Should I dump the Note 9 for the iPhone Xs Max?

LCW

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Man I'm really on the fence. Have a Note 9 but went and got an XS Max last night. Initial thought was I miss iOS. As I was restoring back it like an old friend. But..... After a couple hours though I'm realizing I quite like Android and the Note 9. Maybe more so now.

I got used to working around my Apple ecosystem (MBP, Apple TV) with the Note over the course of this last month. Have a first gen apple watch that is so slow now haven't been wearing it anyways. The lack of notch, customizable interface (more for dark themes). Also things like Always On Display (AOD) are things I quickly got used to.

Another factor with Android, you can place all your most used icons at the bottom of your homescreen (without having to fill the whole screen). Makes it nice on large displays without resorting to reachability band aids. Widgets aren't as much an asset but nice option. I do also like iOS's take on widgets in the left screen that you swipe over. Keyboard I think Android has more choices and customization (plus things like a number row).

Face ID is fast as ever on the Max, but not having a finger print sensor as a backup or alternative is a bit of a pisser.

Decision, decisions, decisions... the XS Max might actually have to go back. Haven't made up my mind quite yet... but it's feeling that way. I have 13 days left to decide...
 

imwjl

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Man I'm really on the fence. Have a Note 9 but went and got an XS Max last night. Initial thought was I miss iOS. As I was restoring back it like an old friend. But..... After a couple hours though I'm realizing I quite like Android and the Note 9. Maybe more so now.

I got used to working around my Apple ecosystem (MBP, Apple TV) with the Note over the course of this last month. Have a first gen apple watch that is so slow now haven't been wearing it anyways. The lack of notch, customizable interface (more for dark themes). Also things like Always On Display (AOD) are things I quickly got used to.

Another factor with Android, you can place all your most used icons at the bottom of your homescreen (without having to fill the whole screen). Makes it nice on large displays without resorting to reachability band aids. Widgets aren't as much an asset but nice option. I do also like iOS's take on widgets in the left screen that you swipe over. Keyboard I think Android has more choices and customization (plus things like a number row).

Face ID is fast as ever on the Max, but not having a finger print sensor as a backup or alternative is a bit of a pisser.

Decision, decisions, decisions... the XS Max might actually have to go back. Haven't made up my mind quite yet... but it's feeling that way. I have 13 days left to decide...

You mentioned an important reason for me - the Mac personal computer. The “Mohave” release makes that more significant. Stuff like use your phone’s camera to capture for what’s on your computer screen. Without new features the phone and computer interaction were important to me.

My work makes the phone and computer are SO tool vs toy for me that I decided to stick with the Apple platform.
 

LCW

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The more I thought about it the more I couldn't justify the 1250 for the Max (256 GB). Plus I was going to get a Series 4 Watch. With accessories and taxes, that's nearly a $2K expense once said and done. I just couldn't do it. Plus the notch and rounded corners now bug me after using a Note 9 for a while. Had an iPhone X before.

Gonna ride it out with the Note 9 for now. Bad enough I spent $1K on it. Lol
 
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C6TX6

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Keep both!
I love my dual sim Note 9.
Can't wait for the carriers to support the internal SIM.
I hope iOS12 handles two lines the same way Android does.
 

Grey_arc

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Just switched from the Note 9 to the XS Max. I do miss some of the S Pen features. But the iPhone Camera and smoother UI is completely worth it.
 

Mr Segundus

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the XS Max might actually have to go back

My 512GB iPhone XS Max went back to Best Buy tonight. I felt really stupid paying $1,449 for an incremental upgrade to the iPhone X. Not only that, my 512GB Note 9 only cost me a little over $1,000 on Amazon. And for $1K I get so much more features on the Note 9 vs the XS Max.
 

imwjl

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My 512GB iPhone XS Max went back to Best Buy tonight. I felt really stupid paying $1,449 for an incremental upgrade to the iPhone X. Not only that, my 512GB Note 9 only cost me a little over $1,000 on Amazon. And for $1K I get so much more features on the Note 9 vs the XS Max.

The most important is your being happy, but my IT director hat (and seat) never sees the more features people talk about unless it's phone only stuff.

The Apple desktop update that also just came out makes the iPhones even better for doing work. The tied together features added more function for using the camera as an example.

As a G Suite and Azure/365 administrator I see Google has full screen apps, even Admin is all screen.

Basically it seems like the Android features issue many always talk about are how you tweak the way your phone looks or behaves more than overall capability or ability to do work and collaborate.

One point for being fair is smart phones are so ubiquitous that use varies a lot.
 

Lyall Demorrow

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I've had my Max since release day. Since then, I've been trying to find of a reason to return it for the Note 9, and I can't. Everything that I do on my device works better on the Max, even Google News works better on iOS. I had the Note 9 before the Max but returned it for the light leak problem. While I had the Note 9, it seemed nice but not as refined as the Max. Google News on Android drives me crazy. When I watch the news videos, if I start out in portrait and then decide to go landscape, the world ends, the video stops and then I have to scroll around to find the video again, it's crazy. In Google news, they have a list of videos that you can scroll through on iOS and watch each one. On Android, if you scroll to the next video, the video will stop but the audio plays over the next video. It's things like this that make me want to keep the Max. Gmail is also better on iOS. The only reason I've came up with to try the Note 9 again, is customization of the launcher and keyboard.

I've thought about this everyday since I've had the Max...With the Max, I'm trying to find a reason or an excuse to return it and buy an Android (Note 9 or maybe the Pixel 3). So far, I haven't found anything that makes me want to return the Max. When I had the Note 9, I was trying to find a reason to keep it, and I couldn't so I returned it. So why am I having these crazy thoughts about trying the Note 9 again? Because I'm cazy. 🤪🤪
 

Mr Segundus

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The most important is your being happy, but my IT director hat (and seat) never sees the more features people talk about unless it's phone only stuff.

The Apple desktop update that also just came out makes the iPhones even better for doing work. The tied together features added more function for using the camera as an example.

As a G Suite and Azure/365 administrator I see Google has full screen apps, even Admin is all screen.

Basically it seems like the Android features issue many always talk about are how you tweak the way your phone looks or behaves more than overall capability or ability to do work and collaborate.

One point for being fair is smart phones are so ubiquitous that use varies a lot.

Android works better in my life. I don't use a Mac computer. I gave a PowerPoint presentation a couple of weeks ago and I was using the Bluetooth S Pen functionality to switch slides. I was able to answer an email this morning while watching the news in split-screen view. I couldn't do that on the iPhone XS Max. I don't know why Apple didn't give the iPhone that functionality like they did on the iPad Pro.
 

Lyall Demorrow

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Android works better in my life. I don't use a Mac computer. I gave a PowerPoint presentation a couple of weeks ago and I was using the Bluetooth S Pen functionality to switch slides. I was able to answer an email this morning while watching the news in split-screen view. I couldn't do that on the iPhone XS Max. I don't know why Apple didn't give the iPhone that functionality like they did on the iPad Pro.

That is one thing that I miss from Android, the split screen apps and floating video. Man I wish my Max had that! I really do use 2 apps at once a lot when I'm using Android, mostly the calculator with another app. Thanks for making my decision harder in choosing between these two phones! If they weren't so expensive, I'd have both phones and be happy.
 

Annie_M

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I definitely say yes.. but then I'm completely vested in Apple's ecosystem. I can't speak about the Note 9... it sounds lovely, but. My main reason for posting here is that sadly, I totally understand the OP's reasoning. The more cases, the better... accessories are EVERYTHING ;) :rotfl:
 

C6TX6

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If you take pix in low light you will miss that f1.5 believe me!
And speaking of low light, no phone...NONE! can touch the feature of using the s-pen to remotely control the shutter! Use a tripod mount and long shutter speeds at ISO50 in pro mode and you have ability that NO smartphone has for taking pics. That alone right there is why I would never dump my note! Sounds silly but TBH $1500 (for a phone) is a drop in the bucket compared to what I spend for prime glass. ;)
 

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