The day that I am starting my draft is 6/24, which means that it has been exactly 4 months since I purchased my iPhone 11. I actually posted two first-impressions reviews after using it for around 2-3 weeks. Some of my impressions stayed the same and some are different after spending more time with the phone. There are also some things that I will mention in the review that I didn’t notice previously. So, I’ll get right to it!
Pros:
1. Camera!!!
Before I purchased the iPhone 11, I used the Galaxy Note 9 for 18 months. Even though I was generally satisfied with the phone, the one thing I wished for was better camera quality. Thankfully, the iPhone 11’s camera is very clear, detailed, and the colors are very natural. No matter what the situation is, the photos turn out well and the shutter speed is also really fast, which are the two factors that the Note 9 was lacking in. I am so satisfied with the camera and the results it produces!
2. Colors
I own the iPhone 11 purple color. Yes, the design may not be important for some people, but one of the factors that pushed me into getting the phone was the color choices. Even now, I still think the lavender color is very pretty, and I still don’t regret choosing it to this day. I feel like the colors make it more special and pop more compared to other phones. I personally also find the yellow and the green very pretty, especially now that it’s summertime.
3. Fluidity
This does not particularly only apply to iPhone 11 but to any iPhones without a home button. Since quarantine started, the number of hours I spend on my phone naturally increased. During my increased usage, I couldn’t help but notice how fluid it is moving from app to app and just navigating through my phone. Everything is done by gestures, and since the phone rarely lags, everything is so smooth and makes the user experience so much better.
Cons:
1. Build Quality?!?!?!?!!
Even after 18 months of use, I didn’t have a single scratch or dent on my Note 9. That shows how careful I am with my phones, and it also shows that the build quality is very good. With my iPhone 11, I am still very careful with it, yet I already found scratches and dents. My original screen protector did not protect the entire screen, so somehow, without me even dropping the phone, the part that wasn’t covered by a screen protector has a scratch on it. Now, I use a full-cover screen protector since I know that the build quality is definitely not the best. I also have a dent in my earpiece speaker grill, which was very annoying when it first formed. I feel that it is so easy to dent and scratch the phone, which is a big minus for me.
2. Weight and Size
I personally prefer bigger screens over smaller ones. However, this does not mean that I enjoy using super heavy phones everyday. Since the phone is so heavy, my wrist hurts after using my phone for a long period of time. Not only that, the weight makes the size unbearable, which is a rare feeling that I get since I love big screens. Especially with a decently protective phone case, its heavy weight is very noticeable and I really wish the phone was much lighter. My mom’s phone, the Galaxy s10, has the same screen size, yet it is so much lighter and much easier to hold everyday. I hope Apple will begin to make their phones lighter since it is a common complaint.
I’ve been using my iPhone 11 for the past two months (time flies by really fast).
For a quick TMI, I’ve been actually having fun with my phone because I continuously customize it based on the way I want it. I put some very sparkly stickers on the notch, but it was actually quite difficult because of earpiece sticker and all of the sensors on the notch. I still enjoyed it because it was a great way to pass the time because I seem to have nothing to do these days. I actually would’ve wanted to put more stickers on the front side, but the size of the bezels made it very difficult. I personally love small bezels, like the one Samsung phones have nowadays, but this was the first time I actually wanted larger bezels. On the backside, I kept it simple by just putting in photobooth photo with my friends. I decided to just customize my phone that reflected my personality. When people first see me, I appear to be more calm and mature (I think), which is why I kept the backside more simple. When people get to know me, they understand that I am the completely opposite of their first impression, which is why I put such fancy sparkly stickers on the front of my phone.
Anyways, since it’s hard to imagine, I’ll insert some pictures below.
For the photo of the back, I scribbled out the pictures but thats how I placed the photo in my case.
Now, onto the main topic of this blog, I was actually pleasantly surprised with the revealing of the new iPhone SE. When I saw a post about it on Social Media, I thought that it was another rumored photo. When I learned that it actually released and saw the specs, along with the price, I was soso pleasantly surprised. It sort of made me feel like what if I just didn’t buy the iPhone 11 HAHA. Okay, I’ll go into what I love about it.
Both of these pics do not belong to me.
1. The Design!
I know that the iPhone 8 design is considered to be very outdated and old. Honestly, I do agree because even if I have the iPhone 11, which has significantly smaller bezels than the previous models that had home buttons, compared to my parents’ phones, which are the Note 10+ and the s10, my phone’s bezel seems incredibly big and my phone looks a lot more outdated.
However, there is this iPhone-ness that only the models with home buttons have that I really missed. In addition, as I mentioned earlier, I began to like decorating my phone, and there are times when I wish the bezels were bigger, so it’s not a big problem. Since the iPhone 11 was my first iPhone, I actually never used the models with home buttons. However, whenever I use my friend’s iPhone 8, I was so shocked at how compact and comfortable it was to use. I do love big screens, but I actually prefer the iPhone 8 design much more than the iPhone 11 design, which has the strange placement of the cameras on the back.
Especially during this time of Quarantine, home button with Touch ID is much more practical than the face ID since so many people are using masks these days so it’s harder to unlock our phones.
In addition, recently, I feel that my wrist has a harder time using my phone for a long time because of how heavy it is. For some reason, I didn’t feel this much discomfort when I used my Note 9, even though it technically weighs more. However, the fact that the iPhone 8 is light and easy to grip is a huge win factor for me.
Some things that I wish, however, is that at this point in time, I feel that the original placement of the apple logo and the iPhone logo of the iPhone 8 is prettier than the new one on the SE. However, I know for sure that I am going to start liking the new placement more. I also feel that iPhone 8 originally had amazing colors, especially the gold. Those pretty colors are gone now and replaced with very XR-like colors. Also, I do wish the white phone came with a white front because that gives off the actual iPhone-ness that I mentioned earlier. However, I don’t hate the black front since many people use night mode these days and I feel that black bezels suit night mode better.
2. The Price!
Of course, with the SE, I can’t disregard the price. I actually have a first generation iPhone SE at home because I wanted a separate cheaper phone at a period of my life. I felt that although it is very small, it was well-worth the price because it was significantly cheaper than the iPhone 6s that launched that year.
The 128gb iPhone SE2 is $449, which is around half the price of the 128gb iPhone 11 I own. That makes me wonder if the things I gain with the iPhone 11 are worth the price. I know that the iPhone 11 is known to be the best iPhone for most people since there is a greater advantage worth the money compared to the Pro series. However, the iPhone SE comes with the same chip, similar cameras, and has everything that a lot of people need.
In addition, a lot of people who own iPhones also own some sort of other apple device, such as the Macbook or iPad. I feel that this means that they normally watch videos and Netflix on those devices, like I watch everything on my iPad. This means that a big screen is not completely necessary, and in fact a smaller size might be better since phones are carried around everywhere.
Conclusion
Just based on the headings I have, it seems as though I am only surprised about two things, but within each section, there are many different pros I also included, which I really love about this new phone. During a period of financial crisis like this, I believe that it was very clever for Apple to release a phone that is actually affordable. I really love this phone and if I hadn’t purchased my iPhone 11 two months ago, I probably would’ve gone with this because it’s so worth the price.
In my last blog post, I covered the pros of the iPhone 11. That post was written one week of use. Although I did use my phone for 3 weeks, the cons that I thought of after my 1st week of use still remain and there were no more that were added. For sure, the negatives do not outweigh the positives because I have been enjoying my use so far.
1. Weight
I owned the Note 9 previously which had a 6.4 inch screen. This phone has 6.1 inch screen, which is smaller than that of the Note 9. The iPhone 11 (194g) does have a lighter weight than the Note 9 (201g) by a few grams. However, because the screen is smaller, the phone seems much heavier than my Note 9 did. In addition, since iPhones cost a lot to repair, I put on a more protective clear case, which added more bulk and weight to the phone. This makes it very inconvenient to carry around.
My mom owns the Galaxy S10 and my dad owns the Galaxy Note 10+. First, the S10 has the same screen size as the iPhone 11. However, I was so shocked when I carried her phone because it was so light (157g). She also has a bulky case on her phone yet it’s not a burden to hold it. In addition, the Galaxy Note 10+ has a 6.8 inch display, which makes it an entire 0.7 inches bigger than the iPhone 11. However, it weighs 196 grams, which only 2 grams heavier than the iPhone 11. The heavy weight of the phone was actually very noticeable during my day-to-day use.
2. Display
My Note 9 had a QHD+ display with an OLED display. I didn’t notice the quality of the display when I owned the phone because I didn’t have anything to compare it to. Honestly, I do prefer the LCD display over the OLED because LCD is more comfortable for my eyes. And to be honest, I can’t really tell the difference in the screen resolution on a daily basis. I noticed a significant difference, however, when I was watching certain Youtube videos.
When I watch normal Youtuber’s videos that are not filmed with a very high resolution, I can barely tell. However, when I was watching MKBHD’s video, which is filmed with a very high quality camera, I was able to see the pixels. The screen definitely did not seem as crisp as it did when I watched his videos on my Note 9 previously. After realizing this, I am quite disappointed in the screen resolution, but it’s okay because I normally use my iPad Pro to watch videos.
3. Bezels
I am not very sensitive to thick bezels, so this wasn’t as big of a problem. When I use my phone and don’t really pay attention to the design, I can’t even notice the bezels. However, whenever I do pay attention to the design and the bezels, it does seem very wide. It seems especially wide when I see my friends’ Note 10s, my mom’s s10, and even iPhone 11 Pro. This doesn’t bother me too much, though.
4. 5g
This issue doesn’t really relate to me as of this moment, but it may after 1 or 2 years. Now that 5g is rolling in, the next models of iPhones are probably going to have 5g capability. This means that if I choose to use this phone for a couple of years, this will be very dated, not only because of 4g, but because of its screen resolution, bezels, etc. I personally feel like Apple should’ve at least included 5g and made improvements to the screen.
Last Monday (February 24), I switched my phone from the Galaxy Note 9 to the iPhone 11. It was a very inconvenient process because I was unable to move all of my data through iCloud. I also changed my number which definitely did not help. After many hours of re-downloading and transferring, I finally got used to all of the gestures and the functions of this phone. Now that I got to use it for a week, I have some pros I want to share.
1. Design
I purchased the iPhone 11 in the purple color. I am a person who is very sensitive to the physical appearances of the things I own. I personally take care of my devices very well which is why I never cracked a device before. That just proves to show that I like keeping my phone clean and pretty. No matter how well I took care of my Note 9, it was difficult to make my phone look pure and nice. However, the design of the iPhone 11 is incredibly pretty and the purple color, which looks more like a lavender, makes me very happy every time I look at it. I personally was a fan of the rose gold color in the past, but after purchasing this phone, my rose gold iPad Pro seems less appealing.
In addition, when I first saw the phone when it released, I thought the two cameras and the new location of the Apple logo was ugly. However, now, I feel like this design is much prettier than the previous iPhones. Lastly, there was lots of controversy regarding the notch design. As a person who had a phone that did not have a notch, the notch did not bother me at all. In fact, I liked it. My iPad Pro also has the same gestures as the iPhone, such as swiping down on the right for the Control Center. It makes more sense, however, that you swipe down on the right side of the notch for the Control Center rather than just swiping down on the right of a flat bezel.
There are more things I liked about the design, but the last thing that comes to my mind is the glass back. The iPhone 11 Pro has a matte back but a glossy camera bump. The iPhone 11 is the opposite of that with a glossy back but a matte camera bump. Without a phone case, the 11 pro seems much more expensive and professional. However, when you put a clear case on, the 11 Pro’s matte back is pointless because it turns glossy anyways. Then, since the camera bump is not matte, it collects fingerprints. However, the 11 stays glossy both with and without the case so there’s not a big difference. A good thing is that the camera bump is matte so even with a case on, the camera bump does not collect fingerprints, which keeps the phone looking clean.
2. Camera
My Note 9 had an amazing camera and I was satisfied while I had it. However, the phone had inaccurate colors and had some pointless blurring effects. In addition, a lot of the photos turned out shaky, making it difficult to get good pictures. Another dissatisfaction I felt was that the Live focus and the selfie mode had terrible HDR so a lot of the backgrounds just got washed out and was white.
The iPhone 11 has everything that I wanted in a camera.
First, the HDR in the selfie, portrait mode, and just the normal 1x camera is amazing. The background is always present even when there is bad lighting. Sometimes, when I’m taking the photo, the background seems washed out, but the phone processes it in a way the photo comes out looking amazing. I was so happy about this because I was finally able to get quality pics anywhere anytime.
Next, the colors are incredibly accurate. Previously, no matter what outfit I wear and what makeup I put on, the colors almost always looked similar so there was no point in trying to look pretty in photos. However, this camera is able to clearly show every single slight color change and produce a picture that looks exactly the way I see it in real life. I was soso happy about this.
The details in this phone camera is incredible as well. When I take a selfie or a normal picture and zoom in, I can see every little detail. Although it does catch some details that may look better if blurred out (such as skin imperfections), as a person who owned a phone that blurred out too many details, I love the quality of this camera.
The shutter speed of this phone camera is amazing as well. The shutter speed allows less shaky photos to come out. Now, I can just point and shoot and still have amazing results with my camera.
Last thing I love is that there is a wide angle camera. My Note 9 also had dual cameras, but it had a normal 1x and a telephoto camera. Since I didn’t zoom into photos very much, however, I ended up using the phone as if it had a single camera. The wide angle camera enables me to take more in the frame and this was very useful when I was unable to go further back to take a picture of something. In addition, the live focus not has a wider range of view, which allows me to take a portrait photo without moving so far back to get the person in.
3. Screen
In addition to the notch and camera design, the screen resolution was also a controversy. Yes, my Note 9 had one of the best quality displays and the 11 has a very low screen resolution for a flagship. When I heard these reviews online, I thought that it would have an incredibly low quality display. However, even though I used the Note 9 with the maximum screen resolution, I couldn’t tell the difference in screen resolution in the iPhone 11 (I am very insensitive to the screen). In fact, since it does not have an OLED display, when I use my phone in the dark, my eyes hurt less.
Also, the screen size is smaller than my Note 9. I was worried because I heard lots of reviews about how the phone was too big. However, since my Note 9 was bigger, this phone seemed more portable and comfortable to carry in the hand. One thing I noticed, however, was that the font is very small on such a big phone. Therefore, I recommend the Zoom mode on the phone because it makes everything seem more regular-sized.
Lastly, because this phone has a flat screen, unlike my Note 9 which had the edge display, it was so much easier to find cases and screen protectors that worked. My Note 9 had a curved display so it was so difficult to find a good quality glass screen protector. In addition, many phone cases did not have a lip that protected the screen well. However, with this flat display, it was so much easier to choose an affordable screen protector and case that still has good quality.
4. etc…
First, Airdrop was very, very useful because there are times in school when I need to get a photo sent to me. However, it was a very annoying process previously to get their number and then get the photo sent. Now, I can just get a photo without saving numbers; just with a few clicks, I will have the photo.
I personally do not care about the iMessage stuff, but I thought it was great that now when I share photos through iMessage, the quality doesn’t get worse. On Android phones, the photo quality gets worse when sent through messages so I had to use a third party app. Now, however, I can just use the iMessage app and the quality will still be the same. In addition, now I can use iCloud to sync my messages and text on my iPad, which was a huge plus.
Social media quality got so much better. For example, when I post a boomerang on Instagram, it turns out looking much cleaner than on Android. On my Note 9, the boomerangs came out in terrible quality, but now, the quality is much better.
The speakers on this phone are amazing. Even with a few bars turned on, the volume is very loud so I never need to put it up all the way. This enhanced my video watching experience and was a huge plus.
Until December 25, 2019, I had no interest in the Galaxy Watch Active 2, nor any other smartwatches. I never felt that I needed it and did not have much knowledge about the product. Now that I used the watch for a little over 2 weeks, I can demonstrate my first impressions (opinions about the practicality of the smart watch for a short-term usage.
Description of the product
I purchased the pink gold Galaxy Watch Active 2 in 4o mm. The watch itself comes with a silicone strap, which is good for workouts, and has an aluminum build. In my opinion, the color is extremely gorgeous yet tone-down enough to the point where it’s good for everyday use. The 40 mm screen size never felt small so I never regret not getting the 44 mm version. It has a circular screen with a touch bezel that makes navigating much more efficient.
Pros
1. Tracking
Tracking comes in different forms and the watch fulfilled its role in all of the tracking it was meant to do among the ones that I’ve tested. The watch tracks sleep, heartbeats, and workouts fairly accurately. As for the sleep tracking, not only does it show the number of hours I was asleep, but it tells me the percent accuracy and splits up the types of sleep (such as deep sleep, rem sleep, light sleep, and awake). As for the workout tracking, if I start running or walking, it automatically starts to log my movements. Otherwise, I can also manually choose a workout I’m doing, such as the treadmill, and based on my steps and speed, it will show the number of calories burned. Although the calorie tracker may not be too accurate, it was a good estimation of how hard I worked out. Heartbeat tracking is incredibly accurate as well.
2. Battery life
I try not to charge my watch overnight because I want to have my sleep tracked. Therefore, I try to charge it sometime before I sleep. This means that my watch needs to stay charged for 24 hours until I charge it. I was pleasantly surprised to see how long my battery lasts. By the time I charge it, I have around 30-50% remaining, even though I have it track my sleep, the number of steps, workouts, get all the notifications, etc.. If charged daily, there is no problem with the battery. The battery, however, may last long as it does because I do not keep the Always On Display on.
3. Functionality
Based on its usage as just a smartwatch, I found that it improved my daily life a lot due to how convenient it is. For example, I can receive and make phone calls directly on the watch. Since the call quality is great, I have absolutely no problem calling on the watch. I get the general notifications from my phone on the watch so that even if my phone is not right next to me, I can still get notifications and not miss out. I can check the weather from directly on my watch, control the music, make voice recordings, go on the internet, download apps, customize the watch, etc.. Also, since it turns on every time I lift my arm up, even without having the AOD on, I can check the time seamlessly. Although Bixby is not favored on the Galaxy smartphones, it is incredibly useful on the watch. For example, I can comfortably start an alarm, timer, and stopwatch on my watch directly. Not only this, but I can also ask Bixby for the weather and questions. Since I do not need to have my phone nearby, it was very convenient.
Cons
1. Accessories
The watch is waterproof, allowing it to be used in the pool to track swim. Not only this, but it could also be taken into the shower to wash it if there was any sweat. This is not the watch’s fault but just a discomfort that will come with any form of smart watch. First, in order to protect the screen from scratches, I put a screen protector on. However, since the protector itself is not waterproof, I cannot wash my watch after my workout. Therefore, I need to separately take out baby wipes and wipe every part of the watch rather than simply bringing it in with me to the shower. In addition, to protect the watch, a case should be bought. However, I didn’t purchase one for the reason being that most cases wrap around the back part of the watch. This is a problem since sweat can go in it after a workout, and there may also not be an accurate tracking of heartbeat and the exercise.
2. Sound control
Once in a while, Bixby starts talking on the watch to notify me with something, but since there are no volume control buttons, I just have to hope that me covering the speakers will be good enough. These random notifications do not matter as much when the place I am is very loud. In quiet situations, however, it gets extremely annoying. It does not happen often, but when it does happen, I find myself wanting to shut it off.
3. Connection
The purpose of the watch is to stay connected to my watch so that I can receive the notifications on the watch. However, the range in which my phone and the watch stay connected is very small. When I just go outside of my room to the living room without my phone, the watch disconnects from my phone. This means that even though I have the watch, I will need to keep my phone near me, which defeats the purpose a little. I wish the range was a little larger. Even if it disconnects, however, it can still track workouts and heartbeat, etc.
Just around 4 months ago, I posted the 8 month review of the Note 9. Since there aren’t many changes that occurred since then, this review is most likely going to be short and concise. Now that the Note 10 pre-order period has begun, the prices for the Note 9 will probably drop tremendously. Considering this situation, is the Note 9 still worth it after the release of the new Samsung flagship?
What about the Note 10?
Although this post is a review of the Note 9, it is impossible to ignore the new flagship. As a Note 9 user, I understood that it was a very incremental update to the Note 8. Nearly every review online mentioned how there weren’t many changes that were made from the Note 8 to the Note 9. Regardless of only having a few changes, the overall phone was still very powerful and had good specs, which is what attracted me to it. However, throughout this year, there were many phones that released that had extremely small bezel, higher refresh rate, and better phone quality. After I learned that the Note 10 released with extremely small bezels and new added features, I initially wanted it. The more reviews I watch, however, I realize that many of the added features lean more towards “wants” than “needs”. By this, I mean that the added features consist of the new spen, smaller bezels, and more cameras. Yes, the phone will also be faster, but since I am already satisfied with the speed of my phone, that wasn’t a big attracting feature. However, I came to realize that the “magic wand” feature of the new spen won’t be widely used by me, already considering the fact that I use my smart spen on the Note 9 only for taking notes. In addition, I thought about whether I really needed a smaller bezel. I realized that smaller bezels do make the phone look better, but I would need to sacrifice part of my screen with a small hole for the camera. In addition, the Note 10, not the plus, has a 1080 panel and a smaller battery, which would make it a downgrade from the Note 9. After I realized all of the downsides to the new Note, I came to realize that the Note 9 was definitely worth it in 2019. My desires for the new Note wasn’t because of its functionality but all of the useless gimmicks that were placed into the phone, which made it more high tech but not really beneficial.
One thing I forgot to mention was the headphone jack. Although I purchased the Samsung Galaxy Buds around 2 months ago (you can see a review on it in my site), before that, I heavily used my normal wired earbuds. In this case, having a headphone jack would be extremely necessary and beneficial in my day-to-day life. Especially since I don’t have a wireless charger, if I hadn’t purchased my buds, I wouldn’t be able to charge my phone and listen to music at the same time. Yes, I don’t particularly need the headphone jack anymore since I have my Galaxy Buds, but it is a shame that the Note 10 doesn’t include this feature anymore.
Aging of the Note 9
Everyone who owns a Samsung device hears this at least once: Samsung phones lag after a short period of time; they suck and cannot last for a few years. The phone that completely broke the stereotype, I believe, is the Note 9. It hasn’t been a few months since I purchased my phone; in fact, it’s been an entire year. However, I experience no slowdown whatsoever and rarely any stutters. In fact, my friends who own an iPhone, which is known to be a very capable long-lasting device, complain a lot about the constant lags on their phone. If someone handed my phone to me after a year of use, I wouldn’t even be able to notice because it performs as it did on day 1.
All of the downsides that I mentioned in my 8-month review still remain true, but there were no new downsides that got added in the additional 4 months of using this phone.
Previously, one of my favorite features of the Note 9 was the Always on Display since it prevented me from taking that extra step to turn the phone on to check the time, but there was a change that I made that made it even more useful. There are many different choices for the way to design the Always On Display and I set it to be a calendar. This proved to be incredibly useful since I can set up schedules more easily now that there is a calendar even without me turning my phone on.
The Note 9 came with so many features packed into the phone that a whole lot of people could customize it in whatever way they want and use their phone like a tool to be a part of their daily lives. I kept my phone relatively minimalistic, but this means that people with many different types of preferences can use this phone without a problem (those who want to customize their phones heavily can also accomplish that with the Note 9).
As a student who was the one to preorder the Note 9 last year and got it on the actual release day, I am aware that the next Note will come out in around two to three months. Due to this, majority of the device will have been manufactured and probably they are just testing for the remainder of the time. As a result of this, some of the changes that I want made may not be present in the Note 10, but the following are changes that I want made in the future models. This will include my experience with the Note 9 and what should be improved in order to benefit the user experience of the people who purchase the next model.
Camera
I’ll start off by saying that the camera is above average. So many of my friends want to take photos with my phone due to its outstanding quality both during the daytime and nighttime. However, there were a few things that I wish would change in the camera category; if these changes are made, many more people will be willing to switch over to Samsung.
1. Shutter Speed
Due to not many professional photos being taken on smartphones, the cameras that come with these phones are normally used for point-and-shoot scenarios where you just click the shutter and move on without putting in so much time and effort into making the photo perfect. I noticed, however, that there is a slight gap between the time when I press on the shutter button and when the photo is actually taken. As a result of this, I end up moving before the photo is actually taken, meaning that the photo ends up being shaken. This problem is the worst in low-light situations so I need to keep my phone still for at least 3 seconds in order for the photo to come out decently. Due to this, I’m hoping that the future Samsung Note models will have this problem fixed and decrease the gap that exists with the shutter so that the point-and-shoot photos come out well.
2. Color
Although the quality of the camera itself is good, there is a problem that exists within not only the newer phones, but most of the previous Samsung phones as well. The problem is that the photos tend to be very unrealistic and very different from the actual scene. The photos turn out to be more yellow-toned and brighter than what we see with our eyes. I do not want to make the direct comparison, but iPhone tend to have very realistic colors, which is one of the reasons why many people opt for iPhones. Due to this, I hope that the future models will have better camera optimization so that the photos come out more realistic.
3. Live Focus
The Live Focus was one of the main reasons I wanted to Note 9 and is also one of the greatest disappointments of the phone. The same problem is present in the Note 8, s9+, and the Note 9. First of all, in situations where the lighting isn’t very good, the Live Focus mode has a terrible HDR, and so turns the entire background white. This is when I just choose to turn the HDR off and use my normal Auto mode. Even when the lighting is good, sometimes, the edge detection is terrible and may sometimes even tell you that Live Focus mode isn’t available. There are a few moments when the Live Focus mode works, which makes the photo turn out amazing, but since there were so many disappointments that came with using the Live Focus, it is something that I want to see improved. The main improvements should consist of better edge detection and HDR.
4. Social Media
Social media may seem like it’s out of the blue, but I noticed that the quality is significantly worse when using social media on Samsung devices (almost all android devices in fact) than an iPhone. Using Instagram as an example, whenever I post a story using my Note 9, all the details are gone and it’s just not very pleasing to see. Also, when I send photos through the messaging app or through Instagram DM, the details are all gone and the picture gets sent looking very grainy, which is very uncomfortable when living in a world filled with interaction. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is, but there must be a way for these photos to be sent with a better quality.
5. Skin blur
The skin blur problem actually shocked me although I heard many problems about it. The main reason is because when I’m taking the picture, the photos look very detailed and nothing seems to be blurred. However, when I click on the result, I see that the photo turned out to be much more smooth compared to when I was clicking the shutter. I feel like Samsung planned to optimize their camera that way, but honestly, it brings more discomfort to the users and if anyone does want their face to be smooth, there are apps out their that they can use so don’t bring that feature to everyone.
Spen
The Spen is a very, very, very useful feature for a student like me. After I purchased the Note 9, I used the Spen so much that now I can’t imagine having a phone without it. It can be used to take notes, draw in my free time, and save paper. Some people may never use it, but it was such an important tool for me. The changes that I want made with the Spen is not the functionality or the usability, but more towards its design and durability.
1. Durability
In order to effectively utilize the Spen into my daily lifestyle, I need to use it very often. This means that I’d need to take it out of my phone and then take notes on my phone or do whatever I want to do with it. However, taking it out often means that there is a greater chance of dropping or bending it. The Spen replacements are not cheap. This means that we need to try to keep the original one as nice as possible. However, the Spen is so weak that it is just so easy to snap it in half. Honestly, there is a such a big gap in price between the Galaxy S models and the Galaxy Note models. However, the only major difference between these two is the Spen. If the user chooses not to replace the Spen, they will just have wasted a couple hundred dollars. If they choose to replace it, another $50 will be needed to be spent, but even then, that replacement Spen may break again, so money will be spent repeatedly. Therefore, for the next model, I’m hoping that there will be an improvement in the durability of the Spen by changing the material being used to build it or use any other solution that could help with the durability.
2. Secureness
The major reason people break their Spen is because of how insecurely the Spen is placed in the phone. I have a case in my Note 9 and all of my family members do as well. However, every time one of us drops our phone, our phone is perfectly fine due to the case, but the Spen almost always falls out. I’m not sure why it constantly falls out, but it could do with the clicky button and just its inability to endure impact. Since the pen just falls out when my phone is dropped, it can end up bent or broken. Therefore, for the next model, I’m hoping that the Spen will be placed more securely into the phone. Other than that, the Spen is such an useful tool that improved my life as a whole.
Design
Photo from Mashables
I honestly, really like the minimalistic design of the Note 9. There is no notch, hole, or anything that gets in the way in the screen and nothing gets cut off. Although it may seem outdated, I personally enjoyed it. However, I know that I must let go of having a clean display because future models are probably going to come with the Infinity O display (at least for a period of time until they figure out the best way to have a full-screen display). I do enjoy the Note 9’s design, but I also found that the s10’s design is very stunning so I’m sure that the complaints about the hole punch display will die down eventually. However, there were a few aspects of the design of the Note 9 that I found to be very uncomfortable that I hope would be changed in the next model.
1. Weight
The Note 9 is around 200 grams. Honestly, just carrying my phone for a short period of time is fine. However, if I need to use it for a long period of time, I start feeling pain in my wrist and my arm. The phone itself being 200 grams is not too bad. However, we have to remember that most of the people use cases on their phone; they normally use bulky, protective cases to protect their thousand dollar phone. With these cases, the weight of the phone becomes unbearable so I hope that Samsung can adjust the weight of the phone (although I know that it’s going to be made of all glass and the size is probably going to get bigger) so that there is less fatigue in the arms even with a case on.
2. Edge Display
Although the majority of the people have problems with the edge display, I actually was fond of it. Since I’m not an expert in terms of screen quality and so, I didn’t really notice many cons to having an edge display. In fact, when I was watching videos, I found the edge to let me be more immersed into the video and focus better. In addition, the edge display panel was very useful for me, especially for the quick call feature. However, the problem, at least for me, does not come with the phone itself; it comes with the accessories. Because of the phone’s structure and design, it was just so hard to find good accessories. Firstly, there is a huge restriction on the screen protector that I can use. I previously used many glass screen protectors with my older phones, but due to the curved display, majority of them did not stick properly with my Note 9 and so I had to settle for a liquid screen protector. However, the problem became that since my screen was less protected now, I needed to find a protective case. However, due to the edge display, so many cases come with very minimal lip for protection. I’m not exactly sure this problem is going to be solved, but unless there is a way to make better accessories for the newer phone with the curved edge, I’d say it’s a better idea to go for the flat display for a while.
3. Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio of this phone makes the phone much easier to grip due to it having skinnier sides and a longer length. However, I found a few problems with this. First of all, when I want to watch my videos in full, parts of it get cut off. Another problem is that since this phone has a different aspect ratio as other phones, such as the iPhone, many America-based apps have the ratio aspect that matches the iPhone. As a result of this, whenever I’m using a social media app like Instagram and my friend with an iPhone sends me a photo, since the photo is sent from their aspect ratio, the photo comes to me by cutting the sides off. Because of this problem, I asked my friends multiple times to resend the photo for me but by backing the camera a little so that even if the sides are cropped I can still see all the necessary parts of the photo. I’m hoping that in the future Note model, although the aspect ratio may stay the same since the phone needs to get bigger, there is a better way found to interact with other non-Samsung models.
Final Words
I was fond of the Note line ever since the Note 2. There were many changes that were made since the original Note that allows the Note to be one of the most feature-packed phone present-day. There are many useful tools that come with the phone that drastically improves user experience. However, there are some downsides that may interfere with the usability of the phone. In this post, I discusses some of the problems that I noticed while using my Note 9 that I wish would be changed in future models. If these changes are made, I am sure that a wider spectrum of people would be willing to spend their hard-earned money on this phone.
Recently, I purchased the White Samsung Galaxy Buds for $130. As a student, the price was slightly overwhelming, but after seeing a lot of reviews for this product, I knew I had to get one for myself. As I’m writing this impressions post, I used them for around 4 days so I have a general idea of what I like and what I think could be improved.
Pros:
1. Sound Quality
Although I’m not an expert in terms of sound and its quality, I personally really enjoy listening to music, especially bands. Bands consist of many instruments that come together with a vocal, which means that the sound needs to be full in order for it to be fully appreciated. I was able to find pleasure in listening to my music of choice with these galaxy buds. Just for everyday use, the sound has decent quality.
2. Design
Out of the three choices, I purchased my buds in white. I was attracted to all of the three colors (yellow, black, and white), but I ended up settling for white due to the pearly effect it had. I find that the white color isn’t too popping but also very pretty. Other than that, I also liked the shape of the buds because it fits very well in my ears and do not fall out. I go to the gym everyday and go on the treadmill very often. There was no circumstance where my buds fell off, which is a huge plus for me because I always watch something while I work out.
3. Compact Size
It’s hard to demonstrate it through words, but the size is very compact. It’s not too small and not too large. It fits very nicely in my pockets and is very portable. This was very beneficial because with normal wired headphones, there is not additional accessory to carry around whereas the buds come with a case that I need to carry around. Therefore, the smaller and more compact the case, the better.
4. Fit
This category goes hand-in-hand with the design, but as I mentioned earlier, it fits very nicely in my ears. The box comes with three different sized plugs and the outer rings. The different sizes of the rings help with it staying in my ear, although I opted for the original ring. Although I settled for the originals for both the plugs and the outer rings, it is a great option to have extras and have different choices for different types of ears.
5. Controls
This is a feature of the galaxy buds that I found very, very useful. At the gym with my phone settled down, when I need to control the volume, pressing on my right bud raises the volume and pressing on my left bud decreases the volume. Other than this, I found tapping on my buds to start and stop my music also useful because even when I’m not in a music app, if I just tap on one of my buds, music would start playing.
Cons:
1. Microphone
When I call people using the buds, the call quality is decent indoors. I am able to hear the others clearly and they are able to hear me clearly. However, when I step outside, my voice is not able to be heard at all by the person I’m calling to. As a result of this, if I want to call when I’m outdoors, I disconnect the bluetooth and just call directly from my phone, not using the buds. This proved to be very inconvenient since my buds, which are meant to be capable for calling, isn’t able to be used to call people.
2. Ambient Mode
The Ambient Mode feature of the buds were very, very, very helpful when I put these buds on outside. I can hear my surroundings very clearly which means that I will be safe from the cars when walking outside. However, I realized that in some scenarios, the ambient mode turns off. As a result of this, I keep thinking that there is just nothing going on around me since I can’t hear anything, where in reality, it’s that the ambient mode turned off. Because of this, there were scenarios when I wasn’t able to notice cars and people.
3. Battery
The battery was somewhat disappointing for me, especially the battery case. It only provides 13 hours and so I have do charge it every two days. On the other hand, airpods provide a much greater battery capacity, which I believe will be more useful to people that love to listen to music. In addition, I wish there was a way to know the exact battery percentage of the battery case because the only way to estimate the battery is by seeing the LED light on the case, but it’s not very precise so I don’t exactly know when it needs to be charged again.
4. Ear Fatigue
When I go to the gym and use these buds to listen to music or watch the video, I keep them on for 2 hours straight without taking them off. I found that after putting it on for a while, I feel pain in my ears because of its tight fit. Although this fit is very beneficial for keeping surrounding sound out of my ears, it brings discomfort after a long period of use.
5. Distance
I was disappointed in the amount of distance I was able to stand away from my phone to still listen to the music. I was only a little bit far from my phone when I heard a lot of static noise. I was honestly expecting the connection to be a bit better with my phone. However, the static noise doesn’t only come when I’m far away. Once in a while, even when I’m near my phone, the buds create a static noise for no reason. Although that’s not a reason why these shouldn’t be purchased, I believe this problem should be fixed.
Conclusion:
The Samsung Galaxy Buds is my first truly wireless earbuds and I’m glad I purchased it. Finally, when I’m at the gym, I don’t have wires getting in my way and due to the auto connecting method these buds have, it’s so convenient to use. Although there were a few negative aspects of these buds that I noticed, these are very well incorporated into my daily life that it makes up for all of the cons. Honestly, $130 isn’t a small amount of money, but I’d say that it was well spent on this product.
As a current high school student, smartphones have become such a huge part of my daily life. It is used to take pictures, connect with other people, set up alarms, and log down information. Due to this, it won’t be an overstatement to say that my phone is a part of me which I can’t imagine not having. Since my phone is very highly incorporated into my daily routine, I end up looking for a phone that meets a certain number of criteria that I set. I find no point in having a lot of useless features that could be considered futuristic. I only see the point in perfecting the necessary features, which I will be discussing today. Do the features of the Note 9 actually matter for the people living their everyday lives?
Camera
Pros:
Very high-quality nighttime shots
High quality
Colors are vibrant
Cons:
Slow shutter speed
Very yellow-orange toned
A lot of skin-blur
Front camera has bad HDR (dynamic range)
Camera lens is too big
Motion-blur
Overall, I was pleased with the quality of the photo. One of the main features that attracted me to this phone was the camera quality. When I went to the store to check out the phone, I was blown-away by the quality. Now, I’ve spent around 8 months with this phone and it turns out that one moment doesn’t represent the camera quality as a whole.
There are many cons to the camera that I’ve noticed, but the one feature of the camera that outweighs majority of the cons is the overall high quality. This camera is capable of taking photos that have little to no grain, which allows the pictures to look extremely clean and high-quality. On top of that, the colors that are extremely vivid bring life to dull moments, allowing the moment to seem like an upgraded version. This could be considered a pro or a con, but I personally was fond of it. Where the colors really stood out to me was in low-light. At nighttime, I opened the camera and I was pleasantly surprised at the colors and the light. When I pointed the camera at a group of plants, I was able to vividly see the colors whereas in reality, it was too dark to distinguish the different colors. Here are some example pictures from the Note 9. The last photo is a low-light photo that was mentioned above.
Although there are many pros, there are going to be parts that I am not satisfied with. First, one thing I was extremely disappointed with was the shutter-speed. It seemed to take a picture around 1 second after I pressed the shutter, which caused there to be more motion blur. The motion blur would mean that I would need to take multiple shots when I could’ve just taken one and gotten it over with. Yes, I could just wait a little longer after clicking on the shutter, but these extra seconds that I need to wait for makes a huge difference when I need to quickly take a picture. After the Android 9.0 update, the shutter speed did get a little better, but improvements still need to be made.
There was only a slight movement in the camera, yet there is a very noticeable motion blur.
The front camera is acceptable, but compared to other phones like iPhone and the Pixel, it is way behind in terms of quality and color. The front camera seems to brighten up my skin tone a bit too much, in addition to blowing away the entire background in some cases. The HDR is terrible in the front camera and the Live Photos option, which causes the background to completely turn white in some circumstances (when the sun is behind me), which is very disappointing.
Another disappointment is that the colors of the photos are generally yellow-toned, which make the photos look less pretty, although the quality is high. Because of this, photo editing is required to lessen down the amount of yellow in the photos.
Other than the quality of the phone itself, the camera lens is just too big to the point where it attracts way too many fingerprints, scratches, etc. I have to wipe my lens multiple times per day in order to maintain the quality of my phone. My parents and my sister both don’t wipe the camera lens and the camera quality is significantly worse this way.
It seems like there are more cons than pros, but the quality itself ends up outweighing many problems and justifies some of them as well. Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the camera quality.
Screen
Pros:
Extremely big
High-resolution
Curved screen
Always On Display
Cons:
Screen Protector
Extremely big
Edge screen isn’t very useful
The screen was something I was extremely pleased with. First of all, the very big screen allows watching videos much more immersive, which is beneficial when going to the gym to watch videos (in my circumstance). In addition, when using this powerful phone to study, having a large screen is a plus, especially if it has one of the best screens in any phone. Yes, not many people are going to notice the difference between FHD and QHD+. In fact, I can barely notice any difference, but the high-resolution screen allows the side views of the screen to still be vibrant and clear.
The extremely big screen has many cons to it as well, such as it being harder to hold, in addition to the phone being much heavier. In fact, in circumstances where I can only use my phone with one hand, it is physically impossible to be able to type properly without the fear of dropping my phone. Because of this, the curved screen is beneficial as to holding the phone, and it makes the screen feel extremely smooth.
Although I appreciate the curved screen, one disadvantage of it is the available screen protectors. Because it is harder to make screen protectors for this curved screen, the good ones end up being extremely expensive and the ones with a good price end up not sticking on the curved edges. On my previous phones, I applied a glass screen protector so that I can be confident that the actual screen won’t crack. The glass screen protectors that I used to buy were around $10, which was a good price. However, the few glass screen protectors that apply well for the Note 9 are around $50 which is way above what I was willing to pay. Due to this, I ended up setting for just a clear film protector, which is why I always look for protective cases to guarantee that my screen won’t crack.
Also, I found that the purpose of having a curved display is to make the screen more immersive, in addition to including the edge screen features. The idea of edge screen features is amazing since there are so many shortcuts for a more efficient phone usage. However, majority of the time, I find myself forgetting about all of the extra features, such as the reminder, apps edge, etc. The only feature I use on a daily basis is the people edge which has a list of a few people in my contacts that I want included. This is something I find extremely helpful since I can communicate with people with one click.
One feature that I am extremely fond of is the Always on Display. With this, I can always check the time and see some of my notifications without turning my phone on. This feature does drain my battery a bit faster, but I face my phone down most of the time anyways so it didn’t bother me very much.
Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the screen of the phone and its design.
S-Pen
Pros:
Saves paper when taking notes or studying
Good way to spend time
Good for drawing, designing, etc.
Cons:
Falls out when phone dropped
Breaks easily
When I bought my phone, I chose to pre-order because the new smart s-pen completely astonished me. I understood that there were other options, such the s9+ which is significantly cheaper but also very similar to the Note 9. In fact, I was unable to make a decision for a while. However, now that I have the s-pen, I don’t regret purchasing the Note 9 even one bit.
The s-pen comes in extremely handy when I’m studying and taking notes. The screen is a bit too small to take complete notes, but when I forget to bring my notebook or I need to log something down at a certain moment, it is a very good bonus. In addition, the use of the printer and ink decreased tremendously after getting this phone because when I practice for certain tests, such as my Chinese test where I need to practice writing a lot, having the s-pen is extremely useful.
One of the most advertised features was the bluetooth connection of the s-pen which would allow the consumers to take pictures, change songs, etc. by using the s-pen. This feature was very extensively used during the first week I owned my phone, but as time passes, I find myself just taking normal photos, mainly since I have a person to take a picture for me majority of the time. I may not have used it very much but it is still a nice feature to have!
There are a few cons that do not relate to the features of the s-pen but more of the hardware. First, it falls out almost every time my phone is dropped. I haven’t dropped my phone very much, but I find it extremely annoying because this makes it just so much easier to lose our s-pen. Honestly though, if the s-pen just fell out and nothing happened, I couldn’t care less. However, it breaks way to easily. It is so easy to snap it in half which means that unless we purchase another one (which is around $50), the phone would technically be the s9+ for a much higher price. In fact, my sister dropped her phone once and already broke her s-pen.
Specs and how it held up
Android phones as a whole are very prone to viruses and slowing down. This was something I was extremely worried about since I plan to keep my phone for a few years. I realize now that there was absolutely no reason to worry because other than occasional stutters, this phone is so blazing fast and responsive. This may not be because the phone got better at protecting itself because I am extremely careful as to what sites I go on so that my phone doesn’t catch any viruses.
In terms of battery, I am a little underwhelmed due to it not being as amazing as how Samsung promoted it. As a student, I carry my phone around everywhere which includes both indoors and outdoors. However, since I go to a lot of places, I spend a lot of time outside under the blazing sun. As I mentioned earlier, the screen can get significantly bright, which means that under the sun, the phone maximizes its brightness. This is extremely good for using my phone outside, but since the brightness is maximized majority of the day, my battery drains just as fast. By the time I get home from school, I’m already at 50%-60%, which I am highly disappointed in.
As for the ways on unlocking my phone, when I first purchased it, I was very happy with the responsiveness of the fingerprint sensor. Whenever I watched reviews that said the scanner was too slow, I wasn’t able to relate. Now that I used my phone for 8 months, I can sense the scanner slowing down. This isn’t a huge deal, but it is noticeable.
I am very fond of the base storage which came in 128 gb which means that I don’t have to delete my apps and photos to keep on using my phone. To add on, another bonus is the fast charging which I love especially when I have to quickly charge my phone and go out somewhere.
Social Media
I’m sure most of the students and teenagers in this world can relate, but social media and SMS is very important and highly integrated into our daily lives. I was very disappointed, however, with my experience of using social media on this phone.
The major problem is the downgrade in quality when using my social media apps. First of all, when sending photos through Instagram, the quality gets significantly worse to the point where all the details get blown away. This is very noticeable when I send photos of writing since none of the words are legible. Another con is that because of the aspect ratio being 18.5:9, when people with iPhones or other android phones send me photos, sometimes, the sides end up being cut off when sent to me, which means that I would have to ask them to end me the photo again.
Whereas for Instagram there were only photo quality problems, my messenger app has messaging problems as well as photo quality problems. When a photo is sent through the built in Samsung messenger app, the quality is absolutely terrible. Because of this, I have to use another third-party messaging app to have the photos sent to me in full quality. Not only this, but the group messenger app has a lot of problems. For example, some of the messages just don’t get sent to me at all and sometimes, I get an individual message that doesn’t even show any message and just says “No subject”. This problem seems to not only be in the Note 9 but almost all of the android phones.
Conclusion
My phone is something I am extremely glad to have purchased. Yes, there are lots of features that I may not have been satisfied with, but I do not regret purchasing this phone, mainly due to the big display, camera quality, and the s-pen. As the Note 9 is considered a “power-house”, it is packed with lots of features that make the price of the phone increase as well. Due to this, I constantly make an effort to make use of a lot of the features yet still cannot find myself able to utilize all of them in my day-to-day life. If I am making an effort and is still unable to use all of the features included, will an average consumer be paying a justifiable price of $1000 for the phone?
So back to the question: Do the features of the Note 9 actually matter for the people living their everyday lives?
Probably not.
But would I recommend this phone to a person who wants to purchase it at this time of the year?
Yes. Especially with the dropped prices, it will definitely be worth it.
Rachel’s Reviews 