Samsung’s latest flagship handset the Note 9 has gone on sale two weeks after it was announced at an event in New York.
Preorders went live on August 9th immediately after the device was unveiled, marking a slightly earlier launch for the device this year. Irish networks are charging €950 for the entry-level Note 9 on prepay.
"We always look at when is the optimum time to launch," said Mark Notton, director of product portfolio and commercial strategy for Samsung in Europe. "We felt this was the right time to do it. The product was ready."
Among the changes to the device are improvements to the S Pen, which now has Bluetooth connectivity that allows users to control the camera, video playback, presentations and other functions with the pen. A bigger battery is accompanied by a new cooling system that manages heat generated by the device through a mixture of a water-cooling system and intelligent software that automatically adjusts performance.
The improvements to the cooling system also allow Samsung to drop the Dex accessory, building the technology directly into the handset. To turn the phone into a desktop mimic, users need only carry a small HDMI connector.
The device uses the same camera technology as the Galaxy S9+ but adds software to make it more intelligent. Samsung has also updated its digital assistant Bixby to make it more intelligent and useful than before.
Remarkably similar
But on the surface, the Note 9 looks remarkably similar to last year’s Note, although it increases the screen size to 6.4 inches. It also ships with Android Oreo rather than the latest version, Android Pie.
The launch of the Note 9 comes following lower than expected sales for the Galaxy S9, which was unveiled earlier this year. But the company was still confident that the Note 9 would buck the trend.
“There are times when companies can put in technology for the sake of it and hope that the target consumer will appreciate it.” Mr Notton said. “We’ve really focused on what the users are asking for and being able to deliver it to them.”
Phone makers are facing increasingly tougher markets as consumers demand more innovation and hang on to smartphones for longer.
“It’s a challenge that we relish. At Samsung technology is core throughout our whole DNA,” he said. “We’re going to continue to innovate on the devices we’ve launched today.
“We’ve got innovation across the entire company and we are relentless in our pursuit of making amazing products that are best in class for our consumers around the world.”
Samsung is also preparing to launch its latest smartwatch, dubbed Galaxy Watch. Mr Notton said the category was continuing to grow and smartwatches would be a dominant part of the wearable technology category. The Tizen-powered watch is set to launch early next month.
