Phones Samsung Galaxy S8

[epicrayban]

The Verge: http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/18/15338052/samsung-galaxy-s8-touchwiz-android-software

No more TouchWiz jokes: Samsung's software has caught up to its hardware

... here I am, fresh off a solid week of constantly using the Galaxy S8 Plus, ready to commend Samsung’s TouchWiz variation of Android for actually being better than Google’s own Android in some respects.

There’s a cohesiveness to the Galaxy S8 user experience that’s unprecedented among previous Samsung, LG, Sony, and even HTC phones. No major phone manufacturer has skinned Android this well or this skillfully.

 

[MRU]

I want to see some of the S7 themes from the theme store running on the S8. I had a number of really nice themes on my S7/7e ... I'm not a fan of the wireframe icons of this years GUI (I think the grace UX icons from Note 7 looked nicer) but at least you can swap them out with a theme. Strange that none of the early reviewers / hands on have shown the theme store and examples of them running on the S8 yet .. hopefully when it lands in people's hands we will see videos pop up online.

 

[grkm3]

Galaxy S8 battery life test: Snapdragon vs Exynos edition, a familiar tale
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Gala...gon-vs-Exynos-edition-a-familiar-tale_id93175

Yet again, the International model with the homegrown Samsung processor FAIRS A LOT BETTER IN THE BATTERY DEPARTMENT, compared to the Snapdragon version. A very large margin of better battery life on the Exynos version.

Plus the International model come bootloader unlocked for easy rotting and ROM's, and the Qualcomm version is LOCKED down.

Man the U.S. gets the gimped phone

not surprised it's been like this for awhile.

Samsung should just buy Qualcomm and use there modems and gpus with there exynos chips and it would be a win win for everyone.

 

[Michael Goff]

"Expected tomorrow" is what the shipping email is telling me.

 

[Oohara]

For those looking for a case, although of course I haven't tested it myself for the S8/+ this is absolutely awesome on my iP7+: https://www.puro.it/en/store/smartp...plus/cover-03-nude-galaxy-s8-plus-tr-eng.html

Definitely the nicest ultra thin case I've owned. Really super thin, transparent grey with a nice matte surface, and very durable. If I was getting a S8/+, this is what I'd put on it to keep the feel as close to naked as possible.

 

[Tig Bitties]

"even with all those specs they still can't make smooth and lag free software"

Again the Touchwiz lag is still clear and evident. Man Galaxy phones with the Snapdragon just seemed gimped no matter hardware is pushing them.

 

[TechnicallyTee]

"even with all those specs they still can't make smooth and lag free software"

Again the Touchwiz lag is still clear and evident. Man Galaxy phones with the Snapdragon just seemed gimped no matter hardware is pushing them.

That is the one thing that I am worried about....Samsung just cant make a lag free experience.

 

[MRU]

For those looking for a case, although of course I haven't tested it myself for the S8/+ this is absolutely awesome on my iP7+: https://www.puro.it/en/store/smartp...plus/cover-03-nude-galaxy-s8-plus-tr-eng.html

Definitely the nicest ultra thin case I've owned. Really super thin, transparent grey with a nice matte surface, and very durable. If I was getting a S8/+, this is what I'd put on it to keep the feel as close to naked as possible.

Just to add Nilkinn Nature cases are also great light/thin cases for those that want something a bit better than a skin, but less bulky than a traditional tpu case

 

[mclld]

That is the one thing that I am worried about....Samsung just cant make a lag free experience.

Are there really any lag free phones? I think people obsess and really overblow the lag issue in general

What was with that line at the end. Something like "yeah buy it but keep in mind your neighbors probably will too"

And? What a stupid thing to say

 

[grkm3]

Are there really any lag free phones? I think people obsess and really overblow the lag issue in general

What was with that line at the end. Something like "yeah buy it but keep in mind your neighbors probably will too"

And? What a stupid thing to say

seriously he kept going on about bixby not working. duh Samsung has said it will turn on bixby servers when the phone is officially out.

 

[Tig Bitties]

That is the one thing that I am worried about....Samsung just cant make a lag free experience.

For some reason the Snapdragon Galaxy phones, just lag, period. Whereas the Exynos version are smoother and more like iOS. I have owned too many Snapdragon Galaxy phones over the years, every single one of them lagged.

And I am no iPhone fan whatsoever, but my current daily driver is the iPhone 7 Plus, and I am still in awe on how smooth this phone is, just always constantly buttery smooth. Not warp speed fast no, but always the same level of consistent smoothness 100% of the time. I cannot say the same for any Galaxy phone.

 

[Roadstar]

My S7E was noticeably slower than my Pixel, but we're talking about milliseconds of differences and comparing devices that are months apart. To me, that's understandable.

Regarding updates, I do agree. I am hoping the single SKU of the S8 (in US models at least) and Samsung's new promise to keep up with monthly security patches for their unlocked models means we'll see improvements on this front. If nothing else, Samsung shows they are a company that can pivot and make improvements if they focus on it.

On the carrier-side, security patches have been kept up fairly well depending on the carrier. The unlocked models last year, though, were a complete crapshoot. Again, hopefully that changes with the S8 unlock this year. I believe you're outside the US, however, correct? Hopefully it improves where you are, too. For what it's worth, if you only install from the Play store and trusted third party sites, the security of your phone should be fine.

As for full software updates, no question about it; Samsung needs to get better at those. As I've said before, I understand the Android landscape. I'm even willing to accept a maximum 3 month waiting period. It allows for glitches and kinks to get worked out (see Pixel's latest 7.1.2 update that broke FPS scanning!) and it allows Samsung to adapt it to their Grace UX and features. I respect that. But, they must give a reasonable timeframe and actually keep to it. I think day one updates are overrated and more bragging right than practicality; I don't need an update that risks any glitches, small or big, to an otherwise fine running device. I can wait a bit, but Samsung has to deliver sooner than in the past.

Yep, Samsung has made promises, but I'm waiting for some proof that they're actually delivering on those promises. You're also right that I'm not in the US but in northern Europe instead. We don't have the carrier variants here, but we have a different problem in the form of totally needless regional variants. The local variant here is NEE, which apparently stands for Never, Ever, Ever when it comes to updates. Luckily there's an option of changing the ROM with Odin, but somewhere in the middle of the flashing process it's hard to avoid thinking "Why exactly should I deal with this BS?"

I would be quite OK with e.g. a month's delay with the updates, but when it's well into April and the updates are bumped from January to February, that's a little bit too long with well-known documented vulnerabilities going unpatched.

 

[mjschabow]

My take is that if it's a stutter here and there, I can handle it. My iPhone 6s does it a lot, so it's not like it's only Samsung phones. If it does what my old S6 Edge used to do, then I'd have a problem. But from what I heard, they've done a great job optimizing their phones in both the Note 7 and the S8.

 

[mi7chy]

And I am no iPhone fan whatsoever, but my current daily driver is the iPhone 7 Plus, and I am still in awe on how smooth this phone is, just always constantly buttery smooth. Not warp speed fast no, but always the same level of consistent smoothness 100% of the time. I cannot say the same for any Galaxy phone.

That has more to do with running a more dumbed down OS and UI. If I reformatted my PC currently running Windows 10 with Windows 3.1 from 1992 it'll be snappier but just a lot more dumbed down. Easily understood concept especially for anyone with experience running Linux with different desktop environments.

 

[epicrayban]

That has more to do with running a more dumbed down OS and UI. If I reformatted my PC currently running Windows 10 with Windows 3.1 from 1992 it'll be snappier but just a lot more dumbed down.

And more important to me than the rare stutter is a more consistent software experience. It's sometimes a pain to navigate around iOS or to change settings, for example. With Android, I actually navigate and accomplish tasks much faster thanks to muscle memory with a back button, consistent settings location, consistent share/menu buttons (the three dots), ability to set software defaults that actually stick, gesture typing (versus thumb tapping), less obnoxious and random security measures, etc.

These are things that actually make my Android experience faster and smoother than my iOS experience, not milliseconds of difference in launching apps or data-loading side panels.

 

[MRU]

And more important to me than the rare stutter is a more consistent software experience. It's a pain to navigate around iOS. With Android, I actually navigate and accomplish tasks much faster thanks to muscle memory and a back button, consistent settings location, consistent share/menu buttons (the three dots), software defaults, gesture typing (versus thumb tapping), etc.

These are things that make my Android experience faster and smoother, not milliseconds of difference in launching apps or data-driven side panels.

You know you shouldn't feed the forum trolls right with a response (any response) ?

As I predicted earlier ....

Now to sit back and watch this thread inevitably succumb to the hating posts from both Samsung detractors picking up any negative and turning it into a mountain, and opposingly the iphone haters to the turn this into a 'why the iPhone sucks' thread .....

 

[From A Buick 8]

Thanks! How is the strap. I saw a Flossy review where he said he hated it!

i have not really had any major issues with it. it will "un hook" occasionally. I am not a runner or a jogger so i have no experience with that type of activity, but mowing the lawn, working outside etc... it has been ok.

 

[epicrayban]

You know you shouldn't feed the forum trolls right with a response (any response) ?

As I predicted earlier ....

Not feeding any trolls; just agreeing with another poster.

I'm careful who I respond to because you're 100% right. There are far more obvious trolls who I don't bother with (it's a head-scratcher why some of them are in the Alternative section at all if not to troll or get threads shut down).

 

[Roadstar]

That's probably a wise move. They're gradually shedding the TouchWiz of yesteryear in software and in name.

Yep, they've come a long way with how their UI looks and behaves. They've got that and the hardware pretty much sorted out, now the only major thing missing is decent update support.

 

[epicrayban]

Yep, they've come a long way with how their UI looks and behaves. They've got that and the hardware pretty much sorted out, now the only major thing missing is decent update support.

It really is the last frontier for them to figure out!

If their hardware and software improvements over the past few years are any indication, it shows that Samsung is a company that can learn and get better if they simply focus. As I've pointed out in other posts and threads, I know of no other OEM that has shown improvement like this (take for example the battery issue with the Note 7; they now have the industry leading battery QC-ing process) so I remain cautiously optimistic.

My belief is that the single SKU, the promise of security updates to unlocked phones (a direct response to the sad state of unlocked S7's security patches), and promise to get 7.1.1 update out by release time is a sign that they're turning their attention to improve updates and support. As you say, hopefully they actually deliver on these promises.

For me, personally, it's not a dealbreaker if they don't, but I recognize it's something people really care about and a standard that Apple/Google have set that Samsung should try to meet.

 

[mclld]

I like the notification popup in that Mr Mobile review video, that looks pretty nice

 

[5105973]

For some reason the Snapdragon Galaxy phones, just lag, period. Whereas the Exynos version are smoother and more like iOS. I have owned too many Snapdragon Galaxy phones over the years, every single one of them lagged.

And I am no iPhone fan whatsoever, but my current daily driver is the iPhone 7 Plus, and I am still in awe on how smooth this phone is, just always constantly buttery smooth. Not warp speed fast no, but always the same level of consistent smoothness 100% of the time. I cannot say the same for any Galaxy phone.

My iPhone 7Plus is acting up. I think it needs to be wiped and re set up as new again. Too many iOS updates this year must have borked something up along the way. The hardware seems fine, though. However it is only mediocre as an actual phone. Depending on how things go for people with the IPhone 7s/iPhone 8 and how things go with Samsung S8, this might be the end of the line for me with iPhones. Despite the dependence on iMessage. Because I do intend to keep my 7Plus for two years. But it (and my SE) may be my last iPhones, as I switch over to Android and one upgrade path on Samsung or some other Android vendor moving forward.

Snapdragon is not something I want and if we could easily get a fully warrantied and supported Exynos Samsung in the US, I think anybody would. But the situation is what it is. No sense constantly bemoaning it. Qualcomm has a lock on this market somehow. I want the Galaxy S8. I want the Galaxy S8 with promotional goodies, especially the 256GB card for only $99. I live in the United States. Therefore I'll be getting the Snapdragon S8. It is what it is. I know it won't be perfect but I haven't had a phone that met my definition of perfect since my iPhone 4, and even that love affair lasted only 2 years.

When it's time to get the Note 8, I might have more flexibility in ordering because I won't be looking for promotional giveaways. If I can get an Exynos version and find a way to keep it updated, I might do just that. But if I can't, I don't think it will be a super hardship. It will just be annoying.

 

[epicrayban]

I like the notification popup in that Mr Mobile review video, that looks pretty nice

The Verge loves it too. It's the very first thing mentioned in this article from them: https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/18/15338052/samsung-galaxy-s8-touchwiz-android-software

No more TouchWiz jokes: Samsung's software has caught up to its hardware


I still can't believe they're calling TouchWiz the best Android skin now. That statement would never have been uttered a couple of years ago.

Heck, it's not even called TouchWiz anymore!

 

[RandomKamikaze]

My Uk based directly from Samsung pre-order has moved to "In Progress. This order is being processed"

 

[mi7chy]

Not feeding any trolls; just agreeing with another poster.

On the other hand, be wary of following the blind.

Many don't understand basic concepts such as iOS apps getting suspended in the background and killed from memory after 3 minutes unless they employ app state suspension to and restore from storage. That's why those fast app switching benchmarks are meaningless.

For those more familiar with Mac, iOS is minimal like System 6 which can even run well on a watch vs full featured MacOS/Windows/Linux/Android.