The war has started between what are possibly the best mobile terminals available on the market, we are obviously talking about the Samsung Galaxy S9 and the iPhone XS, we are facing the two true flagships of each company, however ... Are you clear which of them is better? We have put the iPhone XS and the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 face to face after almost a month of use and this has been our conclusion.
Stay with us and discover in which aspect the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is better over the iPhone XS and vice versa, it is important to take into account all these data before proceeding with your purchase.
As seeing it with your own eyes is not the same as reading it, I cannot miss the opportunity to recommend that you spend some time watching the video that we have left you at the beginning of the post, is the video in which we analyze both devices and we manage to reach the conclusions about which of them is better, on the channel Actualidad Gadget You will find many similar videos and content about the best gadgets on the market. And without further delay we proceed to see in which sections each of these terminals wins over its most direct rival.
Screen: The two best on the market
We are without a doubt the two best screens in the mobile market, curiously we have to review that both screens are manufactured by Samsung, while the SuperAMOLED of its Galaxy Note 9 It has an aspect ratio of 18.5: 9, offering a screen ratio of 83,4%, for which it boasts a resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels, which results in a total of 516 pixels per inch, a truly fantastic resolution. The iPhone XS Max it lags a bit behind in this aspect, leaving us with an aspect ratio of 19,5:9 with a ratio that is also close to that 83,4% while offering a slightly lower resolution, 1242 x 2688 pixels that would result in 458 pixels per pixel. inch, however the technology used in this case is OLED. Black" /]
In this regard, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 offers higher resolution, despite the fact thatDisplayMate has shown the iPhone XS Max screen as the best on the market. The reality is that this is going to depend a lot on the tastes of the user, since both have HDR compatibility, a great contrast and an especially good brightness. Color representation is where we find the first differences, while Apple takes advantage of True Tone to offer images that are as realistic as possible, Samsung has always opted to saturate colors a little more making them more vivid and striking, this time we are going to establish a technical tie that must be adjusted to the needs or tastes of the end user.
Design: Premium materials adjusted differently
Another technical draw, we have on the one hand the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 with a front of 6,4 inches in total, which offers a height of 162 millimeters, accompanied by 76 millimeters in width and 8,8 millimeters in thickness. All this will offer us a total weight of no less than 201 grams. On his side the iPhone XS Max se stands at 157 millimeters high by 77 millimeters wide for just 7,7 millimeters thick, offering a total weight of 208 grams (somewhat above the Galaxy Note 9).
We get that while the Galaxy Note 9 is slightly lighter, The iPhone XS Max is slightly thinner, this has its reason for being, and that is that while the Galaxy uses aluminum for its chassis, Apple has opted for polished steel as they did with their Apple Watch on duty, and as They also did some time ago with the iPhone 4. Be that as it may, this will not affect the durability or the design of both models, which are water resistant, with the best versions of Gorilla Glass and extremely beautiful, offered in quite interesting color ranges. It seems that again, it will be a matter of taste, perhaps the most notable difference is comparing the "eyebrow" of the iPhone with the double frame of the Galaxy Note 9, as well as the vertical arrangement of the iPhone XS by the more traditional horizontal version present on the Samsung model.
Power and storage: do you think you will lack?
We are facing the two most powerful terminals on the market, the iPhone XS Max for mounting the A12 Bionic accompanied by 4GB of RAM, the first 7 nanometer marketed. We also have the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 with a self-made Exynos 9810 in 10 nanometers and with the possibility of choosing between the 6GB version and another 8GB version. Without a doubt we have the two most ideal terminals in terms of power and optimization, we have no doubt that we can run Fortnite and any editing system without limitation, so power cannot be a doubt when it comes to differentiating any of these two terminals.
Regarding storage, we find the first highlight of the Galaxy Note 9, we have only two versions, from 128 GB to 512 GB through 256 GB, but we can raise it up to 1 TB if we add a microSD card 512 GB, a possibility that we do not have in the iPhone XS Max, which will keep us limited in its64/256/512 GB of flash memory. It is common that in this type of terminals we can choose a microSD card.
Camera: Samsung is one step ahead
The iPhone XS Max offers us a camera 12MP dual rear with stabilizer and a realistic optical zoom, exactly the same features offered on the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. However, the differences begin to be noticed in the first photographs, the South Korean model performs much better in low light conditions, allowing us to take pictures with less effort and with better results. Many users do not like that the Samsung camera tends to saturate colors, but it is something that we can adjust later, however the way it captures the lighting is unmatched by other brands. How could it be otherwise, both cameras have the ability to photograph in "portrait mode".
| IPHONE XS MAX | 12 MP f / 1.8, OIS, PDAF | 12 MP f / 2.4, OIS, PDAF, 2x optical zoom | 7 MP, f / 2.2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTES 9 | 12 MP, Dual Pixel, variable aperture f / 1.5-2.4, OIS | 12 MP telephoto, f / 2.4, AF, OIS | 8 MP, AF, f / 1.7 |
For its part, the Galaxy Note 9 has an 8MP front camera and the iPhone XS Max has 7MP, this leads us to the conclusion that the Galaxy Note 9 camera could be better, but things change in terms of selfies it means. Samsung has a "beauty mode" from which we cannot escape, which softens "selfies" photographs too much and makes them look unrealistic, it is something really frustrating for the regular user or little given to this type of images. Therefore, my conclusion is that while the front camera of the iPhone XS Max is better, the rear (main) of the Galaxy Note 9 takes more whole.
How is the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 better?
We are going to take a short tour of the improvements that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 presents with respect to its more direct rival, the iPhone XS Max:
- Fingerprint reader: The fingerprint reader is an interesting alternative that Apple itself popularized, which it has gotten rid of overnight. The Galaxy Note continues to maintain this (along with others) authentication method that is very up-to-date, reliable, durable and above all easy to use, presenting users with more alternatives when it comes to protecting their terminal.
- The S-Pen: This digital pen works remarkably well and is extremely differentiating. Samsung users love the way it works and how easy it is to use, and the reality is that we have loved the way it works too.
- The fast charger: Samsung includes in the content of the Galaxy Note 9 a fast charger, something that its rival from the Cupertino company cannot boast of and much to be appreciated.
- Connectivity and Samsung DeX: Thanks to the USB-C cable and the compatibility with the Samsung DeX system, the possibilities of the Galaxy Note 9 are almost endless. We do not forget the 3,5 mm Jack either.
What is the iPhone XS Max better at?
Now we go to the opposite side, let's see in what aspects the iPhone XS Max has seemed better than its direct rival, the Galaxy Note 9:
- Optimization and software: The proprietary, layer-free software and excellent performance make the iPhone XS Max an alternative for those looking for an efficient phone with highly polished software.
- Endurance: The autonomy of the iPhone XS Max is slightly better than that of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9
- FaceID: The facial recognition of the iPhone XS Max is a world reference in terms of security and comfort.
Price comparison
While the iPhone XS Max you can find it for 1259 euros in its cheapest variant,el Samsung Galaxy Note 9 128GB and 6GB of RAM memory starts from $1008 officially, although a proportional and usual price decrease in Android will soon begin.