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Geert76

macrumors 68000
Feb 28, 2014
1,821
3,601
the Netherlands
I am... wait for it.... considering a return to the Galaxy S8+. Seems like nothing else out there is efficient and cost effective on Android besides the LG G6. With the G6, I am looking to pay $470 right now (2 year warranty extension requires this crappy purchase from an affiliate or authorized reseller).

HTC U11: costly and no facial detection.
OnePlus 5: Jellyscreen issues, no water resistance, meh cameras, 1080p display, but I can get on sale for $432.
Sony: No FP sensor.
Huawei/Xiaomi Nope, not touching them because of software UI design.
Moto: Don't honor warranties.
Pixel/XL: Ugly bezels, no water resistance, too costly for a 128gb model since 32gb isn't enough.

With the S8+, I am tired of Samsung's crappy customer service, some lag from time to time, the inevitable Samsung software bog, and lack of screen protectors.

It's the best hardware possible, excluding the dual cameras and extra RAM some other phones offer. I am afraid Apple will ask for $1000 without any promos or subsidies for a phone with like half the features of the GS8/8+. Plus, LG is forcing me to choose between $400 or less with a 1 yr warranty or $470 for a 2 year warranty.

Edit, nope no S8+. Just used a family member's S8+ and it was laggy as hell. I opened the app drawer on many attempts and it opened up 15 seconds after. I even tried a restart and same thing.

mmm..that's odd.

As I mentioned earlier in this topic. My S8 is nearly as fast and ''fluid'' as my iPhone 7, since the latest August 1st update.

Maybe my apps on the S8 open about 0.02 seconds slower then my iPhone 7, but that's about it.
I had the LG G6 (the quad dac version with 64Gb) for a few weeks, loved the phone. Up to today I think its still the best bang for your buck (bought it (new) for € 361 incl shipping)
Almost vanilla Android, no lag and/or stutters at all and a beautiful screen and the ergonomics was superb.
 

nviz22

Cancelled
Jun 24, 2013
5,277
3,071
mmm..that's odd.

As I mentioned earlier in this topic. My S8 is nearly as fast and ''fluid'' as my iPhone 7, since the latest August 1st update.

Maybe my apps on the S8 open about 0.02 seconds slower then my iPhone 7, but that's about it.
I had the LG G6 (the quad dac version with 64Gb) for a few weeks, loved the phone. Up to today I think its still the best bang for your buck (bought it (new) for € 361 incl shipping)
Almost vanilla Android, no lag and/or stutters at all and a beautiful screen and the ergonomics was superb.

What happened to your G6? I am hoping for a major sale.
 

torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,633
2,732
Sydney, Australia
Edit, nope no S8+. Just used a family member's S8+ and it was laggy as hell. I opened the app drawer on many attempts and it opened up 15 seconds after. I even tried a restart and same thing.

I either call BS or that phone has a serious defect. The S8 plus is butter smooth all the time for me. Even if there was some lag 15 seconds is just way way off the mark.
 
Last edited:

yui4

macrumors 65816
May 26, 2011
1,262
1,027
Instant draw opening for myself. Just checked with both Samsung launcher and Nova launcher.
 

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
2,629
2,865
There are definitely times my S8 lags, like properly lags. But that usually means something else is going on in the background.

E.g. after most recent update, I think Samsung Cloud backup settings changed and it started backing up a film or something. Once I figured that out, it was fine.

I've also decided to uninstall Facebook. Only to realise you can't fully uninstall it. Which is ridiculous. But since disabling it, it's sped up the phone even more.

Regardless, Samsung phones will ALWAYS slow down a lot over time, but they have so many useful tweaks that I'm OK to live with it, there are worse problems in this world!!
 
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torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,633
2,732
Sydney, Australia
There are definitely times my S8 lags, like properly lags. But that usually means something else is going on in the background.

E.g. after most recent update, I think Samsung Cloud backup settings changed and it started backing up a film or something. Once I figured that out, it was fine.

I've also decided to uninstall Facebook. Only to realise you can't fully uninstall it. Which is ridiculous. But since disabling it, it's sped up the phone even more.

Regardless, Samsung phones will ALWAYS slow down a lot over time, but they have so many useful tweaks that I'm OK to live with it, there are worse problems in this world!!

What you have said is more in line with my S7 experience. My S8 has been quite different, it has gotten smoother over time and at the current time it is not lagging at all. Even when things are happening in the background it just continues to run like butter, it seems to have quite a good amount of headroom when it comes to processing power. Exynos chip btw.
 

JaySoul

macrumors 68030
Jan 30, 2008
2,629
2,865
What you have said is more in line with my S7 experience. My S8 has been quite different, it has gotten smoother over time and at the current time it is not lagging at all. Even when things are happening in the background it just continues to run like butter, it seems to have quite a good amount of headroom when it comes to processing power. Exynos chip btw.

Yeah I've got Exynos too but mine is definitely not "buttery" - it's funny, I don't really overload my phone with loads of apps but I've had the S4, S6 Edge, S7 Edge and S8 - each one after 2-3 months definitely slows down at times. Just using TouchWiz launcher too.

Don't know. I'm not massively bothered, like I said there are so many other benefits that Samsung S series has which hardly any other phone does properly.

Especially considering the price I got the S8 for!
 
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torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,633
2,732
Sydney, Australia
Yeah I've got Exynos too but mine is definitely not "buttery" - it's funny, I don't really overload my phone with loads of apps but I've had the S4, S6 Edge, S7 Edge and S8 - each one after 2-3 months definitely slows down at times. Just using TouchWiz launcher too.

Don't know. I'm not massively bothered, like I said there are so many other benefits that Samsung S series has which hardly any other phone does properly.

Especially considering the price I got the S8 for!
Im using Nova launcher, that could be making a difference I guess. With each update my S8 has gotten smoother and smoother. I totally agree, even with the occasional lag the Samsung phones features more then make up for it.
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
Im using Nova launcher, that could be making a difference I guess. With each update my S8 has gotten smoother and smoother. I totally agree, even with the occasional lag the Samsung phones features more then make up for it.
Nova did make a difference for me in the general GUI. The 'experience' launcher for me frequently stuttered (not lagged) by dropping frames here and there. It never ever felt smooth for me, though was fast. Even after the 'fix' which was supposed to iron out the animations from dropping frames, I was still experiencing them. It was noticeable when going into a third party launcher like Nova or Action Launcher where animations were smooth and going back to the experience launcher.
 
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torana355

macrumors 68040
Dec 8, 2009
3,633
2,732
Sydney, Australia
It is annoying that a third party launcher performs smoother than the manufacturers own though. You shouldn't have to, bit at least you have the option I guess.
Thats true, I guess a lot of credit has to go to the creators of Nova, they have done an amazing job with that launcher. Its the beauty of Android really, the customisation available is awesome.
 
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MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,370
8,952
a better place
So, it is the S8 lagfree and smooth or not?! What is your experience?

All devices lag to some extent even if it's only occasionally.

For the most part the S8 is very smooth however the GUI does have a tendency to drop frames of animation inexplicably resulting in the perception of it being choppy.

This does not happen in third party launchers, so is merely a quirk of the new Samsung Experience Launcher.


The S8 in my own experience falls behind other devices when it comes to its ram management, but again that is a choice Samsung has opted to use (an overly aggressive ram cull) and it will either frustrate you or not. For me personally it totally sullied my experience, however others don't seem to mind apps being reloaded or content refreshed more often than other devices. So YMMV.

It's still one of the sleekest looking handsets and it's gui frame rate quirks can be worked around with a third party launcher. The price has also dropped too since launch so it represents good value for money right now.

It may not have been for me, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to others to at least try anyway.
 

nviz22

Cancelled
Jun 24, 2013
5,277
3,071
All devices lag to some extent even if it's only occasionally.

For the most part the S8 is very smooth however the GUI does have a tendency to drop frames of animation inexplicably resulting in the perception of it being choppy.

This does not happen in third party launchers, so is merely a quirk of the new Samsung Experience Launcher.


The S8 in my own experience falls behind other devices when it comes to its ram management, but again that is a choice Samsung has opted to use (an overly aggressive ram cull) and it will either frustrate you or not. For me personally it totally sullied my experience, however others don't seem to mind apps being reloaded or content refreshed more often than other devices. So YMMV.

It's still one of the sleekest looking handsets and it's gui frame rate quirks can be worked around with a third party launcher. The price has also dropped too since launch so it represents good value for money right now.

It may not have been for me, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to others to at least try anyway.

To the average Joe, the S8/S8+ is the best combination between high end flagship, features, customization, and long term use.

To the techie person, stay away from it and go towards an iPhone, Pixel, HTC, OnePlus.
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,877
10,983
New Touchwiz update. You can swipe down anywhere on the homescreen to bring down the notification panel. Check updates in Galaxy Apps store. Go to settings/display/home screen to find that setting.
 

Michael Goff

Suspended
Jul 5, 2012
13,329
7,422
New Touchwiz update. You can swipe down anywhere on the homescreen to bring down the notification panel. Check updates in Galaxy Apps store. Go to settings/display/home screen to find that setting.

Amazingly enough, I have to occasionally go looking for an APK to update mine because it doesn't show up for me in the store.
 
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