With the new release and popular deals on the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+, I was just wondering how other fellow ozbargainers are enjoying their new phone. Other than calling/texting, it is a ~$1000 gadget so I wanted to make the most of it.
I actually enjoy the Gear VR the most. It's a bit of a novelty, haven't used it before so I'm enjoying it and experiencing it with the family and friends before the novelty wears off.
What do you guys like about the new phone(s)?
Ok both are sheep. Peace.
I will use a wired disc phone just to don't let an advertising company spy on me! You know what? Car manufacturers also spy on you, especially innovative ones like Tesla. So, horses, use horses, or sled dogs.
Long live symbian.
Hahaha you said assdroid! Hahahah
I've been looking to upgrade from my Nexus 5X, and this is certainly not it.
On paper the new S8/S8+ are killer devices, but in practice they're not great.
First of all, the QSD 835 is barely faster than the QSD 821 (or OC 820) and it doesn't seem to really offer that much improvement in battery life.
Again, lack of removable battery means you need great battery life… but its average at-best.
The camera is great, but it's essentially equal to the S7's shooter. Certainly no fancy Leica Dual-camera shooter or iPhone's impressive Slow-Mo.
DeX has great potential, but its not realised yet and it should really be bundled with each unit… NOT a expensive accessory.
Phone lacks stereo speakers like the HTC One M7/SONY Z3/Nexus 6/Nexus 6P. A big letdown for Media consumption.
Ergonomics are bad, as the bezels are just enough to avoid unwanted taps… but the thing that makes the ergonomics very bad is the fingerprint sensor.
It's hard to find the sensor, and mostly you smudge the lens.
But the other reason its ergonomically bad is that the sides are rounded, causing for a weak holding/grip.
And the fact that both the front and the back are glass just adds to this. Not to mention making it very fragile.
To add, the weird 21:10 aspect ratio means the phone is unnecessarily long… and that it will take some years/time for Apps to adapt to this.
And let's not forget the important aspect: Software.
The S8 is a pretty slow/laggy phone because of TouchWiz. And there are still some aesthetic touches that are out of place.
Not to mention the flustercuck that is Bixby.
So practically, the S8 is really equivalent to the S7. And other devices like the LG G6 and Pixel.
…..so then what is there to recommend then?
I want to recommend Nexus phones, but they're gone.
Pixel phones could've been… but Google won't support them after 18-24 months compared to Apple's 5 year plan.
So people shouldn't buy Pixel phones instead of other flagships to get good software support: it won't be there.
….so what's the alternative?
Basically anything that has great community support and decent specs and ergonomics.
The new Huawei models are looking good (Mate 9 Pro, P10 Plus, Honor 8 Pro)…
OnePlus 3 and the OnePlus 3T are definitely the top of the crop…. but they lack Band 28.
Maybe the OnePlus 5 ?
Hopefully the 1+5 will have Band 28, availability and decent price.
I love this comment. Thanks for an awesomely in-depth insight. Idk why you get negged, but awesome write-up. I learned a lot from it.
Thanks for the comment. It is hard to wade through all the reviews to find out which are legit and not.
I need to buy a new phone for work, within the next few days, and was fairly ready to pull the trigger on S8+.
I can't get a OPO. Pixel I can only get if I go with Telstra it seems :( maybe the Huawei are the next best choice, but beyond that there isn't much.
QSD 835 is US-only, no idea on how the exynos compares this year but last year the consensus was the QSD in s7 wasn't as good as the exynos s7s. That's all I wanted to point out.
Don't buy it. Get One plus 3/3T.
700MHz LTE/Band 28?
(hopefully with the OnePlus 5)
Can't wait for it. I am on nexus 6p and will upgrade it to OP5.
I know it's an android thing, but how do people get around having to move apps back to the SD card after updating them? Rooting? I'm a virgin at rooting.
I am sick of doing it on my current phone, but don't want to go to IOS on my next phone if I can help it…
I have been the biggest Samsung hater since the Galaxy S3 but I wanted to give it another try after I saw the S8 design.
I came from an iPhone 7 and bought the Galaxy S8+ here in the UK. I can claim a new phone purchase on business every year so decided on this.
Likes:
- Design is amazing. The S8+ doesn't feel big at all after a few days of use you start to think it's normal small size phone. But the screen is really good compared to all others out there.
Does it lag? Yeah maybe at times. Touchwiz has come a long way from their over bloatedness in the past. I would expect the phone to get better as more updates come from Samsung (hopefully).
Battery life is decent. It's better than what I used to get from my iPhone. I even have it on highest display setting and AOD activated 24/7. However I will keep judgement on hold because from past experience with Samsung devices, after 1 year of use. The battery life will become the worst part of the phone which renders it completely unusable.
Dislikes:
- Fingerprint sensor. What were Samsung thinking when they ok'd that part of the design? It is the absolute worst part of this phone. If you have a case, you can pretty much forget using the fingerprint sensor because it just does not read it. Maybe being left handed makes things harder but this is my biggest dislike.
So far I think it's a good phone and I intend to sell my iPhone now after a couple weeks of using the S8. Not sure what Apple will do with the next iPhone but it has to be that much better than the S8+ to make me consider one.
I love my s8+. Only see it first thing in the morning and last thing at night as it enters and exits the pocket, its a match made in heaven.
It's OK. I preferred my LG G5 to be honest and I feel that the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S8 is a bit of a downgrade.
I think I prefer the size of the Samsung Galaxy S8+ because it feels more natural in my hand. The Samsung Galaxy S8 offers nothing new to me to be honest.
I guess I just need to play around with it but I have had it for 5 weeks and not really enjoyed it.
upgrading from HTC m9 to s8
been using for 3 days.
i will only talk about bad areas.
the speaker is worse.(expected)
need to be really careful if you running naked, screen cost tons to repair.
need to change all my cables.
i still dont know if i want a screen protector or not. for my HTC, i cant tell if i have it on or not, looks the same. but with s8, any screen protector i saw in the review videos, the screen become much more reflective thus looks cheap and worse….(do recommend me a good one if you know one, i prefer the one that can over up the edge but case friendly).
I guess what I'm enjoying most about my Homtom HT17Pro is:
Half of your points are invalid.
Having $900 more in my pocket
I'll give you that one.
Having an unlocked phone so I pay $17 a month for 4Gig of data and unlimited calls and texts
You can get unlocked S8/S8+ phones.
Not looking about all the time as I use my phone to check if people are admiring it
Who does this? I've never done it with any phone nor cared what other people are using.
That it does everything the latest Samsung does except for cheap gimmicks
Sure, but can it do it as well?
The fingerprint sensor is perfectly placed on the Homtom and works perfectly with the $3 case I bought off Aliexpress.
I agree the fingerprint scanner is not ideally placed but you can get used to it with time.
I can upgrade anytime I like because I didn't need a loan to get one
I can also upgrade anytime I like and didn't need a loan to get one. What's your point?
It's predecessor didn't ever explode
While there probably has been a case of an S7 exploding, you are most likely referring to the Note 7, which the the S8 is not the successor to.
Half of them are valid then.
Diji1 on 30/04/2017 - 19:08 Comment score below threshold.