This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is just around the corner and we are excited! The Note 9 is expected to be a beast with a ton of new features, the latest processors and quite excitingly, a big, 4,000mAh battery. But there is one thing we don't get to discuss much in the endless cycle of leaks and rumors: the actual user experience.
I have been using the Galaxy S9+ on and off, and there are many things that I love about this phone: I find the camera exceeds expectations and is criminally underrated as the Pixel often steals the spotlight, I think the display is marvelous and I love little things that Samsung has spoiled us with for ages like the wireless charging and the luxurious alcantara case.
But one area that I feel using the Galaxy S9+ could be better is the navigation.
Nav buttons on the Galaxy Note 8
A new era
Things have changed a lot in the last year: Apple was the first modern company (after the unfortunate Palm of course) to introduce a gesture-based navigation on its iPhone X and using this navigation system has been a transformative experience. Apple loves to brag about its sky-high user satisfaction rates and the iPhone X has probably the highest user satisfaction rate of any recent phone. Part of that has got to do with the new gesture interface.
And other Android phone makers have jumped on this train as well: the OnePlus 6 has a fully functional gesture navigation; phones like the Google Pixel are soon getting it with Android P; and last, but not least, one of the biggest phone makers in Asia, Xiaomi, has added gesture navigation to even its cheapest phones. Gesture navigation is almost everywhere.
Gesture navigation is everywhere, except on Samsung phones
What about Samsung? Nothing. The Galaxy S9 doesn't have it and no other Samsung phone has it. There are no rumors about it.
And that's disappointing. Maybe Samsung has got gesture navigation quietly in the plans and getting it ready for launch and polishing the details under the radar. Maybe gesture navigation will be a key feature of the new Galaxy Note 9.
I hope so!
It is an extremely easy to use method of navigation and it frees up space on the screen, so you get a more immersive experience. And after a short while, gesture navigation is just intuitive and you start wondering how you used your phone in a different way before. Plus, if you don't like it, you can just disable it and go back to the old on-screen buttons.
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We already know that the Galaxy Note 9 will be excellent. We already know it will be fast. We can certainly hope that it will have outstanding battery life. Gesture navigation would be the topping on the cake.
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Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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