Samsung Galaxy Note 9 launched with smart S-pen, may cost around Rs 70k in India

NEW YORK: It's that time of the year - when Samsung announces a new Note series flagship. Designed to showcase the latest in technological innovation and the cutting edge of performance, the Note 9 is Samsung's most powerful phone yet.

“The Note 9 is designed for a level of performance, power and intelligence that today’s power users want and need” said DJ Koh, President & CEO of IT & Mobile Communications Division, Samsung.

The Note series is popular with power users, multi-taskers and creative professionals because of a unique set of features but mostly because of the S-pen stylus. This year though, the Note 9 is a dead ringer for last year's Note 8. Well, nobody batted an eyelid when Apple did the same with the iPhone 7, 7s and 8 so no one should blame Samsung for keeping a good design unchanged either. The improvements to the Note 9 are mostly under the surface - and this doesn't just mean software.


Four Big Updates
Four biggest upgrades that we feel will have the most impact: the new Bluetooth equipped S-pen stylus, the new DEX desktop mode that doesn't need an expensive dock anymore, a great camera carried over from the Galaxy S9 and a 512GB storage option. The S-pen is not bigger than before but the addition of Bluetooth means it can now function as a remote control (to capture photos/videos, to control music/video playback, slideshows or to advance a presentation). App developers will be able to add more use cases soon after launch. DEX is the name given by Samsung to a PC-like experience which can be powered by their phones. Previously, you needed an expensive DEX dock to use this but the Note 9 now supports DEX with just a USB to HDMI cable.

This essentially means your Note 9 can power a desktop-like PC experience on an external display/TV (with a keyboard + mouse) while you do something else on the phone. Finally, the camera is a very capable unit from the Galaxy S9 with a feature that others have not been able to replicate - dual aperture. All smartphone cameras have a fixed lens aperture that has to strike a balance between cost, low light capabilities and sharpness. With the dual aperture system, the lens can open wide to let in more light for low light photos (as wide as f1.5) but also close down to f2.4 for sharp results in better light. As for the storage, the top-end 512GB version can also double it's storage thanks to a micro SD slot and a new 512GB card. This is the first phone capable of a full terabyte of local storage - for the select few who need that kind of space.

The Usual Features
Like previous Note devices, the Note 9 features the latest and most powerful hardware chipset. It has a dual curved amoled screen, widely regarded as among the best in the business. There are a host of software features that help you take advantage of the screen and S-pen. And finally, it has a large 4,000mAh battery for extended use.

Colours & Variants
Four colours have been shown off: Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Metallic Copper and Lavender Purple. Availability might be market dependent but the two storage options will be 128GB (with 6GB RAM) and 512GB (with 8GB RAM). Ocean Blue is the hero colour and it has a yellow S-pen. The other colours get the same colour S-pen as the device.

Two Surprises

The new smart watch from Samsung is called Galaxy Watch. Builds on the design of the Galaxy Gear series with a circular amoled screen and rotating bezel. It connects to your phone but also has it’s own 4G/LTE connectivity. An optimized processor and software helps it last several days on a charge. Galaxy Watch should be available September 14 onwards. The other new device is the smart home speaker called Galaxy Home. It has Samsung’s smart assistant Bixby built in and a Smart Things hub for home automation. No launch date for Galaxy Home has been announced.

India Availability
August 24 is when the Note 9 becomes available globally - India launch should be on or around the same date. You can expect there to be enticing launch offers with partner Flipkart. The entry level variant (6GB RAM, 128GB storage) should be priced between Rs 65,000 to 70,000. Final prices and colours for India will be announced within a few hours from how.