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Planning to buy a Galaxy Note 4 in 2016?

hey guys, i need some of your help, i will buy a note 4 in these days, is still worth buying?
If yes, what model? the snapdragon quadcore or the exynos octacore? which of them have more development for stable roms like a note 7 port to the note 4?
Please i need your opinions, thank you

Won't recommend it this late, especially when the likes of OnePlus 3 is out there, sorry. Also there is HTC 10. The only reason you should get the Note 4 is if you are getting it at a really low price. I love my Note 4, but a phone running TouchWiz, well it still runs TouchWiz. But if S Pen is a mandatory thing to you then you can't go anywhere else except the Note 4, that's true too.
Exynos all the way, if you don't wish for them AOSP based ROMs.

I don't agree, this is my fourth Note 4. Thought I could replace it with LG G4, no way. Thougth I could replace it with Oneplus 3, no way. Yeah, The OP3 is snappier, but thats it, everything else is better on Note 4.

OcainD said:
hey guys, i need some of your help, i will buy a note 4 in these days, is still worth buying?
If yes, what model? the snapdragon quadcore or the exynos octacore? which of them have more development for stable roms like a note 7 port to the note 4?
Please i need your opinions, thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I voted yes. I actually just ordered one yesterday, Due to arrive tomorrow. I was between a rock and a hard place when I made my decision. Seeing as the new notes all have a lot of nice features and speed improvement. The reason I decided on the note 4 is of course the note features as compared to other things like the lg g4 the oneplus etc. And my second biggest reason is that it's the last of the note series to have svlte. Meaning if i'm at a store and someone calls me I can still use data without needing wifi. All newer phones "at least on verizon" do not allow this unless you have volte I think. Problem is I use all my phones on prepaid and verizon won't allow prepaid users to use advanced calling. So if you're on verizon prepaid then the note 4 is for you. If you're on contract or just don't care about svlte then I say get a newer note. note 5 major drawbacks to me. no svlte. no sd card. no removable battery. note 7 drawbacks. no removeable battery and still very expensive.

phonepie said:
I voted yes. I actually just ordered one yesterday, Due to arrive tomorrow. I was between a rock and a hard place when I made my decision. Seeing as the new notes all have a lot of nice features and speed improvement. The reason I decided on the note 4 is of course the note features as compared to other things like the lg g4 the oneplus etc. And my second biggest reason is that it's the last of the note series to have svlte. Meaning if i'm at a store and someone calls me I can still use data without needing wifi. All newer phones "at least on verizon" do not allow this unless you have volte I think. Problem is I use all my phones on prepaid and verizon won't allow prepaid users to use advanced calling. So if you're on verizon prepaid then the note 4 is for you. If you're on contract or just don't care about svlte then I say get a newer note. note 5 major drawbacks to me. no svlte. no sd card. no removable battery. note 7 drawbacks. no removeable battery and still very expensive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree, the only reason why i dont choose the note 5 over the note 4 is for the sd card slot, and i dont get the note 7 becouse it is too way expensive.
I would choose the OP3 over the note 4 of course, but it doesnt have sd card slot, and there is only a variant of 64 gb
And i dont buy phones with mobile contract lol

Ohh and another question, which is the variant tag of the note 4 exynos octacore?

I've had my N910C for about a year now and it's probably the best device I've ever had. I got it shortly last year after the SGS6 series was released and when the specs of the Note 5 were announced. If I do end up upgrading it will probably be to a Note 7 as Note 4 are now very hard to find in brand new condition.
OcainD said:
Ohh and another question, which is the variant tag of the note 4 exynos octacore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
C and U are the tags which stated that you have a Exynos 5433 Octocore device.

I recently bought a refurb TMo Note 4 that went for cheap to use as a backup phone to my Nexus 6P. The last Samsung phone I had was a S4 and I was disillusioned with Samsung since the S3 and very critical of their software, so I only used Motorola and Nexus since. I have opened many phones brands to see their internals including Huawei, HTC, Motorola, ZTE, Samsung and Apple. I'm never impressed with Samsung internal build quality including this Note 4, which I think is cheap considering how much it cost during release. (My opinion, you don't have to get offended.)
I didn't expected to like the S-Pen features so much, along with multitask and pop out feature. This is pretty important to me, to be able watch a video while doing something else at the same time. I can do this with third party apps on the Nexus, I like the fact it's built in for the Note. With Root, Adaway, Nova Launcher, XPosed (reluctantly) the phone is pretty smooth and while not super snappy as my Nexus 6P, it certainly isn't slow. Another important Samsung feature I like is the Game Tuner and this pretty much eliminate the performance issue since I can play games at 720p/1080p and get good framerates. Again I can lower the screen res on my Nexus as well, except this is built in and it only affect selected apps which is much more convenient. Basically, the Note have all the features I wanted built in that I would have to go through extra steps to make available on my Nexus. Did I mentioned removable battery, sdcard and IR blaster?
The only downside for the phone is the finger print scanner is crap, but Smart Unlock works for me so it's not a problem. Other minor issue is the GPS sucks, I had to open up the phone which scared me a bit actually, but I managed to bend that GPS gold contact point upward a bit, now the signal is great.
So I sold the 6P to pay some bills and using the Note 4 as my daily driver. I think the whole Note 7 recall might work in my favor if it cause the phone price to go down faster, then I might upgrade to the Note 7 rather than getting the the new Google Pixel phone.
I forget to mention T-Mobile WiFi Calling works perfectly and stays connected all the time with this phone, a huge deal. For whatever reason it's always disconnect on the Nexus 6P and with Android 7 update it got worse.
tapatalk

DarkGuyver said:
as Note 4 are now very hard to find in brand new condition.
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Click to collapse
Disagree, I recently bought 2x Note 4's for around 260€ a piece plus shipping and both are as new! So if you look around carefully you can find them for a reasonable price in as new condition...
Looking at ebay.de/co.uk and you will find good examples.
I would even go further that if they have some minor scratches on the frame, go and buy yourself a new frame. Replacing the frame is easy as is replacing the display assy...

OcainD said:
hey guys, i need some of your help, i will buy a note 4 in these days, is still worth buying?
If yes, what model? the snapdragon quadcore or the exynos octacore? which of them have more development for stable roms like a note 7 port to the note 4?
Please i need your opinions, thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there,
I voted "YES" too.
I have one already (one Month old) and two more for the rest of the family coming this way. Why you may ask?
I need the S-Pen features, I wan't to be able to replace the battery (switch it in 2 min and 100% battery again), I'm using the SM-N9100 dual sim together with the MicroSD card (can't do that with Note 5 or Note7).
Finally the main reason (Price), I have friends in China that can buy it at 280€ , although locked to China SIM's but with a 10min call (using China SIM) and no problem at all using other Region SIM's ever.
It has a CHC rom (China and English) but using ODIN we can easily load the TGY Multi Language ROM with Gapps (Stock) and not triggering the KNOX warranty flag...
PS: The only downside points (by choosing the DualSIM N9100 version) are :
- The lack or Custom Roms (for example 6.0.1 not yet available "officially" in the TGY variant, maybe a few weeks from now since the CHC is "Finally" out).
- Smaller battery (3000 vs 3220).
- Less storage (16GB vs 32GB).
- Only Snapdragon, no Exynos option for dual sim.
- No FDD LTE band 20, but on the plus side we do have more bands for TDD side (traveling).
but unfortunately I really need the "DualSIM" feature .
PS: In China I saw the non-dual sim version at a even lower price (250€). Imagine buying three units at the same cost of the latest Note7. Can't beat the features/price ratio, especially packed with a amazing 5.7 inch 2K super Amoled screen . And I'm not talking about Refurbishing units.
Thanks,
Regards,

OcainD said:
hey guys, i need some of your help, i will buy a note 4 in these days, is still worth buying?
If yes, what model? the snapdragon quadcore or the exynos octacore? which of them have more development for stable roms like a note 7 port to the note 4?
Please i need your opinions, thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends ... the note 4 has a fine hardware, but the software (espacially updates) sucks. The note 4 is the first smartphone I never would get again. Don't get me wrong - really, the hardware is awesome, but the software (even with alternative) is just so bad. I came from a google nexus 2 years back and will get a nexus again.
Also I guess the note 4 won't get any more software updates, after the note 5 and 7 are out by now. I would suggest you wait till google releases their new nexus / pixel phones and look at the 6p then. My wife has the nexus 6p and I'm quite jealous - all that what I wanted the note 4 to be if you dont calc in the missing pen. Even the cam is better then the note 4 IMHO. And it will drop in price then.
Oh, and for what I don't like about the software ... it's slow and hangs from time to time. Also some Apps from Samsung are just bad like SVoice ... google now is much better in comparsion. If you ever used a pure android, you know what I mean. Also the additional apps like FB are something I don't want. Then there's the problem with the knox triggering when rooting (could result in a warranty dismissal) and so on. Or some random restarts with stock firmware (right now stock DBT snapdragon). Or the really bad finger print sensor. The Pen stuff is awesome and the OCR works like magic. But I use it quite rarely so it doesn't outweigh the cons.
Also I couldn't find any alternative rom that was working for me (too much stuff in it, too slow, to instabile, you name it) or with cm the health sensors not working and some other samsung stuff.
And to be a bit more clear, after I had some other samsung devices in my hands ... never again a samsung for me personally. Only the best phones get updates for more then like 6 months and new features don't reach the phones ever. Also it seems like there are 20 software engineering camps withing samsung, all working against each other...
But really, this is my personal, strong subjective feeling about the phone - if you like it or not, depends on how it works for you. For me there are too many things that anger me, mostly small things like I mentioned above. Might be it's different for you. Read some more reviews on amazon, even the bad ones.

You could set your priorities and then decide, OP.
Hardware: Note 4 is still decent, but much newer chipset and better chipset are out there.
Software: As far as TouchWiz goes, no comment there. But with a little bit of tweaking (by choosing performance over battery) you could the nice enough performance. But never to the level of HTC 10 and OnePlus 3. Read Anand's review of Note 7 and see the section where they compared the frame rates with HTC 10. TouchWiz lags mate, its as simple as that.
Camera + Display: Display is excellent, and camera is decent enough too.
S Pen: No competition there, again.
Build: Note 4 is the very LAST phone in Samsung's lineup where Samsung used practical materials to come up with a mobile phone. Now all of them are jewellery.
Price: Like I said in my previous comment, if you could get it at good price, which is somewhere around 25-30% lower than OnePlus 3's then "maybe" you could get it.

The note 4 is still a great device I still have my tmo 910t device i just ordered the 910c for exynos which is a little snappier than the snapdragon all the devices in my sig. i still own and use but for a few. I haven't added another note 5c and s6 edge plus to my sig yet. But the note 4 will keep up with those other devices for the age. if you want a loud ringing phone note 4 is it.. The note 5 isnt as loud as the note 4 or the note 3 for that matter..

I currently have a Note 4 on the Verizon network.. Plus it is snapper than most, plus it can handle anything I throw at it app wise.. Never over heats or crahses.. The Note 5 and seven both have none removal batteries, and that is a draw back for me.. Plus it still has volte, and the newer ones do not.. I also have the Droid Turbo on Verizon.. What I do not like, is before I installed a custom rom, the battery would drain, and constantly needed to be charge.. Plus it would over heat a lot and freeze.. I would consider another Note 4 if I needed one.. But when the Note 4 is payed off, I plan on getting any Samsung device or another brand all together.. It will depend on price, and development..

Going to update to a Note 9 YES/NO

So with the Note 9 only about 1 months and 7 days away and plenty rumours/leaks going, are you considering upgrading your Note 5 and if so, what would be your main decider/s for doing so?
I'm well happy with N5 but if I for under 1k can get 512gb storage, 8gb ram, closer to 4000mah battery (maybe even faster charging) camera even better than S9+, upgraded front cam (maybe even a dual) s-pen we know will come with new stuff just not what yet.
Improved DeX experience, Bixby 2.0
Stereo speakers
What else could sway you?
Forget about the under screen fp scanner, it won't happen

Note5 user had to give up note 7, so yes

Probably not. I've had the Note 5 since launch day. If the rumors are to be believed the Note 9 won't really offer much more than what my 5 is giving me. Maybe I can squeeze another year out of the 5 in hopes that the Note 10 will really blow me away.
What would they have to add to make me switch? Killer battery life, I'm talking 2 days of my "normal" usage. The addition of an in-screen fingerprint reader would make an upgrade really hard to resist. I'd really like some kind of surprise, a surprise technology that is actually useful. Dex laptop with a big-ass battery would be a great feature.
I've been really happy with the Note 5 all this time. Didn't feel like the Notes 6 ,7 or 8 have been worth the cost/new feature ratio. I've been using android since the G1 and every phone I've had has been rooted and ROMed, all but the Note 5. Maybe a new ROM will stretch this phone's life out another year.

Worth upgrading from Galaxy Note 8?

I wonder if any of you broke your Galaxy Note 8 contract to get a Galaxy Note 9 or switched from a Galaxy Note 8?
Is the Galaxy Note 9 worth the switch?

Yeah, for me, definitely. Battery life is much better. That was a deal breaker for me on the Note 8. I really wanted to get 2 years out of it but my experience as regards battery life was really frustrating.

Grant Barker said:
I wonder if any of you broke your Galaxy Note 8 contract to get a Galaxy Note 9 or switched from a Galaxy Note 8?
Is the Galaxy Note 9 worth the switch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have both among other brands and imho if you have a Note 8 and you are happy with it just keep it. One of the things that I enjoy the most about the 8 when compared to the 9 is the thickness or the lack of it for that matter, everything else could be considered software differences and they will both get the Android Pie next year allegedly. Then again opinions vary and I am pretty sure we do have a lot of owners here that could probably pitch in with more info......

I have both. I like N8 as it has root up to the 3rd bootloader version and is just an amazing device. My N9 for me doesn't need root..great battery usually get 7 to 8hrs screen time..amazing camera..dual bluetooth..fingerprint scanner better position..no lag after constant heavy use. But just like above post mentioned to each his own, Note 8 is a great device, just comes down to the user and what they want. Me I would say yes, but I wouldn't get rid of Note 8 to get one. I was lucky and had another upgrade so was able to do that but I understand for some that is not an option.
NOTE 9

The Note 9 is an outstanding device, coming from the N8 however there are only a few things that scream yes. It just depends on if these are worth anything to you?
1)Better Fingerprint Location
2)512gb available Storage option
3)8gb Ran Option
4)Better Battery life
5)if you like the bluetooth S-Pen features.
It's a refinement on the Note 8 and done well, Samsung were never ever going to implement golden features to the Note 9 (Eg UD scanner ect) with the 10th Anniversary next year.
This also brings into question, perhaps hold off for the S10 and if you can even the Note 10.
However I can say the Note 9 is an absolute joy to use.....:good:

I have both. My 128GB Note 9 is my primary, though on e my 512GB Note 9 gets here tomorrow, it will be my primary. My Note 8 is my backup.
Honestly, there's very little difference between the two as far as everyday useage. The battery life on the Note 9 is better, but I never had a problem with the battery life on my Note 8. The Bluetooth features on the SPen are cool, but not a deal maker.
Don't listen to anyone about fingerprint sensor location. If you have a Note 8, you know as well as I do that you got used to the FP sensor location within about 10 minutes and never thought about it again.
The camera has some slight improvements, but now that the Note 8 has super slo-mo mode and AR emojis, the difference is negligible.
Is it worth it? Maybe not. But do I regret upgrading? Not at all. But I'm a gadget guy. I have the newest and all the bells and whistles. It's really up to you. If you're happy with your Note 8, you'll love the Note 9...cause it's basically the same device.

For me it was,battery life and stereo speakers. Apart from that it's the same for me. Still worth the it

Ok, yeah the stereo speakers are a really nice upgrade.

You'll immediately notice:
(1) Way better battery life.
(2) Stereo speakers are so much better!
(3) Feels quicker and Bluetooth features are cool if you're an s-pen user.

poplectic said:
Yeah, for me, definitely. Battery life is much better. That was a deal breaker for me on the Note 8. I really wanted to get 2 years out of it but my experience as regards battery life was really frustrating.
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Click to collapse
Cheers, poplectic. I haven't had problems with the battery for the Note 8, but I'm not a heavy or power user like I maybe used to be. I still have a year contract left.
rayporsche said:
I have both among other brands and imho if you have a Note 8 and you are happy with it just keep it. One of the things that I enjoy the most about the 8 when compared to the 9 is the thickness or the lack of it for that matter, everything else could be considered software differences and they will both get the Android Pie next year allegedly. Then again opinions vary and I am pretty sure we do have a lot of owners here that could probably pitch in with more info......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, rayporsche. Do you mean that the Note 8 fits better in the hand, or is easier to hold, etc? I look forward to Android Pie. It's nice to get a decent upgrade for a phone which is less than 2 years old (here in Japan).
butchieboy said:
I have both. I like N8 as it has root up to the 3rd bootloader version and is just an amazing device. My N9 for me doesn't need root..great battery usually get 7 to 8hrs screen time..amazing camera..dual bluetooth..fingerprint scanner better position..no lag after constant heavy use. But just like above post mentioned to each his own, Note 8 is a great device, just comes down to the user and what they want. Me I would say yes, but I wouldn't get rid of Note 8 to get one. I was lucky and had another upgrade so was able to do that but I understand for some that is not an option.
NOTE 9
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Click to collapse
Thanks, butchieboy. I might see how expensive it might be to upgrade. If I'm honest, it's not such a big deal nowadays for my needs, but I'm curious all the same.
Duncan1982 said:
The Note 9 is an outstanding device, coming from the N8 however there are only a few things that scream yes. It just depends on if these are worth anything to you?
1)Better Fingerprint Location
2)512gb available Storage option
3)8gb Ran Option
4)Better Battery life
5)if you like the bluetooth S-Pen features.
It's a refinement on the Note 8 and done well, Samsung were never ever going to implement golden features to the Note 9 (Eg UD scanner ect) with the 10th Anniversary next year.
This also brings into question, perhaps hold off for the S10 and if you can even the Note 10.
However I can say the Note 9 is an absolute joy to use.....:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, Duncan1982. Some good points about holding off. Just one year to go. The fingerprint sensor location is the only thing which is inconvenient when holding the phone with one hand. (My hands are medium sized I expect.)
Mr. Orange 645 said:
I have both. My 128GB Note 9 is my primary, though on e my 512GB Note 9 gets here tomorrow, it will be my primary. My Note 8 is my backup.
Honestly, there's very little difference between the two as far as everyday useage. The battery life on the Note 9 is better, but I never had a problem with the battery life on my Note 8. The Bluetooth features on the SPen are cool, but not a deal maker.
Don't listen to anyone about fingerprint sensor location. If you have a Note 8, you know as well as I do that you got used to the FP sensor location within about 10 minutes and never thought about it again.
The camera has some slight improvements, but now that the Note 8 has super slo-mo mode and AR emojis, the difference is negligible.
Is it worth it? Maybe not. But do I regret upgrading? Not at all. But I'm a gadget guy. I have the newest and all the bells and whistles. It's really up to you. If you're happy with your Note 8, you'll love the Note 9...cause it's basically the same device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, Mr. Orange 645. Enjoy all of your gadgets.
tomplatz said:
For me it was,battery life and stereo speakers. Apart from that it's the same for me. Still worth the it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers, tomplatz. The stereo speakers definitely appeal to me, although I mostly use earphones.
Mr. Orange 645 said:
Ok, yeah the stereo speakers are a really nice upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know.
PsiPhiDan said:
You'll immediately notice:
(1) Way better battery life.
(2) Stereo speakers are so much better!
(3) Feels quicker and Bluetooth features are cool if you're an s-pen user.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, PsiPhiDan. Quite a few votes for the battery life and stereo speakers, then.
Thank everyone. I've yet to see the Note 9 here in Japan in the flesh, so I look forward to doing so.

Quote: Thanks, rayporsche. Do you mean that the Note 8 fits better in the hand, or is easier to hold, etc? I look forward to Android Pie. It's nice to get a decent upgrade for a phone which is less than 2 years old (here in Japan).
In my opinion it does feels better kinda of skinnier then again it is almost imperceptible most of the time. It's all a matter of choice if you will like I prefer to use my devices 'naked' without cases and such, they are so beautiful that it would almost be a crime to hide them. Also nowadays we find ourselves helplessly multitasking and it helps to use the phone single handed something that it is not always so easy with the Note 9 or the 8 for that matter, it seems like the new One UI will address that area positively. Lately I've been using a Huawei Mate 10 Porsche Design and that may be why I feel the Note 9 so big sometimes yet the Note 9 remains my favorite, the Huawei is a beautiful device running EMUI 8.0.0 which would be like the Samsung Experience of sorts and it is in the same boat as Samsung with the Android 9 update schedule for 2019. Good luck with your decision !

@Grant
We should say thank you for taking time to try and respond to each comment with your input. For me that's what I like to do get several views on a topic even though its ultimately up to you. Good luck my friend.
NOTE 9

Any reason to upgrade to the Galaxy Note 20 (Ultra)?

I want your thoughts. Why would or wouldn't I upgrade from a Galaxy Note 9 to the new Galaxy Note 20 (or Note 20 Ultra)?
Here's what I think/understand about the situation:
The Galaxy Note 9 still works fine
Android 10 will be the last Android upgrade the Note 9 will see.
One UI Updates for the Galaxy Note 9 until One Ui 2.5. Note 9 users won't get One UI 3.0 and beyond
It looks like us Note 9 users will continue to receive security updates. But, for how long?
Of course the Galaxy Note 20/Galaxy Note 20 Ultra are going to be better devices than the Note 9 in terms of specs, that's to be expected. If my screen was cracked, I could justify an upgrade.
Any other compelling reasons or features that would make one want to upgrade?

Bottom line, people will get one for their own reason. Or get one because they have had every Note since Note 1.
Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

No

The Note9 has:
No notch or hole display
Headphone jack
Led notification light
Iris scanner
Heart rate monitor
Bixby button (yes i say it as an advantage, I've made it a mute toggle via BxActions app)
Better rear camera design (personal opinion)
Hard press home button
More reliable rear placed physical fingerprint sensor
512GB storage (I'm comparing the 512/8 GB model as that's the best Note9 model)
Note20 Ultra has:
Ultrawide camera
S Pen air actions
No bixby button (can be advantage or disadvantage)
Wireless powershare
Ultra wide band chip which they advertised
5G
Longer software update support
Honestly the Note9 seems like a better device imo. The features it has are very useful in every day situations.
The only thing missing from it which would have been nice is the Ultra wide camera which isn't as big of a deal as the headphone jack or a nice looking uninterrupted display. Cameras on Note9 still take amazing pictures and video. Everyone who sees them is surprised how good they are. I just bought my 512 Exynos 5 months ago and am loving it more than any device that launched after it. Also don't care for software updates so that's that. It got Android 8.1 out of the box, got Android 9, got Android 10 with OneUI 2.0, got OneUI 2.1 and seems like it will get OneUI 2.5. I mentioned UI updates as those introduce more features than an OS update Basically you've almost got a Note20 Ultra in terms of software but you've also got more features which you'd actually use daily. And that Ocean Blue with the yellow S Pen looks awesome
PS: The regular Note20 is a joke and shouldn't even be considered.

If there is something that YOU need on the Note 20/20 Ultra then you get it. Don't look to us to justify a purchase. I'm not trying to be rude just being honest.
At the end of the day you're going to do what you feel you want. We can't make or stop you from getting a device that you're obviously interested in

I only upgrade to Note 20 with Snapdragon 865. Mostly because I pretty hate the curved screen on Note 9. Too inconvenient

I'll get the Note 20, when i hit the lottery. The more people that buy it, the next Note will be $1500.00. If i said what i really think, i'd be barred from this forum.

koragg97 said:
The Note9 has:
No notch or hole display
Headphone jack
Led notification light
Iris scanner
Heart rate monitor
Bixby button (yes i say it as an advantage, I've made it a mute toggle via BxActions app)
Better rear camera design (personal opinion)
Hard press home button
More reliable rear placed physical fingerprint sensor
512GB storage (I'm comparing the 512/8 GB model as that's the best Note9 model)
Note20 Ultra has:
Ultrawide camera
S Pen air actions
No bixby button (can be advantage or disadvantage)
Wireless powershare
Ultra wide band chip which they advertised
5G
Longer software update support
Honestly the Note9 seems like a better device imo. The features it has are very useful in every day situations.
The only thing missing from it which would have been nice is the Ultra wide camera which isn't as big of a deal as the headphone jack or a nice looking uninterrupted display. Cameras on Note9 still take amazing pictures and video. Everyone who sees them is surprised how good they are. I just bought my 512 Exynos 5 months ago and am loving it more than any device that launched after it. Also don't care for software updates so that's that. It got Android 8.1 out of the box, got Android 9, got Android 10 with OneUI 2.0, got OneUI 2.1 and seems like it will get OneUI 2.5. I mentioned UI updates as those introduce more features than an OS update Basically you've almost got a Note20 Ultra in terms of software but you've also got more features which you'd actually use daily. And that Ocean Blue with the yellow S Pen looks awesome
PS: The regular Note20 is a joke and shouldn't even be considered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using a Note 9 since it was launched and I love it so much. A bit disappointed that I didn't get the 512gb variant because it cost about $300 more.

You can install a 512gb SD card. I won't touch the Note 20 now, because I refuse to get a bank loan for a cell phone. In about 18 to 24 months, I could get one for half the price.

grunt0300 said:
You can install a 512gb SD card. I won't touch the Note 20 now, because I refuse to get a bank loan for a cell phone. In about 18 to 24 months, I could get one for half the price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want it why not just do contract? Pay it out over time

grunt0300 said:
You can install a 512gb SD card. I won't touch the Note 20 now, because I refuse to get a bank loan for a cell phone. In about 18 to 24 months, I could get one for half the price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to wait 18 to 24 months, in about 1 year you can find them 1/2 price...smartphones depreciate quicker than you think.

KingVekxin said:
If you want it why not just do contract? Pay it out over time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't do contracts. If I can't buy it outright, I don't buy it.

Note 4 was the last smartphone that made sense to buy/keep and, sadly, it was neglected by the majority of the community (the Exynos version, thankfully there have been a couple of developers doing their magic). I hate the curved, narrow screen of the sequels, among other things. At least my Notes 9 and 8 still have a headphone jack. I wouldn't "upgrade" to antyhing over 9 even if they paid me.

The 1-120Hz variable refresh rate and the laser auto focus are interesting.

Nirrik said:
The 1-120Hz variable refresh rate and the laser auto focus are interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If we have learned anything form the S20 Ultra is that the Laser Auto Focus on the Note 20 Ultra would probably be very glitchy. Samsung will continuous be releasing software updates to try and fix it.

KingVekxin said:
If you want it why not just do contract? Pay it out over time
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Because most Samsung Notes do not even last 2 years.
No I will not be upgrading.
1. Enoughf with dumping the crappy chips on us in India. If you want our business offer us the option of buying the CPU we want or upgrade Indias status to first world i.e. give us the same chip sets as USA and China get.
2. Missing HR and O2 sensors which I use every day to measure my BP, Tune my medication.
3. You never know with Samsung what bug will crop up when. The S20 screens with the crappy Indian market chip started turning green. All over India after the s/w update.
4. In a few months you will know what the bugs are and it will be cheaper.
5. These phones are getting to be more like walking around with a glass egg that will scratch, bend, break. Each new version seems to get more delicate and more fragile.
6. The tension of walking around with and using a 1000+ phone is just not worth it. I find walking around with a cheap phone so liberating.
My Fav Note was the 4 and the 9.

RonChinoy said:
Because most Samsung Notes do not even last 2 years.
No I will not be upgrading.
1. Enoughf with dumping the crappy chips on us in India. If you want our business offer us the option of buying the CPU we want or upgrade Indias status to first world i.e. give us the same chip sets as USA and China get.
2. Missing HR and O2 sensors which I use every day to measure my BP, Tune my medication.
3. You never know with Samsung what bug will crop up when. The S20 screens with the crappy Indian market chip started turning green. All over India after the s/w update.
4. In a few months you will know what the bugs are and it will be cheaper.
5. These phones are getting to be more like walking around with a glass egg that will scratch, bend, break. Each new version seems to get more delicate and more fragile.
6. The tension of walking around with and using a 1000+ phone is just not worth it. I find walking around with a cheap phone so liberating.
My Fav Note was the 4 and the 9.
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Click to collapse
If I could've held on to my 4 for a bit longer I would've. It had root, custom roms, plus I had an extended battery on mine. So I honestly understand what you mean. These things are getting more expensive, yet hilariously less durable.
The entire world isn't treated equally when it comes to chipsets and that leads to mixed issues that typically might not get fixed. Honestly? Me understanding what Samsung is doing and the piss poor reasoning behind it has lead me to start looking into other OEM. Like nokia, motorola, one plus. Just someone else with a better Android experience without the bs price tag but with decent specs and a bomb camera.

I agree...
I love my note9 and i would want to continue with more longer as i can. I bought it in August 2018. The first day arrival. 512 GB purple colour...still click amazing photos...
It rocks. I was waiting eagerly for note20 1 TB phone...but sorry will not shift to Note20.

I'm keeping my Note 9
I've read a lot of reviews and YouTube videos hyping the Note 20 Ultra and I don't see a reason to upgrade. My Note 9 will be paid off this month and I couldn't be happier. After receiving the OneUI 2.1 update, I noticed excessive battery drain and couldn't get through a whole day anymore without having to charge it. I reset my phone last week, and in addition to enabling an Adaptive Power setting, I have been able to restore all day use of my phone. It's working better than before so for me, I see no reason to upgrade.
There's a reason the phone is overpriced, yet the carriers are offering discounts up to 50% to encourage you to upgrade. I have a conspiracy theory that there may be something wrong with the phone that will come up in the first 6 months of widespread consumer use. (Remember the Note 7?) I don't usually jump on the "I NEED to upgrade right away" bandwagon for that particular reason. It's a major marketing ploy by Samsung to generate interest from the "Gotta have it NOW!" crowd. I know what you're doing Samsung and I'm not falling for it. I'm still part of the unemployed masses, so I'll be spending my money on more worthwhile things like feeding and housing my family. I plan on rocking my 9 for as long as I possibly can.

Note 9 is quite a classic phone, I will replace a battery to continue using it!It has been confirmed that One Ui 2.5 will be updated!

Question is this phone still the best bang for the buck in 2022

Is this still the best bang for the buck phone in 2022? custom ROMs still working good? issues ironed out? ShOuLd I bUy ThIs OvER a SaMmY pHoNe LiKe a A52?!?!??!

There is no manufacturer which I'd recommend without hesitation. Android is in a horrible state after the manufacturers modified it. For Xiaomi this is crippled Always-on-display, disabled Smart Unlock (Bluetooth) etc. Many restrictions for marketing purposes. MIUI is developed without understanding how the memory on Linux shall be managed: You keep everything in memory until someone wants it, so application switching is fast. The installed bloatware is ok, could uninstall it and thanks to DNS66 never saw an ad.
Samsung in my opinion is even worse than Xiaomi. If I buy a phone, it is my device. I want to be able to see all files on it and do a backup. But opening the bootloader Knox gets triggered. They modify big parts of Android for their UI, that's why updates cost them much effort to adopt their changes to new versions. More effort for Samsung, more bugs, worse experience for the user.
If you want a good Android experience, you probably should have a look at Google pixel phones. But bang for the buck is difficult here.
In summary given the choices I'd say the Xiaomi is fine. You could consider the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE if you don't need dual SIM and additional SD card, because 5G will replace 4G one day.

Imho yes but only when you use custom kernel and rom. If you stick with stock ones especially Miui 13 it really sucks, Miui is too resource heavy for 732g SOC. For example when driving I like to listen to spotify in the background and use google maps even though these tasks are fairly lightweight this phone with Miui 13 struggles to run them without stutters and freezes. If you're okay with running stock android like rom, that is when the SOC shines. It runs much more apps than spotify and maps no problem real fluid.

tag68 said:
There is no manufacturer which I'd recommend without hesitation. Android is in a horrible state after the manufacturers modified it. For Xiaomi this is crippled Always-on-display, disabled Smart Unlock (Bluetooth) etc. Many restrictions for marketing purposes. MIUI is developed without understanding how the memory on Linux shall be managed: You keep everything in memory until someone wants it, so application switching is fast. The installed bloatware is ok, could uninstall it and thanks to DNS66 never saw an ad.
Samsung in my opinion is even worse than Xiaomi. If I buy a phone, it is my device. I want to be able to see all files on it and do a backup. But opening the bootloader Knox gets triggered. They modify big parts of Android for their UI, that's why updates cost them much effort to adopt their changes to new versions. More effort for Samsung, more bugs, worse experience for the user.
If you want a good Android experience, you probably should have a look at Google pixel phones. But bang for the buck is difficult here.
In summary given the choices I'd say the Xiaomi is fine. You could consider the Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G NE if you don't need dual SIM and additional SD card, because 5G will replace 4G one day.
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i'm kinda a die hard SD card and headphone jack dude - so this does limit my choices...i mean i had my galaxy note 4 for 6 years (with roms) lol and I'm just starting to get over the fact I won't be able to easily replace batteries in these new phones...ugh. thanks for your sobering input

no joke... a52 is more more better than this ridiculous note10pro... i have all tthese..
note 10 pro have miui orrible and with problems, custom roms with problems (aod, deep sleep, anx not working all).. and terrible drain... no no i have note4,note5 too but this note10 is bad..

Maybe A52s, i'm looking to sell my pristine 10 Pro and maybe get A52s.

Marvin.the.Martian said:
Maybe A52s, i'm looking to sell my pristine 10 Pro and maybe get A52s.
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interesting this is exactly what i'm deciding between...you had enough of playing with roms? what's the reason for the trade?

The prices I'm seeing; the A52s is twice the price of the Note 10 Pro, so not an even comparison. I just ordered a Note 10 Pro for $200.

In my country Note 10 pro is around $350 brand new in stores for 128GB, and A52s is about 20-30 bucks more.
david003 said:
The prices I'm seeing; the A52s is twice the price of the Note 10 Pro, so not an even comparison. I just ordered a Note 10 Pro for $200.
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1q3er5 said:
interesting this is exactly what i'm deciding between...you had enough of playing with roms? what's the reason for the trade?
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I like OneUI a bit better, however Redmi has a better build quality and better camera.

Marvin.the.Martian said:
In my country Note 10 pro is around $350 brand new in stores for 128GB, and A52s is about 20-30 bucks more.
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Interesting. The 6/64 I ordered is shipped from China, though, not in the store. Still, that's a huge markup.

david003 said:
Interesting. The 6/64 I ordered is shipped from China, though, not in the store. Still, that's a huge markup.
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Everything is more expensive in EU.

david003 said:
The prices I'm seeing; the A52s is twice the price of the Note 10 Pro, so not an even comparison. I just ordered a Note 10 Pro for $200.
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i found at same prime when buyed.. 260 euro for note 5 pro, 280 for a52

Note 10 Pro has proven to be still better that the next gen, freshly released Note 11 Pro. Easy to repair because screens are on the 120 bucks mark while the back cover is solid plastic, very nice to see and touch and won't break if you pry it for a battery change. Also the silicon cover is great from preventing fall damage.
After debloating its very balanced on any task, but don't expect flagship peak performance by any means yet battery lasts a lot (on short usage sessions it lasted me 3 days without charging, 1,5-2 with continuous/intense usage). Imho, after years going Samsung-only I had enough with Knox nonsense, increasing sales pricing and hard-to-repair phones.

According to the specs, the back cover of the Note 10 pro is gorilla glass 5, not plastic.
The Note 11 pro review I saw at gsmarena would suggest that the Note 11 pro is mostly a downgrade from the Note 10 pro, except for the 5g bands.
Edit to add: There's a 4g and a 5g version for it.

Yes, still the best in this price range of ~230 USD.
Samsung A52 costs 390 USD lol, not even comparable here

david003 said:
According to the specs, the back cover of the Note 10 pro is gorilla glass 5, not plastic.
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Yeah but 5G isn't available anywhere, plus the more users move into new cell tech the more smooth the 4G is going to be. Would not consider unless you're into high speed hype.
david003 said:
According to the specs, the back cover of the Note 10 pro is gorilla glass 5, not plastic.
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Click to collapse
Realization just struck me. I have the Glacial Blue version that, along with Vintage Bronze are in fact frosted glass while there's not much about the black version which seems to be more common here. I got blinded by disassembly videos where non-Pro versions were considered the same thing as for Pro, so I just made a mistake. Guess I will eventually challenge myself to remove it in future whenever necessary, such as a battery change. They still look pretty simple and solid to remove and the glass lens vessel is separate tho (right, Apple?). Thanks for pointing out!

Yes, personally I don't care for 5g. 4g LTE is fine. One thing that both of the Note 11 Pro models (4g & 5g) have are increased 4g bands, too, that make them more compatible in the U.S. (bands 12 & 66). If 5g or those additional 4g bands matter to someone, those are improvements/features to consider.
I also saw replacement backs for the Note 10 pro, for around $5, and watched a video that made it look easy to change. Hopefully never have to do that.

aleMarvel said:
no joke... a52 is more more better than this ridiculous note10pro... i have all tthese..
note 10 pro have miui orrible and with problems, custom roms with problems (aod, deep sleep, anx not working all).. and terrible drain... no no i have note4,note5 too but this note10 is bad..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no problems with ANX, deep sleep, battery drain, etc. on my RN10P running the Project Sakura ROM. It's cool to prefer one phone over another, but spreading misinformation doesn't help anyone.

Development for this phone really isn't in a good place.
If you look at the latest posts on each of the ROMs, there's either big issues with heavy battery drain, touch issues or microphone problems.
Sad times