• Samsung has just unveiled the Galaxy Note 9 in South Africa.
  • The device features an all-day battery, an advanced new camera and new stylus features. 
  • The Galaxy Note 9 will be available for sale in SA on 24 August, and will retail from R18,999.

Samsung South Africa has unveiled the Galaxy Note 9 in Johannesburg.

The phone will hit the local markets on 24 August, with pre-orders currently accepted on the local Samsung site.

The 128 GB Galaxy Note 9 will retail for R18,999 (the same price as the Apple iPhone X 64GB) or from R799 per month on contract. 


Samsung South Africa representatives introducing the new Galaxy Note 9 and its features at the Johannesburg launch. (Vodacom)


Here's what you need to know about the new device.  

It has a 4,000mAh battery. Samsung says it's confident that the battery will last a whole day, even on heavy-usage days. 


(Samsung South Africa)

The Galaxy Note 9 runs on high-end specs, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor that turns the wheels inside most high-end smartphones in 2018. It also has a minimum of 6 GB of RAM — with an option to go up to 8 GB — which should make for smooth performance.


(Samsung Mobile)

The Galaxy Note 9 includes Samsung's new 'intelligent camera' feature that recognises what kind of object you're photographing and adjusts the settings automatically to take the best shot. 

Both cameras in the dual-lens system have 12 megapixels. One is for regular photos and can adjust its aperture for low-light shots, while the other is a "telephoto" lens for 2x optical zooming, which is better than digital zooming on phones without a telephoto lens.


An emoji of Business Insider SA's Timothy Rangongo, created using the Note 9's AR Emoji feature. (Photo: Timothy Rangongo, Business Insider SA)

The Note 9 allows users to create animated versions of themselves by turning selfies into emojis that mimic their movements and expressions - and can be messaged.

The S-Pen stylus is seen as the heart and soul of the device.  


Text seamlessly written on-screen using the new S-Pen. (Photo: Timothy Rangongo, Business Insider SA)

What's new with the S-Pen: It's no longer bound to screen-use only but can serve as a remote controller for the Note 9, from up to 9m. Business Insider SA took a selfie with the new S-Pen without having to touch the device.


For the first time on Android, Galaxy S7 and above users, including the Note 9, can download the Fortnite game. Note 9 users will get an exclusive "skin" in the game. 

Showcase of Epic Games' Fortnite being played on a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 at the Johannesburg launch. (Business Insider SA)

Because smartphones are increasingly becoming primary computing devices, the Note 9 transforms into a mouse/track pad with a simple HDMI adapter and cable, upon connecting the phone to a screen.


Samsung Galaxy Note 9 being used as a mouse/track pad. (Samsung Mobile)

The Samsung DeX feature allows for a dual-screen experience with a monitor.

Declared interest: Rangongo is using a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 phone received from Samsung at the launch.

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