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.

Stuck in the same Galaxy

Impressive specs; Stellar display; Stylus functionally remains top tier

Expensive; especially in Canada; Not that much of an upgrade over the Note 8; Camera improvements are marginal

Some have faulted Samsung for not bringing a complete reinvention of the , or some other major platform upgrade. We don't share that same view, as timing of the Note 9 was such that Samsung took what they had to work with (namely Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform) and seemingly worked hard...

Beautiful premium design; Best big phone display; Great performance; Killer battery life; Great S Pen refinement; Excellent camera; Good external speaker sound; Excellent features and tools with DeX

Very expensive; Sometimes funky video OIS; Fingerprint magnet

Old Galaxy Note owners, it's time to put those failing, ancient phones down and pick up this beauty, with its all-day battery. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is the ultimate productivity phone right now, a gorgeous beast of a phablet that lets you sign PDFs, annotate presentations, and take conference...

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

Expensive; Heavy

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 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