iPhone XS Max vs. Galaxy Note 9: What's the difference?
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If you're looking for a big, new phone you might Be choosing between the iPhone 10S Max and Galaxy Note 9. Let's break down the specs and work out which of these premium Phones is right for you.
Premium phones, of course, come with a premium price, as you'd expect.
In the US the iPhone starts at $1,099 for the 64 gigabyte model, but can cost up to $1,449 for 512 gigabytes.
The base model of the Note 9 has more storage at 128 gigabytes and costs $100 less than the iPhone, so $999.
The 512 gigabyte model of the Note 9 is $1,249.
It also comes with expandable storage, so you can add a micro SD card to bump up storage to a total of 1 terabyte.
Both look similar to the Apple and Samsung designs of phones past.
The Note 9 has a 6.4 inch super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 2960 by 1440 at 516 ppi.
The biggest is technically the iPhone XS Max.
It's a 6.5 inch OLED screen and has a resolution of 2688 by 1242 at 458 ppi.
Apple's phone comes in space gray silver or gold while Samsung's is blue or purple in the U.S. Apart from deciding between iOS or Android's ecosystem, your next big factor is whether or not you want a stylus.
The Note 9 has the S pen which you can use to write on the screen and navigate.
Plus it also has Bluetooth so you can use it as a remote for some functions like taking photos.
The iPhone doesn't have a stylus.
Processor-wise, the iPhone uses Apple's latest A12 chip, while the Note runs either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 or Samsung Exynos 9810 depending on the
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A country.
Both phones are rated as IP68, which means they're water resistant, but Samsung says the Note 9 is tested for 30 minutes at around 1.5 meters, while Apple claims two meters for the same amount of time.
Wireless charing is standard on both.
Apple uses Face ID or a pin to authenticate and unlock our phone, while Samsung has a fingerprint sensor, face, and iris scanning or a pin.
The iPhone has a dual SIM functionality so you can have two numbers on the one phone.
And in some countries the Note 9 also comes with a dual SIM option.
If you're a fan of the headphone jack, that's only available on the Note 9. Both phones have dual cameras around the back.
The iPhone senses are 12 megapixels with the wide angle lens at F1.8 and a telephoto for 2X optical zoom at F2.4.
The Note 9 also uses 12 megapixel senses, but the wide angle lens has what's called a dual aperture system.
This means you can switch between F1.5 and F2.4 depending on the lighting conditions.
The telephoto lens is at f2.4 which is the same as the iPhone.
Both cameras on both phones have optical image stabilization and you can capture 4k video.
Around the front the iPhone has Apple's true depth camera with an aperture of f 2.2 and a 7 megapixel sensor.
The Note is an eight megapixel camera with a faster f 1.7 aperture.
Both are top-of-the-line phones that look really impressive on paper.
But this is is just a spec comparison.
So make sure to check out the CNET review for more on how the Note 9 and the iPhone Xs Max perform in the real world.
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