Phones Samsung Galaxy S8

[Roadstar]

Thanks. iMessage will be my biggest obstacle. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) I know has an iPhone, not Android. Family, friends, co-workers... everyone. I'm not as concerned with co-workers since it's mostly just text, but I send and receive lots of pictures and videos with family and friends. I'm not looking forward to how that might work (or not work!) if I'm the only one with an Android phone.

Here it's (fortunately?) different. Even when my SIM's in the iPhone, I keep iMessage disabled as no one messages me on it anyway and I want to avoid having my number getting stuck in iMessage. With WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger I can switch between phones and no one knows about it.

 

[Sounds Good]

With WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger I can switch between phones and no one knows about it.

But getting people to use a different app than they already use (just for me) is going to be a huge challenge. Even with my own family members!

 

[Roadstar]

But getting people to use a different app than they already use (just for me) is going to be a huge challenge. Even with my own family members!

Yep, that's true. That's why I use the apps everyone else already uses anyway. Some people I know used iMessage a couple of years ago, but now the percentage is practically non-existent.

 

[Sounds Good]

Some people I know used iMessage a couple of years ago, but now the percentage is practically non-existent.

Every single person I communicate with uses iMessage. True story.

 

[Zaft]

Hey guys, what do you use in place of iMessage? What is your favorite alternative?

Thanks.

The only other app I use is Facebook messenger.

 

[Roadstar]

Every single person I communicate with uses iMessage. True story.

Yes, there's a regional difference with that. You're in the US, right?

 

[Sounds Good]

Yep, US.

 

[Roadstar]

Yep, US.

Yep, iMessage is strong there. Here in Europe it's a different thing, maybe we have the ever-increasing Euro prices for iPhones to thank for the fact that an iPhone-exclusive messaging solution isn't as popular as a cross-platform alternative for the simple fact that too many people have Android phones.

 

[SigEp265]

Thanks. iMessage will be my biggest obstacle. Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) I know has an iPhone, not Android. Family, friends, co-workers... everyone. I'm not as concerned with co-workers since it's mostly just text, but I send and receive lots of pictures and videos with family and friends. I'm not looking forward to how that might work (or not work!) if I'm the only one with an Android phone.

That's my current issue. I have an iPhone and an S8. My plan was to switch the sim card whenever I felt like a change. My number always gets stuck in iMessage ... after following many tutorials and having removed the number from Apple's servers I had minimal luck. I have given up. The ONLY foolproof solution I found was to BLOCK people's numbers on iMessage so that it will only go through as SMS which the android phone then picks up.

 

[jamezr]

That's my current issue. I have an iPhone and an S8. My plan was to switch the sim card whenever I felt like a change. My number always gets stuck in iMessage ... after following many tutorials and having removed the number from Apple's servers I had minimal luck. I have given up. The ONLY foolproof solution I found was to BLOCK people's numbers on iMessage so that it will only go through as SMS which the android phone then picks up.

why not just sign out of imessage before you swap sims? I have both Android phones and a 7+ and do this regularly without issues.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

why not just sign out of imessage before you swap sims? I have both Android phones and a 7+ and do this regularly without issues.

Yup same here.

My only issue is occasionally there will be one person or two that still can't text me. I usually tell them to delete their entire conversation with me in Messages. Then their messages finally get to me when I'm not using the iPhone.

 

[Michael Goff]

Hey guys, what do you use in place of iMessage? What is your favorite alternative?

Thanks.

Allo.

 

[epicrayban]

I use a combination of things because I have different friends using different apps.

-I use Hangouts with close friends/family.

-I use Whatsapp for my teammates that I am in a league with

-I use Kakao for my Asian friends

-I use WeChat for my international friends.

I also use default SMS between iPhone and non-iPhone users alike. And as I've said before, I have zero issues with either user group or whether it's a single or group text.

I get it's convenient to just use iMessage, but from my point of view, I'm not going to force myself to give up all the advantages that Android software and hardware provides just for iMessage. This is why some people feel it's more of a trap being locked into an ecosystem than an advantage.

 

[noobinator]

What keyboard is everyone using? I just realize I can't type worth a lick on the stock one. Probably going to use Gboard.

 

[co.ag.2005]

What keyboard is everyone using? I just realize I can't type worth a lick on the stock one. Probably going to use Gboard.

Gboard. But I can't type that well on this phone yet. I'm getting better but I don't think I'm still used to how narrow the phone is (regular S8).

 

[epicrayban]

What keyboard is everyone using? I just realize I can't type worth a lick on the stock one. Probably going to use Gboard.

Gboard all the way.

Amazing auto correction (it's really smart), tons of easy editing features (slide on the spacebar, slide left from the backspace -- once you learn these tricks, editing is a breeze), gesture-typing for quicker typing, especially during one hand usage (you can also justify the keyboard left/right if you prefer to thumb tap with one hand), and a decent array of settings/customizations you can do (including changing keyboard theme, height, and numbers row).

Gboard also incorporates Google search right in the suggestion bar. It comes in handy.

Try it. It's free. And it rocks. Leagues above any other smartphone keyboard.

 

[widgeteer]

Gboard all the way.

Amazing auto correction (it's really smart), tons of easy editing features (slide on the spacebar, slide left from the backspace -- once you learn these tricks, editing is a breeze), gesture-typing for quicker typing, especially during one hand usage (you can also justify the keyboard left/right if you prefer to thumb tap with one hand), and a decent array of settings/customizations you can do (including changing keyboard theme, height, and numbers row).

Gboard also incorporates Google search right in the suggestion bar. It comes in handy.

Try it. It's free. And it rocks. Leagues above any other smartphone keyboard.

GBoard Gboard Gboard. Best keyboard on the planet. I am a big fan of Apple's but if iOS's 3rd party keyboard implementation didn't suck, I'd have Gboard on my iPhone as well.

 

[nviz22]

I could squeeze out about 4 hrs of SOT or a tad more using Airplane mode + Wifi, damn this battery sucks. I don't like Snapdragons at all.

 

[torana355]

I could squeeze out about 4 hrs of SOT or a tad more using Airplane mode + Wifi, damn this battery sucks. I don't like Snapdragons at all.

Im so glad we get the Exynos in Australia. What i don't understand is why Samsung don't put it in all the phones as it seems to be the better processor. I can get 4 hours SOT and still be at 50% battery on a good day.

 

[Phil A.]

I finally got the update on my O2 S8 this morning (June security patch level). Not noticed any major differences apart from the option to show / hide the navigation bar which is pretty cool.

Having said that, I didn't like the icon that appears when you turn that option on, so I've turned it off

 

[Shanghaichica]

I use a combination of things because I have different friends using different apps.

-I use Hangouts with close friends/family.

-I use Whatsapp for my teammates that I am in a league with

-I use Kakao for my Asian friends

-I use WeChat for my international friends.

I also use default SMS between iPhone and non-iPhone users alike. And as I've said before, I have zero issues with either user group or whether it's a single or group text.

I get it's convenient to just use iMessage, but from my point of view, I'm not going to force myself to give up all the advantages that Android software and hardware provides just for iMessage. This is why some people feel it's more of a trap being locked into an ecosystem than an advantage.

I agree it is a bit of a trap. Although I'm happy with the way all my iOS devices work I look at other devices and struggle to purchase any of them because they won't fit in with my established ecosystem.

Also I definitely am not sticking with the iPhone because of iMessage. My mum and cousin use it and refuse to use anything else but with everyone else we use what's app.

 

[J273]

Hi all,

Ive not long had my s8+ with the note 3 being the last android phone and mainly iPhone since.

Can someone recommend me some neat cool apps to try.

2 of my favs at the minute which are really useful and why I love android are EX speakerphone which is very handy and ACR ( Auto call recorder)

Are there any other neat apps I'm missing out on and should be using rather than the main apps?

Thanks

 

[nviz22]

Im so glad we get the Exynos in Australia. What i don't understand is why Samsung don't put it in all the phones as it seems to be the better processor. I can get 4 hours SOT and still be at 50% battery on a good day.

It's thanks to piddly incompetent companies like Verizon and Sprint for using CDMA tech. They give Qualcomm a reason to exist still in the LTE market. Doesn't also help I get 4g at work and school. I can get a weak LTE signal at home, so it's pretty much Wi-Fi and airplane mode for me. My school and work wifi drops in and out for me as well.

I am about to return to my S7 and iPhone SE to see which one works for the long haul and decide on the iPhone OLED model or the Note 8. I was considering the S8+ buying it outright for $424.99 before tax with my S7 trade in, but I do not think it is worth it because of the anticipated Samsung lag I will see soon with my S7 once it ages a bit more.

If it gives me that bad lag 6 months in or so, I will just go iPhone OLED because I want the better battery life, more frequent updates, and more peace of mind. Really, I want to use a Samsung though because they simply just do more.

I could always just trade in my Moto G for the S8+ and then sell my S7 for $300 to a buddy. Getting it for $224.99 in the process, but it may not be worth it.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I could squeeze out about 4 hrs of SOT or a tad more using Airplane mode + Wifi, damn this battery sucks. I don't like Snapdragons at all.

I get anywhere from 5-6 hours SOT depending on how bright my screen is, without disabling anything or using it on Airplane mode.

Some with the Exynos version are reporting 7-8 hours SOT.

As long as my S8+ has as good or better SOT as my iP7+, then I'm happy with that.

 

[noobinator]

On my snapdragon s8+ I'm averaging about 7 hours SoT but if I'm exclusively on wifi I can probably get 10.