First off,
https://ereader.store/en/ was fantastic. I pre-ordered the device last month and it shipped on the advertised day of availability (Monday). It arrived within 24 hours from GERMANY (I'm on the US East Coast) in perfect condition. I'm very happy with my experience.
The device is very nice...its just an incremental upgrade from the Note Plus but I like the improvements. If you have the two devices side-by-side you will notice the barely-perceptible extra layer for the front light.
I don't think it interferes with the contrast or readability in any way...I don't feel like I'm reading through several inches of glass or anything. The original Note had the plastic, non-flush display which was really nice but had questionable durability and needed a screen protector...I'm glad to have the extra protection and the included stylus feels nice when taking notes, even on the glass.
The front-light has adjustable warm and cool lights...you can mix them, sync them, turn them off individually, whatever you want. Adjustment is made from the main menu top bar or within the settings menu of Neoreader (the native reading app). Lighting appears very uniform...it's a really nice display. The front light was the main reason I purchased this one since I mostly read indoors and had become used to a having a front light on my kindles. Sometimes its nice to be in a dimly lit room without turning on a direct light...just having the front light on even a dim setting really helps with the contrast.
The extra on-board memory (4GB) definitely helps the android apps to load quickly & multi-task more smoothly. With 64GB of storage, its hard to imagine needing more on a B&W reading device. Google Play registration was fairly straightforward. I played some audio and it seems like the volume/clarity is better on the new model, but that's probably just subjective. The Note Pro is also slightly heavier than the Note Plus but still very comfortable.
The only downside that I've encountered so far is that the Kindle App is locking up after 1 or 2 page turns. Tinkering with the Optimization settings didn't provide any relief and I submitted a feedback request to Onyx. The have been pretty responsive with getting the Kindle app working in the past so I'm sure it'll be a non-issue down the road. Seems every time there is a firmware update or new model the Kindle app becomes a temporary casualty.
So if anyone's on the fence about purchasing one of these, I think you'll be happy. Looking forward to firmware 2.1!