First Impressions

[JoePa2624]

With these first impressions, do you think its actually work a switch from the S9+ or just stay put, regardless of the cost, for me its not much for me to switch but didn't know if it was even worth it. $45.00

My opinion... Unless you have to have the S pen or the battery life of the S9 doesn't cut it, I'd stay with what you have.

 

[djrakowski]

I was looking forward to using the new Bixby. From what I can tell though, they've cut support for some apps like WhatsApp? Does anyone know if this is untrue? Because otherwise, I'm really liking what they've done.

I certainly hope not... I use WhatsApp to communicate with family. I'll have to try it later today.

 

[djrakowski]

I've just done my first speed test... 213 Mbps down, 28.8 up (a bit faster than my wife's GS9+). iPhone 8 Plus measured 129 Mbps down, 22.6 up.

 

[bls8195]

My opinion... Unless you have to have the S pen or the battery life of the S9 doesn't cut it, I'd stay with what you have.

Thanks, I am thinking the same thing, the S pen isnt huge for me, and the battery life would be nice, but I can have a charger at my desk so its a mute point although I can go all day with a decent charge left.

 

[1817171]

Is there anyone else having trouble with Bixby? I setup the voice part of it and all went well. When I try and activate it from any screen, it won't activate. I am new to the note scene, maybe I don't know what I am doing.

 

[Gary02468]

With these first impressions, do you think its actually work a switch from the S9+ or just stay put, regardless of the cost[?] [F]or me it[']s not much for me to switch but didn't know if it was even worth it. $45.00

If you're saying you can somehow upgrade from an S9+ to a Note9 for just $45, I'd certainly do that if I were you. At normal cost, I would not upgrade from an S9+, but I am upgrading from a Note8.

 

[bls8195]

Its only because all I have to do is pay a restocking fee, because I got my S9+ 11 days ago.

 

[dsignori]

The screen is a slightly different hue than the 8 in side-by-side comparison. Faster overall. Set it up from scratch, rather than from a backup, but used the included cable, dongle to transfer text messages. Overall good impression.

FYI. I found out you can actually change the hue if you dig into the display settings..

 

[Gary02468]

Its only because all I have to do is pay a restocking fee, because I got my S9+ 11 days ago.

Oh, then wouldn't it cost $45 for restocking plus the difference in price between the S9+ and the Note9?

 

[13greencoyote]

Here are a few first impressions:

1) The ocean blue color is much deeper and more attractive than it appeared in online photos. I like it!
2) It's big, fast, beautiful and very well-made
3) Transferring content from my iPhone 8 Plus went perfectly. All messages and call logs transferred, and it only failed to match about 2-3 apps out of 70-ish I had on my iPhone.
4) I haven't used a Note since the Note 4, and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed using the S-Pen. I used it to mark up a few photos before sending last night - it's so much better than using a finger!

what did you use to get all of your iPhone apps and information swapped over? I'm swapping from an iPhone 7

 

[amyf27]

Is there anyone else having trouble with Bixby? I setup the voice part of it and all went well. When I try and activate it from any screen, it won't activate. I am new to the note scene, maybe I don't know what I am doing.

Check the sensitivity setting and make sure data is on. It worked well for me, today first day with Bixby setup. I have Google Voice setup as a backup too and that works well.

 

[AARON BRYANT2]

anyone know what the UHQ upscaler is for? in the performance button I chose high performance but UHQ upscaler and HDR was not part of it. maybe I should choose entertainment instead.

 

[bgstewar]

My initial impressions:

Coming from the S7 Edge, this phone is 10,000 times faster. I literally cannot believe how fast it is loading a webpage and switching between apps.

The battery life so far is amazing. I've been using it all morning and it's down to 95%. My S7 Edge would be at 60% right now.

It's a big phone but feels good in your hand. One handed usage is difficult but manageable.

The facial recognition/iris scanner is blazing fast and much better than the previous fingerprint on the S7 that literally never recognized my fingerprint.

The screen is big and bright, but for some reason I feel like the colors were more vibrant on the S7 Edge. I'm not sure if there's a setting I need to tweak, but the colors don't "pop" as much on the Note 9.

Bixby is more useful than I imagined it would be. Still getting to know it, but I like it more the OK Google that never worked for me.

All in all, a massive upgrade for me. Loving it so far!

 

[stackberry369]

My initial impressions:

Coming from the S7 Edge, this phone is 10,000 times faster. I literally cannot believe how fast it is loading a webpage and switching between apps.

The battery life so far is amazing. I've been using it all morning and it's down to 95%. My S7 Edge would be at 60% right now.

It's a big phone but feels good in your hand. One handed usage is difficult but manageable.

The facial recognition/iris scanner is blazing fast and much better than the previous fingerprint on the S7 that literally never recognized my fingerprint.

The screen is big and bright, but for some reason I feel like the colors were more vibrant on the S7 Edge. I'm not sure if there's a setting I need to tweak, but the colors don't "pop" as much on the Note 9.

Bixby is more useful than I imagined it would be. Still getting to know it, but I like it more the OK Google that never worked for me.

All in all, a massive upgrade for me. Loving it so far!

Google assistant is funny, I told it that Bixby loves assistant lol

 

[bls8195]

Oh, then wouldn't it cost $45 for restocking plus the difference in price between the S9+ and the Note9?

Well technically yes but mine was $914 and the new Note 9 is 999, so not a huge difference.

 

[Moonliterider]

With these first impressions, do you think its actually work a switch from the S9+ or just stay put, regardless of the cost, for me its not much for me to switch but didn't know if it was even worth it. $45.00

I went from the S9+ to the Note 9,and am really happy that I did. The S-pen is fantastic, and I know I'll use it a lot.The stereo speakers are really good now, the flatter screen surface is good for writing on, and it actually feels more premium to me. So glad to be back in a Note! Oh, and the battery life is fantastic so far. I got my phone yesterday, and I've been working on it, setting it up. My battery usage only dropped 3% over night(didn't charge it all night).

 

[bls8195]

Yeah see thats where I am torn I just don't think I will use the stylus that much, however I could be wrong. But the littler bigger screen is nice and the battery is always a plus.

 

[boltsbearsjosh]

My initial impressions:

Coming from the S7 Edge, this phone is 10,000 times faster. I literally cannot believe how fast it is loading a webpage and switching between apps.

The battery life so far is amazing. I've been using it all morning and it's down to 95%. My S7 Edge would be at 60% right now.

It's a big phone but feels good in your hand. One handed usage is difficult but manageable.

The facial recognition/iris scanner is blazing fast and much better than the previous fingerprint on the S7 that literally never recognized my fingerprint.

The screen is big and bright, but for some reason I feel like the colors were more vibrant on the S7 Edge. I'm not sure if there's a setting I need to tweak, but the colors don't "pop" as much on the Note 9.

Bixby is more useful than I imagined it would be. Still getting to know it, but I like it more the OK Google that never worked for me.

All in all, a massive upgrade for me. Loving it so far!

I've never understood why you have to say "OK Google" to wake that up - like who the hell be talking like that anyway? I never start a conversation off with "OK ____" I know, I know, its to prevent unnecessary wake ups but none of the other companies do that and its just unnatural.

Okay rant over lol

 

[evohicks]

I see a lot of people struggling with the size of the Note phones, there is an option to shrink the screen in settings to 'one handed mode' to make it easier for this, check it out, it may be useful to you.

 

[Gary02468]

I never start a conversation off with "OK ____" I know, I know, it[']s to prevent unnecessary wake ups but none of the other companies do that and it[']s just unnatural.

The word Google is probably spoken much more often than the names of other AI assistants are spoken (when not addressing them), so a prefix is more necessary for Google. At least with Google Home, you can say Hey instead of OK.