You can't say Samsung's Galaxy Note brand isn't resilient: even explosions and costly recalls couldn't dampen enthusiasm for the new Note 8. Phablet fans are dedicated, though, especially those who demand stylus support too, which means the Note 8 arrives with an audience of eager buyers waiting to...

Huge; beautiful display; Genuinely useful stylus; Excellent camera; Solid battery life

Prodigious price; Fingerprint scanner is awkwardly-placed; Bixby button is annoying

Is all of that worth about $80 to $100 more than the already large-and-in-charge Galaxy S8+ ? After living with the Note 8 for more than a week, I would say "yes."

Gorgeous 6.3-inch Infinity Display; Fantastic dual cameras; Fun and useful S Pen enhancements; Handy App Pair feature; Strong overall performance; Very good battery life

Awkward placement of fingerprint sensor; A couple of early bugs; Very pricey

The Galaxy Note 8 is an excellent handset that dominates today's large screen (6.3"+) smartphone landscape. If you are a digital pen lover, this is the best you can get. If you only care about the screen and battery size, the Xiaomi Mi Mix might be of interest, but keep an eye on the ergonomics and...

Forgive me for passing up the chance to beat the exploding battery joke into the ground. Let's get straight to the point: Samsung's once dominant flagship phablet is back after a two year hiatus.

I've said it many times: Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 remains one of my favourite smartphones of all time. The device embodied the perfect balance of price, style and substance, offering fans of large phones and styluses the pinnacle of what an Android device could be, both in terms of design and...

Stunning and beautiful looking; Powerful and technically impressive; Dual-camera system is great

Expensive; especially in Canada; Jump from Note 7 to Note 8 isn't significant; Fingerprint sensor is awkwardly positioned

If you're a fan of the Note series, you won't be disappointed by the Note 8 features, S Pen, camera and more

So powerful; S Pen enhancements worth having; Camera image stabilisation tech; We like app pairs

It's expensive; Fingerprint reader

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 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

It's also the most expensive Android flagship currently available, clocking in at Php 49,990 . That makes the phone out of reach for most people in the market for a flagship and honestly, for most of Samsung's fans. The question now changes from if you should buy it to can you afford it .

While it's large size means its audience is limited, those after a phablet-sized smartphone won't find a better device than this. The handset's 6.3in AMOLED Infinity display is stunning, its performance is unmatched and Samsung's improved S Pen - along with its nifty software tweaks and security...

Gorgeous design; striking display; incredibly powerful; S-Pen support; great camera(s); didn't explode

Bixby needs work; difficult to operate one-handed; the price