Note 9 vs S9 plus

The company’s two biggest and most expensive smartphones are a lot alike, but for upgraders there are key differences you need to understand. 


Displays – Bigger Meet Biggest The Galaxy S9 Plus has one of the largest displays on any Samsung phone, but the Galaxy Note 9 is even bigger:

Galaxy Note 9 – 6.4-inch, 18.5:9 aspect ratio, Super AMOLED, 1440 x 2960 pixels (516 ppi pixel density), 83.4% screen-to-body ratio, HDR10 compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5

Galaxy S9 Plus – 6.2-inch, 18.5:9 aspect ratio, Super AMOLED, 1440 x 2960 pixels (529 ppi), 84.2% screen-to-body ratio, HDR10 compliant, Corning Gorilla Glass 5

There are a couple of factors to highlight here. Yes, the Galaxy Note 9 has an even larger display but the S9 Plus actually has the slightly higher pixel density and screen-to-body ratio.


Design & Size – Heavyweight Champs The S9 Plus may be one of Samsung’s largest and heaviest premium smartphones but – just like their displays – the Galaxy Note 9 tops it:

Galaxy Note 9 – 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8 mm (6.37 x 3.01 x 0.35 in), 201 g (7.09 oz)


Galaxy S9 Plus – 158.1 x 73.8 x 8.5 mm (6.22 x 2.91 x 0.33-inch), 189g (6.67 oz)


Battery Life – Notable Victory

Galaxy Note 9 – 4000 mAh
Galaxy S9 Plus – 3500 mAh

By far the biggest difference, however, is the Galaxy Note 9’s S Pen. Now upgraded with Bluetooth LE, it works like a remote, programmable button, not just a (class leading) stylus. As such you can have it open the camera, take photos, control music playback and more. It also charges in just 40 seconds when inserted back into the phone, ingenious

Performance – Noted Memory Muscle When it comes to chipsets, once again, the Galaxy Note 9 and S9 Plus are identical in both their US and international variants:


United States – Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core chipset (4x 2.7 GHz Kryo 385 Gold & 4×1.7 GHz Kryo 385 Silver CPUs), Adreno 630 GPU

Europe and Asia – Exynos 9810 (4x 2.8 GHz Mongoose M3 & 4×1.7 GHz Cortex-A55 CPUs), Mali-G72 MP18 GPU


These chipsets are approximately 20% faster and 30% more efficient than their predecessors, so it’s a recognisable step up. 



The Galaxy Note 9 does a lot right and – size and weight aside – it matches or beats the S9 Plus in every category. If you love a phone with massive battery life and storage and you’ll use the stylus then the Galaxy Note 9 really is worth the extra money.