Here's how much Samsung Galaxy Note 9 will cost in UAE

New York­ - Possibly the phone's biggest feature is the performance of the all new, all-day battery life.

Samsung has remained true to its promise about unpacking its "most powerful phone yet", and there's three words that are bound to become synonymous with its latest Note offering: bigger is better.
With two different memory specifications on offer, the battery, storage, and screen are all bigger with the Galaxy Note9. And while the Note series' signature accessory, the S Pen, may not be bigger; it's definitely mightier.
During the unveiling of the Note 9 in New York on Thursday, phone geeks really did say "hello to super power", just as the tagline on last week's leaked video suggested.
Possibly the phone's biggest feature is the performance of the all new, all-day battery life.
While the launch of 2017's Note8 hinted at the fact that the Korean tech giant was no longer trying to squeeze more battery power into each phone, this year, they've turned that approach on its head.
Boasting a 4000mAh battery; 21 per cent larger than its predecessor, the fact that the Note9 can keep up with the user has left people salivating. And that's just the start of the Note 9's journey, where more really is more.
The base model packs 128GB of internal storage and 6GB of RAM, with 512GB of storage expandable via microSD card; that's double what the Note 8 offered. But - and here's where this phone goes from beast to monster - there's a second memory spec on offer with 512GB/8GB, plus a microSD slot offering up to 512GB of storage, meaning its 1TB-ready.
It's also worth noting that the CPU and GPU performance has improved by 33 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively.
Has it got the look?
Physically, the Note9 hasn't changed much from the Note8. Now noted as Samsung's largest device to date, with a 6.4-inch Super Amoled screen, its diamond cut metal frame, kitted out with both glossy and matte surfaces, seem to work in mysterious ways. Because while the extra gains means more weight and additional thickness; the phone doesn't feel or look bigger, weirdly.
Now while the limited physical changes may be good news for those not so keen on the 'phablet' look and feel. That design discretion may prove to be a sticking point for those wanting something a little more dramatic with a new product. But remember, with this phone the drama is happening on the inside.
As far as the exterior goes, the new offerings come in the way of colour; with four to choose from. The hero product is ocean blue with a yellow pen, (which writes in yellow). But if that doesn't suit, you can pick from Midnight Black, Metallic Copper and Lavender Purple. All come with a corresponding coloured pen, which write in the same colour as the phone (apart from Midnight Black one, which writes in white).
A firm favourite
Now on to the ever-favourite S Pen. Since its launch in 2017, 64 per cent of Samsung Note8s have been purchased purely for the S Pen.
It's the number one driver for purchase; with display size and battery usage coming second and third.
We've already gone over how the latter two have been improved for the Note9 model, so it makes sense to put the pen in the limelight now.
After seven years (it was first introduced in 2011), the Note9 has brought the S Pen into another dimension.
Samsung has added a super capacitor to run its bluetooth low energy S Pen. But what does that mean exactly? Well, it can run for 30 minutes when charged for just 40 seconds (by sliding it back into the phone). Now that's a pretty good return.
Smile, this is worth it
The camera. This is always one to watch during a new phone launch. And this time around, Samsung's intelligent camera sees few changes to the hardware. All that has really been revised is the layout; it's now horizontal, matches the colour of the phone, and the fingerprint scanner sits just below the camera. Just minor tweaks in the grand scheme of things.
But it's the software that's undergone the biggest makeover; namely, the introduction of the scene optimiser, with 20 scenes built into the phone.
This feature kicks in automatically when the camera is on, and basically just gives the best picture by adjusting to its surroundings.
Along with the lens smudge element that was introduced in the Note8 design, the Note9 camera now has three additional features; flaw detection, eye blink and image blur and backlight.
For the notorious blinkers out there you, this phone has you covered. At the time of shooting, the phone will automatically flag the problem and a message will appear on screen immediately. So no more disappointed faces looking back on that 'perfect' shot, only to realise you had your eyes wide shut
Oh, and did we mention our stick friend (the S Pen) can now be used to click snaps from up to 10 metres away? Well it can.
All in all, the Note9 fills a lot of the gaps that the impressive Note8 didn't quite manage to perfect. The additional battery life will likely be its biggest pulling power, with the extra storage and multi-use S Pen just adding to its appeal.
Samsung announced that the Galaxy Note 9 will be available on August 24. The phone could cost $999 for the 128GB (Dh3,600 approx) variant and $1249.99 (Dh4,500 approx) for the 512GB variant.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com