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Hello there!
Been a long time since I have taken a look on the forums, been a while away from samsung phones, but I still get attracted to the note 9
Read and heard some good and bad things about the note and coming from Oneplus (i have the 5) I was wondering if people would still buy the note with the knowledge you have now after using it for a couple of months..
Now with pie and the the new Samsung one ui i get even more tempted to make a switch back to Samsung..
Now with pie, yes in this context it is worth to buy. I have two, geez!!!
Note 9 is the best overall by far. So much functionality and features inside a premium device. I used 2 pixel 3, one normal and other XL, and despite the camera, I couldn't see nothing better than Note.
I'm a heavy camera user. Stock camera is great and now with Gcam working on it nothing beats this device.
In my opinion, Samsung software is the most complete at the moment.
Absolutely the Note 9 is worth it. Everything runs perfectly and pair it together with the Night Sight Gcam, there's almost no reason to look at other phones on the current market.
Cristiano Matos said:
Note 9 is the best overall by far. So much functionality and features inside a premium device. I used 2 pixel 3, one normal and other XL, and despite the camera, I couldn't see nothing better than Note.
I'm a heavy camera user. Stock camera is great and now with Gcam working on it nothing beats this device.
In my opinion, Samsung software is the most complete at the moment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where can I find GCam for the Note 9?
Thanks in advance
diego9016 said:
Where can I find GCam for the Note 9?
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In these forums under the apps, themes section.
And do you use exynos or the snapdragon version?
Best phone I've ever owned! LOVE the S Pen functionality and I have had no issues at all. Not rooted and easily get 7 hrs odd SoT, all round brilliant device. I have the exynos version.
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
Hands down a great Phone! EXynos!!
I'd buy it in a heartbeat today (Exynos). But that's coming form a traditional Note user. Been on this series since my Note 1 on AT&T.
Awesome Smartphone, Samsung truly has given us tons of features with this smartphone! i still got tons more to learn! Some people are saying the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is in some ways better!
i dont know if i could agree, there Amoled display are good. But not as Good as the Samsung AMOLED.. Also battery easily 7 hours on screen time and that's without root.. Huawei Mate 20 Pro they use really aggressive battery management tweaks witch leads to bugs!
The note 9 camera rocks. We had G-Cam working but the PIE ONE UI killed that. i'm sure some dev will find a way around to get it working again..
if you are after an really powerfull smartphone then NOTE9 is the way to go! if you wont gimmicks and stuff get the Huawei Mate 20 Pro!
At this point I'd save up for the Note 10. Pie should be better optimized with the hardware since its being built ground up with pie.
Rumor(hasnt been confirmed but based on "leaks"):
Bigger screen
Bigger Battery
Three cameras
Near bezel-less design.
faster charging solution
worldsoutro said:
At this point I'd save up for the Note 10. Pie should be better optimized with the hardware since its being built ground up with pie.
Rumor(hasnt been confirmed but based on "leaks"):
Bigger screen
Bigger Battery
Three cameras
Near bezel-less design.
faster charging solution
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...and probably $1800.00 based on the S10 Reports... ugh!
jimd1050 said:
...and probably $1800.00 based on the S10 Reports... ugh!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw that and I just don't believe it. Samsung know the markets had changed and sales haven't been as good. I expect around 1k with some decent trade ins to boot.
---------- Post added at 06:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:23 PM ----------
Not saying 1k+ is not too much because it is! Flagship prices are out of control.
Funny that where the O6T is priced is what flagships used to cost.
Now? I would wait for S10 to be shown to know direction of Note10 changes. Every year when S series is presented, you have glimpse about Note series design and functions, yes? So this year will be no different, and i would count on price drop of Note9, but yes - i would buy it again i think. Someone mentioned about prices - it`s getting pretty high, year after year so note9 was very expensive at start, and Note10? I can`t imagine price tag of this one. $1999 for best option (probably 10-12 gigs of ram and 1TB of space?) - nevertheless, note9 is enough for few years, maybe note 12 will be one i will look for, or note 13?
Would I buy it again? Probably yes, if the price is right. But the exynos version is imho still way behind the snapdragon version, sadly. This was thoroughly tested by anandtech for the S9+ and later confirmed for the Note 9. It's a pain in the ass to see that Samsung includes two different SOCs in their products which, this time around, provide a different user experience. The story apparently continues with the S10 and most likely the Note 10 respectively with the exynos version being the inferior version of the two, in terms of efficiency and LTE performance.
All that aside, the Note 9 is easily the best phone I've ever owned with a great and most complete set of features. If you can live with the SOC issue, the high cost and the huge dimensions of the device, you will be fine. It's a great device. Eventhough I personally don't like the PIE update apart from the gesture navigation.
here is johnny said:
Hello there!
Been a long time since I have taken a look on the forums, been a while away from samsung phones, but I still get attracted to the note 9
Read and heard some good and bad things about the note and coming from Oneplus (i have the 5) I was wondering if people would still buy the note with the knowledge you have now after using it for a couple of months..
Now with pie and the the new Samsung one ui i get even more tempted to make a switch back to Samsung..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only if you can get the snapdragon version. Not only it's superior for gaming, battery life, smoothness, multitasking, emulation and app loading/transitioning - but the one UI on the exynos note 9 is less smooth than even oreo, really disappointed on that one. Phone priced at 1000 euro with UI smoothness of midrange phone + they f up the multitasking on android 9 and made it like google's implementation... slow to use, not convenient to use, less features...
---------- Post added at 02:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------
OberstGrausam said:
Would I buy it again? Probably yes, if the price is right. But the exynos version is imho still way behind the snapdragon version, sadly. This was thoroughly tested by anandtech for the S9+ and later confirmed for the Note 9. It's a pain in the ass to see that Samsung includes two different SOCs in their products which, this time around, provide a different user experience. The story apparently continues with the S10 and most likely the Note 10 respectively with the exynos version being the inferior version of the two, in terms of efficiency and LTE performance.
All that aside, the Note 9 is easily the best phone I've ever owned with a great and most complete set of features. If you can live with the SOC issue, the high cost and the huge dimensions of the device, you will be fine. It's a great device. Eventhough I personally don't like the PIE update apart from the gesture navigation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This with both hands, snapdragon 955 will make a joke of the exynos 9820 the same way sd845 makes a joke of the exynos 9810. Also I clearly see lags in the animations in android 9, more so vs the oreo (that is actually proven to be A LOT smoother with the snapdragon SOC!!!). I am so disappointed from that SOC and the funny part is that we in Europe PAID MORE, 1000 euro is 1140 us dollars currently. SOC is like buying the most expensive computer both me and you, but I receive the best possible cpu, gpu, ssd, etc while you receive midrange cpu, gpu, ssd, motherboard and so on. There is no excuse and really important for the longevity of the phone and the experience with it... wish we had the apple's A12 in the note 9 tbh, but that's another topic (sadly I dislike a lot about apple to buy an iphone just because of the great SOC). We already see a problem with longevity (and don't me even get started on the gaming part as there is absurd difference + yes, I game on my phone), I am sure the snapdragon will be a lot smoother on the new android and UI.
@high_voltage , I agree. It's a bit of a let down that everyone despite the american users only get the second best version of the Note 9. It wouldn't be a big issue for me if Samsung in europe also provides warranty for the snapdragon variant. Sadly thats not the case and thus you are either stuck with the exynos version or you risk to get snapdragon version which might, as every phone might, develop some issues over time. In addition, Samsung makes it harder to use different phones in different regions due to their region lock.
As of now, the new snapdragon seems to be superior again but I guess we have to wait and see how it'll turn out. It wasn't always the case though, the S8 exynos version was superior to the snapdragon one based on what've read. Sadly, the One UI really fells inferior to the "old" Samsung UX, but it might get more polished over time. I still think that Samsung is able to pull it off since it has done so with the S9s when they were introduced.
So yeah, I'd buy the Note 9 again because I love the features and the SPen, eventhough I hate to be forced to spend more money on only the second best option available.
OberstGrausam said:
@high_voltage , I agree. It's a bit of a let down that everyone despite the american users only get the second best version of the Note 9. It wouldn't be a big issue for me if Samsung in europe also provides warranty for the snapdragon variant. Sadly thats not the case and thus you are either stuck with the exynos version or you risk to get snapdragon version which might, as every phone might, develop some issues over time. In addition, Samsung makes it harder to use different phones in different regions due to their region lock.
As of now, the new snapdragon seems to be superior again but I guess we have to wait and see how it'll turn out. It wasn't always the case though, the S8 exynos version was superior to the snapdragon one based on what've read. Sadly, the One UI really fells inferior to the "old" Samsung UX, but it might get more polished over time. I still think that Samsung is able to pull it off since it has done so with the S9s when they were introduced.
So yeah, I'd buy the Note 9 again because I love the features and the SPen, eventhough I hate to be forced to spend more money on only the second best option available.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some of the things in the one UI are great and polished, but not everything and that sad, as it's literally "samsung rushed the update" type of comment shaping while they had so much time for development and beta testing...
For the exynos vs snapdragon it was like that:
s6 exynos was vastly superior to the flawed snapdragon 810 nicknamed "the oven"
s7 exynos was superior in the CPU part to the snapdragon 820 - better battery life, better CPU, less heat, better DAC (i.e. better audio via headphones), but had weaker GPU (but by not that much!). Overall better SOC!
s8 exynos was same as speed in CPU as the snapdragon 835, but less heat and longer battery life. The DAC was also better. The GPU was noticeable slower tho even in that generation. It was no clear winner, for gaming - sd variant, otherwise the exynos.
s9 exynos is where all fall apart - CPU is a lot slower in real world (and all benches except geekbench too, mind you), the GPU is roflmao slower, the DAC in the new snapdragon 845 is vastly improved and similar to the wolfson/lucky in the exynos, battery life on the snapdragon is better WHILE being faster. The only part where the exynos is still better is that in heavy loads the phone is colder and... that's all. This year the difference was absurdly big to the point that every single review before launch was snapdragon variant as samsung send ONLY those to the popular reviewers.
Sadly, and I am talking as a "tech heavy" person that is really into electronics as a hobby and professionally - the new exynos 9820 will still lag behind even by samsungs own projections. Read a lot, it will be worse in every department vs the snapdragon 855 and both will be vastly behind the apple's A12, more competing with the iphone X A11. Sad story, really... this samsung practice should be more exposed so they can stop it. Every person on that forum that had both variants infront of him said the same thing: "I came prepared for a difference into this, but didn't expect it to be that big!" then returned the exynos while keeping the snapdragon 845 one.
Without hesitation I absolutely love my Note 9(Snapdragon). It's battery is nearly on the level of my V20 with an extended battery. With the Pie beta so far the device is on a level of its own. If you have the opportunity just buy it.
Hi. I just observed that exynoss version n9 has currently better custom.rom support than the snapdragon one. Not sure if I am looking at the right forum as I always thought custom rom support is easy on snapdragon. Pls clarify
Should be because most snapdragon model out there can't unlock the bootloader, for Samsung
kirankowshik said:
Hi. I just observed that exynoss version n9 has currently better custom.rom support than the snapdragon one. Not sure if I am looking at the right forum as I always thought custom rom support is easy on snapdragon. Pls clarify
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look for yourself:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-note-9/development
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...on-roms-kernels-recoveries--other-development
Short answer:
Model SM-N960F & SM-N960F-D/S: (Exynos) Root & ROMs
Model SM-N9600: (Snapdragon International) Root & ROM (Yes,only one ROM ATM)
Model SM-N960U / SM-N960U1 / SM-N960W: (Snapdragon North America) Nothing,don't expect this to change anytime soon,if ever.
Model SM-N960N (Korean version,other Korean versions that are carrier specific may exist,or,as with the American & Canadian versions,share the same model number) You'll have to look for yourself,little to nothing exists here @ XDA.
If you want detailed what & why's,Google & XDA Search is your friend,the topic of ROM support has been discussed at great length on many sites/forums......................
Can i flash gsis on the n9600 version? I really don't want a exynos considering the low performance as many comparisions say
kirankowshik said:
Can i flash gsis on the n9600 version? I really don't want a exynos considering the low performance as many comparisions say
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW,some are stating Android 9.0 brought some performance improvements to the Exynos version.
However,if you're set on the SM-N9600 Snapdragon version (& the limited development support),this thread goes off-topic discussing GSI ROMs,give it a look & ask around:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ga...ries--other-development/rom-weta-0-1-t3847155
Give the 1st post in the link a good look for links to further discussions of the int'l SnapDragon model..............
Thank you for the info. If I have a n960 u1 version does it have bootloader unlocked? I saw somewhwre that u1 is the unlocked version. In that case will I be able to flash any gsi treble roms?
kirankowshik said:
Thank you for the info. If I have a n960 u1 version does it have bootloader unlocked? I saw somewhwre that u1 is the unlocked version. In that case will I be able to flash any gsi treble roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, the SM-N960U/U1/W versions do not have an unlockable bootloader.
The unlock you're referring to is in regards to the carrier free version (SIM Unlocked).
https://youtu.be/lVIHuC6v39E
Oh okay got it. So only the n9600 and n960f f/ds have bootloader unlocks. Please confirm
kirankowshik said:
Oh okay got it. So only the n9600 and n960f f/ds have bootloader unlocks. Please confirm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, exactly, but, don't take my word for it.....
If you look around, the exact question you're posing has been asked & answered numerous times.
kirankowshik said:
Can i flash gsis on the n9600 version? I really don't want a exynos considering the low performance as many comparisions say
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even tho android 9 improved a little the exynos 9810 scheduler - it's still a far inferior chip to the snapdragon 945. If you can choose, don't - pick the snapdragon. The few more custom ROMs won't change the difference. For more vivid example - imagine a midrange phone with custom ROMs vs high end phone without custom ROMs support. Dunno about you, but for primary device, I would pick the high end phone (especially when they are priced the same). This is my personal opinion and yes, I have the exynos note 9 and yes - read a lot + know people and the snapdragon is not just a little bit better, it's vastly better to the point that it's super obvious almost instantly when you have both of the variants in-front of you.
high_voltage said:
Even tho android 9 improved a little the exynos 9810 scheduler - it's still a far inferior chip to the snapdragon 945. If you can choose, don't - pick the snapdragon. The few more custom ROMs won't change the difference. For more vivid example - imagine a midrange phone with custom ROMs vs high end phone without custom ROMs support. Dunno about you, but for primary device, I would pick the high end phone (especially when they are priced the same). This is my personal opinion and yes, I have the exynos note 9 and yes - read a lot + know people and the snapdragon is not just a little bit better, it's vastly better to the point that it's super obvious almost instantly when you have both of the variants in-front of you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the gap is very little now between exynos and snapdragon
I see multiple benchmark that stated these
I don't have either ones
But i order the exynos because it's the only version available in my country
But after seeing the difference I desid i will flip it
But now after the pie update and the improvement
I don't know what to do
Btw ( the price was good 650$)
Can you share a benchmark in pie since you have exynos
ahmedwhy said:
But the gap is very little now between exynos and snapdragon
I see multiple benchmark that stated these
I don't have either ones
But i order the exynos because it's the only version available in my country
But after seeing the difference I desid i will flip it
But now after the pie update and the improvement
I don't know what to do
Btw ( the price was good 650$)
Can you share a benchmark in pie since you have exynos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
25-35% slower GPU (depending on the workload/game), frame drops are a lot more with the exynos, battery life is lower, apps opens slower, heavy multitasking is worse/choppier. Yes, the scores improved, but I am yet to see note 9 sd android 9 scores, so maybe they improved too. Search for the Andrei's article in anandtech mobile section (second page currently), he compared the two note 9 variants. Yes, they are both on oreo, but you can see what is the overall situation. Not to mention that no matter how much samsung tweak the SOC control, they cannot change the hardware part of it. You decide for yourself, I also have the exynos and the phone is good, just wish that I had the better one...
For 650$ it's a good phone. Don't return it, I am sure you will love it.
high_voltage said:
Even tho android 9 improved a little the exynos 9810 scheduler - it's still a far inferior chip to the snapdragon 945. If you can choose, don't - pick the snapdragon. The few more custom ROMs won't change the difference. For more vivid example - imagine a midrange phone with custom ROMs vs high end phone without custom ROMs support. Dunno about you, but for primary device, I would pick the high end phone (especially when they are priced the same). This is my personal opinion and yes, I have the exynos note 9 and yes - read a lot + know people and the snapdragon is not just a little bit better, it's vastly better to the point that it's super obvious almost instantly when you have both of the variants in-front of you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I assume you have held both variants in your hands? Which models? (N960F & N9600?)
Just out of interest, can you say more specifically what was vastly superior on the Snapdragon variant?
I have only checked the Exynos variant (N960F running Oreo with October patch) at a local store and simply browsing around the interface, it was very fast and fluid.
Is the performance so different that side-by-side, the Snapdragon variant is visually faster and smoother/more fluid?
Keep in mind, there are other differences as well. For example, the HK variant of the N9600 does not have VoLTE.
For what its worth, I ordered the Snapdragon variant as well because I want the top internal specs and was willing to pay a slight premium to get it. Hopefully I can modify the the software to address the shortcomings over the Exynos 950FD.
I also hope that we see more ROMs for the N9600.
high_voltage said:
25-35% slower GPU (depending on the workload/game), frame drops are a lot more with the exynos, battery life is lower, apps opens slower, heavy multitasking is worse/choppier. Yes, the scores improved, but I am yet to see note 9 sd android 9 scores, so maybe they improved too. Search for the Andrei's article in anandtech mobile section (second page currently), he compared the two note 9 variants. Yes, they are both on oreo, but you can see what is the overall situation. Not to mention that no matter how much samsung tweak the SOC control, they cannot change the hardware part of it. You decide for yourself, I also have the Exynos and the phone is good, just wish that I had the better one...
For 650$ it's a good phone. Don't return it, I am sure you will love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you very much for replying
yes i sow the post for anandtech
and that scare the s*it of me
but i in the other side there are benchmarks
withe exynos have 255000 in antutu and sd have 280000
so these number is good
and btw the highest sd 854 sd score was 280000 on the pocophone and oneplus 6t
so i think they can improve it more
and tweaking the kernel make wonder
especially if they weren't tweaked right from the start
Byte_76 said:
Can I assume you have held both variants in your hands? Which models? (N960F & N9600?)
Just out of interest, can you say more specifically what was vastly superior on the Snapdragon variant?
I have only checked the Exynos variant (N960F running Oreo with October patch) at a local store and simply browsing around the interface, it was very fast and fluid.
Is the performance so different that side-by-side, the Snapdragon variant is visually faster and smoother/more fluid?
Keep in mind, there are other differences as well. For example, the HK variant of the N9600 does not have VoLTE.
For what its worth, I ordered the Snapdragon variant as well because I want the top internal specs and was willing to pay a slight premium to get it. Hopefully I can modify the the software to address the shortcomings over the Exynos 950FD.
I also hope that we see more ROMs for the N9600.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What shortcomings? Few respected members @ XDA got both variants, Andrei from anandtech got them (he is also known as developer, if you didn't know), friend of mine who lives outside my country currently also got them. All of them returned the exynos and kept the snapdragon, all of them said they came prepare into that comparison but didn't expect the difference to be that big. There are also real tests that solidify this with facts + geekbench is THE ONLY bench that put the exynos CPU part ahead of the snapdragon, every other bench is the opposite. The exynos is not that bad, it's just not on the snapdragon level - there are more frame drops here and there, battery life is worse, the GPU is A LOT weaker leading to vastly worse gaming, app loading is slower (and this hurts a lot, simple example - app opening most will say w/e if it's 0.5s more, but when you open notification from messenger and in the one case it's like iphone smooth/instant opening the app and in the other slight delay and choppy animations when opening - then the user experience suffers), heavy multitasking is slower and choppier in the animations when transitions are happening, emulators are a lot worse on the exynos too. Just search for "how to improve exynos 9810" part 1 and 2 @ anandtech, then read the direct note 9 variants comparison and you will get the idea with facts. Subjectively everyone who tried the both variants said the same, this doesn't make the note 9 exynos super bad, but I payed more money (1140$ as euro > $) than someone in USA to get high tier midrange SOC. Don't forget that nowdays even a midrange SOC can run everything smooth, even games... but after a year, or two? What if you wan't to play demanding game and instead of fps drops to 20, to have 60 stable? What if you wan't smooth experience instead of frame drop here, frame drop there, choppy app opening, etc). Why should I pay more for less? Hell, even the DAC on the sd845 is really stepped up and the wolfson/lucky in the exynos are no more vastly better...
The exynos 9820 from what is officially revealed from samsung and leaked - will be no different, vastly behind the sd855, but let's see. (also both are roflstomped from the apple's A12 and even A11 pulls ahead, sadly they got other problems like price, locked OS, etc).
So to sum it up: is the exynos version that bad? No, it's not at all. The snapdragon version is just better at... everything this year and the difference is bigger than ever. When we combine that with the fact that in Europe we pay 1000 euro for the phone or 1140$ while in USA someone will pay 1000$ and receive a better GPU/CPU in the phone... well, yes, it's not fair and not like we have a choice either. Especially with this year week android manufacturers performance with copycat of apple iphone's worse aspects without taking the good ones.
---------- Post added at 02:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:14 PM ----------
ahmedwhy said:
thank you very much for replying
yes i sow the post for anandtech
and that scare the s*it of me
but i in the other side there are benchmarks
withe exynos have 255000 in antutu and sd have 280000
so these number is good
and btw the highest sd 854 sd score was 280000 on the pocophone and oneplus 6t
so i think they can improve it more
and tweaking the kernel make wonder
especially if they weren't tweaked right from the start
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No need to be scared, the exynos variant is just fine. I am just a tech heavy person that has the knowledge to understand the deep architectural dives and into hardware, thus I can tell you that as a hardware the exynos 9810 even tweaked to it's best possible way will never match the sd845 both in CPU and GPU (or come close to it for an fact). The mali GPU just don't have the raw power to even be in the same class with the adreno, even the sd835 is faster in GPU. The CPU big cores has a lot going on, BUT they are really power hungry. Unleashing them to close the gap to the sd845 CPU, will lead to a bad battery life and a lot of heat - so it's not viable. Also there is something that should not be forgotten, galaxy s10 is just around the corner and tweaking the note 9/s9 will absolutely not be priority. The efforts from the competent engineers will go towards 9820 in the s10. What we have in android 9 will be most likely the last tweaking for performance for this device (atleast to a more measurable degree).
This should not scare you, as I said - the note 9 exynos is just fine and you will see that when you receive the device. I am talking about more of an power user perspective, but then again - you pay the same money as the person that got a better version of the phone = this is totally a scam from samsung, albeit a legal one.
high_voltage said:
What shortcomings? Few respected members @ XDA got both variants, Andrei from anandtech got them (he is also known as developer, if you didn't know), friend of mine who lives outside my country currently also got them. All of them returned the exynos and kept the snapdragon, all of them said they came prepare into that comparison but didn't expect the difference to be that big. There are also real tests that solidify this with facts + geekbench is THE ONLY bench that put the exynos CPU part ahead of the snapdragon, every other bench is the opposite. The exynos is not that bad, it's just not on the snapdragon level - there are more frame drops here and there, battery life is worse, the GPU is A LOT weaker leading to vastly worse gaming, app loading is slower (and this hurts a lot, simple example - app opening most will say w/e if it's 0.5s more, but when you open notification from messenger and in the one case it's like iphone smooth/instant opening the app and in the other slight delay and choppy animations when opening - then the user experience suffers), heavy multitasking is slower and choppier in the animations when transitions are happening, emulators are a lot worse on the exynos too. Just search for "how to improve exynos 9810" part 1 and 2 @ anandtech, then read the direct note 9 variants comparison and you will get the idea with facts. Subjectively everyone who tried the both variants said the same, this doesn't make the note 9 exynos super bad, but I payed more money (1140$ as euro > $) than someone in USA to get high tier midrange SOC. Don't forget that nowdays even a midrange SOC can run everything smooth, even games... but after a year, or two? What if you wan't to play demanding game and instead of fps drops to 20, to have 60 stable? What if you wan't smooth experience instead of frame drop here, frame drop there, choppy app opening, etc). Why should I pay more for less? Hell, even the DAC on the sd845 is really stepped up and the wolfson/lucky in the exynos are no more vastly better...
The exynos 9820 from what is officially revealed from samsung and leaked - will be no different, vastly behind the sd855, but let's see. (also both are roflstomped from the apple's A12 and even A11 pulls ahead, sadly they got other problems like price, locked OS, etc).
So to sum it up: is the exynos version that bad? No, it's not at all. The snapdragon version is just better at... everything this year and the difference is bigger than ever. When we combine that with the fact that in Europe we pay 1000 euro for the phone or 1140$ while in USA someone will pay 1000$ and receive a better GPU/CPU in the phone... well, yes, it's not fair and not like we have a choice either. Especially with this year week android manufacturers performance with copycat of apple iphone's worse aspects without taking the good ones.
---------- Post added at 02:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:14 PM ----------
No need to be scared, the exynos variant is just fine. I am just a tech heavy person that has the knowledge to understand the deep architectural dives and into hardware, thus I can tell you that as a hardware the exynos 9810 even tweaked to it's best possible way will never match the sd845 both in CPU and GPU (or come close to it for an fact). The mali GPU just don't have the raw power to even be in the same class with the adreno, even the sd835 is faster in GPU. The CPU big cores has a lot going on, BUT they are really power hungry. Unleashing them to close the gap to the sd845 CPU, will lead to a bad battery life and a lot of heat - so it's not viable. Also there is something that should not be forgotten, galaxy s10 is just around the corner and tweaking the note 9/s9 will absolutely not be priority. The efforts from the competent engineers will go towards 9820 in the s10. What we have in android 9 will be most likely the last tweaking for performance for this device (atleast to a more measurable degree).
This should not scare you, as I said - the note 9 exynos is just fine and you will see that when you receive the device. I am talking about more of an power user perspective, but then again - you pay the same money as the person that got a better version of the phone = this is totally a scam from samsung, albeit a legal one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree with in every word you sayed
me too i consider my self a tech heavy person
and i know deep in mind i will never be in rest after this knowledge
but it's the only option i have or the oneplus 6t or the pocophone
and i didn't pay the full price just 650
so i think it's not a bad of deal
oneplus 6t have the same price with better soc by 10% and better support and oxygen os
or note with a better camera, display, fingerprint, design, mic, and vibration motor
and i trust in the build quality with Samsung more than i trust oneplus (maybe i am wrong )
but coming from note 4 for 5 years ...amazing phone
in the end, i chose Samsung and i hate my choice
agreed with you it's a scam and the worst ia a legal scam
i don't know these is possible every advertise and review unit to the reviewer is snapdragon
and if you bought the phone without knowing
in any country expect us
you will ge a different lowest phone .......whaaaat
how no one changing these
in my country (Egypt) there is no low to control that..... but in Europe
come on
if Samsung advertise there phone with Exynos SOC no one will pay it (at least every one know what is SOC)
I am also a tech savvy person with a long background in technology. I have a strong understanding of the architecture of the two SoC's in question.
Despite thinking that I had made up my mind to go with the Exynos variant in the copper color that I wanted, I too felt that I would not be happy knowing that I had paid top dollar for the Exynos variant. In the end, I chose the Snapdragon variant (at the last minute) despite having to go with a non-preferred color. I'll put a case on the phone and forget about the color but I'll have that mental satisfaction of knowing that I have the best SoC that was available in the Note 9.
That said, I was prepared to pay for the SD version and had the option to choose either way.
If my budget was fixed at $650 with the option to choose between OnePlus 6T, Poco Phone and a few other options, I would have chosen the Exynos Note 9 without a second thought. To me, the Note 9 is a lot better than the Poco Phone and compared to the 6T, you get a much better display, wirelss charging, a 4000mah battery and the stylus, to name just a few. (At near equal pricing, there really are a lot of advantages for the note 9 over the 6T that outweigh the benefits of the SD845 vs the Exynos 9810.)
Byte_76 said:
I am also a tech savvy person with a long background in technology. I have a strong understanding of the architecture of the two SoC's in question.
Despite thinking that I had made up my mind to go with the Exynos variant in the copper color that I wanted, I too felt that I would not be happy knowing that I had paid top dollar for the Exynos variant. In the end, I chose the Snapdragon variant (at the last minute) despite having to go with a non-preferred color. I'll put a case on the phone and forget about the color but I'll have that mental satisfaction of knowing that I have the best SoC that was available in the Note 9.
That said, I was prepared to pay for the SD version.and had the option to choose either way.
If my budget was fixed at $650 with the option to choose between OnePlus 6T, Poco Phone and a few other options, I would have chosen the Exynos Note 9 without a second thought. To me, the Note 9 is a lot better than the Poco Phone and compared to the 6T, you get a much better display, wirelss charging, a 4000mah battery and the stylus, to name just a few. (At near equal pricing, there really are a lot of advantages for the note 9 over the 6T that outweigh the benefits of the SD845 vs the Exynos 9810.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much
I will go with the exynos and hope for the best
Hope you well have great time with your note
And hope we can compare our score in benchmarks when we receive it
ahmedwhy said:
i agree with in every word you sayed
me too i consider my self a tech heavy person
and i know deep in mind i will never be in rest after this knowledge
but it's the only option i have or the oneplus 6t or the pocophone
and i didn't pay the full price just 650
so i think it's not a bad of deal
oneplus 6t have the same price with better soc by 10% and better support and oxygen os
or note with a better camera, display, fingerprint, design, mic, and vibration motor
and i trust in the build quality with Samsung more than i trust oneplus (maybe i am wrong )
but coming from note 4 for 5 years ...amazing phone
in the end, i chose Samsung and i hate my choice
agreed with you it's a scam and the worst ia a legal scam
i don't know these is possible every advertise and review unit to the reviewer is snapdragon
and if you bought the phone without knowing
in any country expect us
you will ge a different lowest phone .......whaaaat
how no one changing these
in my country (Egypt) there is no low to control that..... but in Europe
come on
if Samsung advertise there phone with Exynos SOC no one will pay it (at least every one know what is SOC)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I would pick the exynos note 9 over the oneplus 6t, especially when they are both priced the same. Overall the note 9 is a better phone in a lot of ways.
I am probably going for n9600 version with snapdragon 845. Was struggling to decide between op6t and this but I am a bit crazy abt the features of note 9 rather than the op6t which seem barebones. I come from a nokia 7 plus hence its almost same on op6t. Another question, can you show me a way to unlocm bootloader on n9600? Any site for that. I tried looking around but cdnt get any
I'm really tempted to order the Samsung S10 5G now from Verizon as it has just about everything I could hope for. Huge screen, huge battery (largest yet), great cameras, faster charging, etc. My only qualm is that the upcoming Note 10 5G may have 2 things I'm willing to pay for. That's UFS 3.0 and hopefully a 12GB of RAM option. I highly doubt that the Note 10 is going to have a bigger battery or even better Camera's. I also know that the next gen Snapdragon (865) that combines 2g to 5g with the X55 and power saving doesn't come out till early 2020 so there isn't too much to look forward to in the Note 10 5G with processing power. I know the Fold had UFS 3.0 and 12GB of RAM.
So what are the chances of the Note 10 getting UFS 3.0 and a 12GB variant?
Are any of you waiting for the same reasons?
What's your thoughts?
Appreciate your time.
Hope you got the s10 5G, either way, they're practically same phone, same specs, note 10 has its stylus, but the s10 5G has better battery, but the note 10 is cheaper
voden07 said:
Hope you got the s10 5G, either way, they're practically same phone, same specs, note 10 has its stylus, but the s10 5G has better battery, but the note 10 is cheaper
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 10 is cheaper? It's not available on Note 10 first of all, only on Note 10+. Battery is 45W fast charging and 20W wireless, so 200 mAh less but will charge faster, not sure it's "better". Finally 12GB RAM and SD card expansion, NOT the same phone at all.
I have the S10 5G. Pre-ordered the Note 10+ 5G. Totally don't know what to do. I feel the only real advantage for my S10 is the headphone jack I never use. Battery is great, but I don't have an issue charging throughout the day, so I'm good with a touch smaller. I think the 12GB of RAM in the Note is huge. I understand the Note's stereo speakers kill the S10s. Looking for a video review from someone, haven't seen anything yet.
Sent from my SM-G977U using Tapatalk
voden07 said:
Hope you got the s10 5G, either way, they're practically same phone, same specs, note 10 has its stylus, but the s10 5G has better battery, but the note 10 is cheaper
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
skinnytoo2 said:
I have the S10 5G. Pre-ordered the Note 10+ 5G. Totally don't know what to do. I feel the only real advantage for my S10 is the headphone jack I never use. Battery is great, but I don't have an issue charging throughout the day, so I'm good with a touch smaller. I think the 12GB of RAM in the Note is huge. I understand the Note's stereo speakers kill the S10s. Looking for a video review from someone, haven't seen anything yet.
Sent from my SM-G977U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is it an advantage if you never use it? Agree with the 12GB of RAM along with SD card expansion.....
I hope Sam gives us users a TOF face unlock at some point. Also the updated DeX I'm sure someone will rip it, and be able to install in the s105G along with the gaming streaming
Only thing about the new note is what 5g chip they decide to put in it. There is no 5g in my area I'm sure there wont be for sometime. I got this phone for the bigger screen mostly along with the TOF on the front.
I do use my 3.5 jack all the time. I do wish it had an SD card.
I wish there was a ribbin cable that connected to usb-c with a female input for charging. That way you could just hide a SD card inside your case. I looked all over the net no one has ever made such a thing.
damulta said:
I hope Sam gives us users a TOF face unlock at some point. Also the updated DeX I'm sure someone will rip it, and be able to install in the s105G along with the gaming streaming
Only thing about the new note is what 5g chip they decide to put in it. There is no 5g in my area I'm sure there wont be for sometime. I got this phone for the bigger screen mostly along with the TOF on the front.
I do use my 3.5 jack all the time. I do wish it had an SD card.
I wish there was a ribbin cable that connected to usb-c with a female input for charging. That way you could just hide a SD card inside your case. I looked all over the net no one has ever made such a thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
256gig of memory space isnt enough? i do like the note 10's 12gig ram though, then again i do feel its an overkill!, im looking forward to its worldwide release, i wont buy it, just know that hackers would strip its 3D scan features so the s10 5G can use it, sammy wouldnt put out an update, im sure of this
Byers regret
I currently have the S10 5g , the Verizon Version however i am using it on Xfinity Mobile and it is not going well at all. I really am frustrated with Samsung for making the 5g so hard to use on any network.
I dont care about 5g speeds but i love the screen size and battery life on the 5g, plus i think the 5g camera is the best of all the models.
I recently placed a preorder for the note 10 512gb and i was all excited about the phone but once i got it, the excitement faded away within 2 days. The note 10 has terrible battery life and it just simply reminded
me of my 5g with an s pen so i returned it.
I am back to the 5g but it is quite challenging trying to get this device to work properly on xfinity mobile. The xfinity sim will work but the APN settings are not correct and cannot be changed and because of this,
mms attachments will not download. I have the 5g verizon 256gb version G977u and currently on update version G977UVR2YSHY. i would like to try the ATT firmware but i have not been successful in finding
any U2 Roms as the U1 roms always fail. I am a Newbie so any assistance would be appreciated as i love my 5g. Just wish it was the 512gb model
exileonmain said:
I'm really tempted to order the Samsung S10 5G now from Verizon as it has just about everything I could hope for. Huge screen, huge battery (largest yet), great cameras, faster charging, etc. My only qualm is that the upcoming Note 10 5G may have 2 things I'm willing to pay for. That's UFS 3.0 and hopefully a 12GB of RAM option. I highly doubt that the Note 10 is going to have a bigger battery or even better Camera's. I also know that the next gen Snapdragon (865) that combines 2g to 5g with the X55 and power saving doesn't come out till early 2020 so there isn't too much to look forward to in the Note 10 5G with processing power. I know the Fold had UFS 3.0 and 12GB of RAM.
So what are the chances of the Note 10 getting UFS 3.0 and a 12GB variant?
Are any of you waiting for the same reasons?
What's your thoughts?
Appreciate your time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi all,
I'm trying to find out if there is a performance difference when it comes to storage between the 128gb and higher spec ultras. As I understand it, bigger SSD devices are generally faster.
I ran benchmark against a 128gb model (linked below.) Can someone with a 256 or 512 model post their results?
many thanks in advance!
My Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (SDM888) scored 27292 in the PCMark Storage 2.0 Android benchmark test. http://bit.ly/pcmark-android
Passmark storage test was around 78,000 I believe.
256GB Exynos model (SM-G998B) so maybe not comparable, but: I got PC Mark 2.0 storage test = 30329.
korsnick said:
Hi all,
I'm trying to find out if there is a performance difference when it comes to storage between the 128gb and higher spec ultras. As I understand it, bigger SSD devices are generally faster.
I ran benchmark against a 128gb model (linked below.) Can someone with a 256 or 512 model post their results?
many thanks in advance!
My Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (SDM888) scored 27292 in the PCMark Storage 2.0 Android benchmark test. http://bit.ly/pcmark-android
Passmark storage test was around 78,000 I believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This used to be the case for SDDs many moons ago (I haven't checked lately TBH). I would not be surprised to find better performance in higher capacity, I think it mostly has to do with optimized cell access.
Thanks for the feedback y'all! Looking around today I can only find 512GB international models so this may be a moot point.
I had a 512GB ordered from Samsung a few weeks ago when you could still get them on their website, but I cancelled the order thinking the price might come down when the S22 is announced. Just couldn't justify paying full price for last years tech.
T-Mobile still wants $1200 for a 128gb model, so I'm thinking I'll just wait for the 22.
The 22 looks to be an evolutionary upgrade with not much new over the S21 Ultra....smart money is on the discounted S21 since they appear to be virtually the same minus an S pen
DS1000RR said:
The 22 looks to be an evolutionary upgrade with not much new over the S21 Ultra....smart money is on the discounted S21 since they appear to be virtually the same minus an S pen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm cool with grabbing a 21- problem is where to find one that's discounted let alone a 512.
25822 with 512 GB snapdragon version.
korsnick said:
Thanks for the feedback y'all! Looking around today I can only find 512GB international models so this may be a moot point.
I had a 512GB ordered from Samsung a few weeks ago when you could still get them on their website, but I cancelled the order thinking the price might come down when the S22 is announced. Just couldn't justify paying full price for last years tech.
T-Mobile still wants $1200 for a 128gb model, so I'm thinking I'll just wait for the 22.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would purchase the S21 Ultra for a few reasons. First being Android 12 is a disaster, it's still nowhere near stable. The new Exynos SoC for the S22 is having serious production issues, only a handful of chipsets are usable from an entire wafer. The S22 Ultra will cost more money but few feature upgrades. The S-Pen (which works on an S21), a bit of a camera tweek, faster charging and new colors. Samsung needs help, it's no longer a great value.
S21 256 GB - 25000.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G (Exynos 2100) here.
Storage 2.0 score: 25261
maslinar said:
25822 with 512 GB snapdragon version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow I'm surprised it's less than the 128GB! Perhaps it's because it's filled up more, whereas the phone I tested on was brand new.
varcor said:
I would purchase the S21 Ultra for a few reasons. First being Android 12 is a disaster, it's still nowhere near stable. The new Exynos SoC for the S22 is having serious production issues, only a handful of chipsets are usable from an entire wafer. The S22 Ultra will cost more money but few feature upgrades. The S-Pen (which works on an S21), a bit of a camera tweek, faster charging and new colors. Samsung needs help, it's no longer a great value.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I found one place selling the US 512GB version for $1700 on ebay, but that's the cheapest I could find. Might have to just cave in and get the 128GB from TMO for $1200.
More googling revealed that the RAM in the 16GB model is probably also faster.
"At 6,400 megabits per second (Mb/s), the new LPDDR5 is about 16 percent faster than the 12Gb LPDDR5 (5,500Mb/s) found in most of today’s flagship mobile devices. When made into a 16GB package, the LPDDR5 can transfer about 10 5GB-sized full-HD movies, or 51.2GB of data, in one second."
From: https://news.samsung.com/global/sam...dr5-dram-at-worlds-largest-semiconductor-line
The test is probably not reliable then.
I redid the passmark test and here's what I got for disk and memory on the 128GB:
Disk: 74,902
Memory: 31,918
korsnick said:
Well I found one place selling the US 512GB version for $1700 on ebay, but that's the cheapest I could find. Might have to just cave in and get the 128GB from TMO for $1200.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can buy the 512GB Snapdragon variant for $1,349.00. I'll PM you a couple of links. Internal Storage doesn't really change speed of a device, not to a degree where you'll see a big difference.
varcor said:
You can buy the 512GB Snapdragon variant for $1,349.00. I'll PM you a couple of links. Internal Storage doesn't really change speed of a device, not to a degree where you'll see a big difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
Exynos model, 256Gb.
Haven't tweaked anything, just installed and ran the test.
Cleared apps, and put the phone in max performance mode :
Gasman said:
Cleared apps, and put the phone in max performance mode :
View attachment 5510381
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wow! that's a sizeable difference!
Hi... Currently I have the S21 Ultra and really enjoy the phone. I always wanted a note, but due to pricing in my country, I couldn't afford a note on contract. I have seen the specs for S22 ultra and is quite excited with the prospect of getting a s pen with the S22 ultra built in. I wasn't convinced to get s pen separately in a case for the S21 ultra. Will you upgrade/ who is exc2for the release of the S22 ultra??
If you REALLY miss the Note range with integral S-Pen slot then yes, maybe, and depending on price you can get selling your S21 Ultra
For all other reasons, NO the S22U is an S21U with an S-Pen slot and very few enhancements or upgrades over the 2021 models.
termdj said:
Hi... Currently I have the S21 Ultra and really enjoy the phone. I always wanted a note, but due to pricing in my country, I couldn't afford a note on contract. I have seen the specs for S22 ultra and is quite excited with the prospect of getting a s pen with the S22 ultra built in. I wasn't convinced to get s pen separately in a case for the S21 ultra. Will you upgrade/ who is exc2for the release of the S22 ultra??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S22 ultra doesn't seem like a huge upgrade over the S21U. If an integrated S-Pen is an absolute must-have for you, then by all means get the new phone. But other than that, I don't see a compelling reason to buy one. The S21 Ultra is still an amazing phone even after a year. And honestly speaking, the design is so iconic, I would choose this over the S22U design anyday (based on all the leaks). But that is a highly subjective matter, so it's upto the buyer. If you can afford it and justify it, go for it. Life is short, do the things you enjoy
Not sure if it's worth but trying to beat the boredom of "life in the time of Covid" I went ahead with the reservation, aiming for the 'ultra'.
Hey, it's not a marriage - I can still send it back if I don't fall in love with it on the first sight.
I know the specs aren't that much better then the S21 ultra, but the s range has always been way cheaper in south africa then the note, so I would like to have the s pen, but it all depends on the price on contract
No, I won't be upgrading. First off there are very few improvements, nothing is innovative. Secondly there have been numerous problems in producing the Exynos/AMD SoC. Thirdly it will ship with Android 12 which to date is still plagued with numerous bugs. The S21 works much better on Android 11.
it happens to almost all phones.
i still own s10 plus, works perfectly
I also get the s21 ultra
tempteing to get s-pen th0
dezborders said:
If you REALLY miss the Note range with integral S-Pen slot then yes, maybe, and depending on price you can get selling your S21 Ultra
For all other reasons, NO the S22U is an S21U with an S-Pen slot and very few enhancements or upgrades over the 2021 models.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung is generous with trade-in, plus if you resever now, you save 50!
In south africa there is no trade in deals... Just the normal carrier deals... So, hopefully it won't be too expensive
Tbh I don't think it worth upgrading to the S22 Ultra, it's got to the point now where any improvements are only minor even the camera on the S22 Ultra will only be slightly better than the S21 Ultra, plus i wouldn't be surprised once One UI 4.1 hits the S21 Ultra these improvements are brought down from the S22 Ultra.
I've had my S21 Ultra since last July this has been hands down best phone I've ever owned from Samsung, & i've had practically most of the S range & Note's over the years, the only downside to keeping the S21 Ultra really will be waiting slightly longer for updates once the S22 series has launched.
So I'm going to keep enjoying my S21 Ultra until the S23 Ultra next year.
Will see how it goes and what offers and trade ins are available. I have always been an S series user but loved the Spen support on the Ultra. It is a beast and having got the 512gb 16gb ram I could run it another year or so without any hiccups given that I haven't used it to its full pontential due to Covid.
Only thing I am worried with the S22 Ultra is the 45 Fast Charging and the Crammed 5000mah battery which although welcome I am afraid it might have those 'burst into flames' issues samsung had and how the new amd graphics might come with its own issues with Android 12.
No doubt it will have even a more Awesome battery life compared to the S21 Ultra and better Spen support with bluetooth and stuff. I am sure with the New Expert Raw and the Spen Bluetooth functionality they will promote it as a mobile Photographers Dream phone not to mention the ease of editing with the Spen.
Have my options open and will see how it pans out.
Wouldnt want to be a guinea pig for SD 8 Gen1. New and unproven soc.
For S21 Ultra users, the trade in deal needs to be great, otherwise it is not worth the upgrade, simple as that imo
Thanks for everybody given their input....
New camera sensor for even more light/detail
New CPU with ray tracing and best GPU available (plus fastest multicore)
S-Pen with higher latency and accuracy than previous
Best screen on market with even more brightness
And hopefully flat display instead of waterfall wasteful curved screen (fingers crossed on this)
Pls upgrade is free to me, so it's a 'hell yeah' from me.
lywyn said:
New CPU with ray tracing and best GPU available (plus fastest multicore)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
torontocomfortzone said:
Samsung is generous with trade-in, plus if you resever now, you save 50!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the USA yes Samsung is ultra generous with trade-in. In UK not so much ...
Outside of US, ebay and FB Marketplace selling prices are much higher than trade in.
lywyn said:
New camera sensor for even more light/detail
New CPU with ray tracing and best GPU available (plus fastest multicore)
S-Pen with higher latency and accuracy than previous
Best screen on market with even more brightness
And hopefully flat display instead of waterfall wasteful curved screen (fingers crossed on this)
Pls upgrade is free to me, so it's a 'hell yeah' from me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"New CPU with ray tracing and best GPU available"
Samsung has experienced numerous production issues with the Exynos 2200 SoC. Out of an entire wafer only a few chipsets are functional. Raytracing is misleading since there are currently no apps capable of raytracing integration on smartphones. In Geekbench 5 tests the Exynos/AMD 2200 was out performed not only by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 but the Snapdragon 888 also. There may be a few good reasons to buy an S22 but hoping for a better SoC isn't one of them.
Exynos 2200 is even weaker than the Snapdragon 888
Exynos 2200 is even weaker than the Snapdragon 888. The new flagship chipset Samsung lost to all competitors.
www.google.com.mx
TheInfiniteAndroid said:
For S21 Ultra users, the trade in deal needs to be great, otherwise it is not worth the upgrade, simple as that imo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will probably be enough for the lower end ripoff 8GB version IF they do a trade-in
termdj said:
Hi... Currently I have the S21 Ultra and really enjoy the phone. I always wanted a note, but due to pricing in my country, I couldn't afford a note on contract. I have seen the specs for S22 ultra and is quite excited with the prospect of getting a s pen with the S22 ultra built in. I wasn't convinced to get s pen separately in a case for the S21 ultra. Will you upgrade/ who is exc2for the release of the S22 ultra
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's how it's going to sound...you would have read all the views here and it's mostly a no to the upgrade. But, this thread was a validation for your already made up mind to go ahead with the S22U. Comrade...don't sweat it...if your heart says goes for it..and you have the means for it...go ahead enjoy! As @enigmaamit said here... life's short..enjoy it to the fullest...Go ahead...take the leap of faith...
I am definitely looking forward to the S-Pen being built in. I do a lot of photo editing using my fat fingers so having the pressure-sensitive pen will save me a lot of "undo/redo" time.
The latest "leaked images" show the screen flatter without the curved edges and I like that clean look. I can upgrade for free with my network so I am ready to leap!