Phones Samsung Galaxy S8

[AppleMichael]

I had a little play with an S8+ in the EE store earlier, really good looking phone. As expected though it's a big phone with a big screen. I have a 7 plus so it was about on par. The real surprise in my eyes is how small the S8 is for having a 5.8 inch display. I'd definitely get the normal S8 just to have the best of both. Small phone, large screen.

 

[5105973]

Wow so you're saying that for someone like you or me (I keep my phone at 25% brightness -- I get a headache with it any higher than that!), the S8 could exceed 6 hours of SoT? That's insanely good!

I've never owned a plus size iPhone so I never got to see firsthand what all the talk was about regarding the battery life on those. But everyone seems to rave about how great the iPhone Plus battery life is. I'd imagine that with ordinary usage you could go a solid day and a half with the iPhone 7 Plus?

I'm on Marshmallow on both of my Samsungs and I get a full day of light use. I have to say it really has varied and been wildly inconsistent. My husband managed to get a full work day just barely out of his S7 Edge when it was on Marshmallow That's one of the reasons he went back to iPhone after I pushed him into giving the 7Plus a try. When he travels he needs better than what he was getting from the Edge on Marshmallow.

I've had days of playing a hidden object game on my S7 Edge for four hours (not all at one time but total through the day) and the battery barely drains. But there are some unexpected drains some days when I barely used the phone and often when I have looked for the cause it's Facebook doing goodness knows what in the background. I do NOT use FB. At all anymore--the cursed app comes preinstalled on all Androids as far as I can tell. So it didn't even occur to me that it was running and draining my battery until I went to check what was eating my battery so fast.

He recently installed Nougat so I will have to ask him if the battery life improved on his S7 Edge. As iPhone users we both had to get used to managing apps that would go off doing things that drained the battery when we weren't using them and didn't even know they were running because they aren't on the task switcher. I think Nougat manages that now...someone who has paid attention to Nougat will have to tell you.

I currently have my iPad and iPhone on iOS 10.2.1 and the battery life has been just awful by usual Plus standards. My husband updated to 10.3 and says it's already back to as good as it was when we got these phones around Christmas.

I forget the exact stats but when I first got my iPhone I was charging once every two days and texting, doing emails, surfing the web, ordering stuff from Amazon, etc and wouldn't see 50% until well into the evening of day 2!

And that was without me making the effort to optimize anything. When the final version of iOS 10 is out I'm going to do a clean install and optimize everything. I would expect to see 2 full days on a charge with light use. A day and a half with heavy use on emails and backups to Google Photos.

 

[From A Buick 8]

I'm on Marshmallow on both of my Samsungs and I get a full day of light use. I have to say it really has varied and been wildly inconsistent. My husband managed to get a full work day just barely out of his S7 Edge when it was on Marshmallow That's one of the reasons he went back to iPhone after I pushed him into giving the 7Plus a try. When he travels he needs better than what he was getting from the Edge on Marshmallow.

I've had days of playing a hidden object game on my S7 Edge for four hours (not all at one time but total through the day) and the battery barely drains. But there are some unexpected drains some days when I barely used the phone and often when I have looked for the cause it's Facebook doing goodness knows what in the background. I do NOT use FB. At all anymore--the cursed app comes preinstalled on all Androids as far as I can tell. So it didn't even occur to me that it was running and draining my battery until I went to check what was eating my battery so fast.

He recently installed Nougat so I will have to ask him if the battery life improved on his S7 Edge. As iPhone users we both had to get used to managing apps that would go off doing things that drained the battery when we weren't using them and didn't even know they were running because they aren't on the task switcher. I think Nougat manages that now...someone who has paid attention to Nougat will have to tell you.

I currently have my iPad and iPhone on iOS 10.2.1 and the battery life has been just awful by usual Plus standards. My husband updated to 10.3 and says it's already back to as good as it was when we got these phones around Christmas.

I forget the exact stats but when I first got my iPhone I was charging once every two days and texting, doing emails, surfing the web, ordering stuff from Amazon, etc and wouldn't see 50% until well into the evening of day 2!

And that was without me making the effort to optimize anything. When the final version of iOS 10 is out I'm going to do a clean install and optimize everything. I would expect to see 2 full days on a charge with light use. A day and a half with heavy use on emails and backups to Google Photos.

I thought you could disable Facebook on android. I have very little exp with android (oct last year till Jan of this year) and most of my time was spent around the note7 issues.

 

[5105973]

I thought you could disable Facebook on android. I have very little exp with android (oct last year till Jan of this year) and most of my time was spent around the note7 issues.

You can and I thought I had. Apparently I didn't. I'm at about the same amount of time with Android as you. I got my Note 7 late last August.

 

[nickchallis92]

I feel your pain. It's so hard to leave iOS.

I've decided I am going to be patient and wait for the Note, the new Pixels, and the new iPhone.

I'm absolutely sure this is genuine, but not something I can understand.

I have an iPhone work phone and iOS drives me nuts.

 

[From A Buick 8]

You can and I thought I had. Apparently I didn't. I'm at about the same amount of time with Android as you. I got my Note 7 late last August.

I remember last year we were both moving to android as newbies.

 

[5105973]

I remember last year we were both moving to android as newbies.

What a ride, eh!

 

[From A Buick 8]

I managed to have a good play with an S8 in the Samsung store in Trafford Centre today......wow it is an absolutely beautiful device in the flesh!!!.....I was all set to stick with my 6S or possibly go with a 7+.......not now.......I want the S8

My only real concern is how reachable the bottom of the screen will be for one handed use.....without having a "chin" your finger/thumb needs to reach very low down on the screen to press the home button and the top is a long way away

I have spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out if I can leave my iPhone......iMessage...I can probably manage with SMS and FB Messenger, the real challenge is that I have a shared iCloud album that my wife and our parents use to view pics of my daughter......I can't see an easy way for me to view and upload to this from android as Apple seem obsessed with telling me what I can do with my own photos!!!

I made the jump last year from iOS to android and I do not regret it. Although my jump ended in January of this year (I had the note7), I am temporarily back using my old 5s. I am preordering the s8+ and can not wait to get back to android.

For photos I moved to google photo, iMessage was never a concern for me.

 

[Lava Lamp Freak]

The problem isn't really that it's on the back, while i would much rather have it on the front, I could get used to it being in the back.

It's the fact that it's so high up the back and next to the camera. So you'll get smudges on the camera (as most have pointed out), but you also have to adjust your grip and shimmy up to reach it with your finger. The regular S8 being held with the bottom corner in my palm, I could barely reach it, managing to only cover half with my finger, and the plus the I couldn't reach, had to shimmy my hand up so my palm was gripping it from the side with is a less secure grip.

While it may not be a deal breaker, it's something people should definitely consider and a head scratcher to why Samsung went this way.

I'm left handed and when I tried the S8 today I found the easiest way to use the fps (when holding phone in left hand) was to use my right hand rather than adjust grip and shimmy with my left. I already use my right hand for tapping screen, so it seems easy enough to just move my right hand behind phone to touch scanner.

 

[mellofello]

I played with it at best buy, and then promptly pre ordered a plus in black.

Glad to say that they copies one of my favorite features of the 7+. There is a portrait mode that works pretty well. I couldn't export the image, but it came out looking pretty comparable to the iPhone.

 

[spinedoc77]

Wow so you're saying that for someone like you or me (I keep my phone at 25% brightness -- I get a headache with it any higher than that!), the S8 could exceed 6 hours of SoT? That's insanely good!

I've never owned a plus size iPhone so I never got to see firsthand what all the talk was about regarding the battery life on those. But everyone seems to rave about how great the iPhone Plus battery life is. I'd imagine that with ordinary usage you could go a solid day and a half with the iPhone 7 Plus?

Depends what you are doing, but I am routinely surprised by the battery life on my 7+. It's freaky if you don't turn it on it can stay at 100% all day. I've had times when I left the house and it was 30%, and it still lasted me all day.

 

[drinkingtea]

How much better would the Galaxy perform unlocked vs. purchased from a carrier like Verizon? Does the less amount of bloat make a notable difference in performance and/or battery life?

This question is extended to the S7/S7 Edge owners as well.

 

[nviz22]

Just wondering, if anyone got their order cancelled? I hope Samsung honors the price mistake.

What I would've done is screen cap the price after purchase and then wait. If they cancel it, order the item elsewhere if it's identical, price match via credit card if you paid using one and they should be forced to honor the price.

 

[Fernandez21]

I'm left handed and when I tried the S8 today I found the easiest way to use the fps (when holding phone in left hand) was to use my right hand rather than adjust grip and shimmy with my left. I already use my right hand for tapping screen, so it seems easy enough to just move my right hand behind phone to touch scanner.

Yeah, but I'd prefer to not have to use two hands to unlock. I'm sitting this launch out but hope they resolve this by the time the Note 8 comes out either by putting it behind the screen (like the iPhone rumors) or lower on the back.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Pre-ordering is just opened in UAE

Some interesting stats on colour choice it shows currently (I assume number of units available in each colour being equal)

Black S8/S8+ as 28%/20%
Gold S8/S8+ as 4%/2%
Grey S8/S8+ as 30%/21%

So grey just edging in front and gold lagging seriously

Unlocked Dual sim 64GB S8 = $762 and S8+ = $843, shipping from 15th of April

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Not sure if this has been mentioned before ......

T-mobile S8 unboxing video. The Charger, USB-C cord, and both USB-C adapters are ALL BLACK.

Jump to 4:30.

 

[5105973]

I managed to have a good play with an S8 in the Samsung store in Trafford Centre today......wow it is an absolutely beautiful device in the flesh!!!.....I was all set to stick with my 6S or possibly go with a 7+.......not now.......I want the S8

My only real concern is how reachable the bottom of the screen will be for one handed use.....without having a "chin" your finger/thumb needs to reach very low down on the screen to press the home button and the top is a long way away

I have spent the rest of the evening trying to figure out if I can leave my iPhone......iMessage...I can probably manage with SMS and FB Messenger, the real challenge is that I have a shared iCloud album that my wife and our parents use to view pics of my daughter......I can't see an easy way for me to view and upload to this from android as Apple seem obsessed with telling me what I can do with my own photos!!!

Do you have an Amazon Prime account? It just so happens today when I was looking at phone cases I saw they had a little ad for their Prime Photo service. I just signed up for it so it's all new to me. It comes free with my Prime Membership and well, here's the link it can explain better than a rushed mom can around dinner time! https://www.amazon.com/photos/home

It sounds like it could help you out a lot.

PS I also use Google Photos and it's friendly to Android and iOS. I just like having different options.

 

[AustinIllini]

I'm absolutely sure this is genuine, but not something I can understand.

I have an iPhone work phone and iOS drives me nuts.

In fairness, saying it's hard to leave and OS is neither an endorsement nor a knock on the OS. Leaving an ecosystem is expensive or extremely inconvenient.

 

[noobinator]

Google photos is so much better than anything apple offers.

 

[AustinIllini]

Google photos is so much better than anything apple offers.

No argument there, but this statement is a bit off topic

 

[SteveJUAE]

Do you have an Amazon Prime account? It just so happens today when I was looking at phone cases I saw they had a little ad for their Prime Photo service. I just signed up for it so it's all new to me. It comes free with my Prime Membership and well, here's the link it can explain better than a rushed mom can around dinner time! https://www.amazon.com/photos/home

It sounds like it could help you out a lot.

PS I also use Google Photos and it's friendly to Android and iOS. I just like having different options.

So is MS Onedrive

For the OP he/she should easily be able to synch photos to grandparents via IPhoto's with any laptop Mac or W10

 

[spinedoc77]

Wow it's true that even Samsung knew how stupid the fp sensor placement was. Very funny, but true. http://www.androidcentral.com/your-galaxy-s8-will-remind-you-clean-finger-grease-your-camera-lens

Sort of related, is the lens of the camera sapphire crystal? I'm curious because the lens on my Note 7 broke after only having it a few days, with absolutely no abuse or dropping at all.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

For those that Pre-Ordered the S8 and also visit the Sammobile site.

I just got an e-mail back from them and now have a premium account for six months. Comes in handy if you got older Samsung phones, and want to FAST download some firmwares.


https://www.sammobile.com/2017/03/3...-through-sammobile-and-you-could-get-it-free/

If you’re planning on pre-ordering a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+, we have a fantastic deal for you. By placing an order through one of our preferred retailers and forwarding the confirmation email to us, you’ll be in with a chance of receiving your device for FREE!

We’re also throwing in a six-month SamMobile Premium membership, so you can keep your handset running with the latest firmware.

For more details on the promotion, instructions on how to enter and all of the terms and conditions, hit the link that corresponds to the country you reside in below. If you can’t find your homeland in the list, be sure to check back later as we’re constantly updating it with new regions. On that note, best of luck and happy ordering!

 

[SteveJUAE]

Wow it's true that even Samsung knew how stupid the fp sensor placement was. Very funny, but true. http://www.androidcentral.com/your-galaxy-s8-will-remind-you-clean-finger-grease-your-camera-lens

Sort of related, is the lens of the camera sapphire crystal? I'm curious because the lens on my Note 7 broke after only having it a few days, with absolutely no abuse or dropping at all.

I really do not know what all the fuss is about the FP

I was glad it disappeared generally from most premium laptops some years back, although it did persist with some.

Then Apple res-erected it with a static non swipe version and others followed suit but I always considered this an interim option. My wife hates it and my Company security still requires Bi monthly pin updates etc even with FP for daily use.

Most good airports use Bio-metrics Face/IR and when MS introduced windows Hello 18 months back signing in to your laptop has never been easier IMO

If IR/face has been implemented correctly by Samsung then FP is mute IMO and just becomes a legacy input, but it's nice that Samsung cater for all and does not force the change

Personally I hope FP is gone on the S9 then no need to worry about hidden sensor under the glass development or rear sensor

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Personally I hope FP is gone on the S9 then no need to worry about hidden sensor under the glass development or rear sensor

I still like the FP sensor for approving payments. Like in the the app store and etc. Don't wish to see it go anytime soon.