Phones Samsung Galaxy S8

[Aneres11]

I realize that this isn't cost effective, but I'm really becoming addicted to those multi wallpapers on the Samsung store, and then finding the matching wallpaper on the home screen.

Omg this is me haha.
Well, it was until Barclays blocked my debit card for a 75p transaction to Samsung...

Which I didn't know about until my card kept declining in a busy canteen in work one morning... not fun. Bloody bank!

I just wish these wallpapers were transferable to other devices - are they? I have tried saving the image but it doesn't seem to work it just opens an URL of some sort?!

I'd buy the whole store if I could use them on other phones!

 

[nviz22]

I am looking to get a new smartwatch to pair with my S8. Thinking about the Gear S2 because it features a speaker, 4g signal, GPS, a circular design, Android/iPhone compatibility. Any other suggestions are welcomed. Max looking to spend is $100 USD for one brand new.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Had the T-Mobile S8+, and returned it last weekend, went back to my old Nexus 6P, which is much smoother, and has way better dark themes, as well as the better stock Google Android apps that work like hot butter smooth, and can also be themed dark. Plus I like the stock Google app functions and the way they work over Touchwiz apps. The Phone / Dialer app, Messages, etc... I just prefer Google's original stock way of doing it. And I love the dark theme I am running on my Nexus 6P, looks so good, and easy on the eyes.

S8+ is a very nice phone, with great battery life, the best Samsung phone ever made. But the slight micro stutters and hiccups and jag were too annoying. Overall the S8+ is pretty smooth and very fast, but not 100% smooth all the time, which really irks me. I would say the S8+ is like 75% smooth and lag free, compared to my Nexus 6P being 90% smooth. I have yet to find any phone that is 100% perfect lag free, never stutter once. No smartphone exists like that. Yet.

Plus the curved edges were funky, and I didn't find added any real benefit to me, except making typing weird. I prefer flat screens and phones the size of my Nexus 6P or previous iPhone 7 Plus, which were great.

S8+ is great phone, but just not my cup of tea. I am waiting for the Pixel XL 2, stock Android phone with the SD835, and a 3,500mAh battery, with waterproofing, and edge screen, will be a beast.

 

[spinedoc77]

Rant warning ...

Biggest question is WHY DO YOU CARE ABOUT SALES NUMBERS ?

That needed all caps.

Seriously is your enjoyment of a product or usage of that product impacted by a string of sales numbers ? Does the quality of that product to you hinge on raw sales numbers ? Do you need to see high sales numbers to have some validation that your purchase was the correct one (or vice versa, that your choice not to purchase) for you ?

If the answer to all of those questions is NO, as it should be, then just enjoy the device. Nothing changes.

If the answer is YES, then you have far too much time on your hands, and seemingly care about insignificant metrics more than the product or merely need 'mud to throw at walls' on forums. Find a more productive past time.

The discussion of sales numbers which inevitably ends up being the same old cliché - product A Vs product B - handbag fight, should means nothing of real importance to anyone other than the OEM and it's stockholders. It has NO impact on the end user, or their experience of the product.

If it sold 500000, 1 million or 5 million, the end product is not any different. Nothing changes. Your usage and enjoyment and it's critical reception is utterly unchanged by those sales figures.


Arguing over Sales numbers is just about the most asinine thing and those that do usually have other agendas or opinions which they need to stoke or validate via a pointless metric.

Those that use it as cannon fodder on forums such as this end up spouting a same tripe. "it sold less than [insert] year or device, so it must be a worse device than product b [usually the posters preferred product/OEM] which sold more and therefore it must be better...

It's just same old garbage over & over, I just can not believe I am the only one who sees this for what it is.

When you care less about the product than its sales numbers something is very array.

Just to play devil's advocate here, higher sales numbers means more popularity and that means higher resale value and easier to sell my iPhone when the time comes to upgrade. I don't disagree with you that it's annoying and sometimes trollish when people post sales numbers on the forums, but at the same time I do look at it as a positive when I purchase something, more money in my pocket.

 

[5105973]

Has anyone still primarily using the 7 Plus after going with the S8+?

I'm almost tempted to sell my iPhone 7 Plus at this point. Well I do still love the camera and Apple News...but I admit to being dismayed. I was testing my voice mail setups on both phones last night. The call I made to my S8+ from my iPhone 7 Plus sounded appalling. It sounds like I was mumbling into a fan. It was broken up and hiccupy. Which is often my experience trying to listen to anyone calling me from an iPhone.

My husband says he made thousands of calls on his iPhone 7 plus and never had any problems. I told him maybe he could hear his callers just fine but to me he always sounded horrible and I had to work hard to make out what he was saying.

The call I made to my iPhone from my S8+ had a little bit of hiss or static on it but my voice itself came through loud and clear.

My HTC 10 is the reigning champ with no hiss or static and Crystal clear voice quality. My dad is always happy when I call from my HTC. That has a thick wallet case on it and aluminum construction with antenna bands. So I can't explain why I have trouble with similarly constructed iPhones.

I'm almost tempted to try the HTC U 11, but I do have too many phones and I don't have the money to spare. I would have to ask for it for my birthday, but that would necessitate giving up asking for a Frontier Watch. I am so envious of my husband's Frontier.

I'm small but I can wear his watch so I'm asking for one. It's actually pretty comfortable. It looks huge on me but I'm not going to enter any beauty contests with it anytime soon so I don't care. I will wear my other Samsung watch or my classic watches when I want to get dressed up. Besides, if men can run around in "rompers" or onesies with their hair tied up in "man buns", I damn sure can wear a Frontier watch. Years from now we all will look back on our fashion quirks and laugh. Nothing will ever top the ridiculous fashions of the 1970's, anyway. And no man bun can ever approach the glory of this one spectacular perm I had in 1989.

I am so jealous that my husband can have his watch display always on (and it's a nice fully featured display) and his battery life is still insane. He wears his Frontier by day and the free Gear watch we got from At&T promotion at night for sleep tracking.

I have months to think about the Frontier.

The fact that I'm thinking exclusively about the Frontier speaks for where my mind is at these days.

I'm really burned out on so much of the things that are a part of Apple right now. I can't talk about some of them here because this thread is my happy place and I don't want to bring negativity into it. And I am not permanently put off of Apple or their products. Actually I think we could be on the brink of a bit of a renewal of their former glory as some of their investments in R&D over the past few years come to fruition. I just think 2017 is the year I break away and get a fresh perspective on Apple.

 

[spinedoc77]

I'm almost tempted to sell my iPhone 7 Plus at this point. Well I do still love the camera and Apple News...but I admit to being dismayed. I was testing my voice mail setups on both phones last night. The call I made to my S8+ from my iPhone 7 Plus sounded appalling. It sounds like I was mumbling into a fan. It was broken up and hiccupy. Which is often my experience trying to listen to anyone calling me from an iPhone.

My husband says he made thousands of calls on his iPhone 7 plus and never had any problems. I told him maybe he could hear his callers just fine but to me he always sounded horrible and I had to work hard to make out what he was saying.

The call I made to my iPhone from my S8+ had a little bit of hiss or static on it but my voice itself came through loud and clear.

My HTC 10 is the reigning champ with no hiss or static and Crystal clear voice quality. My dad is always happy when I call from my HTC. That has a thick wallet case on it and aluminum construction with antenna bands. So I can't explain why I have trouble with similarly constructed iPhones.

I'm almost tempted to try the HTC U 11, but I do have too many phones and I don't have the money to spare. I would have to ask for it for my birthday, but that would necessitate giving up asking for a Frontier Watch. I am so envious of my husband's Frontier.

I'm small but I can wear his watch so I'm asking for one. It's actually pretty comfortable. It looks huge on me but I'm not going to enter any beauty contests with it anytime soon so I don't care. I will wear my other Samsung watch or my classic watches when I want to get dressed up. Besides, if men can run around in "rompers" or onesies with their hair tied up in "man buns", I damn sure can wear a Frontier watch. Years from now we all will look back on our fashion quirks and laugh. Nothing will ever top the ridiculous fashions of the 1970's, anyway. And no man bun can ever approach the glory of this one spectacular perm I had in 1989.

I am so jealous that my husband can have his watch display always on (and it's a nice fully featured display) and his battery life is still insane. He wears his Frontier by day and the free Gear watch we got from At&T promotion at night for sleep tracking.

I have months to think about the Frontier.

The fact that I'm thinking exclusively about the Frontier speaks for where my mind is at these days.

I'm really burned out on so much of the things that are a part of Apple right now. I can't talk about some of them here because this thread is my happy place and I don't want to bring negativity into it. And I am not permanently put off of Apple or their products. Actually I think we could be on the brink of a bit of a renewal of their former glory as some of their investments in R&D over the past few years come to fruition. I just think 2017 is the year I break away and get a fresh perspective on Apple.

I've always had the opposite issue, iphones have been crystal clear where samsungs have always had issues with volume and clarity. Although the Note 7 was very nice, but I didn't have it for long enough to comment on how it sounded day to day, and of course I haven't used a S8 so can't comment on that.

I do agree the apple watch kind of sucks because it's not al always on screen. The battery life is fairly poor as well IMO, if I workout in the morning it won't last me past 4pm or earlier so I had to get a 2nd AW just for the gym. Frontier is super super nice, but hamstrung by a lack of apps due to Tizen, it's also kind of huge/thick as well.

I'm curious to see what iOS11 brings, as most of Apple's behind behind is due to the OS. Look at what Google announced, I'll bet Apple's iOS11 announcement will be completely lackluster, oohhh look 2 billion more emojis with skin color variations!! That's my concern, that the iphone8 will be incredible in terms of hardware but keep piddling along on a primitive OS.

 

[mjschabow]

Yep. Showing off my little guy here but aside from the cuteness, this is the best photo quality I've ever seen on a smartphone.

 

[Geert76]

Yep. Showing off my little guy here but aside from the cuteness, this is the best photo quality I've ever seen on a smartphone.

wow! what an adorable little man!

which camera mode did you use? or just point and shoot?

 

[mjschabow]

wow! what an adorable little man!

which camere mode did you use? or just point and shoot?

Just point and shoot. And thanks!

 

[Geert76]

Just point and shoot. And thanks!

I am watching your photo on my Retina 2016 MacBook Pro.

its really impressive. Loads of details in your photo!
Amazing what this camera can do!

 

[mjschabow]

It really is. I'm sure some people could call it over saturated, but I love how the colors came through.

 

[MRU]

Just to play devil's advocate here, higher sales numbers means more popularity and that means higher resale value and easier to sell my iPhone when the time comes to upgrade. I don't disagree with you that it's annoying and sometimes trollish when people post sales numbers on the forums, but at the same time I do look at it as a positive when I purchase something, more money in my pocket.

That's a legit reason or consideration, but it isn't the reason people on fora post them or use sales numbers. They do so normally for argument and to validate their preference or justification of their choice. They use it solely as ammunition. As evident all over this fora.

Likewise greater sales of a device doesn't always mean greater resale value. I have found the iPhones last year or two seemingly depreciate from where they were as there is an over abundance of them for resale which means it becomes a buyer's market. Something which is harder to get hold of and therefore much smaller sales numbers can at times hold its value moreover simply due to less concentration of devices for resale.

So more sales doesn't translate to greater resale value. It can act as the reverse due to sheer market saturation.

 

[noobinator]

Sales number make people happy because it justifies their needless purchase in their brain.

 

[MRU]

Sales number make people happy because it justifies their needless purchase in their brain.

Definitely this is the case of forum such as this. You only have to look at certain posters here who have a constant tit for tat and sales numbers are always thrown into the mix ...

 

[Zaft]

Yep. Showing off my little guy here but aside from the cuteness, this is the best photo quality I've ever seen on a smartphone.

Cute baby .
But I dont really see the difference in modern phones now. They all can take good photos in good lighting.

 

[co.ag.2005]

I am looking to get a new smartwatch to pair with my S8. Thinking about the Gear S2 because it features a speaker, 4g signal, GPS, a circular design, Android/iPhone compatibility. Any other suggestions are welcomed. Max looking to spend is $100 USD for one brand new.

I had the Gear S2 Classic recently and loved the size and functionality, but I did pick up a Gear S3 Frontier which I absolutely love. Both are above your $100 threshold, though I did pick up my Gear S2 Classic (verizon version) off eBay for $115 gently used, but YMMV and I know you are looking for new. Other than used options, I'm not a fan of Android Wear, but I'm sure you can find some discounted older hardware for around $100 somewhere (Moto 360 gen 2, etc.).

 

[jamezr]

Yep. Showing off my little guy here but aside from the cuteness, this is the best photo quality I've ever seen on a smartphone.

That is one cute kid!

 

[5105973]

Yep. Showing off my little guy here but aside from the cuteness, this is the best photo quality I've ever seen on a smartphone.

Want. To. Hug. Toooooo cute! He looks so happy.

 

[Tig Bitties]

Yep. Showing off my little guy here but aside from the cuteness, this is the best photo quality I've ever seen on a smartphone.

Adorable little guy

 

[mjschabow]

Thanks all! Love this camera!

 

[5105973]

I've always had the opposite issue, iphones have been crystal clear where samsungs have always had issues with volume and clarity. Although the Note 7 was very nice, but I didn't have it for long enough to comment on how it sounded day to day, and of course I haven't used a S8 so can't comment on that.

I do agree the apple watch kind of sucks because it's not al always on screen. The battery life is fairly poor as well IMO, if I workout in the morning it won't last me past 4pm or earlier so I had to get a 2nd AW just for the gym. Frontier is super super nice, but hamstrung by a lack of apps due to Tizen, it's also kind of huge/thick as well.

I'm curious to see what iOS11 brings, as most of Apple's behind behind is due to the OS. Look at what Google announced, I'll bet Apple's iOS11 announcement will be completely lackluster, oohhh look 2 billion more emojis with skin color variations!! That's my concern, that the iphone8 will be incredible in terms of hardware but keep piddling along on a primitive OS.

What's your carrier again? Mine is AT&T. Some people on Verizon had serious complaints about their call quality on the S8 and S8+.

I have the unlocked iPhone 7 Plus.

Did you all see the news on the front page of this forum where some Russian company found out Apple keeps our deleted notes well past the stated time frame they promise? And that there are other logs they keep on our calls and FaceTime and deleted search histories that they don't disclose to us? So much for security and privacy promises! My search history is not particularly exciting but I would prefer full access and control over it. At the very least, if I'm told stuff is not kept past a certain time period, I expect that to be honored.

I had decided to move as much reliance off of iCloud as possible so I could be more platform neutral. This takes my decision further, to copy my data elsewhere and wean myself off of the iCloud completely. I don't delude myself into thinking I would have privacy anywhere. But at least the alternatives I am using are honest about the extent to which they track me and stick their noses into my business and record my every move for posterity.

I didn't mean to get negative on Apple here but there's been a build up of things bothering me. I definitely need to move on and let Apple cycle back to a better place.

 

[epicrayban]

Pretty neat icon pack that blends Samsung's font/art style with Pixel's circles. Free for a limited time:

S8 Pixel - Icon Pack
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.round.aspireux.iconpack

 

[co.ag.2005]

What's your carrier again? Mine is AT&T. Some people on Verizon had serious complaints about their call quality on the S8 and S8+.

I have the unlocked iPhone 7 Plus.

Did you all see the news on the front page of this forum where some Russian company found out Apple keeps our deleted notes well past the stated time frame they promise? And that there are other logs they keep on our calls and FaceTime and deleted search histories that they don't disclose to us? So much for security and privacy promises! My search history is not particularly exciting but I would prefer full access and control over it. At the very least, if I'm told stuff is not kept past a certain time period, I expect that to be honored.

I had decided to move as much reliance off of iCloud as possible so I could be more platform neutral. This takes my decision further, to copy my data elsewhere and wean myself off of the iCloud completely. I don't delude myself into thinking I would have privacy anywhere. But at least the alternatives I am using are honest about the extent to which they track me and stick their noses into my business and record my every move for posterity.

I didn't mean to get negative on Apple here but there's been a build up of things bothering me. I definitely need to move on and let Apple cycle back to a better place.

I've already had 2 Verizon Galaxy S8's that won't let me do a proper call over speakerphone. I sound like a garbled alien on the other end about 80% of the time while on speaker phone. Calls over the regular speaker/mic combo are crystal clear, but the speaker phone was the issue. I'm on my 3rd one and so far, so good. I may order an unlocked on from Best Buy to see if it goes better than the Verizon variant.

FWIW, I've never had call quality issues on any other phone on Verizon (especially the iPhone 7 Plus) so I'm not sure if Verizon still needs to iron out a few bugs on their end.

 

[5105973]

I've already had 2 Verizon Galaxy S8's that won't let me do a proper call over speakerphone. I sound like a garbled alien on the other end about 80% of the time while on speaker phone. Calls over the regular speaker/mic combo are crystal clear, but the speaker phone was the issue. I'm on my 3rd one and so far, so good. I may order an unlocked on from Best Buy to see if it goes better than the Verizon variant.

FWIW, I've never had call quality issues on any other phone on Verizon (especially the iPhone 7 Plus) so I'm not sure if Verizon still needs to iron out a few bugs on their end.

Oh I guess my husband and I should check on that. We don't often use the speaker phone. But if we need it we want it to work. Goodness!

 

[jamezr]

Gotta say...the more I use the Galaxy S8 + the more I like it.
It has been a true performer for me. Samsung has provided a very robust lag free user experience for me so far.
Battery life is exceptional...right up there with my 7+.
Camera is on par with my Pixel XL.
I like the aspect ratio because it lets me use the phone with one hand most of the time.

Performance has been stellar! Not a hiccup or hint of lag for me. It has been so rock steady for me i don't even think about anything but just using it....no worries about battery life getting me through the day. Just a very pleasant user experience. easily the best Samsung phone so far!

But....while the FPS is very accurate....but...that location is dumb to say the least. I have no problems reaching it as I have big hands. I have no problems with the FPS being on the back. But it should be below the camera and round!
To my surprise the iris scanner has be great and very accurate. I use a combo of FPS and Iris to unlock my phone.