Now we've been playing with Samsung's new Galaxy Note 9 smartphone and it's very nice
but it's also very bloody expensive, so we're going to do a quick side-by-side now with
the OnePlus 6, one of our favourite phones from 2018 - it costs about half the price
but still rocks some very premium specs - to see which is best for you.
Just when you think phones can’t get any bloody bigger, Samsung comes along with a
6.4-inch beast.
Regardless of that Infinity Display design, the Note 9 is basically a tablet - you’ll
need proper clown trousers if you want to stuff it inside your pocket.
I thought that the OnePlus 6 was already pushing the boundaries, but the Note 9 is an absolute
monster - it’s taller, and it’s noticeably heavier too.
That said, at least Samsung has helped out a bit by giving the Note 9 a one-handed mode.
This shrinks down your apps and everything else in the display to make it a lot easier
to handle with one mitt.
In comparison, the OnePlus 6 basically helps a little, you can drag down the notifications
bar from anywhere on-screen, but that's pretty much it.
Construction wise, these two phones are very similar - they both rock an aluminium frame
at the edge, with a Gorilla Glass 5 rear end.
That said, the OnePlus 6 comes in a range of finishes, so you have choice of matte or
glossy surfacing, as well as a funky ceramic style design.
The Note only comes with glossy finish, and like the shiny version of the OnePlus 6, it’s
a flipping fingerprint magnet.
Honestly, good luck making them look good on camera - these little buggers need a five-minute
buffing to clean up the grease and muck.
When it comes to water resistance, the Galaxy Note 9 does have IP68 certification, so that
means it can be submerged in a metre of water for half an hour.
The OnePlus 6 is merely ‘splash resistant’ according to the official specs, although
we've found it can take a proper soaking Both phones have a headphone port, so you
can plug in your wired phones, and they both have a special shortcut button too.
The OnePlus 6 has its alert slider, which is really helpful, it can quickly mute the
phone with a swift flick.
In comparison the Note 9 has a Bixby button, which loads up Samsung’s rather hopeless
assistant - although apparently Bixby is actually pretty good in its home country, Korea.
Go figure.
As for the software on board, you do of course get Android Oreo in both cases with manufacturer’s
own overlay slathered on top.That just adds a bunch of bonus features while switching
up the general look and feel of Android.
For instance, both phones offer face recognition on top of that fingerprint sensor, while the
Galaxy Note 9 also throws in some iris scanning, which can be used in conjunction with that
fingerprint sensor.
Both work well as long as you’re standing still - even if you're standing in the dark.
Both the Note 9 and OnePlus 6 also share features such as a gaming mode, which helps to stop
any notifications from disturbing you when you're getting your game on, and of course
plenty of gesture support as well.
However, when it comes to features the Note 9 has a massive advantage over the OnePlus
6 in the form of the S-Pen stylus.
This is absolutely fantastic for for taking notes, getting creative, and loads more - it
adds another layer of control, and in this generation can even be used as a remote control
thanks to built-in Bluetooth support.
Right now, there is admittedly very limited use for that wireless support, but who knows,
perhaps some app devs can actually make something of it.
Only time will tell.
You also get built-in support for Samsung’s DeX which turns your phone into a makeshift
desktop computer.
Potentially handy if you forget your laptop when you stagger off to work.
When it comes to the display tech, it's a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED on the Note 9 vs a 6.3-inch
AMOLED screen on the OnePlus 6.
The Note 9 does boast a sharper panel, it's a Quad HD+ resolution, compared with the Full
HD+ OP6.
Both phones offer a stretched aspect ratio, which is ideal for enjoying movies on move
- especially as those displays are frigging huge.
Seriously, hold them just a few inches from your face and it’s like being at the bloody
Imax.
However, the Note 9 is the only phone here offering HDR support.
At least you can configure the visuals on both blowers to suit your personal tastes
- changing the colour hues and temperature.
Performance is really tight on both of these phones - you get a Snapdragon 845 packed into
the OnePlus 6, and it's the same on the Note 9 if you’re living in America - otherwise
it’s Samsung’s own Exynos 9810 chipset, in most of rest of world including here in
UK.
Both of these phones also offer 6 or 8GB RAM too, so they're definitely future-proof, especially
when you factor in the super-fast connectivity.
You'll have no trouble with any apps or games or any of that shenanigans for the foreseeable.
As for storage - you get a choice of 64, 128 or 256GB of space on the OnePlus 6.
The Note 9 starts at 128GB, one step up, and it also goes up to 512GB.
Sadly there is no microSD support on OP6 - boo!
The Note 9 shames it here with support for cards up to 512GB in size, giving up to 1TB
of storage in total.
On a phone.
That’s more than my sodding laptop.
Unsurprisingly, the Galaxy Note 9 also packs a bigger battery into its monstrous frame
- we're talking a 4000mAh cell vs a 3300mAh on the OnePlus 6.
However, the OnePlus 6 boasts pretty solid battery life, lasting well into a second day
more often than not.
Meanwhile the Note 9’s battery appears to drain before your very eyes, especially if
you have all of the features activated.
That said, the Note 9 can charge wirelessly if that’s your bag - although we’d rather
have the OnePlus 6’s excellent Dash Charge, which powers the phone back up in next to
no time at all.
When it comes to the camera tech, both blowers sport a dual lens rear snapper.
The Galaxy Note 9 has two 12MP lenses.
First is smart enough to automatically adjust its aperture, between f/2.4 and f/1.5 - definitely
handy for those low light situations.
Meanwhile the second lens offers a 2-times optical zoom, and both lenses sport Optical
Image Stabilisation to counter your shaky hands - definitely useful when you’ve had
a few jars.
Meanwhile the OnePlus 6 sports a 16MP lens, backed by a 20MP shooter - both with an f/1.7
aperture.
That primary lens has OIS, but there’s no optical zoom on offer.
Both cameras offer quite a lot of different features.
For instance, they both have a form of portrait mode, which blurs the background to help your
subject stand out.
You can snap panoramas and the usual smartphone shenanigans, while both handsets also offer
manual controls so you can get a very precise kind of shot.
Of course, the Note 9 is the only handset that can turn you into a shonky looking cartoon,
so there’s that.
As for video, you can shoot up to 4K resolution footage at 60FPS on either the Galaxy Note
9 or the OnePlus 6.
And you also have some pretty decent Slow Motion options, if that’s your bag.
Flip around to the front and both phones are strong on the selfie front.
Both the 16MP OnePlus 6 snapper and 8MP Note 9 shooter perform admirably, even in dodgy
lighting, and can use software smarts to blur the Background just like the portrait mode
on that rear camera.
We'll be bringing you a full camera comparison between the Note 9 and the OnePlus 6 and a
bunch of other phones real soon, so stay tuned for that.
But what it really all comes down to is the asking price.
The OnePlus 6 starts at just 470 quid here in the UK, while the most basic model of Note
9 will cost you a frankly ludicrous 900 pounds.
That’s almost twice the price.
If you have that kind of money to burn, then feel free to send some our way - Tech Spurt
Towers, Sewage Lane, Slough.
And while the Galaxy Note 9 definitely has some serious advantages over the OnePlus,
such as that S-pen support, you've got to wonder how often you'd use it in real life
and if it's really worth that extra cash.
That's our full OnePlus 6 vs Galaxy Note 9 comparison, so let us know what you think
in the comments down below.
Do you love the Note 9, or is the OnePlus 6 your next handset?
Definitely be interesting to hear what you think and subscribe for loads more on the
latest and greatest mobile tech.
Cheers, love you!