The bezel-less phone was last year's hot trend. Now it's pretty much the mainstream look for high-end smartphones. Some manufacturers even started putting notches at the top of their displays to house the camera, speaker, and other doodads — just to squeeze that little bit more screen space.
Andy Rubin's Essential Phone PH-1 and the Xiaomi Mi MIX kickstarted interest in the minimal bezel look. Now even major manufacturers like Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and LG have attempted to maximize the screen-to-body ratio of their latest flagship smartphones. Even if you're not sold on the notch, the bezel-less look is here to stay.
If you're in the market for the very best bezel-less phone on the market right now, check out our round-up below. Looking for something cheaper? Check out our guide to the best cheap bezel-less phones.
Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus
Want the most powerful and feature-packed bezel-less phone on the market? Look no further than Samsung's Galaxy S9. The handset refines the best parts of the Galaxy S8 line: its design, display, photography, and performance.
The biggest improvements in the Galaxy S9 are in its camera. The S9 sports a single Dual Pixel 12MP autofocus sensor with OIS, along with support for two apertures at f/1.5 and f/2.4. This mechanical iris lens can switch between apertures depending on the lighting conditions. If you need something even more powerful, the Galaxy S9 comes with a dual-camera setup on the back.
Samsung also included its own creepier version of Apple's Animoji, called AR Emoji, allowing you to make GIFs and send cartoony videos to your friends.
These new Samsung flagships also feature the most top-of-the-line specs currently available. They come with 5.8- and 6.2-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED displays, 4 and 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and both are powered by either the Exynos 9810 or Snapdragon 845 SoC depending on your region.
Read more
- Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus review: Top-notch notch-less
- Samsung Galaxy S9 release date, price, and availability
- Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus specs: All about refinements
- Bixby on the Samsung Galaxy S9: It's not all bad
- Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus vs Pixel 2 XL: Two of the best
Huawei P20 Pro
See more Huawei P20 Pro photos
In our review, we called the Huawei P20 Pro the Galaxy S9 killer. Not only is it a seriously good looking bezel-less phone, but it boasts an impressive triple-camera setup, powerful AI processing capabilities, and incredible battery life. Unfortunately, the P20 range is not officially available in the U.S., but it's certainly worth your consideration if you live elsewhere.
The Huawei P20 Pro boasts a 6.1-inch FHD+ notched AMOLED display. It might not quite be as sharp as the competition, but its excellent brightness and colors left us with no complaints. The Kirin 970 processing package features the company's first NPU, which powers advanced AI features, backed up by 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage.
The major selling point, besides the pretty color options, is the P20 Pro's three cameras. The package includes a 40MP main sensor, 20MP black and white sensor, and an 8MP 3x telephoto sensor, along with a 24MP selfie camera. This provides a wide range of shooting options, as well as up to a 5x hybrid zoom before the camera begins losing notable quality, making it a very powerful option for photography enthusiasts.
While not everyone will love the notch display and lack of a 3.5mm audio jack, the Huawei P20 Pro is certainly the company's best smartphone yet. If in doubt, check out our full review below.
Read more
- Top 5 Huawei P20 Pro features
- Huawei P20 color comparison: Get the twilight one
- Exclusive: An afternoon with the Huawei P20 Pro camera
- Huawei P20 Pro vs Apple iPhone X: Notches galore
- Huawei P20 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus
LG V30
The V30 is the latest flagship phone from LG, improving the specs and slimming down the bezels further from its first bezel-less phone, the G6. It is also the successor to 2016's LG V20, which included a secondary 2.1-inch screen on top for showing app shortcuts, media controls, and more. The V30 does away with that secondary display, and instead has one nearly bezel-free 6-inch screen, using LG's new Plastic OLED (pOLED) panel. The V30 has a slide-out menu on the phone's display (called the Floating Bar) that floats around the screen, for folks who miss the secondary display.
The LG V30 has all the specs you would expect from a flagship phone in early 2018. It has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of onboard storage, a 3,300mAh battery, and an IP68 dust and water resistance rating.
LG is heavily promoting the V30's advanced camera and photography features, too. Its dual rear camera includes a 16MP sensor with an f/1.6 aperture and a 13MP sensor with an f/1.9 aperture. The rear camera has a Crystal Clear Lens instead of plastic, so you should get more realistic looking photos with the V30. Video creators should have fun its unique software features. Cine Video allows users to quickly add video effects. Point Zoom lets owners zoom into any point in a video.
Audiophiles should also be happy with the LG V30's support for Hi-Fi Quad DAC tuned by B&O Play. It is also the first smartphone to support MQA, which apparently lets users stream hi-res audio with a smaller file size and no loss in quality.
Read more
- LG V30 review: A photography and videography dream
- LG V30 specs: A true multimedia machine
- Five reasons why the LG V30 is better than the Galaxy Note 8
- LG V30 vs Galaxy Note 8: camera features
- Best LG V30 cases
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
After a tough 2016, Samsung's Galaxy Note line came back with a vengeance. With top-of-the-line specs, a stunning design, a dual-camera setup, and new software features, the Galaxy Note 8 is still one of the best bezel-less phones you can buy.
The Note 8's nearly bezel-less 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Infinity Display, with its 18.5:9 aspect ratio, is one of our favorite parts about the phone. DisplayMate agrees with us too. It's big — maybe too big for some people — but the company puts it to good use. There's a new App Pairing feature which allows you to open up two favorited apps at the same time in a multi-window view. A few new S Pen features will satisfy the stylus users out there, too.
The Note 8's dual-camera setup on the back performs incredibly well. While picture quality isn't a huge step up from the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, the extra 12MP sensor with OIS allows you to take clear, concise photos and impressive bokeh shots in just about any situation.
It's not perfect, but no phone is. The Note 8's fingerprint sensor is bad (luckily it's been fixed with the S9), and the phone is expensive. If those things don't matter to you, the Note 8 might be the right phone for you. Check out our full review below!
Read more
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8 review: Do bigger things at a bigger price
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8 specs: Perfection on paper
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8 color comparison
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8 vs the competition
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8 vs Essential Phone
Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
No search for the best bezel-less phone would be complete without a mention of Xiaomi's Mi Mix series, which captivated audiences with one of the first and most extreme takes on ultra-thin bezels combined with a beautiful ceramic design.
The 2S is the latest iteration in the series, boasting a more powerful Snapdragon 845 processor than its predecessor. This chipset is paired up with 6 or 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage for all your performance and storage needs. The handset also comes with a 6-inch 18:9 FHD+ LCD display, without a notch so you can make use of the full panel.
Unfortunately, the Mi Mix 2S has only officially launched in China so far. But global retail channels tend to eventually end up stocking Xiaomi's handsets due to the wide range of network bands supported. The Mi Mix 2 eventually made its way Westward, so the 2S may come too.
Read More
- Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S hands-on
- Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S is official: All the key details
- Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S specs
- Xiaomi's wireless charging pad costs less than a dinner and movie
Essential Phone
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This one is more of an honorable mention in our best bezel-less phone list. Given its permanent $200 price drop, the Essential Phone is a worthy consideration if you're looking for a cost-effective phone with maximum screen real estate.
With a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a 5.7-inch QHD 19:10 aspect ratio display, there's fully fledged flagship hardware on offer here at a discount price. The Essential Phone also comes with an intriguing magnetic connector pin to support modular accessories via wireless USB. Unfortunately, the idea hasn't gotten any further than the original 360 camera module yet.
The phone was upgraded to Android 8.1 Oreo and has received plenty of small software tweaks since launch, but the stock Android experience might not be for everyone. The phone's dual 13MP rear camera is its only notable weak point. It's also the original notch phone, which makes it somewhat contentious too.
Read More
- Top 5 features of the Essential Phone
- Galaxy Note 8 vs Essential Phone
- The Essential Phone can take a lot of punishment
- Essential vs Moto Mods – two different takes on modular
There are plenty of options for the best bezel-less phone. Hopefully this list will narrow down your options. What do you think? Can you think of anything you'd like to add? Be sure to leave a comment down below!
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