I've been using Samsung's new $1,000 Galaxy Note 9, and it's the only smartphone actually worthy of its high price tag
I've been using the Galaxy Note 9 as my daily phone for a little over a week now, and I'm confident this is one of the best phones I've used to date.
It combines everything I love about the Galaxy S9, like the gorgeous screen, camera, and design, and enhances it with a large display and an S Pen I've only recently come to appreciate.
While everyone can use the Galaxy Note 9, it's also the second $1,000 mainstream phone to become available after the iPhone X. That particular price tag isn't for everyone. But the Galaxy Note 9 has a particular kind of user in mind: the power user.
Check out the Galaxy Note 9:
SEE ALSO: The $1,000 smartphone showdown: Samsung's new Galaxy Note 9 versus Apple's iPhone X
Design-wise, the Galaxy Note 9 is a gorgeous device.
Despite its notchless display and slightly wider side bezels compared with the Galaxy Note 8 and the Galaxy S9, the only other Android phones that come close to or match the Galaxy Note 9 in terms of design are the OnePlus 6 and the Essential Phone.
As is always the case with Samsung phones, the Galaxy Note 9's display is the best in the business.
While design may be subjective, the quality of the Galaxy Note 9's display is universally top notch. Its bright, sharp, colors are rich, and dark colors are deep, making for a stunning display with gorgeous contrast. That's pretty typical for Samsung's Galaxy line of flagship smartphones, but it's accentuated by the large 6.4-inch display, which is one of the larger screens you can get on a smartphone.
While I do love the Galaxy Note 9's large screen, it's not an easy phone to handle with one hand. It's a trade-off I'm willing to make for the joys of a large screen. Not only do apps and video look great on a large display, but it's also large enough that I felt comfortable sharing the screen with two apps for actual, real multitasking. I could easily split the Galaxy Note 9's screen with the Slack office messaging app and the Gmail app. And when I'm not working, splitting the screen between the YouTube app and Chrome during my commute has been invaluable to pass the time.
Spec-wise, you're getting one of the most powerful phones you can buy, but it's still not as fast as the fastest Android phone you can buy, which costs $530.
The Galaxy Note 9 runs off the latest and most powerful smartphone chip of 2018, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845. Most flagship devices released in 2018 use the same chip, but the Galaxy Note 9 has an advantage with its extra RAM. The base model comes with 6 GB of RAM, and the higher-end model comes with 8 GB of RAM.
Those specs are similar to those of the fastest Android phone you can buy: the $530 OnePlus 6. And yet, the Galaxy Note 9 still doesn't feel quite as snappy or smooth as the OnePlus 6.
Don't get me wrong; the Galaxy Note 9 is no slouch. But the OnePlus 6 just sets such a high bar that no other phone has achieved so far.
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