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How Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 stacks up against the iPhone X

How Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9 stacks up against the iPhone X

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Battle of the $1,000 smartphones

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Graphics by Michele Doying / The Verge

Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 9 is official, and the company has once again outdone itself when it comes to putting a truly staggering amount of firepower into a phone. The top-of-the-line model offers a whopping 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM, which are numbers that put most midrange laptops to shame.

Specs that — on paper — could put some laptops to shame

But in 2018, the smartphone market is already pretty tough. And both Apple and Google are already gearing up to release their own updated flagships this fall, so the Note 9’s competition is only going to get tougher. As is now tradition with these posts, it’s important to realize that raw specs don’t always tell the full story for a smartphone. What manufacturers do with their hardware, how well it’s optimized, and what real-world performance looks like isn’t always reflected in the specifications.

We’ll have a full review of the Note 9 soon. In the meantime, we’ve put the Note 9 head-to-head against some of its biggest competition on the market today, including the iPhone X, the G7 ThinQ, the U12 Plus, and Samsung’s own Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus to help you get a better idea of where things stand now as you decide which way to vote with your wallet this fall.

Galaxy Note 9 spec shootout

SpecificationGalaxy Note 9Galaxy S9Galaxy S9 PlusiPhone XiPhone 8iPhone 8 PlusLG G7 ThinQHTC U12 PlusHuawei P20 ProPixel 2 XLPixel 2
Display6.4-inches5.8 inches6.2 inches5.8 inches4.7 inches5.5 inches6.1 inches6.0 inches6.1 inches6.0 inches5.0 inches
Resolution2960 x 14402960 x 14402960 x 14402436 x 11251334 x 7501920 x 10803120 x 14402880 x 14402240 x 10802880 x 14401920 x 1080
ProcessorSnapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)Snapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)Snapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)A11 BionicA11 BionicA11 BionicSnapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)Snapdragon 845 (2.8GHz and 1.7GHz, octa-core)Kirin 970 (2.36 GHz and 1.8 GHz, octa-core)Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core)Snapdragon 835 (2.35GHz and 1.9GHz, octa-core)
RAM6GB, 8GB4GB6GB3GB2GB3GB4GB6GB6GB4GB4GB
Storage128GB, 512GB64GB64GB64GB, 256GB64GB, 256GB64GB, 256GB64GB64GB, 128GB128GB64GB, 128GB64GB, 128GB
Rear camera12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)12 megapixel12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)12 megapixel12 megapixel, 12 megapixel (wide)16 megapixel, 16 megapixel (wide)12 megapixel (wide), 16 megapixel (telephoto)40 megapixel, 20 megapixel (monochrome), 8 megapixel (telephoto)12.2 megapixel12.2 megapixel
Front camera8 megapixel8 megapixel8 megapixel7 megapixel7 megapixel7 megapixel8 megapixel8 megapixel, 8 megapixel24 megapixel8 megapixel8 megapixel
Battery4000mAh3000mAh3500mAh2716mAh1821mAh2675mAh3000mAh3420mAh4000mAh3520mAh2700mAh
Water protectionIP68IP68IP68IP67IP67IP67IP67IP68IP67IP67IP67
Wireless chargingYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNo
PortsUSB-C, headphone jackUSB-C, headphone jackUSB-C, headphone jackLighting portLighting portLighting portUSB-C, headphone jackUSB-CUSB-CUSB-CUSB-C
Weight0.44 pounds0.36 pounds0.42 pounds0.38 pounds0.33 pounds0.45 pounds0.36 pounds0.41 pounds0.40 pounds0.39 pounds0.32 pounds
Dimensions (in.)6.37 x 3.01 x 0.355.81 x 2.70 x 0.336.22 x 2.91 x 0.335.65 x 2.79 x 0.305.45 x 2.65 x 0.296.24 x 3.07 x 0.306.03 x 2.83 x 2.836.17 x 2.91 x 0.386.10 x 2.91 x 0.316.20 x 3.00 x 0.305.70 x 2.70 x 0.30
Starting price$999.99$719.99$839.99$999.00$699.00$799.00$750.00$799.99€899 (not available in the US)$849.00$649.00
Misc.Bluetooth S Pen, iris scanner, mechanically adjustable apertureIris scanner, mechanically adjustable apertureIris scanner, mechanically adjustable apertureFace ID scanner, runs iOSRuns iOSRuns iOSQuad DAC for Hi-Fi audio, ThinQ AISqueezable side functionTriple camera systemSqueezable sidesSqueezable sides