 Good evening, this is Rafael from Hardware Sugar with an interesting review. We don't normally do cell phone reviews, however, I just ordered the S21 Ultra and I am saying goodbye to my Note 9. And because we are not a cell phone reviewing page, no, we do not have 20 extra cell phones in our closet, nor do we change our daily driver every month. I have religiously only used the Note 9 for two years and I can tell you right now that there is still potential for people to buy this phone, even though it's already 2021. So this is going to be a very lengthy review and I included timestamps in the links below. I was lucky enough to be able to take it around the world with me to all sorts of places, one of which was the Inca Trail where we took a three-day hike across the mountains of Peru in order to get to Machu Picchu upon sunrise. I took sunset photos in the middle of the ocean. I also recorded one of the largest glaciers slowly melting into the ocean. And of course, it's legit. It's easy to order, search for the software you need, add to cart, check out, and you're done with their payment options. No more than a minute, finished. You already have a legit working CDK on the software you chose. Use our promo code to get an extra 20% discount on your purchase. If you're looking for cheap, legit, and original software, check out CDKOffers.com. I took selfies with the Maui statues on Easter Island, the furthest island in the world. I took it with me to the Atacama Desert, which is the darkest place in the world, and we did stargazing, and I saw a satellite. I was able to track a satellite with my Note 9 and I'm hoping the footage comes out, but you could definitely see something moving. 2018 was also a very interesting period because we tore down our house and we needed to move to a condo and it was on like the 42nd floor, so we had some really great sunrise and sunsets for two years straight. It's also the cell phone that I use in order to document the house that my parents built. In truth, I have taken the Note 9 to almost every possible photographic and video setting I could imagine for the most part, really. However, as I'll talk about later in depth, there were some things about the camera which really irritated me. Also, I'm not a professional photographer and one of the great gauges of whether or not a cell phone camera is really great is if it can give you good photos and videos, even though you're not an expert. Manufacturers place a lot of focus on not just the hardware, but also the software involved in making sure you get really nice photos and videos. What follows are photos I have taken with the Galaxy Note 9 for you to assess if it is something you would want to invest in in 2021. Almost all the photos and videos were taken with the main camera except the occasional selfie which I took with the front-facing camera. If at any point you want to tap out and head on over to the other parts of the review, feel free to check out the timestamps in the description. Even if it is a three-year-old phone, the quality of the images speak for themselves. As Chase Jarvis once said, the best camera is the one you have. Nevertheless, I am so glad I had the Note 9 throughout my trip. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. 2019. And it's actually a flagship cell phone several months after it's been released. The Note 9 came out August 2018. That was literally five months after the release. So here's my tip. Do not get a flagship cell phone if it is older than three months. You're going to end up wasting money and feeling bad because the latest rendition of the flagship phone will be just coming around the corner. And Samsung releases two kinds of phones regularly every year. The S-series cell phone comes out usually in the beginning of the year and the Note 9 comes out around August of every year. However, we don't know if there's actually going to be a new note. I had to break my three-month rule because of how bad my battery life was on the iPhone 7 Plus. And so I just went in and got my Note 9 just before one of my trips. And so this after-action review is really about my relationship with the Note 9. How does it feel after two years? I say this because the Note 9 is still a great purchase in 2021 if you're looking to save because we're living in a COVID era and every little amount that saved really comes a long way. So if you don't need to upgrade to the latest flagship cell phone, don't worry about it because really the Note 9 is fantastic. In 2021, the Note 9 retails for US$350 or US$21,000. And if you're thinking of just skipping that and just going straight to the S21 Ultra, that costs US$1,200 or here in the Philippines, it's US$70,000. So if I like the Note 9 so much, why change it? I have a problem with my Note 9 which is that there seems to be a permanent form of fog at the camera lens and I need to brush it off every time I'm about to take a shot. And it's especially horrible when taking shots which have lights. You end up seeing these streaks of unnecessary god rays from just a light bulb and it's very distracting. And to be honest, it was never like this before. I noticed this problem around December 2019. The light rays are a noise which didn't exist prior and I can only imagine that maybe it's because I dropped the Note 9 multiple times, easily 30 times or more. But because of the clear case that I have, my case has completely protected my screen and really for me that is the most part. There are no, nothing shattered, there are no major scratches on the screen. It is almost brand new practically. It's only that irritating part about the camera lens. I'm another theory that I'm thinking about is maybe Walter actually entered the camera, never left. Like it's just stuck there. I have taken to the pool, I've taken to the beach. I would chalk up the camera problem to my own negligence because I haven't exactly treated it perfectly well. But nevertheless, the problem is clearly there. The overall design of the Note 9 has aged very well considering that it's almost going to be a three-year-old phone. It has thin bezels and it feels like you're holding a delicate shard of glass. I can feel the marriage of glass and metal just perfectly working together. To emphasize that this is not just a tool but actually a almost living form of art. And speaking about the bezels, I really dig that there are no weird camera cutouts of the Note 9. There is no iPhone lip which covers the top part of all of their recent phones. What takes me out of the viewing experience is when I see a punch-out hole or if I see the iPhone lip. Here, even though it's an older phone, it has a great screen and you are never taken out of the video experience because there's no break in video, okay? That's into my opinion, that's really how cell phones should be. The Note 9 is protected with Gorilla Glass 5 and aluminum frame. However, ever since day one, I've used a clear case from UAG. I dropped this at least three times on jagged granite steps along the Inca Trail. And here it is in almost pristine condition. The only thing that I could definitely see here is the wear and tear of where the fingerprint scanner is. One thing which other reviewers don't seem to cover is how a cell phone reacts to alcohol. I have been wiping down my cell phone with alcohol since March 2020. And it's already January 2021 and my phone screen is still impeccable. I was concerned that I would actually be destroying something. Even though Samsung came out and said that you can use alcohol on the screen, there is a rubbery feeling which encapsulates the screen which is really irritating. So actually, what I do is I place isopropyl alcohol and then after that I let it dry and then I wipe it down with just regular water to get rid of that rubbery sensation which I don't like. And so far, I don't see any problems whatsoever with the screen. It feels like brand new after the alcohol and water have dried up. With the release of the S21 Ultra, it is becoming clear that Samsung intends not to have SD card and headphone jack support for all their new and upcoming cell phones. The Note 9, however, still has both a micro SD card slot and a headphone jack. Now, would you actually be using that micro SD card slot? It depends because for me, I have the 128GB version of the Note 9 and I think it's already perfect as is. It's just really all the question about how often you transfer your files to your PC or to your hard drive because really, if you're just going to be taking photos for three years, yeah, most definitely, that's going to fill up really fast. So for me, I have never used the micro SD card slot even though I kept telling myself, oh, hey, I should really take full advantage of this micro SD card. But no, I never did because I transferred my pictures and videos regularly and I sort them into my hard drive and folders. The headphone jack is very useful. I thought I wouldn't find it useful because I use AirPods. Yes, I use AirPods even though my phone is a Note 9. It's a carryover from when I was using an iPhone 7 Plus. And just to highlight, the AirPods work well enough. I'm the type of person who believes that wired is always better in terms of sound quality. Of course, it's not convenient and I rarely use earphones with wires. But I like to have the backup alternative because it uses up less battery for both your cell phone as well as your earphone. And I always have some degree of anxiety that the Bluetooth earphones won't sync every now and then. And so I always like having that backup. Now let's talk more about the curved screen. So the Note 9 has these really nice curves at the sides of the screen, which most YouTubers complain about. They complain that it leads to unnecessary pressing or poor palm rejection. Palm rejection is a fancy word of saying that you're resting one part of your hand on the phone. A small portion of your skin ends up pressing something which you don't intend to do. In a way, it leads to an overreaction in terms of response for the phone. I however do not agree. I don't agree because most people will actually get a case for their cell phone. And for a Note 9, I've had the same case ever since. I've never changed it. And it just has enough lip to protect the sides of the phone. Yet at the same time, you can still feel the curve. And might I say that the curve actually creates the premium finish, which sets it apart from other cell phones. In fact, it's interesting to note that the S21 and the S21 Plus are now flat cell phones. I feel like we're going backwards instead of forward. However, the S21 Ultra retains the curved edges precisely because even Samsung thinks that a curved edge is a more premium and a more unique finish. The case pretty much prevents unintentional pressing of the screen. The colors of the screen are rich and diverse. It really still is one of the best screens that you could have on a cell phone. One thing though that the Note 9 doesn't have yet is a high refresh rate. The Note 9 is still sporting 60 frames per second. While the S21 Ultra for instance can go up to 120 or even the S20 can go up to 120 frames per second. Now, what does that really mean to Apple users? What you're experiencing now with the latest iPhones are restricted to 60 frames per second. It feels like a buttery experience for you. But the moment you test anything with a high refresh rate that is above 60, you'll definitely notice it. My advice to anyone who's planning to buy the Note 9 now in 2021 is do not attempt to try out a phone that has 120 frames per second. Once you try a higher refresh rate phone for the first time, it's really very difficult to go back. But I could just imagine the paradigm shift that would be involved from moving from 60 to 120 frames per second. But again, this is not to detract from how great the Note 9 screen is. And if you've never experienced 120 frames per second, you won't know what I'm talking about. And for the most part, the Note 9 works very smooth. It's butterly nice. And for the most part, there's no problem. The user experience for the software-wise has not changed since I bought it two years ago. In fact, I most recently just updated the firmware for my phone while I was making this video. And still, no slowdown. So there's no lag, the movement is smooth. And overall, it doesn't feel like a three-year-old model phone. Much of that is thanks to good firmware updates and battery life. Even at two years old, I am still getting a battery life which lasts me for a full day without feeling concerned that I might need a power bank. I could easily still go eight hours with heavy use until I need a charge. It also has fast charging, and you can expect to have it up to at 50% within half an hour. To conclude, the Note 9 is a cheap and good-looking smartphone, which carries a beast of a camera even for 2021 standards. It may not have all the new bells and whistles, but it has all the things you need when you want to immortalize a memory. And I want to give a special shout-out to our top fans, IPX Addict, DeepRai Shun, John Ochia, Christian Espinosa, Mark Palania, and Asher Anima. Thanks guys, we really appreciate it.