I tried the Note9 for a bit at my local store - Here are my thoughts

[veggie59]

The Note 5 was a great phone for me. I sometimes wish I didn't get rid of it.

i wish there was a 50% off deal with no new line needed. I have TMO and I am getting a $500 trade in for my Note 5. I wish I could keep it as a back up. My husband just got the S9+ a few months ago and he was using my old S4. That is now our only spare phone.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Other than that, by the time I finished walking my buddy through the phone, the rest of it feels just like my Note 8 and whatever excitement I had for the 9 calmed down.

I mean don't get me wrong, about every weak spot the Note 8 has been addressed so it's an overall improved phone no doubt. But is it worth the cost of upgrading and that depends on the individual and also what kind of plan they can get.

Really kinda depends on what deal you get.

If you get a great deal, then the 9 is an easy upgrade, but at full price, it really comes down to whether you need that large battery and such.

The 9 is a great phone but the 8 is holding up extremely well.

 

[EMGSM]

i wish there was a 50% off deal with no new line needed. I have TMO and I am getting a $500 trade in for my Note 5. I wish I could keep it as a back up. My husband just got the S9+ a few months ago and he was using my old S4. That is now our only spare phone.

Spares come in handy. I have a Pixel 2XL and iPhone 7 Plus.

 

[bassplayrguy]

Note 9 isn't even an upgrade. A Note 4 or 5 user can say its an upgrade, but from Note 8 it's mostly a sidegrade.

Nonsense. The Note 9 has substantial upgrades.

 

[brau0303]

When they revealed the Note 9, I was not planning on upgrading, I got to spend to quality time with one in a local BB and talked with the Samsung guy, I really was not feeling the upgrade need. I realized because I have the ability to upgrade every year, I figured "ok let's do it" After having the Note 9 since Wednesday of last week, I am glad to have done it. while the differences between the N8 & N9 are not earth shattering, it's an upgrade and I am finding allot of small stuff that has been improved as well.

Cheers,
BR

 

[MizWylie]

Oh mylanta. *scribbles down notes.* Banana pen. It will never be an S-Pen to me ever again.

 

[njgsx96]

It's an upgrade from my LG V20. I'll be back to Samsung soon

I upgraded from an LG V20 as well. Wow, what a difference! Same size but a whole lot more screen. You will not be disappointed! And if you are on Verizon, they gave me almost $300 for my LG V20 as a trade in!

 

[Nakrohtap]

i wish there was a 50% off deal with no new line needed. I have TMO and I am getting a $500 trade in for my Note 5. I wish I could keep it as a back up. My husband just got the S9+ a few months ago and he was using my old S4. That is now our only spare phone.

I never understood the need for a "spare" phone. Maybe if you own the phone outright with no insurance and it takes a dump? I can't see anyone not having some kind of insurance on a $1,000 phone. Or, is it having the phone outright stop working and you need a backup until a replacement arrives? To me, that's about luxury and I don't worry about about that. I tend to keep a lot of stuff I likely will never use. A phone has never been one of them, though. I understand everyone is different.

 

[evohicks]

When they revealed the Note 9, I was not planning on upgrading, I got to spend to quality time with one in a local BB and talked with the Samsung guy, I really was not feeling the upgrade need. I realized because I have the ability to upgrade every year, I figured "ok let's do it" After having the Note 9 since Wednesday of last week, I am glad to have done it. while the differences between the N8 & N9 are not earth shattering, it's an upgrade and I am finding allot of small stuff that has been improved as well.

Cheers,
BR

Same here, was planning on keeping the Note 8 for another year. It's still an amazing phone but I also have the option to upgrade every year and the Note 9 became appealing after seeing it.

 

[Nakrohtap]

Spares come in handy. I have a Pixel 2XL and iPhone 7 Plus.

Why wouldn't you sell them now while resale is higher? Do you use the spares after you get a new phone?

 

[EMGSM]

Why wouldn't you sell them now while resale is higher? Do you use the spares after you get a new phone?

Mainly for family. So they dont have to buy. I already gave a Note to my mom and S7E to my brother when his phone gave out on him.

 

[ClintRo]

i wish there was a 50% off deal with no new line needed. I have TMO and I am getting a $500 trade in for my Note 5. I wish I could keep it as a back up. My husband just got the S9+ a few months ago and he was using my old S4. That is now our only spare phone.

Take the $500 for the Note 5 and run...LOL the S4 would be a great emergency backup phone for a few days if needed.

 

[greggb47]

i wish there was a 50% off deal with no new line needed. I have TMO and I am getting a $500 trade in for my Note 5. I wish I could keep it as a back up. My husband just got the S9+ a few months ago and he was using my old S4. That is now our only spare phone.

Spares phones are a must for me. You know you can buy an s5 or any other phone from Ebay and be happy with it. Don't worry you won't have a problem with them they will take it back if there's one

 

[veggie59]

I never understood the need for a "spare" phone. Maybe if you own the phone outright with no insurance and it takes a dump? I can't see anyone not having some kind of insurance on a $1,000 phone. Or, is it having the phone outright stop working and you need a backup until a replacement arrives? To me, that's about luxury and I don't worry about about that. I tend to keep a lot of stuff I likely will never use. A phone has never been one of them, though. I understand everyone is different.

Have never taken Insurance on a phone...now I hope you didn’t jinx me lol...

 

[Nakrohtap]

Have never taken Insurance on a phone...now I hope you didn’t jinx me lol...

Ooh. Sorry.
I've used insurance for the first time on my phone a couple of months ago. Sh...stuff happens.

 

[jimd1050]

Great thoughts D13H4RD2L1V3..

as an X p20 pro user I can tell you that once you use a 4000 all day battery its tough to use anything else.. i come off charger at 4:00 AM do my uual light use and leave my home 2 hrs later at 96% battery.. my wifes s8 will be 80%-90%... i tested it

still waiting for my N9

I'll agree with you there Freddy - I ran a Galaxy S7 Active (AT&T only) with a 4000mAh battery while waiting for the Note 8 to come out. Boy, was it tough putting the Active back in a box and getting used to the Note 8 and when I finally got it... ugh! This Note 9 has to be sweet!

 

[mgbosshogg]

Note 9 isn't even an upgrade. A Note 4 or 5 user can say its an upgrade, but from Note 8 it's mostly a sidegrade.

Lol.
Yeah, better processor, speakers, radios, spen, storage and battery. Some sidegrade.
I presume you have sent yours back and are sticking with your note 8?

 

[Rjl786]

My Note 9 arrived today, currently have a Note 8. Came over from Apple last year. The incremental improvements in the Note 9 are meaningful to me (low light photos, battery life, pen with remote, more storage). My only concern is that I went with an unlocked version on AT&T,so I expect to lose some AT&T features like WiFi calling, HD voice, and numbersync with my Gear S3. But those are relatively minor for me. I will try out mobile hot spot for a few days to make sure that still works on the non-branded phone, as that is a critical feature. I think my main gripe with Android is that these types of features are lost on Android unlocked phones, but not on unlocked iPhones. I sure wish someone would sue someone to get this fixed! Paying for features that you don get...

 

[Nakrohtap]

Lol.
Yeah, better processor, speakers, radios, spen, storage and battery. Some sidegrade.
I presume you have sent yours back and are sticking with your note 8?

Not to mention, it will have Android P months before the Note8. If having the latest version of Android is your thing.

 

[Nakrohtap]

My Note 9 arrived today, currently have a Note 8. Came over from Apple last year. The incremental improvements in the Note 9 are meaningful to me (low light photos, battery life, pen with remote, more storage). My only concern is that I went with an unlocked version on AT&T,so I expect to lose some AT&T features like WiFi calling, HD voice, and numbersync with my Gear S3. But those are relatively minor for me. I will try out mobile hot spot for a few days to make sure that still works on the non-branded phone, as that is a critical feature. I think my main gripe with Android is that these types of features are lost on Android unlocked phones, but not on unlocked iPhones. I sure wish someone would sue someone to get this fixed! Paying for features that you don get...

You forgot the unlocked version also cannot turn off the camera shutter sound without muting your whole phone, and hope you remember to turn the sound back on when you're done. Pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things. But, I think it would drive me nuts.