iPhone XS Max vs. Galaxy Note 9 drop test: Apple’s phone doesn’t crack under pressure

It’s a battle of two of the largest smartphones on the market as drop test expert PhoneBuff on YouTube pits the new iPhone XS Max up against Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9. At the beginning of the month, shortly after the Galaxy Note 9 launched, PhoneBuff put Samsung’s latest flagship to the test against the iPhone X in a drop test showdown which the iPhone won (though not by much). So how does Apple’s biggest phone ever stack up?
If you watched Apple’s keynote live stream earlier this month, you might remember that the company referred to the glass on the iPhone XS and XS Max as “the most durable glass ever in a smartphone.” For a phone covered in glass, the iPhone X was already surprisingly durable, but how would a much larger phone fare?
As it turns out, the iPhone XS Max passes a majority of the tests with flying colors. Once again, the first drop shatters the back of the Note 9, while the XS Max suffers far less damage. Both phones held up incredibly well after the corner drop, with the screens fully intact and little more than scuff marks on the corners in terms of damage. Finally, on the front drop, the iPhone once again topped the Galaxy by keeping the cracks on its display contained.
But in the bonus round, which consists of dropping each phone from a significant height up to ten times until they stop functioning, the XS Max failed three rounds in. The Note 9, on the other hand, lasted all ten rounds. This was enough to give the Galaxy Note 9 a one point edge in the final score, but both performed admirably.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Catches Fire: Galaxy Note 7 All Over Again?

A Samsung Galaxy Note 9 unit burst into flames inside a woman's purse, bringing back memories of the Galaxy Note 7 exploding battery fiasco that stretched from 2016 to 2017.
It is too early to say that the Galaxy Note 9 is suffering from the same quality issues that plagued the Galaxy Note 7, but it should be very concerning for Samsung to have its latest flagship device linked with the failed smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 Bursts Into Flames

Real estate agent Diane Chung from Long Island, New York claimed in a lawsuit against Samsung that she suffered a "traumatic" experience when her Galaxy Note 9 suddenly burst into flames inside her purse.
Chung was riding in an elevator just after midnight last Sept. 3 when she felt her brand new Galaxy Note 9 getting "extremely hot" while using it. She placed it in her purse, but then heard a "whistling and screeching sound," followed by thick smoke. Chung placed her bag on the elevator floor and tried to remove its contents, burning her fingers as she grabbed the smoking Galaxy Note 9.
The woman started to become "extremely panicked," as she was alone in the elevator. She pressed the elevator buttons while the thick smoke was making it hard for her to see. Fortunately, the elevator reached the lobby, where she kicked the Galaxy Note 9 out of the lift. The smartphone kept burning, until a helpful man wrapped it around a piece of cloth and dropped it in water.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Exploding Batteries

A Samsung spokesman said that the company has not received any reports of similar incidents involving the Galaxy Note 9, which should be good news for now. The company certainly does not want a repeat of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, which plagued the company for a year starting in 2016.
Samsung lost billions of dollars due to the Galaxy Note 7 exploding battery issue, with the company's investigation revealing that two different battery manufacturers came with two different flaws. Samsung implemented new safety standards to make sure that the debacle will never happen again, and started working on developing solid-state batteries to replace the problematic lithium-ion batteries.
Record-breaking Galaxy Note 8 preorders revealed that Samsung fans already forgot about the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco after a year. However, apparently, all it takes is one Samsung smartphone catching fire to bring up all these memories.
Hopefully, the Galaxy Note 9 that caught fire was a fluke, and that the situation will not devolve into the smartphone following the flaming footsteps of the Galaxy Note 7.

Galaxy Note 9 battery overheats, smokes out, now subject of lawsuit

A New York woman has launched a lawsuit against Samsung after her Galaxy Note 9 “became extremely hot” and began emitting thick smoke. The issue, which the company says is the only one reported, has triggered memories of the battery explosions in dozens of Galaxy Note 7 devices.

The New York Post reports Diane Chung was riding the elevator up to her apartment in Bayside, Queens, when her phone became too warm to use. After putting it in her bag, “she heard a whistling and screeching sound, and she noticed thick smoke,” court papers claim. She had burned her fingers trying to retrieve the phone and it, along with the other contents of her bag, poured onto the floor.

Alone in the elevator, Chung became “extremely panicked” and began pressing buttons before the car stopped at the lobby. She kicked the device out of the cabin and a passerby helped douse the device with water.

The plaintiff claims that Samsung should have known that the Note 9 was “defective” and seeks damages and a sales injunction on the phone.

The 4,000mAh cell on the Galaxy Note 9 is the largest to be featured on the Note series of devices. It follows the 3,300mAh battery on the Note 8, which has had few reports of thermal overrun malfunctions, and the 3,500mAh unit on the Note 7, of which more than 2.5 million devices have been recalled. Independent analysis points to a design flaw as the cause while the chaebol’s internal investigation found poor battery manufacturing as the primary culprit.

Samsung has since heavily promoted that it has a multi-stage battery check process for all of its devices. A spokesperson told the Post that the company has “not received any reports of similar incidents involving a Galaxy Note9 device and we are investigating the matter.”

Galaxy Note 9 or iPhone XS Max? Compare before you upgrade

Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 is a business productivity powerhouse that the consumer electronics giant desperately wants to go mainstream. Whether you upgrade depends on whether you're more about work or play. Here's how it compares to the iPhone XS Max.
Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 is designed to be the company's flagship device, but whether you choose to upgrade or not solely depends on whether your device is more about work or play. And your budget, too. If you're a business pro hankering for more productivity and the ability to use your smartphone as a desktop and stylus as a remote control, Note 9 is worth a look. However, Samsung didn't add enough to the Note 9 to become the mainstream flagship that executives so sorely wanted ahead of Apple's iPhone event.
Yes, Fortnite as an exclusive on the Note 9 is an interesting promotion for mainstream buyers, but the device is really about specs and productivity.
And then there's the price. You'll pay for the high-end specs of the Galaxy Note 9. Preorders for the Galaxy Note 9 start Aug. 10 with availability Aug. 24. The 128GB Galaxy Note 9 will go for $999.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, Samsung, Target, Walmart and other retailers. The 512GB Galaxy Note9 will be available at AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and Samsung for $1,249.99. For comparison, 512GB SSD laptops can run as much as the Note 9 and Apple's 256GB iPhone XS Max goes for $1,249. The 512GB iPhone XS Max will run you $1,449.
The best deals we could find can save you as much as $450, but the savings are typically tied to bundles. In the end, whether you go all-in on the Galaxy Note 9 may come down to vanity and whether you think bigger (1TB even) is truly better.
DJ Koh, president of Samsung's mobile communications business, said at Unpacked 2018 in Brooklyn that the Note is designed to break through barriers. Koh said the Note 9 is designed to be the "most powerful mobile device."
Viewing the "should I upgrade" question through the use case lens is especially important given the Android competition and a premium price Samsung would argue is reasonable. Simply put, you can get Android devices with more frequent Android updates for much less than the Note 9. To get value out of the Note 9 you have to be a fan of the S Pen, productivity and what it brings to the table. You also have to value those S Pen upgrades enough to swap out last year's Note 8.

THE DETAILS

Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 pops a wallop because it's designed to also power a DeX desktop experience too.
The highlights:

• The Note 9 has an all-day battery at 4,000mAh. That's Samsung's largest battery in its product portfolio. Galaxy Note 9: What does 'all-day battery' mean?
• Samsung doubled storage to 128GB at the base level and available at 512GB. And there's a microSD card slot to add more than 1TB of storage to the device.
• The Note 9 boasts a 33 percent bump in CPU performance and 23 percent gain in GPU performance relative to the Note 8.
• Samsing's DeX platform can connect your phone to a monitor and keyboard via an USB-C to HDMI adapter.
• The intelligent camera includes Flaw Detection and also has a neural network on the Note 9 to recognize context and settings and adjust for scenes. The front-facing camera is 8MP and the dual rear cameras are 12MP each. Samsung opted to improve the software and machine learning behind camera in the Note 9. The cameras in the Note 9 are an improvement on the Note 8, but are largely the same as the Galaxy S9 setup.
• A wireless charging dock uses one outlet and can charge two devices (presumably a Samsung phone and smartwatch).
• The S Pen gets Bluetooth low energy (BLE) so it can function as a remote control within 10 meters. The S Pen charges when you put it into your smartphone and the battery charges fully in less than 40 seconds. BLE enables the S Pen to control the camera by default and other applications based on your preference.
• Available colors for the new phone include Ocean Blue, Lavender Purple, Metallic Copper and Midnight Black.

However, the Galaxy Note 9 doesn't look all that different from the Galaxy Note 8. There are a few design changes, notably with the fingerprint scanner, and a slightly thinner frame.
Samsung is keeping its fingerprint scanner and fingerprint sensor, but moving it below the camera. Samsung is also keeping its iris biometric system too.
The Note 8 has the fingerprint scanner and sensor alongside the camera and that positioning can get awkward after repeated use.
The company largely stuck with the same design as the Note 8, which was a big launch that put the Note 7 battery debacle in the rear view mirror. The Galaxy Note 8 was well receivedand even created some flagship device confusion when the Galaxy S9 launched.
The business pro decision
Samsung's Note 9 is primarily designed as a business tool, but is trying to extend its reach. With a memory card, the Note 9 can get more than a terabyte of storage. The device also has 8GB of memory at the high end. The base Note 9 has 128GB of storage and 6GB of memory. Those specs make the Note 9 a mini-laptop.
However, those specs only matter if you require the compute used for DeX, which can now serve up a presentation on the big screen while allowing you to read your notes on the smartphone. Those specs also matter for storing images and PowerPoints. Note 9's storage capability means it can also serve as a portable hard drive in many cases.
The real win for Note 9 is the S Pen. You can now use it as a remote for the camera, gallery, Office and other apps that come with the phone. A software developer kit for the S Pen will enable enterprises to customize the stylus for other applications -- say that Salesforce, SAP or Oracle app.
Samsung's S Pen SDK lands in September and can lead to more work use cases. Should you upgrade? I'm wrestling with that decision now. I'm a Note customer and have theNote 8. Here's what looks enticing on the Note 9.

• The Bluetooth S Pen that enables the stylus to be more than a writing tool.
• Intelligent camera improvements that automatically refine pictures based on context and scenes.
• DeX is advanced a good bit, but the applications with it aren't mature enough for me to replace the desktop or laptop. DeX is getting there though.

Add it up and the Note 9 is worth a look if you didn't get on the Note 8 cycle, deliver a bevy of presentations and like a remote for photography. As a productivity device, Samsung's Note 9 is enticing.

THE PROSUMER/CONSUMER CHOICE

While Samsung's Note 9 offers a lot of enhancements -- you can even talk about Knox 3.2 for the IT department if you'd like -- the mainstream tech buyer has a much harder call to make.
First, let's dispense with the idea that tech buyers as a mass are going to switch platforms. There is a reason platforms scale -- you're locked into an ecosystem. Despite the witty commercials from Samsung, most folks aren't going to jump from Apple's iOS or iPhone to Android and Samsung.
With that reality out of the way, Samsung's Note 9 is a premium device competing with Android rivals that offer strong hardware, pure Android and low prices.
And that's the catch. Samsung executives on the company's recent earnings call acknowledged that the Note 9 launch was moved up to stoke demand from Galaxy S9 sales that were waning. Unless you're in love with the S Pen, it's hard to envision the average person buying the Note over the S9 Plus, which will be discounted.
Generally speaking, the S9 franchise and the Note 9 are running the same software, experience, and hardware. One upgrade is Samsung's intelligent camera, but it's not clear that consumers make smartphone buying decisions based on images alone.
Samsung boasts blue and lavender devices in the US, and maybe that appeals to consumers, but the value equation matters.
Simply put, innovations with DeX and S Pen aren't going to sway non-business buyers. Upgrades to Bixby may entice a bit, but Samsung's assistant competes with Google Assistant and Alexa on its own phone.
Perhaps a short promotion with Fortnite stokes Note 9 consumer interest, but Samsung needs to convince folks to use its app store over Google Play. Samsung executives also noted that they were trying to gain momentum in their services efforts.
Fortunately for Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, and PC makers have popularized the use of pen/pencil/stylus for computing. Samsung helped create the space and could benefit from the S Pen innovations, but the stylus isn't exactly mainstream. There's value in the Note 9, but not enough to land mainstream tech buyers.
Here's a look at the specs in full.

• Display: 6.4-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED, 2960x1440 (516ppi)
• Camera Rear: Dual Camera with OIS (Optical Image Stabilization)-Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF, F1.5/F2.4, OIS Telephoto: 12MP AF, F2.4, OIS-2X optical zoom, up to 10X digital zoom X
• Camera Front: F1.7 8MP AF
• Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845; 10nm 64-bit Octa-core processor (Max. 2.8 GHz + 1.7)
• Memory: 6GB RAM, 128GB + MicroSD up to 512GB
• 8GB RAM, 512GB + MicroSD up to 512GB
• Battery: 4000mAH with wireless charging and fast wireless charging
• OS: Android 8.1 Oreo. Upgrade to Android 9 Pie at future date to be determined.
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth 5.0 BLE, ANT+, GPS, NFC
• Network: Enhanced 4x4 MIMO, 5CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18

COMPARING THE NOTE 9 TO APPLE'S IPHONE XS MAX

Since the Galaxy Note 9 launched, Apple rolled out three new iPhone models: XS, XS Max, and XR. The iPhone XS Max is the most direct comparison for the Galaxy Note 9 and Samsung offers better value.
For instance, the 512GB Galaxy Note 9 will run you $1249.99 excluding promotions. Apple's 512GB iPhone XS Max, with a 6.5-inch screen, will run you $1,449. Apple's 256GB iPhone XS Max matches the Galaxy Note 9 in price and rest assured there won't be any discounts or bundles to alleviate the hit.
Apple, unlike Samsung, rolls out its smartphone portfolio in one big event in September. Samsung has a Galaxy event and then a separate one for the Note franchise. Apple's iPhone XR, which has an LCD screen, gives the company an iPhone for every price point.
Should a power user get the Note 9 or the iPhone XS Max? The answer is harder than you think, and much of the decision depends on whether you value a stylus and expansion slot for storage. Otherwise, the devices rhyme a lot.
Some points to ponder:

• The camera bake off between the Note 9 and iPhone XS Max can make your eyes glaze over. Apple talked Bokeh effects, computational improvements and using AI to improve photos. Samsung said the same thing a month earlier. What device you choose is largely based on personal preference.
• Expandable storage matters and Apple won't go there. Samsung will get you to 1TB with an SD card. Fun fact: Buying an SD card for your Note 9 will basically cost the same as the iPhone XS Max at 512GB. Either way, Samsung gets you twice the storage for less.
• Apple was rumored to have Apple Pencil support, but those guesstimates were off. Note 9's big selling point is its S Pen. If you want the S Pen you really didn't have to read this far.
• Add it up and both the iPhone XS Max and Note 9 are fine devices. Ultimately, the decision may come down to what you're used to: Android folks tend to stay with that platform, and Apple iOS fans typically stay in the ecosystem.

Samsung moved up the Galaxy Note 9 launch to bolster sales and get a jump on Apple's iPhone update. More worrisome for Samsung is low-cost Android rivals and maintaining premium prices in the smartphone market.
Samsung's challenge will be threading the smartphone pricing needle between being premium and fending off low-end Android competitors.
Most major flagship smartphones are now on a fairly regular release schedule and leaks are a part of this cycle. It is rare for a phone to be released today with any surprises so let's take a look at what is coming soon.
Samsung's launch of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus at Mobile World Congress just five months after the Galaxy Note 8's release sets up a nice debate over how the company should approach its innovation cadence.
Samsung Electronics has released three 30-second videos with the moniker 'a lot can change in a day' to tease the long-lasting battery, processing power, and high memory of the upcoming Galaxy Note 9.

Galaxy Note 9 battery capacity revealed in ANATEL listing

One of the earliest Galaxy Note 9 rumors we heard was that the upcoming flagship would feature a 4,000mAh battery. It was an exciting prospect and an early hands-on of the Galaxy Note 9 mentioned that the device would be good for up to 25 hours of continuous video playback at maximum brightness. A filing with the National Telecommunications Agency ANATEL in Brazil has now revealed that the Galaxy Note 9 will indeed feature a 4,000mAh battery.

Galaxy Note 9 battery capacity

The 4,000mAh Galaxy Note 9 battery capacity will be a significant improvement compared to its predecessor. The Galaxy Note 8 features a 3,300mAh battery, it’s actually smaller than the one found in the Galaxy S8+. Samsung may have played it safe for the Galaxy Note 8 after the disaster that was the Galaxy Note 7.
It has been claimed in multiple reports and rumors that the Galaxy Note 9 battery capacity will be 4,000mAh. Couple the larger battery with the fact that Samsung’s Galaxy Note handsets have historically been better optimized and you’re looking at a bonafide productivity powerhouse.
The ANATEL listing doesn’t mention a whole lot of information about the new flagship but does point out that its battery capacity will be 4,000mAh. It’s important to mention here that the Galaxy S9’s battery capacity was correctly mentioned as 3,000mAh in the ANATEL filing we came across earlier this year. The filing confirmed the battery size for Samsung’s new flagship smartphone before it was announced so it can be considered as a reliable source of information for the Galaxy Note 9 as well.
This will certainly be a welcome addition to the Galaxy Note lineup which many customers prefer for getting work done on the move. Anyone who requires utmost productivity out of their handset would tell you just how important it is to have substantial battery life. It looks like the Galaxy Note 9 will be able to deliver in that regard.
Samsung is going to announce the Galaxy Note 9 officially on August 9 in New York. It’s likely going to be released on August 24.