The Galaxy Note 9 is Samsung's ultimate powerhouse smartphone. It's hard to think of much else it can cram into a phone, particularly when this one is so good. Here's our full review

The ultrapricey Note 9 is one of the year's best phones, but wait until Samsung announces its Galaxy Note 10 successor to make a decision.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a big, beautiful phone with top-tier specs including a massive battery and internal storage that starts at 128GB; The new S Pen doubles as a wireless remote for taking long-distance selfies.

It's expensive and offers few real innovations over last year's Note 8; The fingerprint reader is uncomfortably close to the camera.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is an incremental upgrade to the Galaxy Note 8 but small changes to a great phone can make a big difference.

It's Wednesday, and Samsung is about to announce its Galaxy Note 10 phone, the successor to the Galaxy Note 9. The Note, a line aimed at power users, typically represents the best Samsung has to offer, but depending what Samsung trots out -- and how much it costs -- the Note 9 could also benefit from a boost of attention.

The ultrapricey Note 9 is one of the year's best phones, but wait until Samsung announces its Galaxy Note 10 successor to make a decision.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a big, beautiful phone with top-tier specs including a massive battery and internal storage that starts at 128GB; The new S Pen doubles as a wireless remote for taking long-distance selfies.

It's expensive and offers few real innovations over last year's Note 8; The fingerprint reader is uncomfortably close to the camera.

Even in 2018 - a time when budget and mid-tier smartphones are offering more value than ever - there’s still something really infectious and compelling about the big, bold, underlined hype of a flagship device like the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. Does anybody really need this much power in a smartphone? Who cares! This phone has it, and those power-users doomed to lust after the best are going to be drawn to it like moths. So it was with the Note 5 and the Note 8. And so it will be with the Note 9.

This is one of the best smartphones you can buy right now. But whether you should buy it is another question entirely.

Solid specs; Beautiful design; New S-Pen features;

Incredibly expensive; Not a huge upgrade on the Note 8; Runs on Android Oreo;

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 ($999.99 for 128GB; $1,249.99 for 512GB) is the ultimate productivity phone. Packed with a huge battery, a massive screen, and a powerful stylus, the Note 9 has more of everything than any other phone on the US market. This kind of beast won't be for everyone, that's for sure. But if you want to stay connected everywhere, constantly creating, with no worries about running out of juice, this will be your beloved monster. It's certainly our Editors' Choice for big-screen phones. Design and Size The Galaxy Note 9 ($999.99 at Amazon) looks almost exactly like last year's Galaxy Note 8. At 6.38 by 3.01 by 0.35 inches (HWD) and 7.09 ounces, it is very slightly narrower, very slightly thicker, and 0.2 ounces heavier than the Note 8, but you probably won't be able to notice the difference immediately from the front. In the US, it comes in blue and purple, but surprisingly not black. Let me make it clear: This phone is very large. And when you put it in a case, ...

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is an attractive pen-enabled phablet with a fast processor, a terrific modem, and a huge battery.

Big battery; Lots of storage; Excellent S Pen stylus; Class-leading processor and modem

Expensive; Heavy

The first thing that you will want to do when you get your Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is pop out the S-Pen and start scribbling on the screen. At least, that's what I did. This is a device that is a lot more fun to use than your regular phones.

The Samsung Galaxy Note series has a reputation for great design, unparalleled performance, and great cameras. The Note 9's camera is definitely up there, but it's still hard to beat beasts like the Huawei P20 Pro and a couple others. Regardless, an overall 8.5 score is nothing to scoff at.

Good exposure White balance is almost always right Great Portrait Mode performance Food Mode performs amazingly Vibrant colors

Bad dynamic range (HDR) Food Mode can make images look warm Over-processing can hurt detail

Well before 6-inch displays were mainstream, there was a series of smartphones that made the word phablet trendy. Samsung introduced the Galaxy Note series back in 2011 when smartphones were supposed to be compact and a 4.0-inch display was considered scandalously large – well, the first Galaxy Note...

Great display; The S Pen stylus remains unique; Smooth performance

Complex UI; can lag after a while; Expected better battery life; Expected better battery life

Samsung's Galaxy Note phones have always been about more. More screen, more battery, more specs, more power, more features; if you want more of something, the Note is the phone to get. It's a phone designed and built for the power user who won't settle for anything less.

Gorgeous; vibrant; bright; big display; Fast performance; True all-day battery life; Lots of storage; even in the base model

High price tag; Large; unwieldy size; Duplicate apps and extra features that don't add much value