The Galaxy family has just become bigger with the addition of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. After months of being the subject of rumors, the Korean tech giant’s latest flagship device finally got unpacked in New York.

And just a few days from now, on August 14, the Note 9 will be launched in the Philippines. We not only have the local prices revealed in this article, we also included the smartphone’s preorder dates and freebies.

Meet the Samsung Galaxy Note 8‘s successor, the Note 9

For the benefit of those of you who put a premium on a handset’s photography capability, we put the Samsung Galaxy Note 9’s cameras through the paces. The phone’s got the same Dual Aperture Camera as the Galaxy S9+ — two 12-megapixel cameras with f/1.5 and f/2.4 lens aperture — which should make the Note 9 ideal for taking pictures in low light. The two also share the same 8-megapixel front shooter with f/1.7 lens aperture.

This time, though, Samsung has made it smarter with the help of artificial intelligence or AI. It can identify 20 scenes and optimizes a photo based on them. Flaw detection alerts you if a picture is blurry, if your subject has blinked, if the lens is dirty, or if the backlight is intrusive — basically if there’s something that’s wrong with a shot, so there’s a chance for you to retake a picture immediately.

But beyond what’s on paper, does the new Galaxy deliver? Does it capture better still photos than its closest-priced competitor, the Apple iPhone X? We pit the two high-end devices here.

Daytime

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Set 1 of sample daytime pictures: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone X

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Set 2

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-h.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-h.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 3

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-f.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-f.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 4

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Set 5

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-e.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-e.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 6

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-i.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-i.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 7

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-selfie-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-a.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-selfie-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-a.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Sample selfies: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone X

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Sample shots in Portrait mode: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone X

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The ‘Auto mode versions’ of the photos before these

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-portrait-mode-bokeh-effect-review-Revu-Philippines-b.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-portrait-mode-bokeh-review-Revu-Philippines-b.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Another set of sample images in Portrait mode: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone X

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-b.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-b.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

The ‘Auto mode versions’ of the pictures before these

Nighttime

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-n.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-m.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 1 of sample nighttime pictures: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone X

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-j.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-j.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 2

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-k.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-k.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 3

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-l.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-l.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 4

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-m.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-n.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Set 5

[sciba leftsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-9-sample-selfie-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-b.jpg” leftlabel=”Samsung Galaxy Note 9″ rightsrc=”https://www.revu.com.ph/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Apple-iPhone-X-sample-selfie-picture-review-Revu-Philippines-b.jpg” rightlabel=”Apple iPhone X” mode=”horizontal” width=””]

Sample selfies: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 vs Apple iPhone X

What we think

It’s a toss-up between the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and the Apple iPhone X when it comes to pictures taken with their rear cameras in well-lit situations.

All photos captured on the Note look brighter and more vibrant — something that makes food snaps, in particular, tempting to eat. They also look warmer compared to the results from the Apple smartphone. However, many of those shot in Auto mode on the 10th-anniversary iPhone offer more pleasing detail in both the highlight and shadow parts of the images. 

The background blur looks more aggressive on the Note 9, and objects in focus tend to look sharper and more detailed. Both phones do a commendable job when shooting in portrait mode, which is expected considering their price points. 

Where the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 unquestionably shines is in low light and selfies. It’s not even a contest anymore; the disparity is too obvious.

Overall, we’d pick the new Note over the 10th-anniversary iPhone any day. If you think otherwise, do let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear what you think.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 specs

• S Pen
• 6.4-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED screen, 2,960 x 1,440 resolution, 516ppi, 18.5:9
• Octa-core Exynos 9810/Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, depending on the market (Exynos for the Philippines)
• Mali-G72 MP18/Adreno 630 GPU
• 6GB/8GB RAM
• 128GB/512GB expandable storage
• 12-megapixel (wide angle, f/1.5-2.4 aperture) + 12-megapixel (telephoto, f/2.4 aperture) rear cameras
• 8-megapixel front camera (f/1.7 aperture)
• IP68 dust- and water-resistance rating
• Iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, faial recognition
• 4,000mAh battery, fast charging, support for wireless charging
• Android 8.1 Oreo

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