Samsung Galaxy Note 9

[Cryates]

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)

Same, but I've just come to accept that my needs do not align with what Apple can offer, and I'm not sure they ever will align again.

 

[tbayrgs]

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?

None of those are invalid arguments. But none have anything to do with your complaint in the post I quoted. It's now pretty common practice in the industry for different sized devices of the same product line to offer the same functionality and Apple is now following suit so I commend them for at least getting aboard that proverbial train.

Not going to disagree with most of your other criticisms though either. But I'm also not bothered enough by them to jump ship. At least not yet. There are too many other aspects of iOS that I still prefer.

 

[Cryates]

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

4GB RAM vs 6GB
Single SIM vs Dual SIM
IP67 vs IP68
Video recording: 4K@30fps vs 4K@60fps
Expandable Storage up to 512GB on the S9
Headphone Jack on S9

Those look to be the feature differences, outside of software tweaks.

 

[tbayrgs]

4GB RAM vs 6GB
Single SIM vs Dual SIM
IP67 vs IP68
Video recording: 4K@30fps vs 4K@60fps
Expandable Storage up to 512GB on the S9
Headphone Jack on S9

Those look to be the feature differences, outside of software.

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. What are the differences between the two size variants of each model, ie Pixel 2 vs Pixel 2 XL, other than size? Same for the Galaxy S9 vs S9+.

My point was very little to nothing, IIRC. And now, in additional to their iPad Pro models, Apple is following suit with the Xs variants.

 

[pacmacman]

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)

It would be a gigantic home run. But I don't need it to mirror a Note 9. In fact, my wants for this upgrade round were pretty minor: fast charger out of the box, more landscape options for the Max size. That I didn't even get these is part of what's annoying the crap out of me.

 

[Cryates]

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. What are the differences between the two size variants of each model, ie Pixel 2 vs Pixel 2 XL, other than size? Same for the Galaxy S9 vs S9+.

My point was very little to nothing, IIRC.

Oh, gotcha. Yeah, with the Pixel nothing besides size and battery. With the S9, just the size, battery and dual lens vs single.

 

[tbayrgs]

Oh, gotcha. Yeah, with the Pixel nothing besides size and battery. With the S9, just the size, battery and dual lens vs single.

Oh, didn’t realize that Samsung reversed course on the S9. (vs. the S8 models have the same camera). I stand corrected.

 

[Cryates]

I would have been okay with the Max if they at least offered split-screen apps. To not even offer that, on top of the other annoyances ('07 charger, no headphone dongle), it just doesn't make sense to me personally.
[doublepost=1536964755][/doublepost]

Oh, didn’t realize that Samsung reversed course on the S9. (vs. the S8 models have the same camera). I stand corrected.

Yeah, they didn't offer dual lens on either S8 model though, so they both had the same 12mp shooter. It wasn't until the Note 8 that they offered dual lens.

 

[pacmacman]

I would have been okay with the Max if they at least offered split-screen apps. To not even offer that, on top of the other annoyances ('07 charger, no headphone dongle), it just doesn't make sense to me personally.

This is me too. I wasn't even expecting or demanding much from this go-round. I still don't know that I"m not going to get it because I still love the OS, and I do prefer a bigger screen. So I guess that's why Apple does what it does.

I am a sucker.

 

[Cryates]

This is me too. I wasn't even expecting or demanding much from this go-round. I still don't know that I"m not going to get it because I still love the OS, and I do prefer a bigger screen. So I guess that's why Apple does what it does.

I am a sucker.

It's easy to believe that if Samsung had as buttoned up an ecosystem of products that Apple has, they'd withhold features. It stings for folks like you and I, but it's purely smart business. Some folks don't care about the things I need and will be happy buying the Max at its price, and that's fair. I just can't even come close to justifying it myself.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

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.

If you are talking about 24 month warranty issues, why not go back to the retailer you bought your Samsung products from?
[doublepost=1536967064][/doublepost]

Some folks don't care about the things I need and will be happy buying the Max at its price, and that's fair. I just can't even come close to justifying it myself.

Couple of weeks ago I got a Huawei P20 Pro 128gb from EE for £38 month for two years. It sells for £720 on Amazon. I checked a XS 64gb from EE. £73 month plus £75 up front on same plan. A difference of £915 over 24 months. WTF???? Why do people pay those prices????

 

[Shanghaichica]

Oh, gotcha. Yeah, with the Pixel nothing besides size and battery. With the S9, just the size, battery and dual lens vs single.

You also get more storage (base model) on the S9 plus and more Ram compared to the S9.
[doublepost=1536968243][/doublepost]

If you are talking about 24 month warranty issues, why not go back to the retailer you bought your Samsung products from?
[doublepost=1536967064][/doublepost]

Couple of weeks ago I got a Huawei P20 Pro 128gb from EE for £38 month for two years. It sells for £720 on Amazon. I checked a XS 64gb from EE. £73 month plus £75 up front on same plan. A difference of £915 over 24 months. WTF???? Why do people pay those prices????

The retailer sends them back to Samsung to repair and then that’s when you have to put up with their nonsense. In fairness though I’ve never had any hardware issues apart from the original note. It was things like overheating, freezing and crashing. Which is something which isn’t going to be apparent when a tech looks at the phone. I just stuck with it for 13 months and then upgraded to the S4 early. I did get a replacement under insurance because I spilt a drink in my bag and it got on the phone. The phone was ok but I wanted a replacement because of all the issues. The insurers said that the liquid would rot it eventually so we’re happy to replace it even though it was still working. The replacement was even worse. However aside from the original note I never had any issues with any of my Samsung devices.

I’m so heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem that it’s hard for me to move to android but I’m waiting until the Max comes out to see what the camera is like before I make any decisions.

That’s a great deal for the p20 Pro.
[doublepost=1536968443][/doublepost]

It would be a gigantic home run. But I don't need it to mirror a Note 9. In fact, my wants for this upgrade round were pretty minor: fast charger out of the box, more landscape options for the Max size. That I didn't even get these is part of what's annoying the crap out of me.

I wanted Pencil support, well actually any new features but there aren’t any. Maybe when it comes out we’ll be able to see if the camera improvements are significant.

At the moment I have bigger screen, gold, 512GB and camera improvements on my list of features. It’s a bit flimsy.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

You also get more storage (base model) on the S9 plus and more Ram compared to the S9.
[doublepost=1536968243][/doublepost]
The retailer sends them back to Samsung to repair and then that’s when you have to put up with their nonsense.

No you don't. You have a contract with the retailer. They fix it or give you a full refund. You let the retailer know that you know your rights. Don't take any bull*hit from them.

Edit: For clarification, The retailer deals with the OEM, not you.

 

[Shanghaichica]

This is me too. I wasn't even expecting or demanding much from this go-round. I still don't know that I"m not going to get it because I still love the OS, and I do prefer a bigger screen. So I guess that's why Apple does what it does.

I am a sucker.

You and I are in the same boat.
[doublepost=1536968909][/doublepost]

No you don't. You have a contract with the retailer. They fix it or give you a full refund. You let the retailer know that you know your rights. Don't take any bull*hit from them.

That’s what my dad did in the end. Took it up with the retailer. They gave him his money back and he bought the note 4 again and then moaned about it. He’s got the note 8 now.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

You and I are in the same boat.
[doublepost=1536968909][/doublepost]
That’s what my dad did in the end. Took it up with the retailer. They gave him his money back and he bought the note 4 again and then moaned about it. He’s got the note 8 now.

So I don't understand your earlier comment about having to deal with Samsung. When I got my wife an SE from Carphone Warehouse, they said we should take out insurance as Apple only gave 12 months warranty. When I advised him that we get 24 months in UK on phones he waffled a bit then reluctantly accepted what I said.

 

[bgro]

You also get more storage (base model) on the S9 plus and more Ram compared to the S9.
[doublepost=1536968243][/doublepost]
The retailer sends them back to Samsung to repair and then that’s when you have to put up with their nonsense. In fairness though I’ve never had any hardware issues apart from the original note. It was things like overheating, freezing and crashing. Which is something which isn’t going to be apparent when a tech looks at the phone. I just stuck with it for 13 months and then upgraded to the S4 early. I did get a replacement under insurance because I spilt a drink in my bag and it got on the phone. The phone was ok but I wanted a replacement because of all the issues. The insurers said that the liquid would rot it eventually so we’re happy to replace it even though it was still working. The replacement was even worse. However aside from the original note I never had any issues with any of my Samsung devices.

I’m so heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem that it’s hard for me to move to android but I’m waiting until the Max comes out to see what the camera is like before I make any decisions.

That’s a great deal for the p20 Pro.
[doublepost=1536968443][/doublepost]
I wanted Pencil support, well actually any new features but there aren’t any. Maybe when it comes out we’ll be able to see if the camera improvements are significant.

At the moment I have bigger screen, gold, 512GB and camera improvements on my list of features. It’s a bit flimsy.

I feel like if there were significant camera improvements we would have seen/heard about them during the keynote. I’m expecting marginal improvements just like we’ve gotten every year. Last big improvement was portrait mode imo. Regular pics just get a tiny bit better each year.

 

[tbayrgs]

I feel like if there were significant camera improvements we would have seen/heard about them during the keynote. I’m expecting marginal improvements just like we’ve gotten every year. Last big improvement was portrait mode imo. Regular pics just get a tiny bit better each year.

They covered the camera improvements more than anything else in the Keynote coverage for the phone. New sensor with larger pixels, new optics, and all the new processing power from the Neural engine and Enhanced ISP portion of the A12 CPU. All the Smart HDR stuff. Seems like a pretty significant set up changes and upgrades to me.

Of course, only real world testing of the camera’s performance will validate any of Apple’s claims.

 

[Cryates]

I feel like if there were significant camera improvements we would have seen/heard about them during the keynote. I’m expecting marginal improvements just like we’ve gotten every year. Last big improvement was portrait mode imo. Regular pics just get a tiny bit better each year.

They spent a good amount of time during the keynote talking about Smart HDR and the new depth of field control. While not gorundbreaking, these have potential to be pretty big advancements in iPhone photography. We know Apple's example photos are always fine-tuned perfect setting examples, so time will tell how good these are in everyday use, but they have the pontential to own the best current smartphone camera on the market. I'm confident Google will ping back with something in the next month to take the camera throne back, especially with the rumor of a new visual core, but we'll see. Nothing is known until us average folks are using it.

 

[bgro]

They spent a good amount of time during the keynote talking about Smart HDR and the new depth of field control. While not gorundbreaking, these have potential to be pretty big advancements in iPhone photography. We know Apple's example photos are always fine-tuned perfect setting examples, so time will tell how good these are in everyday use, but they have the pontential to own the best current smartphone camera on the market. I'm confident Google will ping back with something in the next month to take the camera throne back, especially with the rumor of a new visual core, but we'll see. Nothing is known until us average folks are using it.

True. I just feel like every year they market these improvements and pixel and note devices end up with much (imo) better cameras

 

[mib1800]

They spent a good amount of time during the keynote talking about Smart HDR and the new depth of field control. While not gorundbreaking, these have potential to be pretty big advancements in iPhone photography. We know Apple's example photos are always fine-tuned perfect setting examples, so time will tell how good these are in everyday use, but they have the pontential to own the best current smartphone camera on the market. I'm confident Google will ping back with something in the next month to take the camera throne back, especially with the rumor of a new visual core, but we'll see. Nothing is known until us average folks are using it.

Software can't beat hardware.

Dual aperture of the note 9/s9 camera will perform better in low light. That's a given.

 

[Cryates]

Software can't beat hardware.

Dual aperture of the note 9/s9 camera will perform better in low light. That's a given.

That's fair in some regard, but the Pixel cameras are as incredible as they are because of Google's immaculate software processing. I think Apple is trying to match that this year.

 

[Shanghaichica]

So I don't understand your earlier comment about having to deal with Samsung. When I got my wife an SE from Carphone Warehouse, they said we should take out insurance as Apple only gave 12 months warranty. When I advised him that we get 24 months in UK on phones he waffled a bit then reluctantly accepted what I said.

Because it took a lot of hassle to get the retailer to sort the issue out and they tried to fob him off many times.
[doublepost=1536979327][/doublepost]

Software can't beat hardware.

Dual aperture of the note 9/s9 camera will perform better in low light. That's a given.

It does on the pixel but the f 1.5 will be hard to beat in low light.
[doublepost=1536979397][/doublepost]

That's fair in some regard, but the Pixel cameras are as incredible as they are because of Google's immaculate software processing. I think Apple is trying to match that this year.

They won’t get close to the pixel. Google are so deep into AI and machine learning.

 

[Cryates]

They won’t get close to the pixel. Google are so deep into AI and machine learning.

I don't think so either, especially once the Pixel 3 hits the streets, but I'll reserve final judgement for real-world examples of both.

 

[Klyster]

I finally got my screen protector so I'm using my Note 9 now, woohoo!

Standby battery seems really good as far as I can tell...

 

[woozor1]

True. I just feel like every year they market these improvements and pixel and note devices end up with much (imo) better cameras

im not sure what note youve been using but the notes selfie camera is the worst of all time. Unless you like to be washed out and over exposed. Even the rear camera sucks for taking pics of people. Anything besides people its a good rear camera.