WEBVTT 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.000 Phone reviews have honestly become kind of routine for me. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:05.800 First, I switched to the device entirely. 00:00:05.800 --> 00:00:07.400 Then I use it as my daily driver 00:00:07.400 --> 00:00:09.400 for anywhere from two to six weeks, 00:00:09.400 --> 00:00:12.480 maintaining a Google doc where I jot down anything about it 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:13.960 that pissed me off. 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:17.320 Finally, when it's time to actually write the review, 00:00:17.320 --> 00:00:19.800 I sit down with my list of annoyances, 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:21.800 cross off all the ones that were resolved, 00:00:21.800 --> 00:00:24.400 either through software updates or experience, 00:00:24.400 --> 00:00:25.960 and then create the script 00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:29.230 that I will eventually read to you like this. 00:00:29.230 --> 00:00:34.330 Well, the Galaxy Note 9 is bunging up my formula here 00:00:34.510 --> 00:00:38.180 because this is all I got. 00:00:38.180 --> 00:00:42.560 So let's see if we can pad that out into seven minutes or so. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:45.220 PUBG Mobile is a free-to-play battle royale game 00:00:45.220 --> 00:00:47.300 for Android and iOS. 00:00:47.300 --> 00:00:49.740 Join the over 100 million players 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:51.320 currently playing PUBG Mobile 00:00:51.320 --> 00:01:03.380 by downloading at the link in the video description. 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:05.180 I covered most of the surface level stuff 00:01:05.180 --> 00:01:07.580 about the Note 9 in my unpacked video. 00:01:07.580 --> 00:01:08.640 But now that I've spent 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:10.960 some more time with it, I have some thoughts to add. 00:01:10.960 --> 00:01:13.720 Ergonomically, the boxier shape of the Note 9 00:01:13.720 --> 00:01:15.820 compared to the S9 Plus that I've been using 00:01:15.820 --> 00:01:18.820 as my daily driver has been an adjustment, 00:01:18.820 --> 00:01:20.520 as has the additional weight. 00:01:20.520 --> 00:01:23.000 But one of the most meaningful tweaks 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:24.940 that Samsung made to the form factor 00:01:24.940 --> 00:01:27.120 was widening the bezels. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:30.820 This results in a slightly worse screen to bezel ratio, 00:01:30.820 --> 00:01:34.180 which is a risky move at a time when competitors like Oppo 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:37.860 are going as far as to put in motorized camera mechanisms 00:01:37.860 --> 00:01:40.200 so they can keep pushing the envelope. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:42.740 But from a usability standpoint, 00:01:42.740 --> 00:01:44.740 it's been a noticeable improvement, 00:01:44.740 --> 00:01:47.400 especially when reaching across the screen. 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:51.240 The other ergonomic standout to me is the Bixby button. 00:01:51.240 --> 00:01:54.500 Now I assumed that there would be first party support 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:57.900 for disabling it again, but for some reason, 00:01:57.900 --> 00:02:00.860 Samsung, as of the time we're recording this, 00:02:00.860 --> 00:02:04.000 has removed that option. 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:06.980 Overall though, I don't actually hate Bixby. 00:02:06.980 --> 00:02:08.840 She runs locally on the device, 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:11.620 which means that on top of the additional functionality 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:13.520 that other assistants can't handle, 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:15.520 like executing voice macros, 00:02:15.520 --> 00:02:19.200 she is noticeably faster for transactional things like, 00:02:19.200 --> 00:02:21.900 turn on the flashlight. 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:23.880 But that's a double-edged sword 00:02:23.880 --> 00:02:25.680 because compared to the Google Assistant, 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:27.000 which runs in the cloud, 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:29.940 Bixby is still, over a year later, 00:02:29.940 --> 00:02:32.440 far less likely to understand me. 00:02:32.440 --> 00:02:35.180 The fingerprint sensor has been moved into the center, 00:02:35.180 --> 00:02:36.840 just like on the S9 series, 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:40.000 and I don't really need to sit that much 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.000 since I ended up using Intelligent Scan, 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:44.000 Samsung's unique combination of iris scanning 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:46.500 and facial recognition most of the time anyway. 00:02:46.500 --> 00:02:47.760 So now we're at the part of the video 00:02:47.760 --> 00:02:51.280 where usually I list out a bunch of specs, 00:02:51.280 --> 00:02:53.520 but it's a little bit complicated this time. 00:02:53.520 --> 00:02:56.800 Which processor you get under the hood of your Note 9 00:02:56.800 --> 00:02:59.020 will actually depend on your region. 00:02:59.020 --> 00:03:01.960 Now the good news is that it doesn't actually matter too much. 00:03:01.960 --> 00:03:05.000 We only got one, so we couldn't do a head-to-head comparison, 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:07.940 but basically, the Snapdragon 845's, 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.360 Adreno GPU is stronger if you're a gamer, 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:15.460 while Samsung's internal tuning of the Exynos 9810 CPU 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:18.820 seems to give it the edge on that side of things. 00:03:18.820 --> 00:03:20.480 Honestly, though, we're kind of splitting hairs 00:03:20.480 --> 00:03:22.660 at this point and Samsung knows it. 00:03:22.660 --> 00:03:25.820 They hardly even talked about performance in their keynote 00:03:25.820 --> 00:03:27.900 because phones have basically succumbed 00:03:27.900 --> 00:03:29.820 to the same failing of Moore's law 00:03:29.820 --> 00:03:31.880 that we've been dealing with on the PC side 00:03:31.880 --> 00:03:33.440 for the last five years now. 00:03:33.440 --> 00:03:37.340 So whether you're running a Note 9 or a OnePlus 6 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:39.740 for literally half the price, 00:03:39.740 --> 00:03:43.520 you can expect basically the same performance in your pocket, 00:03:43.520 --> 00:03:45.420 at least from idle. 00:03:45.420 --> 00:03:48.820 Now the water cooling marketing nonsense aside, 00:03:48.820 --> 00:03:52.020 the big heat pipe that Samsung is using in the Note 9 00:03:52.020 --> 00:03:55.060 does actually result in relatively little throttling, 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:58.080 even in CPU intensive tasks. 00:03:58.080 --> 00:04:00.620 And that, I think right there, 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:03.760 is the most remarkable thing about the Note 9. 00:04:03.760 --> 00:04:05.820 Not the heat pipe specifically, 00:04:05.820 --> 00:04:07.320 but the fact that it's, you know, a little bit more powerful, 00:04:07.340 --> 00:04:09.100 bigger than yours, 00:04:09.100 --> 00:04:12.510 and they managed to squeeze that, 00:04:12.510 --> 00:04:14.210 the S Pen, 00:04:14.210 --> 00:04:17.290 the 4,000 milliamp hour battery that's big enough 00:04:17.290 --> 00:04:19.570 that even with the weird battery drain bug 00:04:19.570 --> 00:04:20.690 that I get sometimes, 00:04:20.690 --> 00:04:22.270 I still managed to make it through the day. 00:04:22.270 --> 00:04:26.630 They crammed basically everything into this phone. 00:04:26.630 --> 00:04:28.170 Other notable inclusions, 00:04:28.170 --> 00:04:30.630 up to eight gigs of LPDDR4 memory, 00:04:30.630 --> 00:04:33.330 that's in the 512 gig storage version, 00:04:33.330 --> 00:04:37.010 IP68 water resistance, NFC, high speed wireless charging, 00:04:37.010 --> 00:04:37.570 and a 512 gig battery. 00:04:37.570 --> 00:04:38.410 That's in the 512 gig storage version. 00:04:38.410 --> 00:04:43.150 Micro SD expansion, a headphone jack, and stereo speakers. 00:04:43.150 --> 00:04:44.230 Samsung, by the way, 00:04:44.230 --> 00:04:47.130 with their spectacular HDR OLED displays 00:04:47.130 --> 00:04:49.310 and flexible audio connectivity, 00:04:49.310 --> 00:04:51.610 continues to deliver hands down 00:04:51.610 --> 00:04:54.630 the best mobile movie watching experience. 00:04:54.630 --> 00:04:56.570 So here's the thing. 00:04:56.570 --> 00:04:59.010 Almost always when I'm working on a phone review, 00:04:59.010 --> 00:05:01.970 because I actually switched to them as my only phone, 00:05:01.970 --> 00:05:05.270 I wish that I, you know, had the form factor of phone X 00:05:05.270 --> 00:05:06.930 with the features of phone Y, 00:05:06.930 --> 00:05:08.030 and the camera of phone Z, 00:05:08.030 --> 00:05:09.790 or something along those lines. 00:05:09.790 --> 00:05:12.310 Most recently, I was actually working on my full review 00:05:12.310 --> 00:05:13.990 of the Oppo Find X, 00:05:13.990 --> 00:05:15.950 and I was crestfallen when I realized 00:05:15.950 --> 00:05:17.430 that it doesn't have NFC. 00:05:17.430 --> 00:05:20.350 I mean, that's apparently not a big deal in China, 00:05:20.350 --> 00:05:23.030 but I use NFC for two factor authentication 00:05:23.030 --> 00:05:24.510 on a very regular basis. 00:05:24.510 --> 00:05:26.130 It was a real bummer for me. 00:05:26.130 --> 00:05:28.110 And back to the Note 9, 00:05:28.110 --> 00:05:31.330 the camera hasn't changed much since the S9 series, 00:05:31.330 --> 00:05:34.150 but that's not really a terrible thing. 00:05:34.150 --> 00:05:36.770 It's low light performance is still outstanding. 00:05:36.930 --> 00:05:39.610 And everything from well lit indoor stills 00:05:39.610 --> 00:05:43.110 to more challenging scenarios like poorly lit video 00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:44.790 came out as well as I would expect 00:05:44.790 --> 00:05:46.950 from any flagship smartphone today. 00:05:46.950 --> 00:05:49.290 As for the new Bluetooth enabled S Pen, 00:05:49.290 --> 00:05:53.100 as a not really a stylist guy, 00:05:53.100 --> 00:05:55.460 it's mostly a handy little bonus. 00:05:55.460 --> 00:05:56.700 And you know, you can write on the screen 00:05:56.700 --> 00:05:58.800 even when it's off, I guess that's pretty cool. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:01.540 But I mostly didn't find many occasions to use it, 00:06:01.540 --> 00:06:04.940 even including the remote camera shutter functionality. 00:06:04.940 --> 00:06:07.060 With that said, I expect some really cool things 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:09.720 to come out of the S Pen once the SDK lands. 00:06:09.720 --> 00:06:13.180 Until then, assuming that you can afford one, 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:14.520 because it's not cheap, 00:06:14.520 --> 00:06:16.220 the Note 9 is gonna have to settle 00:06:16.220 --> 00:06:20.670 for being just the zero compromises smartphone, 00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:22.910 a designation that I have never given 00:06:22.910 --> 00:06:25.310 to any other handheld. 00:06:25.310 --> 00:06:28.190 Thanks to PUBG Mobile for sponsoring today's video. 00:06:28.190 --> 00:06:30.390 PUBG Mobile is the official mobile version 00:06:30.390 --> 00:06:32.410 of the Player Unknown's Battlegrounds. 00:06:32.410 --> 00:06:34.190 It's a free to play battle royale game 00:06:34.190 --> 00:06:36.390 available for Android and iOS, 00:06:36.390 --> 00:06:38.810 where a hundred players parachute onto a remote island 00:06:38.810 --> 00:06:40.790 for a winner takes all showdown. 00:06:40.790 --> 00:06:42.630 It's powered by the Unreal Engine. 00:06:42.630 --> 00:06:45.470 It features intuitive and customizable controls. 00:06:45.470 --> 00:06:47.710 It's got HD audio and more. 00:06:47.710 --> 00:06:49.730 So try out other PUBG arcade modes, 00:06:49.730 --> 00:06:52.570 like War Mode, Mini Zone, and Quick Matches 00:06:52.570 --> 00:06:56.660 by downloading it today at the link in the video description. 00:06:56.660 --> 00:06:57.720 So thanks for watching, guys. 00:06:57.720 --> 00:06:59.940 If you disliked this video, you can hit that button. 00:06:59.940 --> 00:07:02.340 But if you liked it, hit like, get subscribed, 00:07:02.340 --> 00:07:03.440 or maybe consider checking out 00:07:03.440 --> 00:07:04.860 where to buy the stuff we featured 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:06.340 at the link in the video description. 00:07:06.620 --> 00:07:10.300 Assuming that you are a mad baller. 00:07:10.300 --> 00:07:12.880 Also, down there is our merch store. 00:07:12.880 --> 00:07:13.920 That's right, that's down there, 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:16.120 which has shirts like, I think, this one, yep. 00:07:16.120 --> 00:07:19.020 And our community forum, and you should totally join that.