Samsung Galaxy Note 20 vs. Galaxy Note 9: Should you upgrade?

Samsung Galaxy Notation 20 vs. Galaxy Note 9: Should y'all upgrade?

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

With the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra, Samsung has shown off merely what it can do with 5G, fast-refreshing displays and powerful cameras. And information technology's an attempt that might convince Galaxy Notation 9 owners to upgrade their 2-twelvemonth-erstwhile phablet, as the latest models take their place among the best Samsung phones.

The upgrade-or-non decision isn't a clear cut 1. We're holding on to smartphones for longer stretches of time these days, and the prices on Samsung'due south new phones — the Galaxy Note 20 starts at $999 while the Ultra commands a four-figure price — may convince Note 9 users that their still serviceable phones take more life in them.

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But Samsung has definitely improved upon its 2018 phablets with the latest Galaxy Notation models. In this Milky way Note twenty vs. Milky way Annotation 9 comparison, nosotros'll wait at what'southward inverse for Samsung's phablets and whether the new features are worth the cost of an upgrade.

Samsung Milky way Note twenty vs. Milky way Note nine specs

	Galaxy Annotation twenty	Galaxy Notation 20 Ultra	Galaxy Note 9
Screen size (Resolution)	6.seven inches (2400 x 1080)	6.9 inches (3088 x 1444; 120Hz)	vi.4 inches (2960 10 1440)
CPU	Snapdragon 865 Plus	Snapdragon 865 Plus	Snapdragon 845
RAM	8GB	12GB	6GB
Storage	128GB	128GB, 512GB	128GB, 512GB
microSD?	No	Yep	Aye
Rear cameras	12MP main, 64MP telephoto, 12MP ultra wide angle	108MP main, 12MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide, laser focus sensor	Dual 12MP
Front camera	10MP	10MP	8MP
Battery size	iv,300 mAh	4,500 mAh	4,000 mAh
Size	half-dozen.36 10 2.96 ten 0.32 inches	6.48 10 3.04 ten 0.32 inches	6.3 x iii x 0.34 inches
Weight	six.84 ounces	7.33 ounces	vii.1 ounches

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 vs. Galaxy Note 9 prices

If you bought a Galaxy Note ix when that phone first debuted in 2018, y'all would have paid $999 for a 6GB model with 128GB of storage. Your phone would merely well-nigh exist paid off at present if y'all bought that phone on an installment plan.

The Milky way Note xx costs that aforementioned $999, simply this time yous're getting a telephone with 8GB of memory and 128GB of on-lath storage. (There's no microSD slot on the Notation 20 like there was on the Note 9.) Upgrade to the Notation twenty Ultra, and you're looking at a $1,299 telephone with 128GB of storage. Increasing the on-board capacity to 512GB volition set you dorsum $1,449.

The Milky way Annotation 20 and Note 20 Ultra is bachelor at present, and Samsung is offering up to $500 off its new flagships with the trade in of an eligible device. The manufacturer also offers a special financing option for both phones. For the cheaper Note 20, customers tin can pay $25 a calendar month for twenty months, totaling $500. If the phone remains in good status afterward that bespeak, Samsung will purchase the device back for what is however owed on it, substantially allowing you to but pay $500 for the phone for a less-than 2-year term.

Milky way Note xx vs. Milky way Note 9 design and displays

The Annotation 9 came in merely a single model with a half-dozen.4-inch AMOLED screen. For the Annotation 20, Samsung lets you choose between ii sizes. The standard Annotation 20 features a 6.7-inch AMOLED panel, and if that's not large enough, the Note xx Ultra increases the brandish size to 6.nine inches.

Galaxy Note 20 vs. Galaxy Note 9 — The Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The Note 20 may cost the same as the Annotation 9, but Samsung has used incomparably cheaper materials on its new phablet. The Note twenty features a plastic body, albeit one that'southward designed to look and feel similar glass. The illusion might concur upwardly at showtime glance, but utilise the Note 20 on a regular basis, and you'll likely discover it'south not built from the same materials as the Note 9. The Note 20 Ultra, in dissimilarity, lives up to its high-finish price tag, with a matte-etched slab of glass on the back bordered by a gleaming metallic frame.

The Note twenty feels like a step back from the Note nine in another way. Samsung'south older phones boast a resolution of 2960 x 1440. The Note twenty makes do with Total Hd resolution, while the Notation twenty Ultra sports the sharper screen with Quad Hd resolution. That Note 20 Ultra screen also boasts a dynamic 120Hz refresh rate that adjusts depending on what kind of activity you're doing with your phone. You won't detect that faster refresh rate on the Galaxy Note 9, so scrolling won't be as smooth and supported games won't be equally immersive. Then once more, the Galaxy Note 20 doesn't support that characteristic either.

Both the Galaxy Annotation 20 and Notation xx Ultra employ a punch-hole cutout to house their lone front camera which allows Samsung to shrink the bezels on those ii new phones. The Galaxy Annotation 9 predates Samsung'due south switch to Infinity O displays, so yous'll still become a noticeable bezel at the tiptop and lesser of the display. The Note 9 as well features a fingerprint reader on the back of the phone instead of embedding the sensor underneath the display, equally Samsung did with the Note 20 and Note 20 Plus.

In terms of brightness and colors, the Annotation 20 Ultra reaches a peak of 662 nits and can render 201% of the sRGB spectrum in its default Vivid configuration. The Note ix hits 604 nits and achieves 224%. The latter figure is college, but so the Note 9's hues are comparatively less accurate, with the older phone delivering a Delta-Due east score of 0.34, compared to the Note 20 Ultra's 0.24 result. (Numbers closer to cipher in the Delta-E test are amend.)

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 vs. Galaxy Notation 9 cameras

Think when two cameras on the dorsum of a phone was the superlative of luxury? If you're all the same using the Galaxy Note 9, you lot surely do as that handset uses a pair of 12-megapixel shooters to handle mobile photography. Things take gotten more sophisticated with the new crop of Milky way Note phones, as both of the latest models offer at least a trio of sensors.

The Note xx Ultra has the more elaborate camera array of the pair, highlighted past its 108MP principal shooter. A 12MP ultra wide camera and 12MP telephoto lens capable of supporting a 5x optical zoom completes the trio of cameras, while a laser autofocus sensor should improve the telephone'due south ability to apace focus on shots. The standard Notation twenty features a 12MP main lens, 12MP ultra wide camera and 64MP telephoto lens with 3x lossless zoom.

While these photographic camera specs are reminiscent of what Samsung offered with this spring's Galaxy S20 phones, for Note 9 users, this volition exist a big upgrade in what their phones can shoot. Throw in the Note 20 Ultra's ability to shoot 8K video in a 21:9 attribute ratio at up to 24 frames per second, and the cameras are a decided upgrade over what Samsung'south phablet offered merely two years ago.

Up front, both the Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra characteristic a 10MP selfie cam. That'southward more megapixels than the 8MP shooter on the front of the Note 9.

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Best camera phone: Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra — (Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

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Now that nosotros've had a chance to evaluate the Note 20 Ultra'due south photographic camera performance, we can confirm that it is capable of some of the finest photography yous'll find in any phone. Information technology's clear to run into judging from the gallery to a higher place that Samsung has successfully stamped out the Galaxy S20 Ultra'south focusing gremlins with the Annotation 20 Ultra'due south new light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation autofocus system, allowing you lot to extract incredible results from that 108MP chief sensor. And the Annotation 20 Ultra'south folded 5x optical zoom lens lets you pull closely into subjects no thing the distance. It'south a new benchmark for mobile photography, and certainly an area where Samsung has made massive strides in the last ii years.

Samsung Galaxy Annotation 20 vs. Galaxy Note nine functioning

Performance is some other section where the latest Notes figure to outshine 2018'south phablet. The Galaxy Notation 9 featured a Snapdragon 845 processor, and while that was the best available system-on-bit for Android phones at the time, fleck maker Qualcomm has come a long way in terms of power and efficiency.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 vs. Note 9 — Galaxy Annotation xx Ultra (Image credit: Tom's Guide)

The result is the Snapdragon 865 Plus, which powers both the Galaxy Annotation 20 and Note 20 Ultra. Benchmark scores for the Snapdragon 865 Plus don't quite match the best-in-class performance you lot go from the A13 Bionic chip used in Apple'due south current iPhones, simply it'due south the closest a Snapdragon mobile processor has come to matching Apple's silicon. If yous upgrade from the Galaxy Note 9, you'll definitely detect more processing power with the Notation 20 and Notation 20 Ultra.

Looking at the numbers, the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra totals 3,294 points in the organisation-wide Geekbench v test. This exam wasn't available when the Annotation 9 launched two years agone, though it'due south safe to say the Snapdragon 845 in that device isn't hit anywhere close to that result, considering even ordinary 865-powered phones, like the Galaxy S20 Ultra, simply reached 3,076 points.

Y'all'll also be able to connect to 5G networks with the Galaxy Notation twenty models, something that but wasn't possible with the Galaxy Note nine. The Snapdragon 865 Plus ships with a 5G-capable modem, and the Note 20 models support all flavors of 5G, and then expect faster data speeds if you live in an area with 5G coverage.

Galaxy Note ix owners will notice more restrictive storage, at least if you go with the smaller Notation 20. Unlike both the Note 9 and Note xx Ultra, there's no microSD slot on the Note 20. So the 128GB of onboard storage in that phone's only configuration better exist good enough for your needs.

Samsung Galaxy Note twenty vs. Galaxy Note nine S Pen

The Galaxy Note 9 saw one of the nearly significant changes to the S Pen that comes with Samsung'south phablet, as Samsung added Bluetooth connectivity to the stylus. That enabled Note users to turn the South Pen into a remote command that could snap pictures, run presentations and control music playback. Subsequent S Pen updates added support for air gestures.

The Galaxy Notation 20 continues that tendency, offering new Anywhere Deportment that let you use the stylus to return to the abode screen, accept a screenshot and get back to a recent app, among other commands. The more significant change to the Southward Pen is that it's more responsive. The Note twenty Ultra reaps the biggest gain hither with latency of just 9ms. But fifty-fifty the Note 20 enjoys faster response time every bit the 26ms latency is an improvement of 40% over last year's Galaxy Note ten.

Starting with the Note twenty, users are now able to highlight written or typed notes with the S Pen to append sound recordings — a feature we imagine will exist extremely handy in meetings or lectures. This characteristic will somewhen come up to the Note x in a software update, though at that place's no word on whether or not it'll brand information technology equally far back equally the Note 9. In addition, and although it doesn't pertain strictly to the Southward Pen, the Annotation twenty adds wireless support for DeX mode via Miracast. That means you don't need a cable or dock to continued to an external display to use your phone in a more desktop-style context, every bit you do with the Note nine.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 vs. Galaxy Annotation 9 battery

The Galaxy Note 9 featured a four,000 mAh that allowed it to last a very long time on a charge. The Note twenty and Note xx Ultra use fifty-fifty bigger batteries — four,300 mAh and 4,500 mAh, respectively.

The trouble with battery technology is that even every bit phones receive larger capacity power packs, the demands on them increment in kind. The new Notes accept much larger displays with faster refresh rates (depending on the model y'all choose), 5G connectivity and higher peak clock speeds.

It's for this reason that the Note 9 actually lasted an hour longer in our custom battery test compared to the Notation 20 Ultra — 11 hours and 26 minutes for the older phone, compared to 10 hours and 26 minutes on the newer one.

While overall battery life hasn't actually changed for the ameliorate, Samsung has definitely stepped upward its fast charging game since the Galaxy Note 9 came out. While that phone featured 15W charging, yous now go a 25W charger with the new Galaxy Note models. In the instance of the Galaxy Notation xx, Samsung has promised that you tin can become a drained battery upwards to l% in half-an-hr. Indeed, our Galaxy Note 20 Ultra review unit reached 56% from empty in merely 30 minutes.

The Galaxy Note 20 and Note 10 Ultra besides characteristic Wireless Power Share, allowing you to wirelessly recharge other devices and accessories similar a pair of Milky way Buds, by placing them on the dorsum of your phone. The Note ix certainly can't do that.

Samsung Galaxy Notation xx vs. Milky way Note 9 verdict

Two years is a lifetime in the world of smartphones, so the Galaxy Notation 20 and Note 20 Ultra are going to have some obvious improvements over the Galaxy Note nine. The new phones take a faster processor, more cameras, bigger batteries and larger displays. In the instance of the Note 20 Ultra, you'll even become a faster refresh charge per unit for a more than immersive experience.

If your Annotation 9 is showtime to feel as though it's overstayed its welcome, performing slower and terminal fewer hours in betwixt charges, information technology's worth considering replacing it with either the Note twenty or Notation 20 Ultra — especially if you tin salve on a merchandise-in offer.

But even so, there's a conclusion to be made. The Note 20 might seem similar a stride back to some Note 9 owners, with its plastic build and lower-resolution screen despite its more powerful internals. On the other side of the equation, the Note twenty Ultra indeed packs many substantial improvements and thus feels like a true generational leap over the Note 9, but carries a very steep cost, likewise. Ultimately, information technology comes down to what you're really looking for from an upgrade, and how much cash y'all're comfy departing with in the process.

Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has potent opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics and old movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.