8 Best Galaxy Note 8 Alternatives

Essential Phone

A popular trend back in 2017 was small phones with big screens. That's what Samsung did with the S8 and Note 8, and others are following in those footsteps. Samsung, LG, Apple, Google and others all have phones with that approach. A big screen with tiny bezels so the front is all screen. 

You've probably never heard of Essential, but you need to consider its new phone. Essential is a brand new company from the co-founder and father of Android, Andy Rubin. It runs stock Android, has two cameras, and delivers a unique edge-to-edge screen with even smaller bezels than the Note 8. It's like a Note 8 and iPhone X combined. 

There's one problem here though, the Essential Phone has a pretty small 5.6-inch screen. It's still a great device, and after looking at our photo above you probably want one. Essential is using a premium titanium and ceramic material for the body, so it's very durable. It has the latest (same as the Note 8) Snapdragon 835 processor, and a pretty good sized battery. You'll also enjoy 128GB of storage built-in, double that of the Note 8.

Like Huawei, Essential doesn't offer zoom or wide angles with the two cameras on the back. One is a monochrome sensor that should allow for improved photography by blending a regular photo with black and white images for a true-to-life shot. 

A key selling point is the extremely small bezels around the screen, premium design, and stock Android experience. One problem is the phone is only sold through Sprint or unlocked. So you can't get it from Verizon. Reviews ended up pretty mixed because there's nothing overly special about the Essential phone -- it's just the essentials. However, it's still a great phone at half the price of the Note 8. In fact, it's often on sale for only $439, which is a crazy good deal. 

Buy the Essential Phone for $499