Phones Samsung Galaxy S8

[epicrayban]

I wonder at what point in the year does Samsung have to decide, we're not getting the front FPS sensor under the display working correctly, we have to redesign the internals to accommodate a better FPS sensor location.

If they continue being a company that tries to address the criticisms of the current generation, surely they're at least considering this. Especially since they have to redesign a bit right now for the dual camera anyway.

You would think?

Anyway, rumor says they'll be the same screen sizes next year: https://www.phonearena.com/news/Sam...displays-same-as-on-the-S8-and-Note-8_id96129

Samsung alleged to order 5.77" Galaxy S9 and 6.32" Note 9 displays, same as on the S8 and Note 8

 

[TheBigKing]

Bixby come out today how I get in on my exynos version I am on USA but I not got the updates

 

[co.ag.2005]

I usually have that same issue with Samsung phones as the dreaded touchwiz lag gets worse over time but for some reason my S8 Plus is getting better with time, its now Pixel level smooth. At first it had alot of framedrops and microstutters which i expect with touchwiz but they are now gone. Im still loving the phone.

that must be nice mine was super smooth on day one and for a while, but now I'm experiencing frame drops and everything is just slow to launch/open on a tap of the screen. I even had the jumpy video camera experience last night that @Lava Lamp Freak had... I know I can factory reset and it may help, but I shouldn't have to do that with this phone. I also have the OnePlus 5 and it runs laps around the S8 with regards to performance and ram management. Also, my U11 gets here tomorrow, I'll give that a go as a daily driver for a while to see how it goes.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

that must be nice mine was super smooth on day one and for a while, but now I'm experiencing frame drops and everything is just slow to launch/open on a tap of the screen. I even had the jumpy video camera experience last night that @Lava Lamp Freak had... I know I can factory reset and it may help, but I shouldn't have to do that with this phone. I also have the OnePlus 5 and it runs laps around the S8 with regards to performance and ram management. Also, my U11 gets here tomorrow, I'll give that a go as a daily driver for a while to see how it goes.

I just wish they'd make a restore feature for Android that works identical to iOS. I don't want to have to re-setup everything on my phone. I'd like to do a restore as is so everything goes back as it is now but with the benefit of being as smooth as it was brand new.

I have trouble believing any device has sped up and become smoother over time. Every PC in the world slows down over time -- they never speed up.

 

[noobinator]

I think the slowing down with age thing on Android/Samsung phones is app related. I've owned dozens of Android phones over the years and haven't really seen significant slow downs. My guess is that some app (Like FaceBook) for example builds up a large data cache over time and bogs down the whole system.

 

[co.ag.2005]

I think the slowing down with age thing on Android/Samsung phones is app related. I've owned dozens of Android phones over the years and haven't really seen significant slow downs. My guess is that some app (Like FaceBook) for example builds up a large data cache over time and bogs down the whole system.

the only social media app I have is instagram and fenix. no FB or snapchat or anything else. yes, I have quite a bit of apps, but I always keep an eye on rogue ones and only install apps from the play store. I do weekly or bi-monthly cleanups of apps I haven't used in a while or only used like once in the past few months. But still get the slow down.

 

[mib1800]

I wonder at what point in the year does Samsung have to decide, we're not getting the front FPS sensor under the display working correctly, we have to redesign the internals to accommodate a better FPS sensor location.

If they continue being a company that tries to address the criticisms of the current generation, surely they're at least considering this. Especially since they have to redesign a bit right now for the dual camera anyway.

You would think?

I think Samsung is reusing the same internal layout from S8 in the note 8.

I just wish they'd make a restore feature for Android that works identical to iOS. I don't want to have to re-setup everything on my phone. I'd like to do a restore as is so everything goes back as it is now but with the benefit of being as smooth as it was brand new.

I have trouble believing any device has sped up and become smoother over time. Every PC in the world slows down over time -- they never speed up.

Did you try Samsung backup/restore in settings?

When it first initialized in my phone it backup huge amount of data including apps apk and app data. After first setup it does incremental backup nightly.

I haven't try restoring yet as I don't need to as my phone is running smooth. Maybe you want to give it a go and let us know.

 

[jamezr]

I just wish they'd make a restore feature for Android that works identical to iOS. I don't want to have to re-setup everything on my phone. I'd like to do a restore as is so everything goes back as it is now but with the benefit of being as smooth as it was brand new.

I have trouble believing any device has sped up and become smoother over time. Every PC in the world slows down over time -- they never speed up.

Have you tried Samsung Smart Switch? It does almost what itunes does for an iphone.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

Did you try Samsung backup/restore in settings?

When it first initialized in my phone it backup huge amount of data including apps apk and app data. After first setup it does incremental backup nightly.

I haven't try restoring yet as I don't need to as my phone is running smooth. Maybe you want to give it a go and let us know.

I believe that just restores app data but not phone settings and accounts. I'll look into it more closely and see if maybe that would help relieve at least some of the setup required with restoring the device.
[doublepost=1500479514][/doublepost]

Have you tried Samsung Smart Switch? It does almost what itunes does for an iphone.

I'm not positive but I believe that only works with device to device transfers, but not with a restore of the same device.

 

[co.ag.2005]

I believe that just restores app data but not phone settings and accounts. I'll look into it more closely and see if maybe that would help relieve at least some of the setup required with restoring the device.
[doublepost=1500479514][/doublepost]

I'm not positive but I believe that only works with device to device transfers, but not with a restore of the same device.

Use smart switch on a computer (mac or pc) and backup / restore works very similar to iTunes. Not exactly but pretty dang close for android.

 

[noobinator]

I believe the Samsung restore does most of what Apples version does. I recently used this and it loaded all my apps in their proper placement and everything. I don't recall if it kept the settings though but I think it did keep most of them.

 

[tbayrgs]

The Verge's initial 'review' of Bixby:

Bixby feels more like a return of the old Samsung than a path to the future

And not trying to troll here---I don't have a S8 so I'm curious to hear first hand accounts compared to the Verge's take.

 

[epicrayban]

The Verge's initial 'review' of Bixby:

Bixby feels more like a return of the old Samsung than a path to the future

And not trying to troll here---I don't have a S8 so I'm curious to hear first hand accounts compared to the Verge's take.

Scathing article. Bixby is definitely the greatest failure of the S8. Failed to launch on time and fails to impress, apparently (I haven't tried it yet). I'll give it a shot, but it looks like it'll remain disabled for me.

The real shame is that Samsung insists on disabling the ability to remap the button. It could've been a useful customizable quick launch button. Oh well. Samsung probably has long-term plans for Bixby.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

The Verge's initial 'review' of Bixby:

Bixby feels more like a return of the old Samsung than a path to the future

And not trying to troll here---I don't have a S8 so I'm curious to hear first hand accounts compared to the Verge's take.

Bixby is absolutely nothing like S-Voice. The writer is highly exaggerating on just about everything.

Yes, in the early release program like 2 updates ago, it did have a noticeable slower response than Google and Siri. But now it's pretty much up to par, but not perfect yet. Simple commands and even most commands will have a quick response time. But some commands and commands that ask for multiple tasks to be done might take a short moment for Bixby to process want you want it to do. To be fair, it's usually the commands that Google and Siri can't do.

The Bixby button is much faster than using a wake up command. It's instantaneous, as soon as you press it to can speak a command. To the point if Google or Apple implemented a button, everyone would praise it.

The Wake Up command "at the moment" is a little too sensitive. Often, just whispering Bixby(without the word "Hi") will wake it up. But before 2 update ago, the Wake Up command was a struggle to use. Samsung still needs to find the perfect sensitivity of the Wake Up command. But in general, it works well.

I've been asking Bixby to do things on a regular basis for the past several weeks, that Google Assistant and Siri simply can't do.

One of the major things Bixby needs to work on is voice recognition. Bixby is just slightly worst at understanding my dictation than Siri. Google is absolutely the best at that, and does dictation corrections the best. Being that said, Bixby is still light years ahead of S-Voice which got dictation wrong about 80% of the time.

Even though Bixby just released to the mass public in the USA, it's still a work in progress, which is obvious cause it's asks for a rating after every command.

I truly hope Samsung doesn't succumb to the criticism(which a good portion is just hate), and keeps their focus on improving Bixby. Cause I like it, and it'll be a damn shame if they let it die.




Bixby sure doesn't look slow here. And this is before the updates.

 

[MRU]

Scathing article. Bixby is definitely the greatest failure of the S8. Failed to launch on time

For majority of the countries and markets the S8 is sold in - it not only fails to launch on time, it just doesn't exist at all, in any real or meaningful way other than as a superfluous annoyance ...

It's not looking to launch in many other countries anytime soon 2017, which means the forthcoming Note 8 with another Bixby button, is more about corporate pride / posturing than tangible benefits to end users. In that respect, yes it's a clear example of the Samsung of old.

 

[MRU]

Bixby is absolutely nothing like S-Voice. T

Yes, because S-Voice was at least available internationally ..... as useless as it was it at least existed for the wider world, and it didn't force end users to endure a button on their device that did nothing useful.

So yes, Bixby is nothing like S-Voice for everyone outside of USA & Korea.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Yes, because S-Voice was at least available internationally ..... as useless as it was it at least existed for the wider world, and it didn't force end users to endure a button on their device that did nothing useful.

So yes, Bixby is nothing like S-Voice for everyone outside of USA & Korea.

Relax ... Bixby is still in it's beginning stages. It takes time to understand the Irish.

 

[epicrayban]

Bixby is actually kind of impressive. I asked Bixby to open Hangouts, and since it was already in the chat I wanted, I asked Bixby to "type I'll be right there" just as a test, and it did. It seems the on-screen contextual stuff is pretty smart.

It didn't get every command though, but it's an interesting option if your hands aren't free. I'm not sure I'll leave this on though. Still playing with it.

 

[MRU]

Relax ... Bixby is still in it's beginning stages. It takes time to understand the Irish.

Lol. True enough. They should have waited to 2018 with Bixby, refined it in house and launched it with English UK, French, German, Spanish & Italian though.

Blowing their own trumpet for a service only available in 1 or two countries at launch leaving customers waiting possibly years for it to arrive in their country is something I hate about Apple's new iOS features each year - I don't need Samsung to copy that strategy.

 

[Roadstar]

Blowing their own trumpet for a service only available in 1 or two countries at launch leaving customers waiting possibly years for it to arrive in their country is something I hate about Apple's new iOS features each year - I don't need Samsung to copy that strategy.

So true. It's extra annoying when they accompany such a feature with a dedicated hardware button. "Oh, you pressed me (most likely by accident)! Now let me take my time to remind you that you're not worthy of the full functionality of this awesome device. And don't you even dream about trying to map me to do something useful in your country, because that's just not how we roll. Now go back to wishing that my masters would some day bless also your country with my awesome full presence". If Apple had included a massive "Apple Pay is awesome and the future of payments" poster in the box of my previous three iPhones they might have achieved a similar rub-in effect.

 

[widgeteer]

The Verge's initial 'review' of Bixby:

Bixby feels more like a return of the old Samsung than a path to the future

And not trying to troll here---I don't have a S8 so I'm curious to hear first hand accounts compared to the Verge's take.

It's garbage. I don't understand why they bothered to create a hardware button for what is just another voice assistant that isn't any different or better than anything else out there. It's actually worse than Google Assistant, so to the end user there's no advantage. This is Samsung trying to be like Apple and "force" its users into its ecosystem but that doesn't work with Android.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Lol. True enough. They should have waited to 2018 with Bixby, refined it in house and launched it with English UK, French, German, Spanish & Italian though.

Blowing their own trumpet for a service only available in 1 or two countries at launch leaving customers waiting possibly years for it to arrive in their country is something I hate about Apple's new iOS features each year - I don't need Samsung to copy that strategy.

That's true. But I've long accepted the fact that we as consumers will occasionally be the guinea pigs. And some are regionally luckier than others in that regard.

It's garbage. I don't understand why they bothered to create a hardware button for what is just another voice assistant that isn't any different or better than anything else out there. It's actually worse than Google Assistant, so to the end user there's no advantage. This is Samsung trying to be like Apple and "force" its users into its ecosystem but that doesn't work with Android.

Nope, Bixby is already proving to be different than the others.

1) I sometimes hate using wake up commands in public settings. The Bixby button bypasses that and also makes it faster.

2) Bixby has more control over Google apps than Google assistant does.
So not working with the Android ecosystem is just false.

3) Bixby can handle so many USEFUL requests which Google assistant can't. For example: I can ask Bixby to pull up my photos that have cars in it, and it will do that without an issue. Google assistant would just do a internet search. Bixby is able to do things that I wanted Google and Siri to do years ago.

4) I still have Google assistant enabled. It's still better at answering questions like who's who and what's what. And it's voice recognition sill beats Bixby and Siri, so I might still use Google to send quick short messages.(at the moment). Other than a better voice recognition and compatibility to 3rd party things like Phillips Hue, and etc. Bixby so far outshines Google assistant and Siri in every other aspect.

5)Even for those that will never like Bixby. Realize Samsung just put a lot of pressure for Google and Apple to up their game with Google assistant and Siri. Which is a GREAT thing. And Samsung has been the master at manipulating the market trends.

 

[MRU]

3) Bixby can handle so many USEFUL requests which Google assistant can't. For example: I can ask Bixby to pull up my photos that have cars in it, and it will do that without an issue. Google assistant would just do a internet search. Bixby is able to do things that I wanted Google and Siri to do years ago.
.

OK Google does that for me. I just asked 'search my photos for cars' and it presents them in a swipe gallery to view / select.

Did same for cats and same ...

So no internet search at all ...

 

[epicrayban]

For majority of the countries and markets the S8 is sold in - it not only fails to launch on time, it just doesn't exist at all, in any real or meaningful way other than as a superfluous annoyance ...

It's not looking to launch in many other countries anytime soon 2017, which means the forthcoming Note 8 with another Bixby button, is more about corporate pride / posturing than tangible benefits to end users. In that respect, yes it's a clear example of the Samsung of old.

I think calling it "Samsung of old" is not just harsh, but inaccurate. This doesn't feel like a "throw everything against the wall to see what sticks" approach. I think they have a long-term strategy with Bixby.

Having said that, as I said earlier, it's still the biggest fail of the S8. I foresee myself disabling it again. It'll go back to a button I just ignore on my S8.

 

[widgeteer]

That's true. But I've long accepted the fact that we as consumers will occasionally be the guinea pigs. And some are regionally luckier than others in that regard.





Nope, Bixby is already proving to be different than the others.

1) I sometimes hate using wake up commands in public settings. The Bixby button bypasses that and also makes it faster.

2) Bixby has more control over Google apps than Google assistant does.
So not working with the Android ecosystem is just false.

3) Bixby can handle so many USEFUL requests which Google assistant can't. For example: I can ask Bixby to pull up my photos that have cars in it, and it will do that without an issue. Google assistant would just do a internet search. Bixby is able to do things that I wanted Google and Siri to do years ago.

4) I still have Google assistant enabled. It's still better at answering questions like who's who and what's what. And it's voice recognition sill beats Bixby and Siri, so I might still use Google to send quick short messages.(at the moment). Other than a better voice recognition and compatibility to 3rd party things like Phillips Hue, and etc. Bixby so far outshines Google assistant and Siri in every other aspect.

5)Even for those that will never like Bixby. Realize Samsung just put a lot of pressure for Google and Apple to up their game with Google assistant and Siri. Which is a GREAT thing. And Samsung has been the master at manipulating the market trends.

No they didn't. Bixby is garbage.