Galaxy S8 & S8 Plus Thread

[Zaap]

Please. I'd take still using a Note 4 vs being stuck indefinitely with an iPhone 6 like my wife and quite a few people I know are. It better be a good phone! You're gonna have it a while.

For several I know, that's as new an iPhone as they can stomach for the simple fact they prefer using headphones the same way they have their entire lives! That and the fact the 7 had no other compelling improvements for them.

Android phones are often exciting to upgrade because they are just that... an upgrade. Many still don't view removed features they needed in a new package as all that exciting.

Before I praise the Android makes too much for actually adding features rather than remove them... give 'em time. Samsung, Google and others I have little faith in not jumping on the same bandwagon sooner or later.

 

[rh71]

My current phone is a Note 3 which was subsidized, so I got it for $299. Then last year we got my wife a full price S7, except it was actually BOGO free (my bro is paying the other half). Now I'm actually spending the [almost] full price of $719. I can justify it because it's really just $1/day. Having a smartphone 4 years is an eternity... and it's showing a lot of wear due to drops I swore would never happen.

Question - I see the S8+ rear camera is 12MP. Why is it going backwards (from 13MP Note 3)? Is it still better overall with its other specs?

 

[Commodus]

Please. I'd take still using a Note 4 vs being stuck indefinitely with an iPhone 6 like my wife and quite a few people I know are. It better be a good phone! You're gonna have it a while.

For several I know, that's as new an iPhone as they can stomach for the simple fact they prefer using headphones the same way they have their entire lives! That and the fact the 7 had no other compelling improvements for them.

Android phones are often exciting to upgrade because they are just that... an upgrade. Many still don't view removed features they needed in a new package as all that exciting.

Before I praise the Android makes too much for actually adding features rather than remove them... give 'em time. Samsung, Google and others I have little faith in not jumping on the same bandwagon sooner or later.

Well, I made the leap from a 6 to a 7 and there were noticeable improvements for me. The camera was much better; overall performance was much faster; stereo speakers were noticeably better; Touch ID was faster; and while I haven't had to test water resistance, I like knowing that my iPhone could survive a heavy rainstorm. I will agree that the jump from 6 to 7 is a tougher case for some people, but I like it.

I'm not so sure that I'd proclaim that Android phones are always huge upgrades. Think about the Galaxy S7: great phone, but the main improvements were the better camera and the return of two features (microSD and water resistance). Still has quad HD at similar display sizes, still has a familiar design. The LG G5 was actually considered a step back from the G4 for some people. The Google Pixel is a great phone, but those screens and camera resolutions will seem awfully familiar if you bought a Nexus the year before. And don't get me started on Sony's constant minor revisions!

To be honest, I think you're looking at Android phone updates through rose-tinted glasses. There are certainly areas where Android hardware has the edge (namely having any kind of greater-than-1080p screen, different kinds of dual cameras and the like), but it's just not true that each and every update is meaningful. In fact, I'd say 2017 is the first year in a while where there there's a big, overwhelming difference that could prompt the average person to upgrade relatively quickly -- namely extra-tall screens.

 

[Oyeve]

My current phone is a Note 3 which was subsidized, so I got it for $299. Then last year we got my wife a full price S7, except it was actually BOGO free (my bro is paying the other half). Now I'm actually spending the [almost] full price of $719. I can justify it because it's really just $1/day. Having a smartphone 4 years is an eternity... and it's showing a lot of wear due to drops I swore would never happen.

Question - I see the S8+ rear camera is 12MP. Why is it going backwards (from 13MP Note 3)? Is it still better overall with its other specs?

The camera on the s7 and note 7 even at less megapixels are loads better than anything before it and imo after it. These cameras are great. It's not all about the pixels. My s7 and note 7 take way better pictures than my lgv20.

 

[gorcorps]

Just a few more days! So ready for this

 

[rh71]

The camera on the s7 and note 7 even at less megapixels are loads better than anything before it and imo after it. These cameras are great. It's not all about the pixels. My s7 and note 7 take way better pictures than my lgv20.

I wouldn't say "loads" better. My wife's S7 took the same scenery pics I went around taking on a recent roadtrip and after looking through them on the PC, there was very little difference in terms of color/clarity. I was actually surprised it wasn't much better. Not a big deal to me, but I just looked it up and the S8+ camera is nearly identical to the S7. Guess it just says there's not much room for improvement these days. Front-facing camera looks to be a lot better though.

 

[Zaap]

Well, I made the leap from a 6 to a 7 and there were noticeable improvements for me. The camera was much better; overall performance was much faster; stereo speakers were noticeably better; Touch ID was faster; and while I haven't had to test water resistance, I like knowing that my iPhone could survive a heavy rainstorm. I will agree that the jump from 6 to 7 is a tougher case for some people, but I like it.

I'm not so sure that I'd proclaim that Android phones are always huge upgrades.

I didn't say always- that's you goal-post shifting. You just listed off a bunch of ho-hum upgrades with the iPhone 7, then dismiss the updates to the S7. Return of MicroSD with the S7, was a much better and more useful upgrade than the iPhone 7 *FINALLY* getting waterproofing. It got wireless charging too right... oh wait, of course not. Was there also a 1000mah(!) battery upgrade? (s6 to S7e) Also two things my wife and others would appreciate in Galaxy phones that they can't with an iPhone 7: their headphone jack. I know, I know, the folklore is everyone in the iPhone camp swallowed the coolaid and is now down with the dongle/adapter/go wireless/just do things our way bandwagon. But in reality: not so.

To be honest, I think you're looking at Android phone updates through rose-tinted glasses.

I think you were looking at iPhone 'updates' with a biased chip on your shoulder. The fact of the matter is- iPhone users in my experience have simply had fewer opportunities to upgrade as obviously there is far less choice. I'm glad many are happy with what they have and may keep their phones longer, but it's not always by choice. Lately that's become starkly obvious as Apple's latest 'we know what's best' has forced users like my wife to HAVE to stick with the old, or face a usage choice they despise. Those who prefer Android aren't limited to one brand/one line of upgrades.

 

[agent00f]

I didn't say always- that's you goal-post shifting. You just listed off a bunch of ho-hum upgrades with the iPhone 7, then dismiss the updates to the S7. Return of MicroSD with the S7, was a much better and more useful upgrade than the iPhone 7 *FINALLY* getting waterproofing. It got wireless charging too right... oh wait, of course not. Was there also a 1000mah(!) battery upgrade? (s6 to S7e) Also two things my wife and others would appreciate in Galaxy phones that they can't with an iPhone 7: their headphone jack. I know, I know, the folklore is everyone in the iPhone camp swallowed the coolaid and is now down with the dongle/adapter/go wireless/just do things our way bandwagon. But in reality: not so.


I think you were looking at iPhone 'updates' with a biased chip on your shoulder. The fact of the matter is- iPhone users in my experience have simply had fewer opportunities to upgrade as obviously there is far less choice. I'm glad many are happy with what they have and may keep their phones longer, but it's not always by choice. Lately that's become starkly obvious as Apple's latest 'we know what's best' has forced users like my wife to HAVE to stick with the old, or face a usage choice they despise. Those who prefer Android aren't limited to one brand/one line of upgrades.

Try to learn to be smarter at picking battles. Literally the two major advantages of iphone are consistent hw and sw updates. As good as the S8 design is the cpu is an embarrassment.

 

[dawheat]

Can we avoid yet another iOS vs Android tangent? At this point, unless you've been living under a rock, there is literally nothing new to be rehashed. The platforms are different but more alike than they've ever been from a day to day use perspective.

My best buy order said processing but "availalbe" last night - now it's back to in progress. I'm guessing a little glitch when the store actually got devices delivered.

 

[krumme]

Good review of s8 plus at gsmarena
http://m.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s8_plus-review-1602p9.php
Take care of their camera review its usually quite competent.

 

[pauldun170]

What's funny is that I've rarely had that happen with iPhones... they're usually issue-free through at least a couple of years. I upgrade because the hardware has advanced far enough that there'll be a tangible benefit to spending all that cash, not because I run into hiccups with what I have.

That isn't to say this kind of behavior is exclusive to iPhones. Nexus and (presumably) Pixel phones tend to hold up well so long as the latest OS update isn't too burdensome. The LG V10 I have has been pretty good about working well in the long run, too. It's just that OS decay and other long-term issues don't seem to be that prevalent in iOS, in my experience.

My wife won't admit it but our experience with iPhones sucks.
Her iPhone 4 was a flakey piece of crap between battery issues, home button and ports within and her iPhone 5S battery is shot along with various software issues and space issues. Constantly drops wifi. She's had it for 3 years now but she's been facing issues with it since the 1 year mark. For the most part its a smooth running phone. It's just touched with a bit of drama from time to time.

I'm assuming I have had excellent luck with my 4 year old Samsung considering its still running reasonably strong, despite its original battery. My old HTC Incredible ADR6300 from ages ago is still floating around the house on its original battery.
There is something in the air at my house that causes Android phones to flourish and iPhones to die.
That and I really need to learn how to get rid of stuff. Maybe get the air tested as well.

 

[rh71]

What do people do with their old Android phones? I still have a Galaxy Nexus kicking around. The battery life makes for a sucky dash cam though. Maybe my Note 3 will be repurposed for that.

 

[Zaap]

Try to learn to be smarter at picking battles. Literally the two major advantages of iphone are consistent hw and sw updates. As good as the S8 design is the cpu is an embarrassment.

Stick to P&N little troll.

 

[Zaap]

My wife won't admit it but our experience with iPhones sucks.
Her iPhone 4 was a flakey piece of crap between battery issues, home button and ports within and her iPhone 5S battery is shot along with various software issues and space issues.

My wife's iPhones 4 and 5 were both piles of crap. Back then though, the folklore was they were the best thing ever made.. even though they weren't. Her 6 is okay, but she's stuck with it.

And yeah, this thread is about the S8, not the folklore of the infallible iPhone.

SOMEDAY... there will be an iPhone 8 to get excited about and actually have its own thread.
SOMEDAY.

 

[WelshBloke]

Needs mor battery!

Seriously. It needs at least 4000mah, there has to be room in there for that and if not make room for it. My S7E is just about ok but I still carry an external battery just in case, I'd like to avoid that.
Everything else about it looks pretty good TBH. The fingerprint sensor is just where my index finger rests anyway.
Yeah Bixby is redundant if you have Google Assistant, but I'm in the UK and assistant isn't officially released for Samsung phones here so it works about as well as bixby does!
I don't have tiny Donald Trump hands so I don't think that I'd have any problems using it at all.

Not buying one just because of that battery though.

 

[lopri]

I had a chance to play with the S8 first time yesterday and the battery life was surprisingly decent. The phone was on a wireless cradle, with a leash on its tail the back of its head, so I was able to see how the battery drains over time after picking it up off the cradle. I managed to drain 13~14% for a little over an hour of a "heavy use". The phone was at near max brightness, its native resolution, with all the features turned on. I ran some benchmarks and quickly went through the features including camera, and found myself somewhat surprised because the battery level did not drop as fast as I thought it might.

Of course on a demo phone there was no syncing going on, so that is something that needs to be accounted for. But in general that is an issue of an idle battery drain which I wasn't going to test there anyway. I had my Honor 8 (running on Kirin 950) side by side for comparison and despite the Honor 8 not getting as much attention its battery drained faster. That was quite a surprise. My tentative view is that the S8 owes its efficiency to the S835, and it makes sense why Samsung wanted to keep whatever they can get their hands on even at the cost of ire of other OEMs. We have not heard of anything about Exynos-equipped S8 yet, and if I remember correctly last time around the S7's demo units were all Exynos-based ones even though the actual devices for the consumers were Snapdragon-based.

 

[blackangst1]

TMo pre-order...S8 is on the truck for delivery woohoo

 

[lopri]

What color are you getting? I was totally captivated by the black model. I am patiently waiting for an unlocked version.

P.S. What are the best pre-order deal around?

 

[Commodus]

What color are you getting? I was totally captivated by the black model. I am patiently waiting for an unlocked version.

P.S. What are the best pre-order deal around?

If I were to get an S8, I'd definitely be going for orchid gray... yeah, it's the color du jour, but dammit, it's nice to see some variety beyond the "whatever Apple's doing" shades (coral blue is also good in that regard). Can't speak to deals, but the most common offer, the free Gear VR headset, is still pretty solid.

 

[Oyeve]

Mines slated to arrive tomorrow. Fedex can't release until then. My el-cheapo s8+ case just came in. Barely bigger than my note 7 case. I hope the AKG buds are decent. I'll probably get the VR headset as its a freebie, but I already have 3 different version of it. This one comes with a remote controller tho so that may be cool. Now to sell off my S7 Edge and try to legally sell my Note 7.

 

[lopri]

No stores offering a gift card or store credit? How about the carriers?

 

[pauldun170]

What color are you getting? I was totally captivated by the black model. I am patiently waiting for an unlocked version.

P.S. What are the best pre-order deal around?

I ordered the Orchid Grey which will never see the light of day.
It's going into the same orange UAG Pathfinder case that I have on my S4.

 

[agent00f]

Stick to P&N little troll.

Makes sense you know as little about tech as everything else.

 

[dawheat]

No stores offering a gift card or store credit? How about the carriers?

BB is still offering $50 off S8 and $100 off S8+ I believe if you sign up for an installment carrier plan.

 

[blackangst1]

I ordered black. I put a case on mine so color is kind of irrelevant.

As far as promos, theres a few: http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s8-deals

Samsung Galaxy S8

• Verizon is offering it for as little as $15/mo with select trade-ins
• AT&T is running a Buy One, Give one promotion
• T-Mobile is offering a free Gear VR & Oculus controller with pre-order
• Sprint's Galaxy Forever plan will let you upgrade after 12 lease payments
• Best Buy is offering up to $100 off on new payment plans

Samsung Galaxy S8+

• AT&T is running a Buy One, Give One promotion
• T-Mobile is offering a free Gear VR & Oculus controller with pre-order
• Sprint's Galaxy Forever plan will let you upgrade after 12 lease payments
• Verizon is offering it for as little as $15/mo with select trade-ins
• Best Buy is offering up to $100 off on new payment plans

• http://www.androidcentral.com/e?lin...direct%3Dsamsung%2Bgalaxy%2Bs8&token=w0BFrdxW