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

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.

I pick up the Galaxy Note 9 ( $1,000 at Amazon.com ) , pop out the S Pen stylus and start to write on the black screen in tart lemon-colored digital ink. It hits me: This phone is more fun to use than your phone.

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

Mashable Choice highlights the best of everything we cover, have experienced first-hand and would recommend to others. Samsung's Galaxy Note 9 is a perfect fit for exactly one type of user: Somebody who wants every smartphone feature under the sun and won't balk at spending $1,000+ to get them.

Bright; high-res HDR screen; S Pen doubles as remote; Long battery life; Loads of storage; even on the base model; Loud; bassy stereo speakers

Really expensive; Doesn't ship with Android 9 Pie; Hit-or-miss camera AI features

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the best smartphone that money can buy. Unfortunately, it's going to take all of your money to buy it (or at least more than you're likely budgeting for a smartphone purchase this year). The iPhone X drove prices to this level, and we complained then, too.

Beautiful 6.4-inch Infinity Display; Superb camera; even in low light; Battery and storage last and last; Bluetooth S Pen shortcuts are fun

Expensive; A lot of small upgrades; No HDR video recording; We hate the Bixby button

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a catalogue of successes. With a premium build, an absolutely excellent screen, a mature software experience, great cameras, all the power you could possibly need, excellent battery life and fabulous AKG-tuned speakers, there's little it gets wrong.

Excellent display; Great camera performance in low-light; 3.5mm headphone jack; Bluetooth-enabled S Pen; Fantastic battery life

So many features you'll likely never find; Expensive; Bixby button can no longer be redirected; S9+ may suit more casual users

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 on paper doesn't do much to set the world alight. Its specifications match that of one or other previously released Samsung smartphone. What it does do, however, is improve on that hardware in almost all aspects, from a brighter display, better CPU performances, better AI...

There isn't another phone on the market quite like the Samsung Galaxy Note 9. It's unashamedly huge, seriously expensive, and jams pretty much every high-end feature into a surprisingly svelte package.

Battery lasts the day; comfortably; Fantastic; huge display with no notch; S Pen remains unique; Samsung's software has a number of handy features

The overall design of the S9 Plus is better; Bixby button is an annoyance

While some say that the Galaxy S9 is Samsung's most underrated smartphone, it could be said to an extent. The reason - probably Samsung's inability to offer something exciting and different from its predecessors.

Samsung's latest high-end smartphone, the Galaxy Note 9, follows on from last year's Note 8. So-called because of its use of an integrated "stylus" pen (S Pen), the Note 9 has several functions which are appealing to photographers.