Galaxy Note 9 vs Galaxy S8+: Which One to Buy?

Galaxy Note 9 vs Galaxy S8+: Specs & Features

Even a year later the Galaxy S8+ is still one of the best phones you can buy. Yeah the Galaxy S9 is a little better, but only a tiny bit. 

However, the new Note 9 will be even better in more than a few ways. Here are a few important details for potential buyers.

Galaxy S8+ Specs 

• 6.2-inch 2960 x 1440 Quad-HD AMOLED Curved Display
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 or Samsung Exynos Processor
• 64GB of internal storage (Micro-SD slot included) and 4GB RAM
• Android 8.0 Oreo with Samsung TouchWiz
• 12 Megapixel Rear Camera - OIS, DualPixel, phase detection auto-focus, f/1.7 aperture, more
• 8 megapixel front camera with auto-focus, f/1.7 aperture
• Fingerprint & Iris Scanner, facial unlocking
• IP68 dust & water resistance 
• 3,500 mAh battery with Fast & Wireless Charging
• Always-On Display, Samsung Pay, Bixby Virtual Assistant, USB Type-C, 3.5mm headphone jack, more

As you can see, the S8+ still has plenty to offer in 2018 and beyond. If there's one potential downside, it's that most new Samsung phones have two cameras and will get bigger batteries. 

Galaxy Note 9 Specs 

• 6.4-inch Quad-HD Curved Infinity AMOLED Display
• Snapdragon 845 Processor or Samsung Exynos 9810 with 6-8GB of RAM
• 128 or 512GB of storage (microSD slot included)
• Android 8.1 Oreo with Samsung UX. 
• Dual 12MP Rear Cameras with variable aperture, IOS, 960 FPS Slow-mo, more
• 8MP Front Selfie Camera with Portrait Mode & Improved AR Emoji
• Dual Stereo Speaker tuned by AKG
• Big 4,000 mAh battery with fast and wireless charging 
• IP68 Dust & Water-resistance
• USB Type-C, Bixby 2.0, Bixby AI, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Heart-rate sensor, Face Unlock, Iris Scanning
• S-Pen with Bluetooth, New Features, etc
• and more

Just as we all expected, the Galaxy Note 9 is a powerhouse that checks almost every box on the spec sheet -- and then some. Out of the box you get 128GB of storage, or they're selling a 512GB model if you want to go crazy.

The big differences are the extra storage, 6-8GB of RAM, dual cameras, and the massive 4,000 mAh battery. In fact, the battery alone is worth the upgrade for some. Especially considering the size of the 3,500 mAh battery in the S8+. The Note 9 will get significantly better battery life. 

Additionally, the Note 9 has a new and improved variable aperture camera that physically changes its aperture to capture the more light in any situation. More light = better photos. It also has a new 960 FPS slo-mo mode, AR emoji, and other neat camera effects like Portrait mode. 

This year Samsung added Bluetooth to the S-Pen so you can remotely unlock and control your phone, take photos, pause/play videos and more. They look similar, but Samsung added big changes throughout.