As ever, the greatest shortcoming of Samsung’s Galaxy Note series is that these phones aren’t for everyone. Some people will want a smaller handset. Some will want one that doesn’t require them to remortgage the house. Others are going to take one look one look at this behemoth and cough up the necessary dosh on the spot. In smartphone terms the Note 8 does everything. Its dual lens camera takes a great photo even when zoomed in, its huge 6.3in screen is an awesome surface to work across and relax with, and that S Pen remains a smart accompaniment to ridiculously powerful package. Only some hit and miss facial recognition holds this phone back from being a perfect all-rounder. So would I buy a Note 8? No. It’s a bit too big for me too comfortably hold, and I’m not going to use its stylus in the long run. Still, you can’t help hold this phone and be impressed by just how much it’s capable of. For anyone in need of a super phone, there is no better alternative.

Gorgeous, big screen; Awesome camera; Power to spare;

Awkward to hold one-handed; Facial recognition is hit and miss;

The Galaxy Note 8 proved that Samsung could once again make a safe Note phone. Almost a year on, it's still an excellent device that lets you take portrait photos and use the stylus for writing, drawing and navigation. But Samsung is set to oust the Note 8 with the 2018 model. Rumor points to August 9 as the Galaxy Note 9 launch date (the 9 on 9, get it?), though we're still waiting for the official word.

With the Galaxy Note 9 just around the corner, now's a bad time to buy a new Galaxy Note 8 -- wait for the Note 9 to go on sale and the Note 8's price will surely drop.

The Galaxy Note 8 is still a terrific phone in 2018, with dual cameras and a boatload of stylus tricks; It's currently the most feature-rich Android phone you can buy.

Expensive by any measure, the Note 8 has more features than most people will need; Samsung's portrait mode can be finicky; The poorly placed fingerprint reader repeats the Galaxy S8's worst design flaw.

A cutting contrast to the usual rigamarole of flagship products, it’s fair to say Samsung‘s Galaxy Note 8 exists in a very “unique” context.

With the arrival of the Note 8, the brand has finally - and maybe inevitably - risen from the ashes to reclaim its past glory.

S-Pen; QHD+ Display;

Battery life burns down fast; Exynos can't keep pace with Snapdragon;

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is a no-brainer. It takes the Galaxy S8, the best phone of the year so far, and adds dual cameras, a better screen, and the beloved S Pen stylus. It fills the shoes of the dearly departed Note 7 elegantly, and is certainly the best phone for creative types—but only those for whom price is no object. That's because, at $930 for the T-Mobile model we reviewed, the Galaxy Note 8 is currently the most expensive flagship phone in the US. Pricing and Design Depending on your carrier, the Galaxy Note 8 is about $100 more than the Galaxy S8+. It's $31.67 per month over 30 months on AT&T ($950), $40 per month over 24 months on Sprint ($960), $930 on T-Mobile, or $40 per month over 24 months on Verizon ($960). An unlocked model is $929. Physically, the Galaxy Note 8 looks and feels like a larger Galaxy S8 (or, more to the point, an S8+). Its body is smooth, solid, and rounded. The screen has the very narrow bezels of the Galaxy S8, with slight sloping on the back...

Representing the current pinnacle of smartphone technology, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phone has everything that's great about the Galaxy S8, plus dual cameras and an S Pen stylus.

High-quality, waterproof build; Improved S Pen stylus; Dual cameras; Modem supports emerging networks

Expensive; Too big to work with current Gear VR headset

Gorgeous, big screen; Awesome camera; Power to spare;

Awkward to hold one-handed; Facial recognition is hit and miss;

Samsung's new dual camera system sets the bar very high

It's the best camera phone I've used and it's everything a high-end phone should be. You can feel where the money's gone.

The fingerprint scanner is hard to reach and the face/iris scanning alternatives are unreliable.

In 2016 we were singing the praises of the fantastic, larger-than-life Galaxy Note 7 . We awarded it top honours and, were it not for the small matter of a worldwide recall – following the emergence of a potentially dangerous battery flaw – we’d probably still be recommending it now.

If you want a top-of-the-line, waterproof Android phone, start by looking at the Galaxy S8 , Galaxy S8+, and the Note 8. If you want a big, phablet-sized screen, the S8+ and the Note 8 are the way to go.

Top-of-the-line camera, Fun, intuitive stylus, Outstanding performance

Poor fingerprint-scanner placement, Useless virtual assistant

Samsung’s biggest flagship yet could also be their greatest phone yet, coming in with a feature list that’s a mile long, and a hefty price tag to boot. Retailing at launch for €999/$929/£869, orYou’ll find an upgrade to 6GB of LPDDR4x RAM, as well as dedicated UFS 2.1 grade internal storage offered...

It’s hard to think of a smartphone that has had more expectation placed on it than the Samsung Galaxy Note8 . Its disastrous predecessor left a scar in the South Korean electronics giant’s reputation so deep that I don’t know how long it will take before the world stops making “will it explode?