The main expected difference is
a much lesser bezel at the top.
But now, with
much less bezel to work with, OnePlus simply moved it to the back of the phone — rather than eliminate the fingerprint reader altogether like Apple did for the iPhone X.
Not exact matches
There isn't room for
much more, as the
bezel is
less than a quarter inch thick, which ASUS claims is the thinnest in the world.
In a slightly
less controversial subject, we fully expect to see the end of the smaller Pixel phone with chunky
bezels around the screen, and instead expect that Google will fully embrace the bezel-
less revolution in the smaller model —
much the same as the Pixel 2 XL.
However, the
bezels on the Galaxy Note 8 are
much smaller than the S8 and the screen's edges are
less rounded when compared to the S8 family.
For our money, the Pixel 2 XL is the better choice among Google's phones, because you get a bigger and sharper 6 - inch display, longer battery life and, frankly, a
much better looking design from the front with
less bezels.
That's really
less the fault of Samsung, though, and more of a factor arising from the fact that there's not
much space for creativity in smartphone design these days since companies are increasingly shedding off
bezels with every model.
Previous reports suggested the Nokia 9 to be
much better than the Nokia 8 featuring an edge to edge
bezel less curved edge display and a glass back.
The Pixel 2 has quite a bit more
bezel on the top and bottom of the screen, and the 2 XL's are
much less noticeable.
We have criticised Sony in the past for offering too
much bezel around its smartphone displays so to see so
much more screen and so
much less phone is an absolute pleasure.
Its display is somewhat
less conventional, with an unusual 18:9 aspect ratio and rounded corners, although its ultra-thin
bezels are very
much in line with current industry design trends.
The
bezels on the front of the handset have been minimized above and below the display, the signature glass panel on the back has been revamped so it's far
less offensive, and the overall look of the devices is
much sleeker than last year's models.