Galaxy Note 9

[JoeBleed]

I already have an iPhone. I much prefer Android phones because I enjoy the freedom Android provides and I am a hardware guy at heart. But if things do not improve in the next couple of years (esp. SOC and display) I may jump the ship.

I use Samsung Browser without ad blocker for now. (because I have not decided which way to go about it) Try pages like:

https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/sony-xperia-xz3
https://www.nytimes.com

Tried these on my note4. nytimes is ok on both the included samsung browser and Opera (my default also set for desktop pages). The trustedreviews page.... oh my god. it starts out ok, but then slows to a crawl with images not competently loading. Opera even gave up on it and said it was hung. I pulled it up on my desktop and there looks to be a lot of scripts. with my blocking turned on it works well on the desktop.

With the issues you're having, i'd do a factory reset and update it to see if it persists if you haven't already. If it does, i think you have a hardware problem.

 

[Zaap]

Something's wrong with your Note. Mine has no trouble on those pages. The trusted reviews site is loaded with garbage, but it still doesn't bog down the Note 9.

No idea what you're on about with the screen, it's one of the absolute best on the market.

Had plenty of time to compare mine with my Note 8 before I shipped it off, and it's only by someone's highly subjective almost 'your imagination is messing with you' preference that the 8 is better than the 9.

 

[lopri]

From what I can tell, there is an improvement in panel uniformity going from S8/Note8 to S9/Note9. But it is negated (IMO) by inconsistent white balance and accompanying accuracy loss along the brightness change.

S8/Note8 screen issues were two fold - panel lottery and red tint along the curved edges. It was clearly a new generation of AMOLED and there appeared to be teething pain. Nevertheless whites were strong (what I call "Milky White") and color accuracy was excellent as long as your sample was free of defects.

With the S9/Note9, the panel lottery is not as bad, but the screen now has this weird green cast that kills the whites and color accuracy in general, and sometimes even contrast. It's as if Samsung tried to counteract strong red of last year's AMOLED by green overcast, without corresponding adjustment of blue. Worse still, this effect changes at different brightness levels. So at certain brightness the screen looks yellowish, and at others it looks greenish. While my eyes can adapt to warm or cold whites to a degree, but the screen has to be consistently warm or consistently cold. I cannot adjust to this shifting white balance between red and green.

As for performance, I will just say that I can detect when the frame rate drops below the target (i.e. 60 FPS) and it happens a lot on the Note 9. Considering the phone is brand new, I expected a much better experience.

 

[you2]

Have you analyzed your network connection at the time you load the pages and are you using cellular or wifi. Note that even a strong signal can cause issues if you are getting packet loss. Conversely have you analyzed the cpu performance on the phone to see if the cpu is spinning on another task.

From what I can tell, there is an improvement in panel uniformity going from S8/Note8 to S9/Note9. But it is negated (IMO) by inconsistent white balance and accompanying accuracy loss along the brightness change.

S8/Note8 screen issues were two fold - panel lottery and red tint along the curved edges. It was clearly a new generation of AMOLED and there appeared to be teething pain. Nevertheless whites were strong (what I call "Milky White") and color accuracy was excellent as long as your sample was free of defects.

With the S9/Note9, the panel lottery is not as bad, but the screen now has this weird green cast that kills the whites and color accuracy in general, and sometimes even contrast. It's as if Samsung tried to counteract strong red of last year's AMOLED by green overcast, without corresponding adjustment of blue. Worse still, this effect changes at different brightness levels. So at certain brightness the screen looks yellowish, and at others it looks greenish. While my eyes can adapt to warm or cold whites to a degree, but the screen has to be consistently warm or consistently cold. I cannot adjust to this shifting white balance between red and green.

As for performance, I will just say that I can detect when the frame rate drops below the target (i.e. 60 FPS) and it happens a lot on the Note 9. Considering the phone is brand new, I expected a much better experience.

 

[Zaap]

Sorry I don't even know what you're talking about, let alone notice on this phone. I've seen not one legit reviewer dock the Note 9 for its screen. DisplayMate rated it the best display they'd ever tested, which I think it retained until the new iPhone.

Maybe yours is damaged somehow.

As for speed issues.. maybe someone with the 128GB model can test. The 512GB version I have also has 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB.

 

[lsd]

Sorry I don't even know what you're talking about, let alone notice on this phone. I've seen not one legit reviewer dock the Note 9 for its screen. DisplayMate rated it the best display they'd ever tested, which I think it retained until the new iPhone.

Maybe yours is damaged somehow.

As for speed issues.. maybe someone with the 128GB model can test. The 512GB version I have also has 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB.

See the S9 thread, he was complaining about the s9 too for reasons most other people don't care about.
Anyway Samsung has a great trade in deal for the s9 so I traded both of ours in. So far it's been good but the s9 felt better in hand. Not worth $1k though.

 

[Raduque]

Well, since my Note8's screen got a little cracked (completely my mistake, was charging it in the car and it slipped between the seat and console) so I went out and picked up a Note9. Both screens are beautiful, but either my Note8 is really warm or my Note9 is really cool. I can get them to match if I pull about 92% of the red out of my Note8.

I am really happy with the Note9 so far though.

 

[Oyeve]

Well, since my Note8's screen got a little cracked (completely my mistake, was charging it in the car and it slipped between the seat and console) so I went out and picked up a Note9. Both screens are beautiful, but either my Note8 is really warm or my Note9 is really cool. I can get them to match if I pull about 92% of the red out of my Note8.

I am really happy with the Note9 so far though.

I noticed this as well when I compare my note 9 to my s8+. The s8+ is much warmer. The note 9 and my s9+ look identical..

 

[Carfax83]

LOL! I'm sorry but that horrible notch is like 4 or 5 Bixby buttons LITERALLY rammed in my face.

And you can't remap imbalance and sheer fugliness.

The notch isn't bad at all, and there's a nice app to disable it and still take advantage of the extra space if it offends you that much.

But when you weigh it against Samsung's lack of OS and security updates relative to Google, it's a much easier decision. Honestly, I am very impressed with my Pixel 3 XL so far and don't regret buying it one bit. It will only continue to get better as well, with more patches and updates in the future.

 

[you2]

I looked at the pixel 3 xl the other day (verizon) and was amazed by the speakers; but how is visibility outside ? My understanding is the note 4 i have is around 700 nit and it can be difficult to see while the pixel 3 xl is only 400 nit which I would think would make it very difficult to use outside but perhaps I am mistaken ?

The notch isn't bad at all, and there's a nice app to disable it and still take advantage of the extra space if it offends you that much.

But when you weigh it against Samsung's lack of OS and security updates relative to Google, it's a much easier decision. Honestly, I am very impressed with my Pixel 3 XL so far and don't regret buying it one bit. It will only continue to get better as well, with more patches and updates in the future.

 

[lopri]

If 400 nits is the max (whether manual or auto), then indeed outdoor visibility in the sunlight will be poor.

 

[lopri]

Have you analyzed your network connection at the time you load the pages and are you using cellular or wifi. Note that even a strong signal can cause issues if you are getting packet loss. Conversely have you analyzed the cpu performance on the phone to see if the cpu is spinning on another task.

Modem performance is one saving grace of this phone. Samsung phones have traditionally had strong RF performance.

 

[lopri]

Sorry I don't even know what you're talking about, let alone notice on this phone. I've seen not one legit reviewer dock the Note 9 for its screen. DisplayMate rated it the best display they'd ever tested, which I think it retained until the new iPhone.

Maybe yours is damaged somehow.

As for speed issues.. maybe someone with the 128GB model can test. The 512GB version I have also has 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB.

Take the Note 9 to an Apple store nearby and compare its screen (Basic Mode) to the iPhone XS Max' screen at varying brightness levels. You will understand what I am trying to say. Instantly.

 

[WelshBloke]

I already have an iPhone. I much prefer Android phones because I enjoy the freedom Android provides and I am a hardware guy at heart. But if things do not improve in the next couple of years (esp. SOC and display) I may jump the ship.

I use Samsung Browser without ad blocker for now. (because I have not decided which way to go about it) Try pages like:

https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/sony-xperia-xz3
https://www.nytimes.com

I have literally no problems with that page, it scrolls smoothly to the bottom with a few flicks (This is with a UK S9+). I am using an adblocker on the Samsung browser though, maybe try that and see if it helps?

Edit: Didn't notice the NYtimes one. That's fine as well, takes more scrolling and there's an annoying pop over but it's smooth and scrolls fine.

 

[lopri]

Oh adblock definitely helps. But I don't see how that refutes my point with regard to the SOC's horsepower and Samsung Experience 9.5. Just activating one-handed mode presents a stuttery animation on this brand new phone. And it is a sad spectacle to see so many people around me who are not savvy enough to install adblock suffering from stuttery browsing experience on Galaxy phones.

 

[WelshBloke]

Oh adblock definitely helps. But I don't see how that refutes my point with regard to the SOC's horsepower and Samsung Experience 9.5. Just activating one-handed mode presents a stuttery animation on this brand new phone. And it is a sad spectacle to see so many people around me who are not savvy enough to install adblock suffering from stuttery browsing experience on Galaxy phones.

Well a reasonable person would realise that there's more likely a problem with the ad servers on those pages rather than the phone browser in that case. Also, just out of interest, I disabled my add blocker and they still scroll fine but that's either because they have already been loaded once or I'm hitting different ad servers (neither site was particularly as heavy for me).
I've not used one handed mode, I can give it a try but I have a sneaky feeling we'll get the same result.

Edit: yup 3 taps on the home button instantly shrinks the display. I can't use the swipe from the corner thing as my hands too big. I have to say that one handed mode is one of the more pointless things for me on Samsung phones (presumably because of the aforementioned big hands!).

 

[DeathReborn]

Oh adblock definitely helps. But I don't see how that refutes my point with regard to the SOC's horsepower and Samsung Experience 9.5. Just activating one-handed mode presents a stuttery animation on this brand new phone. And it is a sad spectacle to see so many people around me who are not savvy enough to install adblock suffering from stuttery browsing experience on Galaxy phones.

Tried both sites on my Note 9, stock browser with stock configuration (no adblock etc) and had no issues on the pages, was smooth on both WiFi and 4G (cleared cache between). Mine is the Exynos version though, can't comment on the Qualcomm model. Oh and my sister has a new iPhone XS (it's banned from my home) and it struggles with her work intranet while her old Samsung S6 doesn't at all.

Also One Handed mode is smooth, maybe you got a duff device or you have a Qualcomm one.

 

[WelshBloke]

Also One Handed mode is smooth, maybe you got a duff device or you have a Qualcomm one.

I've been playing with that. Funnily enough I can only use it with two hands!

 

[Carfax83]

I already have an iPhone. I much prefer Android phones because I enjoy the freedom Android provides and I am a hardware guy at heart. But if things do not improve in the next couple of years (esp. SOC and display) I may jump the ship.

I use Samsung Browser without ad blocker for now. (because I have not decided which way to go about it) Try pages like:

https://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/sony-xperia-xz3
https://www.nytimes.com

Tried both of those links on my Pixel 3 XL which uses Chrome (version 69) for the stock browser and I had no issues whatsoever. Scrolling was smooth on both of them, so I doubt it's the SOC (Pixel 3 XL also uses the Snapdragon 845) that's causing the problem. It's likely the browser. I have no idea how Samsung's stock browser fares against Chrome, but in all likelihood, it's not going to be nearly as good as Chrome which is the most popular browser on any platform for a good reason.

 

[WelshBloke]

It's likely the browser. I have no idea how Samsung's stock browser fares against Chrome, but in all likelihood, it's not going to be nearly as good as Chrome is the most popular browser on any platform for a good reason.

The Samsung browser is way better than mobile Chrome. The only reason to use Chrome is if you need syncing between your desktop and phone browsers (and I can absolutely see why people might want that).

 

[Carfax83]

I looked at the pixel 3 xl the other day (verizon) and was amazed by the speakers; but how is visibility outside ? My understanding is the note 4 i have is around 700 nit and it can be difficult to see while the pixel 3 xl is only 400 nit which I would think would make it very difficult to use outside but perhaps I am mistaken ?

That's actually a good question, and I promise to test it out later today or tomorrow when it's very sunny. One of the problems I had with my Pixel 2 XL was that the screen could be very difficult to read in direct sunlight with automatic brightness enabled. I remember taking it on vacation with me to Jamaica and on a Caribbean cruise and having great difficulty with that aspect; although the pictures taken were phenomenal.

While I haven't tested my Pixel 3 XL in direct sunlight yet, one thing I noticed between it and the Pixel 2 XL is that the former has much better automatic brightness control, and a much brighter screen in general. In dim environments, the Pixel 3 XL would lower its screen brightness to a lower level than the Pixel 2 XL, yet would still be more readable for instance.

 

[WelshBloke]

That's actually a good question, and I promise to test it out later today or tomorrow when it's very sunny. One of the problems I had with my Pixel 2 XL was that the screen could be very difficult to read in direct sunlight with automatic brightness enabled. I remember taking it on vacation with me to Jamaica and on a Caribbean cruise and having great difficulty with that aspect.

While I haven't tested my Pixel 3 XL in direct sunlight yet, one thing I noticed between it and the Pixel 2 XL is that the former has much better automatic brightness control, and a much brighter screen in general. In dim environments, the Pixel 3 XL would lower its screen brightness to a lower level than the Pixel 2 XL, yet would still be more readable for instance.

The 3XL uses a Samsung OLED doesn't it? Those boost up to pretty high brightness when needed I'm sure Google can make those work in bright daylight.

 

[sze5003]

The 3XL uses a Samsung OLED doesn't it? Those boost up to pretty high brightness when needed I'm sure Google can make those work in bright daylight.

Yup the 3XL uses a Samsung panel. Mine seems fine if I use auto brightness outdoors. The default brightness is a change they made in Android 9 where they changed the algorithm from something linear to more dynamic. So the brightness in manual mode only really starts getting very bright after 50%.

I used to run 20% brightness with auto brightness off and it was plenty bright. In Android 9 I need at least 55% with auto brightness off to get the same effect.

 

[Carfax83]

The Samsung browser is way better than mobile Chrome. The only reason to use Chrome is if you need syncing between your desktop and phone browsers (and I can absolutely see why people might want that).

Did you try yours with the ad block disabled? Also, some ad blockers can cause performance issues as they use more CPU. Regarding Chrome though, I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree. The reason to choose Chrome over another browser is that Chrome has unmatched Google integration, plus it tends to be highly optimized for the Android platform and supports the latest features. And Chrome consistently outmatches other browsers when it comes to security as well.

The biggest reason not to use Chrome is of course the fact that Google stalks the hell out of you. That's why I don't use Chrome on my desktop. On my desktop, I use Microsoft Edge to provide balance.
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The 3XL uses a Samsung OLED doesn't it? Those boost up to pretty high brightness when needed I'm sure Google can make those work in bright daylight.

Yes it does use a Samsung panel, and it was given an A+ rating by Display Mate. It should be leaps and bounds better than the Pixel 2 XL in direct sunlight, so we'll see. I will test it later on and report back.

 

[sze5003]

Comparing my roommate's 2XL screen vs my 3XL, his is more dull. It's overall sharpness is not as nice as the 3XL. They also have display settings for adaptive, boosted, and natural color modes on the 3 XL which let's you change how the screen shows off colors. Overall the screen on mine makes up for the ugly notch. It's just much more crisp than it ever was on my 2XL.