

Looking back to this time last year, when I reviewed the Galaxy Note 7, I found it was the first Note that was actually compact and comfortable enough to use like a "normal" phone. Most importantly, its seriously huge proportions. Instead of prattling on for too long about things that haven't changed, I want to focus on the parts of the Note 8's hardware that are actually unique. For most, that's a fine trade-off.ĭon't let the familiarity fool you - this is still wonderful hardware to see and hold. But changing the design would mean it wouldn't be so darn beautiful. Does the narrow frame and bountiful curved glass make the Note 8 more fragile than some other phones? Probably. Tolerances are tight, and the bezels are very small all around the screen. The combination of a sleek aluminum frame and sharply rounded glass is still striking, especially in the black and blue colors where the metal is well color-matched to the glass undercoating - which has a different, subtle pattern to it as well. But most people won't be looking to buy a Note 8 if they have a GS8 or S8+ they'll be coming from another phone, and should get ready to be impressed by this thing. Iteration at its finest Galaxy Note 8 Hardware and displayĪbout 90% of the experience of seeing and holding the Galaxy Note 8 is familiar - that is, if you're one of the millions of people using the Galaxy S8 and S8+ already.
