Design-wise, the Note9 looks very similar to last year's Note8, with a dual-curved display, an aluminum frame, and a dual-curved glass rear. The phone is slightly bigger and thicker than the Note8, measuring 161.9 x 76.4 x 8.8mm, and it's also a little heavier, at 201g, however it also has a slightly larger 6.4-inch display.

On the back of the device, the dual rear camera setup is now color matched to the phone instead of being black on every model. The camera setup is the same one we saw on the S9+, pairing a 12-megapixel wide-angle main camera with a dual aperture f/2.4 and f/1.5 lens, with a 12-megapixel, f/2.4 telephoto camera. However, the setup uses a horizontal orientation, instead of the vertical one found on the S9+.

At the bottom of the phone there's the port for the S Pen, a USB-C port, a headphone port, and a downward firing speaker. Like the S9, the Note9 has been upgraded with stereo speakers custom tuned by AKG with the earpiece doubling up as the second speaker. Like the S9, the Note9 offers Dolby Atmos surround sound, both with headphones plugged in and through the phone's own speakers.

The power button can be found on the right-side, while the volume rocker is once again on the left. Like last year's Note8, both the phone and the S Pen are IP68 rated.

The new S Pen uses a low energy Bluetooth module and antenna that enables a wireless connection up to 10 meters away. You can use this new-found freedom to use the S Pen as a remote control.

The S Pen itself features the same design as last year's S Pen, and has a tip with a 0.7mm radius. It can recognize 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. The new S Pen also charges much faster than any previous model thanks to a new super capacitor inside it. It takes just 40 seconds inside the phone to reach full charge, which will give you 30 minutes of standby time or about 200 clicks.