iPhone XS vs. Note 9: What does a $ 1,000 phone buy you?

The $ 1,000 phone may not be as shocking as Apple's when it broke through the first barrier with the iPhone X 2017, but the amount requested for a high-end device does not change much. The new iPhone XS and the August Galaxy Note 9 both begin at a higher level, and higher storage models increase from there. (See tables below for international prices.)

So what do these phones have to justify the price of $ 1,000? And what is the best buy? Although we can not say with certainty that we have tested the new features of the iPhone XS side by side with the Galaxy Note 9, we now have a good idea of ​​what they offer and how they compete for your affection – and your money

And remember too, these two phones have smaller and cheaper counterparts. the iPhone XR is a slightly stripped version of the iPhone XS and starts at $ 750. Samsung & # 39; s Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are essentially the 9 notes minus the S Pen, some of the features of the camera and the massive storage space and the battery. The Galaxy S9 starts at $ 720 (varies by operator).

More on the phones that break the wallet: Why phones become more expensive

Note 9 has the largest OLED screen

The iPhone XS and even bigger iPhone XS Max are the second and third Apple phones to use and the OLED screen (the iPhone XR attaches to an LCD). OLED technology produces vibrant contrast and color, giving phones that use the display a premium cache.

Samsung offers you more screen for your money: a curved 6.4 inch screen rather than the 5.8 inch screen of the iPhone XS. If you want more iPhone screen, you will need to upgrade to the iPhone XS Max, which has 6.5 inches of OLED quality, and a higher starting price.

The king of the camera is in the air

This one is going to be an important test. The iPhone XS camera looks like the iPhone X on paper, but Apple says it has improved the 12-megapixel dual configuration of the phone with software capable of automatically repairing the shadows and details for better HDR. .

Apple has also added more portrait lighting effects to the iPhone XS, and claims to give portrait selfies greater depth. There is also a new slider adjustment that allows you to edit the amount of blur that you put on a Bokeh selfie after it's taken. Samsung has had similar functionality over the past two years.

For its part, the 12-megapixel dual camera configuration of the Note 9 includes an automatic scene recognition tool that uses the AI ​​to automatically select the "best" settings for your photos. The dual-aperture lens of the main camera automatically changes to offer you better pictures with low light, but the nature of the technology means that if the subjects move, the picture may become fuzzy .

Note 9 has a super slow slow motion video as well as slow motion (the latter is of better quality), while the iPhone XS only has video in slow motion – this is a minor feature for most.

In our comparison of photos with the iPhone X, the low-light photos in Note 9 were brighter, the selfies a little sharper and the photos more controlled with Pro mode. The S Pen of Note 9 also serves as a remote control for group photos and selfies, up to 30 feet apart. (You can do this with the iPhone EarPods that come in the box, until the cable stretches.)

However, small adjustments made by Apple to image processing algorithms could make all the difference, especially in the case of low-light images.

The advantage of the processor goes to the iPhone XS

Apple's new A12 Bionic chip promises serious competition against the Galaxy Note 9 Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. The chipset is the phone's workhorse. Consisting of multiple processors – including the processor, the graphics processor for graphics and coprocessors such as the image signal processor for photography – it handles everything from the loading of applications and the performing daily tasks up to photo processing and energy efficiency.

Things are technically fast, but the preview is that Apple promises that applications will load up to 30% faster than on the iPhone X and that the entire phone will be 15% more fast. According to Apple, this will be more efficient in terms of battery, play more resource-intensive games and help the photos to be at their best with the Smart HDR feature mentioned above.

A faster processor can also make Face ID work faster, make the new Apple Memoji avatars Track your actual facial expressions and reduce the delay in AR environments.

A technical detail is that the new Apple A12 chip uses a 7-nanometer manufacturing process, which contributes to energy efficiency and reduced space inside the phone to make room to other elements, such as a larger battery.

Meanwhile, the Snapdragon 845 processor has performed extremely well in our lab and real-life tests. Qualcomm phones for 2019 will use a chip made with the same 7nm process and will also be ready to support 5G data connection speeds, which Apple has never mentioned in its presentation.

The battery life could tip the way of note 9

Predicting the battery life of the iPhone from specifications has always been tricky because Apple does not share battery capacity figures like the rest of the industry. Instead, Apple told us that the iPhone XS should last 30 minutes a day longer than the iPhone X. The battery life of this phone lasted about 11.5 hours, a day's work in CNET's looping video battery drain tests. However, his longevity did not impress us. 30 minutes more a day will not make us smile.

The Galaxy Note 9, meanwhile, continued early in the morning until late at night on a single charge, with more than 19 hours on a single charge during our drainage tests. The Samsung 4000 mAh battery has the advantage of this round.

Storage is much cheaper on note 9

For $ 1,000, you get 64GB of iPhone XS storage and 128GB of storage on the Galaxy Note 9. That's twice as much space for photos and videos on the Samsung phone. For more storage, you need to upgrade to the top level of the iPhone XS 256GB for $ 1,149.

For 512 GB of internal storage, the Galaxy Note 9 costs $ 1,250. The iPhone XS: $ 1,349, or $ 100 more. The Galaxy Note 9 also comes with a microSD card slot that takes up to 512GB of external storage, which is a less expensive solution.

Security Updates, Android Alias ​​vs. iOS 12

IPhones have always had the upper hand on security updates and software upgrades in general. Apple updates all its phones at the same time. For example, iPhones receive their iOS 12 upgrade on September 17th.

While Google also makes its software available for phones – we are now in Android Pie – the Note 9 comes with Android 8.1 Oreo. The phone will surely be updated, but Samsung must first test Android Pie with its custom Samsung Experience software before receiving approval to push the operators update. So, it takes time.

Extras matter

The Note 9 and the iPhone XS both have a wireless charge, an IP68 water resistance rating and dual SIM card options. But it's the extras that make phones worthwhile.

Note 9 is distinguished by its Bluetooth-connected S-Pen stylus, which now functions as a remote control for some applications. You can unlock the phone securely with your iris or finger, and Samsung Pay is a bonus service that works on registries that Google Pay and Apple Pay may not have access to.

Samsung's Bixby voice assistant is aggressive and does not go out: it's a nuisance or a major inconvenience depending on where you are.

Meanwhile, the iPhone XS has Face Unlock (without fingerprint backup) and works seamlessly with the entire Apple ecosystem, from the new Apple Watch 4 with its enhanced health features to synchronize messages on a MacBook or MacBook Air.

Too early to say

While the Galaxy Note 9 has its advantages, but until we take both phones in their entirety, we can not say for sure which phone gives you "more". Some devices are worth more than the sum of its parts; a little less. Apple fans will undoubtedly choose one of three new iPhones, or an iPhone 8, 8 more or 7.

But if you are on the fence, wait until we have the chance to dive deeply.

IPhone XS vs Galaxy Note 9 vs iPhone XS Max Specifications

	iPhone XS	Samsung Galaxy Note 9	iPhone XS Max
Display size, resolution	Super Retina OLED 5.8 inches; 2,436×1,125 pixels	Super AMOLED 6.4 inches; 2,960×1,440 pixels	OLED Super Retina 6.5 inches; 2,688×1,242 pixels
Pixel density	458 ppi	516ppi	458 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	5.7×2.8×0.3 in	6.37×3.01×0.35 in	6.2×3.0x.3 in
Dimensions (millimeters)	143.6×70.9×7.7 mm	161.9×76.4×8.8 mm	157.5×77.4×7.7 mm
Weight (ounces, grams)	6.24 oz; 177g	7.09 oz .; 201g	7.3 ounces 208g
Mobile Software	iOS 12	Android 8.1 Oreo	iOS 12
Camera	Dual 12 megapixel	Dual 12 megapixel (wide), 12 megapixel (telephoto)	Dual 12 megapixel
Front facing the camera	7 megapixels with face ID	8 megapixels	7 megapixels with face ID
Video capture	4K	4K	4K
Processor	Apple A12 Bionic	Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor from Octa-core (2.8GHz + 1.7GHz), or Octa-core Samsung Exynos 9810 (2.7GHz + 1.7GHz)	Apple A12 Bionic
Storage room	64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB	128 GB, 512 GB	64 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB
RAM	N / A	6 GB, 8 GB	N / A
Expandable storage	No	512 GB	No
Drums	N / A, but Apple claims that it will last 30 min. longer than the iPhone X	4000mAh	N / A, but Apple claims it will last 90 minutes. longer than the iPhone X
Fingerprint detector	None (face ID)	Phone back	None (face ID)
connector	Lightning	USB-C	Lightning
Headphone jack	No	Yes	No
Specials	Water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging; Facial Identifier, Animoji	Water resistant (IP68); wireless charging; S-Pen with Bluetooth connectivity; Iris and facial digitization	Water resistant (IP68); dual-SIM capabilities (nano-SIM and e-SIM); wireless charging; Facial Identifier, Animoji
Price excluding contract (USD)	$ 999 (64 GB), $ 1,149 (256 GB), $ 1,349 (512 GB)	$ 1,000 (128 GB), $ 1,250 (512 GB)	$ 1,099 (64 GB), $ 1,249 (256 GB), $ 1,449 (512 GB)
Price (GBP)	£ 999 (64GB), £ 1,149 (256GB), £ 1,349 (512GB)	£ 899 (128 GB), £ 1 099 (512 GB)	$ 1,099 (64 GB), $ 1,249 (256 GB), $ 1,449 (512 GB)
Price (AUD)	AU $ 1,629 (64GB), AU $ 1,879 (256GB), $ 2,199 (512GB)	AU $ 1499 (128 GB), AU $ 1,799 (512 GB)	AU $ 1,799 (64 GB), AU $ 2,049 (256 GB), AU $ 2,369 (512 GB)