Can you elaborate? I am on at&t, was thinking of going for the s8+ unlocked but you mentioned this?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Phones Samsung Galaxy S8
- Thread starter Surf Donkey
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Can you elaborate? I am on at&t, was thinking of going for the s8+ unlocked but you mentioned this?
They don't allow HD voice or wifi calling. Might not be a deal-breaker for some, but I like to have both, particularly the latter.
Ok, so I’ve currently got US variants of LG G6 and Galaxy S8 in my possession. I don’t need both, so one’s going back. The keeper will likely just be a holdover until the next Pixel phones come out. Photos, audio, and battery life are priorities to me. Which one would get your vote and why?
As I said on the G6 thread.
Go with whichever you prefer yourself. I prefer the G6 because 'overall' it suits me more and it's quirks are less irritating to me than the S8 has proven to be for me. I can fully understand others equally preferring the S8, but things I prioritize as a daily usage device such as memory management I find better on the G6. I also still prefer flat screens and the ergonomics.
What do you actually prefer yourself ? Decide on that and keep that one. Simples.
But you have both, so do you experience a difference between them ?
For me the G6 gets consistently 5 hours SOT and the S8 anywhere between 3.5-4.5 hours SOT. Not a big difference generally but in my use the G6 gets that little bit more. Both with AOD on.
Audio wise, honestly there is not much difference unless you are driving high impedance headphones where a quad DAC helps, but US G6 doesn't have that. The S8 does have more audio tweaking options to tune audio, but G6 has louder output - so overall it's much of a muchness. I would maybe swing this to the S8 because of smart audio tuning and EQ settings.
Camera - main camera taken on its own, the S8 wins and is better in low light. However the versatility of the G6 dual cameras and ability to take photos that others couldn't makes it very much a tie overall personally, but for auto shooters and folks who take lowlight photos moreover, the S8.
But these are just my findings with both of them. What do you find yourself? as your experience could be complete opposite to mine and which do you think you could live with for a few months more than the other ? After all both devices are essentially on borrowed time, so does it really matter
But you have both, so do you experience a difference between them ?
For me the G6 gets consistently 5 hours SOT and the S8 anywhere between 3.5-4.5 hours SOT. Not a big difference generally but in my use the G6 gets that little bit more. Both with AOD on.
Audio wise, honestly there is not much difference unless you are driving high impedance headphones where a quad DAC helps, but US G6 doesn't have that. The S8 does have more audio tweaking options to tune audio, but G6 has louder output - so overall it's much of a muchness. I would maybe swing this to the S8 because of smart audio tuning and EQ settings.
Camera - main camera taken on its own, the S8 wins and is better in low light. However the versatility of the G6 dual cameras and ability to take photos that others couldn't makes it very much a tie overall personally, but for auto shooters and folks who take lowlight photos moreover, the S8.
But these are just my findings with both of them. What do you find yourself? as your experience could be complete opposite to mine and which do you think you could live with for a few months more than the other ? After all both devices are essentially on borrowed time, so does it really matter
Even if all else being similar (plus or minus here and there), s8 is still one up with its wow design and oled screen. I think it's the main reason that g6 is being overlooked.
See design is subjective. Honestly I factor in things like ruggedness and such into 'design' and in that regard the G6 is better designed. Likewise fingerprint scanner placement is in a practical location on the G6, whereas on the S8 it's clearly in a last minute compromised position and for many its location makes using it utterly impractical, and that to me doesn't say 'wow' design, it's says 'designed with compromise'.
I admit from the front the S8 is impressive, but again after the first few hours that has worn off on me and the practicalities are more important. As I said, the fact screen protectors are still mostly useless on Samsung's edged devices, leaves me either having to compromise with a spongey sticky feeling protector like the Zagg or a glass one that only sticks at the edges only and can lead to dead zones and exacerbates missed / false touches. So then I choose to go naked and then I am left in fear of scratching the screen with sand or grit from the beach. So the whole process of just using the device becomes a pain for me with my lifestyle / location.
LG messed up launching the G6 at the price they did. They should have launched at sub $500 as it's clear that once price dropped it became a lot more attractive. They also messed up creating stupid SKU's. They also haven't launched in a countries, you can't officially buy one in Ireland, you will have to go to UK or rely on a UK retailer to bring it in (like Argos did here).
Honestly though either device on its own merits are great but when you own both devices which is what Luke was discussing, and thus deciding on which you keep, it boils down to less about the great parts of either, and more on which device annoys you less, has less quirks which irk you.
For me that's the G6 as I just use the device without worrying or being concerned about doing so as it's protected and I am not fighting or reminded of the OS's quirks (for most part as LG's skin still has a share).
But for most folks the S8 will I have no doubt will be the much preferred and more desirable device and that's ok with me, and if your in a country like mine where getting a G6 means importing regardless, then for majority of users it's not even a factor in their buying decision.
So for every reason the S8 irks me more than the G6, I could see others finding valid reason to go for the S8. Some will undoubtedly find Samsung's UI better than LG's, or take lots of low light photos so the S8 camera is better and prefer the over saturated look which Samsung's AMOLED screens are renowned for. You may live in a city or such and things like potential scratches from sand and grit aren't a factor, and you may prefer curved screens.
So yeah either choice of keeping whichever is really going to be individually subjective and there is no definitive answer. And the final choice becomes a bit moot when you factor in that in 3-4 months time both devices will be sold / traded in for a Pixel XL 2 which is what was being proposed by Luke.
I think the G6 is a great phone and I really don't think you can go wrong with any flagship android phone these days. The S8 forgoes a bit of ruggedness to give its sleek look, for someone like me that has never dropped a phone and does not even use a case on any phone the S8 suits me perfectly. The S8 has impressed the hell out of me, something that no Samsung phone has been able to do before, the S7 came close but still had a lot of micro stutters. Its great to see the G6 is also a great phone.
Agree with you completely. For many Samsung is android and the only OEM other than Apple they think about and deservedly so.
However, I actually found my exynos S7 & S7e to be smoother than my S8 though conversely. But as with everything on the internet YMMV as we all use our devices slightly differently
I do wish Samsung would release a flagship with a flat screen once more though (just my preference), but that looks unlikely for the foreseeable future.
Last edited:
I think I'll skip the S9:
Samsung will reportedly introduce an in-display fingerprint reader with the Galaxy Note 9
I was thinking about it anyway. I'm pretty satisfied with my s8.
Samsung will reportedly introduce an in-display fingerprint reader with the Galaxy Note 9
I was thinking about it anyway. I'm pretty satisfied with my s8.
Skip any Galaxy device for the next few years because we will see redundancy because phones in general aren't that innovative anymore. If the S8 last you for years, then you use it wisely.
Yeah, it's time I slow down my smartphone obsession, especially now that I'm buying devices unlocked outright. I might not upgrade again until the Pixel and iPhones catch up to Samsung's hardware and features.
Anyway, there's this:
Galaxy S9's Exynos version tipped to use 'stacked' motherboard for a bigger battery
The iPhone 8 will surpass the S8 this year because of a better dual camera, faster processor, faster charging, less bezels, better facial recognition, and cleaner software.
And it'll bake bread while doing your taxes too.
If you want iOS.
I don't know why we're still comparing hardware that runs iOS to hardware that runs Android at this point.
And how in the world do you know that the charging will be faster and the facial recognition will be better?
Edit: And here's one area the S8 will probably be better than the new iPhone: availability. If the rumors about limited stock are true, the iPhone Pro or 8 or whatever will be near impossible to get probably until the end of the year. As it is "regular" new iPhones are tough to get at launch. A brand new form factor that will have limited quantities? Good luck.
You're asking a guy who hates Samsung, and goes into topics to point out how much they suck, why they think anyone will have a better anything than a Galaxy phone.
Fair enough. I thought perhaps there might be some basis for the comments but probably nothing more than good old fashioned bias.
Samsung played it safer with QC 2.0 after the Note 7 fiasco. Apple wouldn't remove Touch ID if it wasn't confident in its FaceID tech. It might be the end of TouchID sadly. I am just assuming Apple will do it better since Samsung had issues with facial recognition being easily bypassed.
[doublepost=1502127314][/doublepost]
I'll be more objective than your run of the mill former Samsung user. The Iris scanner, Samsung Pay, Samsung Pass combo is just incredible and I'll miss those aspects. The screen is gorgeous as well. I love the phones design. If it had pure Android, the device would be so much better. I wasn't happy with what went down with the purchase process, but I didn't have problems outside of micro stutters and a few bog downs here and there. For $400-$500 hard to go wrong if you buy a S8 on a deal.
Are you referring to using someone's picture? Because I think the facial recognition being "easily bypassed" is mostly false. It was a story that got blown out of proportion. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe the person that did the hack said that even though it eventually got pass it, it had a ton of failure rates, and that it required using a hi-res photo to even have a chance. Simply put, in real world use, tricking facial recognition with a photo just isn't a practical concern.
In any case, Apple's Facial ID sounds really promising. If it's a step above Samsung's, that'll only push Samsung (and others) to improve their facial unlock. This is something Google pioneered YEARS ago; it's a shame that they didn't stick to it, which is rather typical of Google.
Bring on the competition. We'll all be better for it.
Yep, referring to the facial recognition issues from the beginning. Samsung could've rectified it with a patch, but I trusted the Iris Scanner far more than a Facial Recognition. Also, Iris Scanners worked better in the dark. If Apple blows the Facial ID, I am not buying their iPhone 8 because in all likelihood TouchID will be gone. I rather go with a cheaper device like the Pixel XL 2, LG G6. If Apple blows it, the Note 8 takes the cake for phone of the year for the average Joe because it has all the latest and greatest w/ tons of features.
Though, the S8+ to the Note 8 is marginal at best because of just 2 extra GB RAM and slight software improvements. If they took out the damn Bixby button and make the packages optional through the App Store, it would cut down on some of the micro stutters.
Not to mention the person stealing your phone would have to know you and/or somehow have a nice close up, hi res picture of you.