The Galaxy Note 9 is not a revolutionary device like the original Note was, but it is without a doubt, the best Galaxy Note ever released by Samsung. It's pricey and it doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table, but it refines everything about the Galaxy Note 8 and adds a number of new features and improvements that makes it a superb flagship smartphone, albeit at a steep starting price of $999! However, if you have a Gear VR, there's some bad news and good news.

Firstly, did you know that the old Gear VR cannot accommodate the Note 9 without physical modifications? Since Samsung did not even release a new VR headset with the Note 9 like they did last year with the Note 8, this is really bad news. The good news is that Samsung has already promised to ship a free Gear VR adapter that will let users equip the Gear VR headset with the Galaxy Note 9. However, the customer will need to contact Samsung's customer care by phone, chat or email and request the adapter. It is expected that the adapter will reach customers within two-weeks of the request or sooner, but this leads to the question, why did Samsung not include the adapter within the box?

Saikat Kar

A new Samsung smartphone is coming to the Indian market, as made obvious by the company's latest teaser on Amazon India and it will definitely carry the moniker "Star." Whether it will be called Galaxy A8 Star or Galaxy A9 Star is something that remains to be seen, because the same smartphone is known as A9 Star in China, but as A8 Star in all other markets. Now the real question is, will Indians be buying this smartphone in enough quantities to justify the launch?

Samsung has not been doing particularly well recently in the country due to the presence of its Chinese rival Xiaomi and their ridiculously cheap but better alternatives to Samsung's smartphones in the low-mid to mid-range segments. Even as Samsung prepares to launch the sleek looking device for around INR 30,000 (the exact price has not yet been revealed) or $430, Xiaomi has already launched the Pocophone F1 in India for a ridiculous starting price of only INR 21,000 ($300 approximately). Considering that the Pocophone F1 will sport a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, at least 6GB of RAM and 64GB of internal storage for that price, it isn't looking particularly good for the Galaxy A8 Star, which is not only at least INR 10,000 ($143 approximately) more expensive than the Pocophone F1, but also sports a much weaker Snapdragon 660 SoC and just 4GB of RAM. Although the battery is a big one in the A8/A9 Star at 3,700mAh, it pales against the competition's 4,000mAh battery. The only advantage that Samsung has over Xiaomi is the "brand" factor, which matters in India because smartphones are seen as status symbols in the country for some reason!

Saikat Kar

If you have been following the smartphone news for the last few years, then you probably already know that a Samsung foldable smartphone has been in development for years now. However, after years of false rumors and promises, it looks like 2019 is finally going to be the year in which the elusive device from Samsung will at last be launched. The latest rumor suggests that the smartphone will be unveiled at the CES 2019 and we have some images that might just catch your attention because they do look gorgeous.

As per the latest images and rumors, the Galaxy X could also be called Galaxy F, aka Foldable. While the denomination is unimportant, what is more important is the fact that the smartphone seems to be in-line with previous rumors that suggested it would resemble a wallet when folded. In-between the completely folded in and the completely folded out positions, there is even a third intermediary position. Whether these renders hold any credence to them or not is something that we will just have to wait a few more months to find out.

Source: Nieuwe Mobiel

Saikat Kar

The Galaxy Note 9 has finally been launched and while the memories are still fresh, it is already time to look forward to the Galaxy S10, because it might have a bunch of impressive features that the Galaxy Note 9 didn't. Make no mistake, the Note 9 is a very capable device, but it's nothing ground breaking in terms of design or functionality really. You can check out the full spec, price and feature list here. Having said that, could it be that some of the more impressive features, including the in-display fingerprint scanner would make their way onto the Galaxy S10? We certainly hope so, especially since it is predicted that most smartphones will have it in 2019.

It's a bit disappointing really that the huge 6.4-inch display of the Note 9 didn't have the Fingerprint on Display technology, aka FOD, given that both Huawei and Vivo have managed to incorporate it quite effectively in some of their high-end smartphones for months now. We are also expecting 3D cameras and 5G compatibility on the Galaxy S10, but it's still too early to tell for sure.

Saikat Kar

It would be a lie to state that the Galaxy Note 9 is almost the same as the Note 8, but as far as looks are concerned, they do look almost identical! Nevertheless, it features every innovation that the last leak suggested, but at an eye-watering price of $999.99 and $1249.50 for the 128GB/6GB and 512GB/8GB versions respectively. Primary highlight of the unveiling was the new Bluetooth powered S-Pen's capabilities, which comes with its own battery now. In addition to the stylus finctionalities, the S-Pen can also be used as a remote control for controlling the Note 9. AI powered scene detection, a bigger battery and early adopter goodies for Fortnite players were the other highlights of the show. Do check out the full spec list below.

Display: 6.4-inch, 18.5:9, Super AMOLED display at 2,960 x 1,440 resolution (516 ppi)

SoC: Global: 10 nm, 64-bit, octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.8 GHz quad + 1.7 GHz quad); U.S.: 10nm, 64-bit, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

GPU: ARM Mali-G72 MP18 (Exynos); Adreno 630 (Snapdragon)

RAM: 6GB or 8GB LPDDR4 RAM

Storage: 128GB or 512GB with microSD expansion up to 512GB

Rear Cameras: Dual camera with dual OIS, Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12 MP AF sensor with OIS, f/1.5 and f/2.4 apertures; Telephoto: 12 MP AF sensor, f/2.4 aperture, 2x zoom

Front: 8 MP AF sensor, f/1.7 aperture

Audio: Stereo speakers tuned by AKG, surround sound with Dolby Atmos technology

Audio formats: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, DSF, DFF, APE

Video: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

Battery: 4,000mAh battery

Fast Wired Charging compatible with QC 2.0

Fast Wireless Charging compatible with WPC and PMA

IP rating: IP68

Sensors: Iris, pressure, accelerometer, barometer, fingerprint, gyro, geomagnetic, hall, HR, proximity, RGB Light

Network: Enhanced 4X4 MIMO/CA, LAA, LTE Cat. 18

Wi-Fi: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5 GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM

Bluetooth: v5.0 (LE up to 2 Mbps)

ANT+

USB Type-C

NFC

Location: GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou

SIM: Single nano-SIM

Authentication  Lock type: Pattern, PIN, password

Biometric lock type: iris scanner, fingerprint scanner, face recognition, Intelligent Scan

Software: Android 8.1 with Samsung Experience

Dimensions and weight: 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm, 201g

Colors: Lavender Purple, Ocean Blue, Midnight Black, Metallic Copper

***All pictures were obtained from Android Authority

Saikat Kar