nice!

Congratulations on your new watch purchase. I hope you enjoy it very much!

I actually haven’t ordered the new Apple Watch yet. My husband ordered his, though, since he has a birthday fairly soon. I usually wait and get wearables for Mother’s Day, to spread the costs across the year better and have something my family can get me that’s a no-brainer. Nobody has time to shop, so if they all can just pop over to Best Buy or the Apple Store and let me pick out a new gadget and then stop on the way home for a quick dinner somewhere, everyone is happier.

I don’t know why Samsung instituted this policy for the trade ins. We did it for our S9+ purchases and it went very smoothly. It did take a long time for them to process my trade in, but they finally did.

One thing that had me VERY nervous was the reports of a few QC issues with the Note 9’s and the dilemma of one guy who discovered his Note 9 had an issue after he had already sent in his phone for trade.

Samsung customer service told him that they could not just do a simple exchange of the defective phone for a good one. He would have to return his new phone and all of his preorder freebies. Get issued the refund which would be only the amount he was charged after the discount for his trade in was applied. And then take that reduced amount of money and purchase a new Note 9 at full price. No credit from the previous trade would be applied. It’s past the preorder period so he would also now have to settle for freebies he didn’t want instead of the preorder ones.

So if I understood his situation correctly, he basically was robbed of the value of his trade in. I didn’t go back to see any updates to his situation. I didn’t feel I needed to because I ran up against the same issue back when I discovered my S8+ was not great and I wanted an exchange. I actually never made it through to talk to customer service. At that time they had thousands of irate customers wondering where their preorder items were. And so it was hours of waiting on their customer service line. I was not able to get anyone on chat or online to help me.

I love Samsung products but sometimes their customer service can be a bit scary because we don’t have stores with people we can deal with face to face. I didn’t want to deal with our carrier this time around either. They’re still insisting I have to stay on an S7 Edge I don’t even own anymore and have to pay for even though the manager had promised us they would honor the terms of the BOGO deal we had on the Note 7’s that got recalled and replaced. Apparently the problem was our phones got recalled twice and somehow AT&T says that’s our fault and our problem now.

I just don’t like carriers telling me when I can and can’t change phones even if I do pay in full up front. Heck, the carriers hate that and do everything to discourage it. There’s no money in that.

 

[michael9891]

I can’t even remember what they said on stage. Phil was talking very fast and sort of mumbling. I missed a lot of what he said about the camera.

I mainly remember Phil keep calling everything 'beautiful'. lol

 

[JackieInCo]

I mainly remember Phil keep calling everything 'beautiful'. lol

Beautiful is the word these days because magical belonged to Steve.

 

[5105973]

Hah, looks like I’m getting my watch next week after all. My husband found out his employer pays for Apple Watches and other fitness wearables. He gets his for free. So he put in an order for my watch for pickup. It’s not sold out even though everyone else on the other thread seems to be having problems getting theirs fast. Go figure. I guess they want the less expensive ones?

 

[pacmacman]

Reading some articles, it appears the iPhone Xs/Max dual sim will be supported on at&t. Thos makes it really tempting to consolidate my 2 phones. However I will have to see how well that's implemented, if it's like the Note 9 where it allows you to have dual accounts for the same app, that could be something I would look into. This would be a no brainer if apple actually updated springboard, added multi window, and had a built in apple pencil. They could own the market if they did that.

I"m seriously at a loss as to what they did with the Max. There is almost literally no argument for it over the regular version other than screen size. I don't understand why they wouldn't import any of iPad-like features to it.

 

[Cryates]

I don't understand why they wouldn't import any of iPad-like features to it.

Because that would cannibalize sales of the iPad. It's smart business, to wrap your consumer base into dipping their wallets into all of the product categories. How many folks have an iPhone, iPad and MacBook? Probably a ton. Why? Because each one strategically offers something the other doesn't. It's a good and smart business practice, but it doesn't work for me. I've been a long-time Apple supporter, and I've dipped my wallet into each product category over the years, but in reality, I've only done so because I've needed something else that wasn't offered on the iPhone, or the iPad, or the MacBook. Things that Apple could have easily offered by now. I totally bought into what they were selling.

I'm beyond that now though, and I'm not buying into it anymore. The return I get from spending more and more on Apple products is just simply not justified for me. I've moved beyond the comforts of iOS and the Apple ecosystem and realize now the line of which companies are making great products of great value is becoming very blurred.

 

[pacmacman]

Because that would cannibalize sales of the iPad. It's smart business, to wrap your consumer base into dipping their wallets into all of the product categories. How many folks have an iPhone, iPad and MacBook? Probably a ton. Why? Because each one strategically offers something the other doesn't. It's a good and smart business practice, but it doesn't work for me. I've been a long-time Apple supporter, and I've dipped my wallet into each product category over the years, but in reality, I've only done so because I've needed something else that wasn't offered on the iPhone, or the iPad, or the MacBook. Things that Apple could have easily offered by now. I totally bought into what they were selling.

I'm beyond that now though, and I'm not buying into it anymore. The return I get from spending more and more on Apple products is just simply not justified for me. I've moved beyond the comforts of iOS and the Apple ecosystem and realize now the line of which companies are making great products of great value is becoming very blurred.

You're correct on all points. And I'm reaching the same place. I still really like the OS, but it's getting harder and harder to ignore that unless you love the OS, there just isn't a value add to Apple any longer.

 

[IowaLynn]

I tried Surface RT and then latest Pro. The stylus got better but not ‘perfect.’ And while I used Windows a lot (not exclusively) since 2006, 10 and Windows on tablet along with security and I left, for iPad Pro (pencil too big and poor for spreadsheets.)

Note 8 and 9 stylus just work as does Samsung Tab S3.

I wish my MacBook was more Surface Pro. I don’t buy the canabalizing argument.

I was prepared to buy Max until rumors of stylus support were disproved. Note 8/9 with 128GB / 6GB and stylus was what I was in the market. Still have my iPhone X.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I"m seriously at a loss as to what they did with the Max. There is almost literally no argument for it over the regular version other than screen size. I don't understand why they wouldn't import any of iPad-like features to it.

Probably saving that for next year or the year after. They like to milk it.

 

[ramram55]

For too long Iphone has 'S' stick to it, the 'Same' old one with not much change, sending the latest phone out with 5 w charger and without headphone adapter, on the other hand Samsung sending freebies to lessen consumers burden. Little did they know competition is keeping up with them, no wonder the second tier countries are getting to buy the week after it has been released. Imaging country with majority of the population earning around $3000 per year, buying iphone for $1000+, they have to go without eating for half a year.

 

[c0ppo]

In my own country (Croatia), most expensive iPhone will cost around 2050€. Yes, taxes are rather high (25%), but in comparison, Note 9 512gb costs around 1200€.

And you can purchase any other brand phone on some discounts, but iPhone never has any.

To put this into perspective, average sallary in my country is something less then 1000€.

 

[mi7chy]

All I meant was people seem to think the adjustment of the bokeh level hasn't been done before.

It's even been done on budget Moto G5S Plus.

The fake bokeh demo photo Apple used yesterday wasn't a very good one as it looks strange like a floating head with someone else's body and arm. Doesn't have the DSLR natural progressive depth of field but more like three panes of depth.

 

[M5RahuL]

I"m seriously at a loss as to what they did with the Max. There is almost literally no argument for it over the regular version other than screen size. I don't understand why they wouldn't import any of iPad-like features to it.

It's probably got an extra Gig of RAM and can do landscape mode on the home screen like the 8+

 

[Shanghaichica]

It's even been done on budget Moto G5S Plus.

The fake bokeh demo photo Apple used yesterday wasn't a very good one as it looks strange like a floating head with someone else's body and arm. Doesn't have the DSLR natural progressive depth of field but more like three panes of depth.

You can’t see her neck. Just seen it now.

 

[M5RahuL]

Congratulations on your new watch purchase. I hope you enjoy it very much!

I actually haven’t ordered the new Apple Watch yet. My husband ordered his, though, since he has a birthday fairly soon. I usually wait and get wearables for Mother’s Day, to spread the costs across the year better and have something my family can get me that’s a no-brainer. Nobody has time to shop, so if they all can just pop over to Best Buy or the Apple Store and let me pick out a new gadget and then stop on the way home for a quick dinner somewhere, everyone is happier.

I don’t know why Samsung instituted this policy for the trade ins. We did it for our S9+ purchases and it went very smoothly. It did take a long time for them to process my trade in, but they finally did.

One thing that had me VERY nervous was the reports of a few QC issues with the Note 9’s and the dilemma of one guy who discovered his Note 9 had an issue after he had already sent in his phone for trade.

Samsung customer service told him that they could not just do a simple exchange of the defective phone for a good one. He would have to return his new phone and all of his preorder freebies. Get issued the refund which would be only the amount he was charged after the discount for his trade in was applied. And then take that reduced amount of money and purchase a new Note 9 at full price. No credit from the previous trade would be applied. It’s past the preorder period so he would also now have to settle for freebies he didn’t want instead of the preorder ones.

So if I understood his situation correctly, he basically was robbed of the value of his trade in. I didn’t go back to see any updates to his situation. I didn’t feel I needed to because I ran up against the same issue back when I discovered my S8+ was not great and I wanted an exchange. I actually never made it through to talk to customer service. At that time they had thousands of irate customers wondering where their preorder items were. And so it was hours of waiting on their customer service line. I was not able to get anyone on chat or online to help me.

I love Samsung products but sometimes their customer service can be a bit scary because we don’t have stores with people we can deal with face to face. I didn’t want to deal with our carrier this time around either. They’re still insisting I have to stay on an S7 Edge I don’t even own anymore and have to pay for even though the manager had promised us they would honor the terms of the BOGO deal we had on the Note 7’s that got recalled and replaced. Apparently the problem was our phones got recalled twice and somehow AT&T says that’s our fault and our problem now.

I just don’t like carriers telling me when I can and can’t change phones even if I do pay in full up front. Heck, the carriers hate that and do everything to discourage it. There’s no money in that.

I've nearly given up on Samsung, especially after my recent experience with their (non existent) CS! I have an issue with my Gear S3 where the battery will either not fully charge, or once off the charger will drain from 100 to 3% within minutes, and then shut the device off! This issue is all over the web, and it seems Sammy doesn't give a hoot!

Been racking my head with their CS in vain, and am just about ready to thrash the watch!

 

[5105973]

I've nearly given up on Samsung, especially after my recent experience with their (non existent) CS! I have an issue with my Gear S3 where the battery will either not fully charge, or once off the charger will drain from 100 to 3% within minutes, and then shut the device off! This issue is all over the web, and it seems Sammy doesn't give a hoot!

Been racking my head with their CS in vain, and am just about ready to thrash the watch!

My husband has that same problem with his S3 Frontier. Same. Smh.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I've nearly given up on Samsung, especially after my recent experience with their (non existent) CS! I have an issue with my Gear S3 where the battery will either not fully charge, or once off the charger will drain from 100 to 3% within minutes, and then shut the device off! This issue is all over the web, and it seems Sammy doesn't give a hoot!

Been racking my head with their CS in vain, and am just about ready to thrash the watch!

Their customer service is really bad over here. Never had the misfortune of dealing with them myself but I know plenty of people who have and none of them had good things to say.

When I have Samsung devices I prefer to have third party insurance so that the phone can get fixed if anything goes wrong. Even if I have to pay a deductible.

 

[Cryates]

So, I just noticed that Samsung canceled my Premium Care subscription a few weeks ago, for seemingly no explicable reason. Hmmm, seem very strange.

Edit: nm...was confused

 

[Shanghaichica]

So, I just noticed that Samsung canceled my Premium Care subscription a few weeks ago, for seemingly no explicable reason. Hmmm, seem very strange.

Can you get them to reinstate it?

 

[Cryates]

Can you get them to reinstate it?

It was the PC for an earlier order I had canceled because I couldn't decide if I wanted the unlocked or AT&T version. I was confused.

 

[Fernandez21]

Because that would cannibalize sales of the iPad. It's smart business, to wrap your consumer base into dipping their wallets into all of the product categories. How many folks have an iPhone, iPad and MacBook? Probably a ton. Why? Because each one strategically offers something the other doesn't. It's a good and smart business practice, but it doesn't work for me. I've been a long-time Apple supporter, and I've dipped my wallet into each product category over the years, but in reality, I've only done so because I've needed something else that wasn't offered on the iPhone, or the iPad, or the MacBook. Things that Apple could have easily offered by now. I totally bought into what they were selling.

I'm beyond that now though, and I'm not buying into it anymore. The return I get from spending more and more on Apple products is just simply not justified for me. I've moved beyond the comforts of iOS and the Apple ecosystem and realize now the line of which companies are making great products of great value is becoming very blurred.

You know, if the iPhone Xs Max offered all the features the Note 9 does, only with apple software and services, it could be my only device and replace my iPad and Macbook (in this scenario DeX would load Mac OSX)

 

[Fernandez21]

Hah, looks like I’m getting my watch next week after all. My husband found out his employer pays for Apple Watches and other fitness wearables. He gets his for free. So he put in an order for my watch for pickup. It’s not sold out even though everyone else on the other thread seems to be having problems getting theirs fast. Go figure. I guess they want the less expensive ones?

Hmm, I preordered mine at the at&t store earlier today, around 1pm, for black stainless steel 44mm, and my expected shipment date is November 2nd. You guys got lucky.

 

[tbayrgs]

I"m seriously at a loss as to what they did with the Max. There is almost literally no argument for it over the regular version other than screen size. I don't understand why they wouldn't import any of iPad-like features to it.

So during all the years that Apple's Plus models existed, I saw endless criticism everywhere how the Plus models had exclusive features and that if you didn't want a larger phone, you were SOL. Now Apple finally has feature/functionality parity across the same model and people are bitching that they're not getting anything extra in the larger phone.

What are all the difference between the Pixels and Galaxy 9s, besides size, of course?

 

[pacmacman]

So during all the years that Apple's Plus models existed, I saw endless criticism everywhere how the Plus models had exclusive features and that if you didn't want a larger phone, you were SOL. Now Apple finally has feature/functionality parity across the same model and people are bitching that they're not getting anything extra in the larger phone.

What are all the difference between the Pixels and Galaxy 9s, besides size, of course?

I don’t care about all of that, and it’s not important anyway. I am not someone who bitched about Plus’s vs regular iPhones. The issue for me is as someone who can spend the money on these phones, what is the argument Apple is making for their pricing now? Listen, I like both OS’s but I probably lean towards “Apple guy”. However at 1200 on the Max, I cannot ignore the lack of fast charging out of the box. I cannot ignore that they still don’t make an argument for extra screen real estate other than “it’s bigger”. Why not take advantage of the oled tech and give us some cool AOD stuff?

I’m not someone who makes “Apple doesn’t innovate” and “Apple rips off its customers” arguments. But this round of iPhones is the first time I’ve actually felt that way on both counts. I’m disappointed in a company I like, whose OS I adore.

C’mon. As an Apple person, you’re not gonna be even a little annoyed as you pull out your shiny new 2018 iPhone and its 2007 charger?