After months of leaks and rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is now official.
While the Galaxy Note 9 may look similar to last year’s Galaxy Note 8, it’s gotten several notable updates over its predecessor. Those include the S Pen, which is one of the things that makes a Note a Note. The S Pen on the Galaxy Note 9 supports Bluetooth Low Energy to let you use it as a remote control for things like taking a photo, playing or pausing a song or video, or launch your favorite app with a long press. An S Pen Remote section in the Note 9’s Settings will let you customize the click feature in different apps.
The Galaxy Note 9 itself has some notable upgrades of its own. The Note 9’s screen is slightly larger than the Note 8’s, boasting a 6.4-inch 2960×1440 Super AMOLED screen compared to the Note 8’s 6.3-inch display. Samsung has also upgraded the processor inside the Galaxy Note 9, packing an octa-core Snapdragon 845 processor into its new flagship, and the battery has gotten a bump to 4000mAh.
The cameras on the Note 9 include a dual rear camera setup that’s similar to the one found on the Galaxy S9+. One of the 12MP sensors is a Dual Pixel, dual aperture camera with f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures, and the other is a 12MP telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom. Also of note is Samsung’s Flaw Detection feature, which will alert you if it detects something wrong with the photo your just took, like if the image is blurry or if someone blinked. On the front of the Note 9 is an 8MP camera for all your selfie needs.
Samsung will offer the Galaxy Note 9 in 128GB and 512GB configurations, but both models will include a microSD card slot to let you add more storage if you need it. The 128GB model also comes equipped with 6GB of RAM, while the 512GB model gets a bump to 8GB of RAM.
Rounding out the spec list for Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 9 is Android 8.1 Oreo, NFC and MST for mobile payments, wireless charging, iris scanning, and a rear fingerprint reader that’s been moved to a spot below the rear camera to make it easier to reach. Samsung has also packed DeX into the Note 9, letting you connect the phone to an external display with an HDMI adapter along with a keyboard and mouse to get a PC-like experience. All of those features are packed into a body that offers IP68 water and dust resistance.
One other detail worth mentioning about today’s Galaxy Note 9 announcement is that Fortnite for Android is launching in beta this week and it’ll be available exclusively on Samsung devices at first. Specifically, it’ll work on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge, S8 and S8+, S9 and S9+, Note 8, Note 9, Tab S3, and Tab S4. Customers who buy a Note 9 or Tab S4 will get a special Galaxy skin. Fortnite for Android will be available on other devices in the next few days.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will be sold in Midnight Black, Lavender Purple, Metallic Copper, and Ocean Blue with a Yellow S Pen. Pricing will start at $999.99 for the 128GB model and go up to $1,249.99 for the 512GB version. Samsung will begin taking pre-orders for unlocked models at 12:01 am ET on August 10th, and the Note 9 will officially launch on August 24th.
On T-Mobile, the Galaxy Note 9 will be available in Ocean Blue and Lavender Purple color options. The new flagship will support T-Mobile’s 600MHz LTE coverage. T-Mo will begin taking pre-orders at 12:01 am ET on August 10th and will launch the Note 9 in stores on August 24th. Here’s how T-Mobile’s pricing for the new Note 9 breaks down:
- 128GB Galaxy Note 9: $279.99 down and $30 per month for 24 months on EIP, $279.99 down and $29 per month for 18 months with JUMP! On Demand
- 512GB Galaxy Note 9: $529.99 down and $30 per month for 24 months on EIP, $529.99 down and $26 per month for 18 months with JUMP! On Demand
Customers who pre-order a Galaxy Note 9 will get a free gift from Samsung. The options include a pair of AKG noise-canceling wireless headphones or a Fortnite game bundle worth $150. Customers also have the option of getting both gifts for an extra $99.
T-Mobile today also announced a special deal that’ll get you one Galaxy Note 9 for up to half off when you trade-in an eligible Samsung device. The discount you get will be applied as 24 monthly bill credits. The devices that are eligible for trade-in are:
$500 off
- Samsung Galaxy S8
- Samsung Galaxy S8+
- Samsung Galaxy S8 active
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy S7 edge
- Samsung Galaxy S7 active
- Samsung Galaxy Note8
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Duos
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5
$250 off
- Samsung Galaxy S6
- Samsung Galaxy S6 edge
- Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+
- Samsung Galaxy S6 active
- Samsung Galaxy Note4
- Samsung Galaxy S5
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Prime
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Active
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Duos
- Samsung Galaxy S5 Sport
