Phones Switching to Note 9, 1 month later

[EasternGangsta]

If anyone is interested/on the fence with Android device.

Pros

• Stylus & Wacom digitizer. This was the sole reason for switch as I am an artist and simply wanted to be able to draw on the go. It works and works well.
• Very nice industrial design with programmable LED case. Very cool.
• Forced me to break from the Apple ecosystem. Managed to replace just about anything and became truly platform agnostic. My current setup is macbook pro 2017, ipad pro 10.5'' & pencil and Note 9. It was a real PITA at first but I am glad I did it afterall.
• Price. Even though some Android flagship devices are nowadays even more expensive than iPhones, their prices also fall like rock just a few months after they hit the market.
• BATTERY!!! Omg this thing can go for 4 days on light usage, 2 days on semi heavy without charging. This is crazy and unlike anything Apple can offer. My iPhone 6s's battery was desintegrating before my eyes.
• Customization. But honestly, this is a very minor thing for most adults. Most customization options also introduce annoying inconsistencies.

Cons

• Notification hell. Everything was spamming me left and right. Just took a dump? Here comes a notification from Google to review your experience. Took quite a while to disable all the major offenders.
• Brutal inconsistency. Dark mode on One UI still displaying white nav bars on certain apps (had to switch to motion control just to hide it), some Google related settings have still white backgrounds even though apps like Photos & Google keep already have dark mode rolled out for them. Hopefully this will get better with Android Q.
• UI/UX is all over the place. Some apps look decent, some like utter trash and controls even worse. There is barely any quality control on play store. Some apps crash all the time.
• Quality of life is generally much lower. Attention to detail is mostly non existent.
• Want everything synchronized across your devices? It is possible but prepare to work for it depending on your needs.
• NFC payments seem to be much slower than on Apple devices.
• Bluetooth works like ass. Seriously, my galaxy buds hiss & crackle each and every time I put my phone in/out of my pocket. Apple music on Android is not a stellar experience either.
• Updates... Honestly, this feels like going back to the dark ages. How is this still a thing in 2019?

Overall, being on Android is definitely worse experience. If it wasn't for stylus I would have hard time finding reasons for switch apart from better battery life and better price point. Wish Apple made something like Note.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

So you’re keeping the note 9 because of the s-pen.

 

[1050792]

This review looks to me more like you're just used to iOS and everything else is just too confusing to you.
Anyway, the Note 9 is still an amazing device for the next 2 years.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

This review looks to me more like you're just used to iOS and everything else is just too confusing to you.
Anyway, the Note 9 is still an amazing device for the next 2 years.

This was my thought as soon I read the notification part.

 

[Tsepz]

Quite a balanced review, IMO, maybe in a few months he will be more used to some of the inconsistencies in Android but happy to live with them for the other benefits.

Switching between my XS Max and P30 Pro, my feelings are mostly the same.

Something I would add here:
Notifications:
- Much faster as well as reliable and more consistent in iOS.
- Much better to manage on Android, Androids notification bar is more robust.

Nobody has the best formula, you need to pick the one that works for you.