My Take On The Note 9 Vs. iPhone 11 Debate

Recently, I have been doing quite a bit of homework on the video capabilities of the newer phones out on the market in hopes of bringing on product review videos here. One of the features that has me looking at replacing my Note 9 is the fact that the front facing camera doesn’t shoot 4k video and that the rear camera doesn’t feature OIS at 4k. I’ve survived for a year plus on the Note’s abilities, but there comes a point in time where you want a bit better, but you still want to stay mobile. This is where my research took me.

I stumbled across this video on YouTube that was the exact comparison I wanted, then watched for 12 grueling minutes as the guy just babbled on and opened up Apps. That prompted me to write the following that I thought would be appropriate to share with all of you.

I’m late to the party on this one, but I’m doing research on this exact switch. I’ve had Android devices since WinPhone 8.1 died, so let’s just say I’ve been an HTC user for a long time. I did have a Note 5 and currently have the Note 9. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the phone, but… There’s a few boxes that are pretty important for me that the Note doesn’t check any more. Sure, I could fix them with a Galaxy Note 10/10+ or even the S10/10+, but here’s where the comparison failed for me…

1) Price – The iPhone 11 is $699 (64GB) vs a Note 9 (128GB) at $650. This is a NEW to NEW price comparison. If you base it off used pricing, who knows what you’re going to get as far as battery condition goes. Then you’re out another $100-200 to have Sammy replace the battery, plus the device it out of warranty at this point, so any repairs, etc are out of pocket. Now, that said, nobody in their right mind is going to buy a 64GB iPhone to last two years… Right? So, let’s change things up to getting the 256GB model at $849, not the starter model at $699.
– Winner Note 9: (but…) if you are looking for a long term investment – the iPhone will resell for double what the Note will next year.

2) Storage – All the new features, like the 4k video, chew through memory like there’s no tomorrow. In fact, that 4k-60 video that everyone is raging about takes up nearly 400MB per second. Without external storage, you would have room for about 2 hours of video on that 64GB iPhone. The Note 9 came standard with 128GB (double the recording time plus) and you can offload the video AFTER you shoot it to the SD card if needed for another 25-ish hours of recording. If we’re touting the video/camera abilities, let’s look at the whole picture…
– Winner Note 9: (but…) if you aren’t looking to shoot 4k video or use all those fancy new “media” features???

3) Camera System – Honestly, the Note series hasn’t had a serious camera upgrade since the Note 5. It’s not a negative thing really as the Note 5 camera was stellar. That said, the 9 seriously lacks compared to the 2020 flagship releases in this department. Sure, it shoots a well compressed (no OIS) 4k video from the back camera, but only 2k (no OIS) from the front. Also, the 8MP selfie shooter on the Note 9 is complete trash for lower light selfies (the rear camera still performs quite well in wide mode – not so much in Telephoto mode). In comparison, the newer i11 sensors are much better at most shooting tasks.
– Winner: iPhone 11

4) Overall Experience – There is zero doubt that Apple products offer a better experience than Android ones. It’s even worse now that Samsung has opted over to their One UI on top of the regular Android option. Since the Android 9 rollout happened, the Note hasn’t been nearly a “great” of a powerhouse as it was out of the box. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad experience, it’s just not a nice, neat package that’s tied up with a bow like the iPhone offers. There can also be a point made that the current generations of iOS beta software has been awful – but again, that’s the people that install the betas and hope for the best. Still, when you are looking at the overall experience, my 10 year old loves iOS and could never change. Me, I’m like, meh?
– Winner: iPhone 11

5) Which Ecosystem Are You Invested In? – So, Google has made some serious strides to steal the thunder from Apple’s services. Natively, you can use your Google Play services (Movies, Music, etc…) on your iOS devices without any issues at all. This isn’t like Windows Phone where Google virtually blocked Microsoft from using their API’s. Now, the difference is, if you’ve been in the iOS camp for a while, everything you have is iOS only. This is where the third parties fail (and may be the road Samsung is trying to head down with their own App Store and OS Fork) – people won’t switch unless there’s a great reason. They have too much invested in their Apps, backups, Games, Music, Etc… If they can’t use the stuff they bought already, they won’t switch.
– Winner: Apple and Google

6) Accessories – There is zero play in this one. Hands down, Apple is the king of the accessory market. Currently, you can walk in to a dollar store and find iPhone 11 cases. For the Note 9, you’re pretty much down to the clearance bin at Wal-Mart or Ebay. Again, looking at dumping $500-700 minimum on a phone and not being able to get accessories is a big deal. The iPhone 11 will have stock accessories available for quite some time at most stores – that’s a big thing to think about overall.
– Winner: iPhone 11

7) Overcoming Limitations – I am a vlogger (or trying to become one) and my one reason for wanting to upgrade my Note 9 was the lack of front facing 4k video. Sure, I could easily shoot backend like I do now, but you really can’t frame a shot that you can’t see. I also can’t record 4k Video to the SD card (something most people don’t realize) without dropping frames. I get around this by shooting to internal memory, then moving it to the SD card for editing in Kinemaster directly on the device. From there, I can upload it to YouTube using the wired LAN connection on my DEX Station – it’s pretty much an all-in-one solution for me. The S10/10+ would be a logical move for me as I could keep the same workflow pattern and move on. What struck me as funny is EVERYONE said go with the iPhone when I asked as it simplifies the workflow and shoots stellar video (better than the S10 series) so I’m taking one for a spin. Basically, what I will have to do is shoot 10-15 minute vlogs (which is pretty normal) then B-roll, splice it together in a video editor and then upload. Instantly, my current system looks FAR superior to what I will have to do with the iPhone, but will it be better quality? Overall, Android devices offer up far more “options” for overcoming hardware limitations, so this is going to be tough.
– Winner: Note 9

8) Battery Life – I’m not going to debate this one at all, but neither of these two options are going to win a battery life argument. Go ahead and try, but they are both awful. If you use a big screen phone, you’re going to get 5 hours of SOT on average. That’s just the way it is. Sure, standby can last longer and dimming the screen could help, but the more you use it (which would be the reason for upgrading a phone) the worse it will get. After a year plus, my Note is still able to get through a day with standard usage, but I’m sure the iPhone 11 will blow it out of the water for the first 6 months. That’s because it’s new, doesn’t have all the crap that a year generates running in the background, and should have newer power management features than the Note does. That said, none of these phones is going to last 2-3 days on a charge if you check Facebook or Twitter during the day and send as many emails as I do.
– Winner: NONE

9) Upgrade? – So, “this” comparison is fatally flawed. Why? Because it really doesn’t deserve to happen. The iPhone 11 is the “mid-to-low range” iPhone and the Note 9 is a two year old flagship design. It would be like comparing the Galaxy S9+ to the iPhone 11 Pro Max. Sure, the S9+ still moves great, runs all the games and Apps, even takes great photos, but… It’s old… The batteries are tired, the phone is scratched, etc… Sure you can grab a refurbished Note 9 for $400 or a used one for less, but honestly, you’re investing in a dead device at this point in time. Moving from a two year old flagship device to a “mid-range” device is never going to be a serious upgrade. There may be some nicer features, but not worthy of calling the device an upgrade. Honestly, even the 11 Pro isn’t an “upgrade” really as Apple’s hardware finally caught up with the Note’s. So here’s the nitty gritty of the deal… If you want to “upgrade” to iOS, then the 11 is the perfect choice. If you want to “upgrade” to Android, then look elsewhere than the Note 9 as there are far better devices at far better prices. Now, if you NEED that pen function, price out deals on the not-so-well-selling Note 10 which will resale for more next year (look at the trade-in values to see how bad pricing has gotten on the Note 9) and see how it performs for you.
– Winner: YOU

10) What Phone Should I Get? – So, this is the beauty of paying full price for something from the manufacturer. My iPhone 11 will be here today. I have 14 days to test drive it and make sure it will do everything I need it to before driving back across town to drop off said device for a refund if I don’t like it or it doesn’t work for me. That’s two full weeks of seeing the video, shooting, compressing, checking signal strength, etc… Plus, two whole weeks of being immersed in the iOS system and seeing if I can change. If not, then the Samsung S10 becomes a front runner for me as the prices should drop as we get closer and closer to the launch of the S20. Maybe it’s time to even wait for that to see what it does to the market. If I love the iPhone, I’ll be happy to part with my Note to someone that needs a deal on one.
– Winner Whichever Phone You Like Better

Now with all of that said, my first iOS test device will be here in about 6 hours. I’m looking forward to giving this thing a good run through and to see if it can replace my Note as a daily “video creation machine” or not. Otherwise, maybe I’m doomed to a life of Samsung devices just because of the ecosystem I chose. What are your thoughts on comparing 2 year old flagship devices to current mid-rangers? Is there really a need for this or should it be comparing new to old flagships only?