How "future proofed" do you think the Note 9 is?

[Chromium 4]

I plan on using my Note 9 for several years to come with intentions of having the battery replaced once it starts to deteriorate. I have an LG V2o that continues to work flawlessly as well. So between the 2 of them, all of my smartphone/pocket computer needs are met for a while. Now having said that, future needs might be influenced by the implementation of the 5G network.

 

[Creedyfbaby]

I think the galaxy note is 7-8 months ahead of its time i do believe apple will be launching many features in its next generation of phones that the 9 already has such as a bluetooth pencil and perhaps the notch will be gone.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

Btw, all this talk about 5G rendering the Note 9 quickly obsolete. In reality, when are we likely to see a general rollout of 5G networks? At least 2 years?

 

[Mooncatt]

Btw, all this talk about 5G rendering the Note 9 quickly obsolete. In reality, when are we likely to see a general rollout of 5G networks? At least 2 years?

And how long after general rollout will 4G still be viable?

 

[Almeuit]

And how long after general rollout will 4G still be viable?

4G will still be viable for a good time to come. People hit 200 Mbps on LTE. Most people never need that TBH lol.

 

[Climb14er]

I remember when ANALOG, and some of the early cell phone users remember analog... when digital was being rolled out, analog folks were very concerned about being able to use their phones and get a signal. Well... once digital was rolled out, analog was kept up and running for a few years to allow the analog only folks to... convert to digital. Then came the phones with BOTH analog and digital... and then after quite a few years, digital only. The ironic thing about it was that in rural Colorado and the West and atop the high peaks, analog delivered a more powerful signal than digital. I truly enjoyed the strength of reception of the analog phones as many others did as well. Moral of the story... even when 5G rolls out, LTE and 4G will still work for quite a long time.

 

[Gayle Lynn]

Will 5G be able to reach more phones in cities and dense user areas that have trouble now? Or where a cell signal cant reach or penetrate?

 

[Mike Dee]

Will 5G be able to reach more phones in cities and dense user areas that have trouble now? Or where a cell signal cant reach or penetrate?

It's probably more about speed than coverage.

 

[Almeuit]

Will 5G be able to reach more phones in cities and dense user areas that have trouble now? Or where a cell signal cant reach or penetrate?

It will vary like LTE does now. LTE can reach a lot of places it just depends on what band / frequency is used in said area. Carriers plan that based on population, geographic locations, etc. etc. etc.

 

[RadeonHD]

Wow! Did not expect so many responses from this thread. Thanks for the replies and your opinions.

A little more background for ya.

I am enrolled in a Verizon concession line that is heavily discounted. The only "downside" is that I have to buy my own hardware outright. I actually prefer to pay upfront for a device than break it down with a subsidy, so it wasn't a dealbreaker for me.

Enter the Note 4. I got it in January 2015 and have loved it ever since. In terms of raw performance it wasn't bad by any means. As a phone. it gets the job done. It wasn't like an iPhone 3G on iOS 4. To this date that is still the worst possible user experience... ever.

On the flip side, it isn't a Note 9, but on Marshamllow it still runs surprisingly well for an "ancient device."

Buying outright every year isn't something I'm comfortable doing, so when I DO buy something, I expect it to last a reasonable amount of time (performance wise)

With the custom ROM my Note 4 felt new enough with the updated interface and software of the Note 7. In fact, it was a TAD bit faster than stock. That phone has and still does receive a TON of support from developers which increases the longevity of the device. Mine exhibited hardware defects which is why I decided to move on, otherwise I'd still be on XDA looking at the newest ROM'S in development.

Once Samsung pulls the plug, I'm wondering if the Note 9 will be popular enough for extended custom support because the support I've seen for the Note 4, just amazing. I've never donated to so many anonymous people in my life. Haha

But I support their work. and had to give back. They have saved me about a $1,000 because I was gonna jump on the Note 7 train... and look what a disaster that turned out to be.

I guess we'll see.

It's still early on.
And on the subject of 5G. Could anyone explain what LTE + is? I saw it very briefly on my screen. I'm assuming it's just a faster variant of LTE? If that's the case, there goes my future proofing need right there. Hehe

 

[Gayle Lynn]

At least 2 years of OS support and 3 for security. You even see that happen on the S7 getting Oreo.

Project Treble supposedly will make that easier to get support updates out.

Sounds like you won't have any trouble. A good case is probably essential to longevity.

 

[donm527]

Treble is still a huge question mark and I wonder how successful it will be.

The idea of Treble sounds good allowing faster updates of the main operating system code by Google without having to wait and update the lower level stuff like processor, modem or camera.

But then if there is an update to processor, modem or camera drivers or features then those updates still need to come from manufacturer and that will depend on whether companies like Samsung may or may not opt to devote many of its resources to post-sales software support and to do so in a timely manner. All they care about is selling phones in volume and only care about the next phone coming out.

Fragmenting updates between Google and manufacturers could create more issues really... Google pushes updates to the OS whenever it wants, but because manufacturers add their own apps for phone, email, messaging, camera and they have to support hardware parts that differ between each model they sell AND on top of all that you have stuff like Touchwiz/Experience, a Google update can break any of the Samsung stuff and then you're hoping Samsung will be able to catch it and push out a fix in it's next Security update in a timely manner every time a Google update breaks something?? Ugh.

At least 2 years of OS support and 3 for security. You even see that happen on the S7 getting Oreo.

Project Treble supposedly will make that easier to get support updates out.

Sounds like you won't have any trouble. A good case is probably essential to longevity.

 

[nrfitchett4]

yeah 5G is mainly to help contracted areas and signal degrades with any obstruction. it will be years before it is the standard.

 

[BlackZeppelin]

yeah 5G is mainly to help contracted areas and signal degrades with any obstruction. it will be years before it is the standard.

Exactly. 5G will take years to be the standard and 4G will remain for a long time. No substance to all the talk about the Note 9 being obsolete quickly.

 

[donm527]

After 5pm, rush hour traffic on the roads and thought I'd play with speedtest while filling up at the corner Wawa. Around 199Mbps... Yeah I'm OK with 4G right now. The faster 5G ramps up, will reduce congestion on 4G and really speed things up.

Exactly. 5G will take years to be the standard and 4G will remain for a long time. No substance to all the talk about the Note 9 being obsolete quickly.

 

[ExpatTR]

If anyone owns or had an S6, how does it run on the latest OS?

I have an S6, running 7.0 and with the latest security patch being April 2018. It runs fine, although I use Nova Launcher which might be helping. The screen is like new, the fingerprint scanner is as fast as when new, and any lags or stutters are few and far between. I suspect that for 90% of smartphone buyers the S6 would still be great, if it weren't for the lack of SD Card support and the now limited 32gb of storage. Even the battery isn't too bad, I get a full day of light use, most of a day out of medium use and 1/2 of a day out of heavy use. It charges very quickly too. I'm assuming that if I keep it another year the battery will need changing and I might start getting concerned about lack of security updates.

But. I'm going to upgrade this year, possibly to a Note 9. No SD Card support, 32gb of storage and a change in the way I want to work requires a different phone.

 

[Paul Ellis1]

Your asking 2 questions really, “how long could it last?” And “how long will it last?”

It could last many years, the tech and specs inside are amazing, and should be as capable in 5 years as it is today (battery swap likely needed)

Unfortunately (as with all tech nowadays, not just Samsung), planned obsolescence by manufactures means it’ll only last until they want more of your cash, only they can answer how long that’ll be

 

[Doug Moffat]

I am baffled why a company cannot bring out a premium phone with a replaceable battery.

Greed, competition, with the iPhone thinness and style, etc.

I'm convinced an "active" (tougher phone), thicker with bigger replaceable battery, and features deprecated by Samsung including the IR blaster and original SNotes.

I'm convinced there's a market.

 

[cknobman]

Can't say no one can predict the future

 

[donm527]

A better explanation of Treble on Samsung than mine...

https://www.sammobile.com/2018/10/15/project-treble-samsung-android-pie-not-useful

Treble is still a huge question mark and I wonder how successful it will be.

The idea of Treble sounds good allowing faster updates of the main operating system code by Google without having to wait and update the lower level stuff like processor, modem or camera.

But then if there is an update to processor, modem or camera drivers or features then those updates still need to come from manufacturer and that will depend on whether companies like Samsung may or may not opt to devote many of its resources to post-sales software support and to do so in a timely manner. All they care about is selling phones in volume and only care about the next phone coming out.

Fragmenting updates between Google and manufacturers could create more issues really... Google pushes updates to the OS whenever it wants, but because manufacturers add their own apps for phone, email, messaging, camera and they have to support hardware parts that differ between each model they sell AND on top of all that you have stuff like Touchwiz/Experience, a Google update can break any of the Samsung stuff and then you're hoping Samsung will be able to catch it and push out a fix in it's next Security update in a timely manner every time a Google update breaks something?? Ugh.