The Note8 hews closely to the Galaxy S8 and S8+'s design language, and uses essentially identical materials. While the corners of the phone are more squared-off - in keeping with Note tradition - most people would have a rather difficult time identifying a Note8 next to an S8+. While slightly larger, the Note really only differs in very minor ways visually from that phone, and feels basically the same.That means you have a fairly slippery, long glass and metal brick with extremely refined seams and edges. The Note8 is one of the nicest smartphones I've ever used from a perspective of sheer quality of materials and manufacturing, and the same could be said of the S8. While I hardly find the $930 price point palatable, I would argue there's not a smartphone out there you can buy that is going to look and feel nicer than a Note8 - Samsung is at the top of its game right now, and very few phones even come close to exhibiting this level of polish and fit and finish.The Note is, however, quite a large phone. It's longer, wider, thicker, and heavier than the Galaxy S8+, which I already found precarious to manage in-hand. While some of that is down to the slightly-enlarged display, the Note8's also had to make room for that stylus and dual camera module, adding half a millimeter of thickness and a full 22g of mass to the phone over its slightly-smaller sibling. It's also 1.4mm wider than the S8+, making it a bit more difficult to use one-handed.
The ergonomic complaints don't end there. Samsung has kept the fingerprint scanner on the Note8 next to the camera module, which continues to be roughly as practical as a car with door handles on the roof. I understand there are S8 owners out there who don't find the placement especially bothersome - particularly when using a case - but I just cannot abide it. It's a bad place for a fingerprint scanner, easily the worst of any high-end smartphone on sale right now, and it makes for a needlessly difficult phone unlocking experience. And no, iris scan and face unlock aren't just as fast - I have to turn on the screen first to use those, and that will never be as quick as just using my finger to do both at the same time. And because the scanner is right next to the camera module, you'll still end up accidentally smudging your lens at least once a day.On the bottom of the phone you'll find the S Pen, speaker, USB-C port, and headphone jack. The stylus pops up with a quick press, revealing a design essentially identical to that of the S Pen on the Note7. There are some fresh software features for the pen this year, but physically, there's really nothing new about it. It's the same lightweight plastic passive stylus as it's always been, with a single button and super fine tip.As far as other buttons are concerned, the power key is on the right side of the phone, with the volume rocker and Bixby key on the left. The Bixby key is at an exactly convenient height to constantly accidentally press every time you pick up the phone to unlock it, and so one of the first things I did to "personalize" my Note8 experience was download a package disabler app so I could render the button inoperative. Bixby itself doesn't bother me, but unintentionally activating it several times a day does. The buttons themselves are nice, offering good feedback with minimal mush.Because of its large size and glass-heavy construction, it would be difficult for me to recommend using the Note8 without a case.
As usual, Samsung has equipped its very best phone with its very best screen, and the Note8's is absolutely fantastic. While not significantly upgraded compared to those found in the S8 and S8+, if you believe DisplayMate, it does get a bit brighter. Granted, any improvement upon excellence is worth pointing out, and with the Note8 Samsung continues to set the gold standard for smartphone displays.
Viewing angles are outstanding, colors can be anywhere from extremely saturated and vivid to exceptionally accurate depending on the display mode selected, and black levels are positively inky. This is the best screen on any smartphone - there really isn't any doubt of that at this point. You also get support for HDR in apps such as Netflix, and Samsung's built-in "video enhancer" will do its best to apply an artificially widened color gamut to any non-HDR videos you view.At 6.3" diagonally, this is also quite a large display, the largest ever fitted in a Galaxy Note phone. Because of the 18.5:9 aspect ratio, the Note8 isn't completely unmanageable in hand, even though it's still the widest and tallest Note yet. But, here's some perspective: the Note8 is a full 3mm narrower than an iPhone 7 Plus, something I was rather surprised to learn, meaning Samsung could probably make the next Note even larger if it really wanted to.But as a canvas for content, the Note8 reigns supreme in the world of smartphones. You get a tremendous amount of screen area, very minimal bezel, and packaging that pushes the boundaries of what is possible with current technologies. Even if not significantly larger or better than the screen on the S8+, the Note8 is a reminder that Samsung is at the very forefront of smartphone display technology, and it's extremely impressive.
