This old Galaxy Note 9 and its pen is my favorite creative outlet

When I settle down for the night with a hot cup of spicy rooibos -Te in one hand, you will not find a book or TV remote control in the other. Instead, you can notice a light yellow stylus that slides over an old, reliable Samsung smartphone. Galaxy Note 9 was launched as the company’s mobile highlight in 2018, and is still my favorite unit from the Korean company. However, it is not necessarily its non-hold-barred approach to functions. Instead it is So As I have been associated with in the years since my debut, and even more in recent weeks.

I struggle to move my thoughts to inactive before bedtime, but I recently discovered a surprising and welcome methadone: doodling. None of the newer smartphones in my collection can facilitate my newly wound drawing habits, but Galaxy Note 9 fills that void.

I remember picking up my phone for the first time seven years ago now. The expansive screen was a welcoming canvas for its full Bluetooth-enabled S-pen, which I used as an external shutter countless times to get OOHS and Aahs from my family and friends. However, as I suggested, the true strength of the phone is at least to me, the creative potential it still offers today.

Sure, I could paint on Google Pixel 8 or Galaxy S24 Fe, but why should I resort to it when I can have tactility, accuracy and benefit from a smart pens?

I have been very aware of how smartphone use affects mental health, especially since I spend almost every waking moment thinking about them. I cope with these things for a living, as much as they are a core part of my life, I demand a break from criticizing them occasionally.

Sure, to break the cycle, do I take a long road or gallop around the neighborhood, but what if I can’t resort to them? Over the years, health benefits of drawing have been explored in depth. Simple doodling has been linked to Improved moodMemory setting, and even lower stress levels. It also provides practical benefits, which Fine -tuning hand/eye coordination.

Of course, such a creative point of sale appealed to me, especially after more traditional disconnect methods, such as reading and confusing, have failed.

I am very aware of the irony of using a smartphone before bedtime, even for my creative purpose. However, I would also argue that an older device used for a single creative purpose is not nearly as distracting or devastating to my mental health as my app -plated primary phone.

For me, Galaxy Note 9 is a portable canvas without the mess of paint and pencil chips. I can freely and easily express myself, whether on purpose or absent, creative brain dumping before bedtime or other time I need it.

So how do I use Galaxy Note 9 in this capacity? Well, the phone shows the age in 2025, but it still runs most apps like a dream. This includes most creative apps in the Play Store. SketchBook is my current favorite drawing app option, thanks to its selection of brushes, pens, textures and support for layers (when I want to become fancy), but something as simple as Samsung’s own pen will do too. Even the range of digital coloring apps would be sufficient for most, but I prefer to create my own lines with the S pen.

I am glad that I could find a viable second life for this brilliant smartphone. Given its age and the shrinking tip of my s pen, it doesn’t last much anymore, but I’m going to get a bigger canvas for my newly wobbled hobby, anyway. Drawing has become such an important daily mental retreat that I am considering adding a larger Galaxy tablet To my load, so I give myself even more room to breathe. So far, Galaxy Note 9 will make it fantastic.

I am not advocating that someone buys a seven -year -old smartphone in 2025 unless they know it customized rooms -s Or can garden it at a reasonable price. Of course, more modern Samsung smartphones still offer the S -pen, although no one offers the wide width of practical features such as Note 9. Good luck finding one with a MicroSD card track and a 3.5 mm headphone connector anyway.

Samsung does not seem to realize how important the S -pen is to its once loyal notes. It is prepared to nerf it on Galaxy S25 Ultra. It will probably consider removing it from its Pinnacle series in the future, but here I am, still enjoying it on a 2018 unit.