I have both the Note 9 and the N20U, the latter as a Globe recontracting unit after 2 good years with the former. I am amused with what I've read in an article somewhere comparing the 2 flagship units in today's situation, especially in terms of functionality. N20U may have upgraded specs to keep up with the competition, but it had badly lost some of the practical features which may be helpful in the new normal. To be honest, I hate the onscreen fingerprint scanner because of its hit or miss ability, hence the hassle to manually input my pin to get past the lockscreen, if I intend to have some privacy or security on my unit. I was so used to the convenience and efficiency of the N9's fingerprint scanner ergonomically placed at the back..
One major step backwards with N20U, particularly at these pandemic times, is its decision to ditch the iris scanner which was another efficient tool as a security measure, as most of the time we are putting on masks and face shields and simple whole facial recognition will surely not work! And we are trying as much as we can to limit touching things, (like the front screen)!
Well, i still have my N9 with me now, SIM-unlocked and updated to its latest applicable OS and security versions, but since I only maintain one SIM for voice and sms, its job has been relegated to being a multimedia device and as backup terminal for those endless and oftentimes simultaneous webinars and other virtual meetings. I may have become vain insisting on using the newer N20U while missing those important features, but maybe it's just being me and my pride, and besides I am still in honeymoon with this younger model (of the galaxy note series). Inconveniences you have to put up with in the name of being "updated". LOL
The finger scanner position was changed due to overwhelming preference of a frontal scanner. Personally I never got used to the back scanner from previous Note series.
While for the iris scanner it's not really that secure. As multiple 3rd party testers has proven that iris scanners (all brands) can easily be by passed through a simple photo of the owner.
How efficient is your use of the front finger scanner? In my case, it fails in a lot of times, forcing me to enter the 4-digit pin manually more and more. In my line of work, and in these times in general, where we are wearing face masks most of the time, an iris scanner should have come in handy; a simple face recognition function is useless. In better times, the iris scanner can be disabled for an enhanced security. And I failed to mention in my prior post that the Pulse oximeter was scrapped in N20U.
