Crazy to finally be making this post. After 7 and a half years, my Galaxy Note 9 is being retired. I bought it when I was still in high school (2018) for $800 direct from Samsung. It was during their November Black Friday sale, and I sprung. Through COVID, college (and graduation), getting a full time job, 2 international trips, life's highs, lows, and everything in between-- it's been there. Certainly couldn't have predicted it would last as well as it did. It's been through 2 battery replacements and a screen replacement, all DIY. The screen replacement was actually just to get back the oleophobic coating, the "old" was resold as it was still fully functional.
What a ride that lil Note 9 has gone through.
Unfortunately, a lack of software updates started to do it in. With my banking app losing support around the corner, GMail, and ETrade all losing support, I knew it was time to turn it in.
I'm certainly no stranger to tech, and have had plenty of money for PC parts a plenty over the years (even starting a multi system homelab). My Note 9 was kept going for so long simply because I didn't feel the need to upgrade. Repairs kept it fresh and snappy, the speed was fine, camera was alright, and lack of software updates wasn't a concern (until now). The new upgrades of new devices just didn't tempt me. I had dabbled with a Note 20 Ultra, S20 Ultra, and an S21 Ultra, and they just felt... meh.
I landed on the S23 Ultra after comparing a lot of options as well as looking at what Samsung decided to take away. Here's to hoping Samsung brings back the Bluetooth S-Pen functions, because the S25 and S26 Ultra lacking that ruled those out. It was genuinely useful and something I used often. The rampant AI features in the S25 and S26 was also something I was hoping to avoid due to moral/ethical objections to a lot of it. The S24 Ultra did come up, and likely would have been a bit better buy, but...
Digging through eBay listings about a week and a half ago I came across a NIB S23 Ultra 512GB. Not one of those "new" fake or refurbished phones by Chinese sellers. An actual, verified new in box S23 Ultra. And... for not a terrible price. It set me back $650 USD for the 512GB model.
I debated buying a used one for a more reasonable price, but I just wasn't happy with the used options on eBay at the time. And I didn't want to dabble with a refurbished one, as those can have questionable parts. Not great. So I pulled the trigger, and it was all that I hoped!
After rocking the S23 Ultra for a few days, I gotta say, it's a pretty nice upgrade. The speed is definitely snappier, although sometimes feels about the same. The 120Hz refresh rate and 1440p is soooo nice, one of the reasons I didn't upgrade sooner. Camera is very solid so far, although a bit grainy at times but after lurking in this sub for a bit while doing research, it seems that's pretty common. Skipping 6 Android versions wasn't as jarring as I thought, although there were some things Good Lock helped me get back or customize. Biggest complaint is honestly the stupid 3 notification icon limit in the top dock. What??? SAMSUNG. Everything else feels pretty familiar and more polished.
Fingerprint sensor is very meh, both in terms of position and reliability. Nothing beats the rear scanners, being able to pick up your phone and unlock it so seamlessly is something I'll definitely miss haha. The headphone jack too... that I used daily. But, dongles are working alright.
All in all, a pretty nice upgrade. Happy to be a part of the S23 Ultra family! The Note 9 subreddit has gone quite quiet in past years, as most folks have moved on. I plan on keeping this lad for quite a while too, at least 4-5 years. We'll see! For now, I'm just chillin.