Galaxy S8 and S8+

[cwbcpa]

I like the S8 but it makes me think just how good an Android would have to be to make me switch because even now I'm not that interested. We do need wireless charging though Apple, come on.

I feel the same way. It's a beautiful phone but once I get past the look I don't see what makes it better or more useful than my 7 Plus. I'd like wireless charging too, but having used it with previous Samsung phones it's not as big of a deal as I wish it was. I have my phone plugged in at my desk and can use it while plugged in. When I used the wireless charger, it obviously stops charging when I pick it up to use it. It is nice to just drop it on the charger without looking for the plug though so I'm all in for having the option.

 

[badelhas]

The S8 seems much manageable for one hand use. S8+ is way too big and I have big hands.

 

[Quis89]

Other than that I truly don't understand why people think the S8 is so far ahead of the 7 Plus. I've had the chance to use it a few times and it's a beautiful phone, but that doesn't make it a more useful phone.

When you say "use it", do you mean a full day where its your main driver. Or you've been in a store and played with it?

I've been using it for the past few days as my main phone and honestly...there's no question. It absolutely is ahead of the iPhone 7/plus. That's not a knock to the iPhone. I still love my iPhone. But man this S8 is a beast.

A few features I've found myself using quite a bit.

Split screen

The ability to play videos within the browser. On my iPhone, videos take up the entire screen when activated. On the S8 (and probably other android devices) the video can be played embedded, or enlarged onto the entire screen.

The screen is beautiful and the images fall off the edge due to the lack of bezels.

Always on display makes notification checking easier than ever without sacrificing battery life.

Trusted locations means that while I'm at home, my phone doesn't require me to unlock the device. This is also true for when the phone detects it's in my pocket or on me.

Edge panels. The ability to swipe on the side of the screen to view sports scores, news stories or send a quick text, while still having an active application on the main display is very convenient. I can be in a text conversation, swipe over and check the latest sports scores, then send that information without ever leaving the conversation.

Bluetooth 5.0 obviously.

Setting default applications is a real plus in some situations.

Smart stay keeps the phone screen on when I'm reading something on it.

I still don't know why I can't type names in the dialer and my contacts pop up on my iPhone. But on the S8, and other Android devices, I can.

I think the important thing to remember is we are also comparing a recently released device with one that has been out for almost a year. Hopefully the next iPhone introduces some of these features. But I honestly don't think anyone can objectively say the S8 isn't ahead of the iPhone 7. The iPhone 7 absolutely does what I "need", but so does the S8. And the S8 does quite a bit more. Not sure of many features the iPhone 7 has that the S8 doesn't. Although there are a few that the iPhone arguably does better.

 

[cwbcpa]

When you say "use it", do you mean a full day where its your main driver. Or you've been in a store and played with it?

I've been using it for the past few days as my main phone and honestly...there's no question. It absolutely is ahead of the iPhone 7/plus. That's not a knock to the iPhone. I still love my iPhone. But man this S8 is a beast.

A few features I've found myself using quite a bit.

Split screen

The ability to play videos within the browser. On my iPhone, videos take up the entire screen when activated. On the S8 (and probably other android devices) the video can be played embedded, or enlarged onto the entire screen.

The screen is beautiful and the images fall off the edge due to the lack of bezels.

Always on display makes notification checking easier than ever without sacrificing battery life.

Trusted locations means that while I'm at home, my phone doesn't require me to unlock the device. This is also true for when the phone detects it's in my pocket or on me.

Edge panels. The ability to swipe on the side of the screen to view sports scores, news stories or send a quick text, while still having an active application on the main display is very convenient. I can be in a text conversation, swipe over and check the latest sports scores, then send that information without ever leaving the conversation.

Bluetooth 5.0 obviously.

Setting default applications is a real plus in some situations.

Smart stay keeps the phone screen on when I'm reading something on it.

I still don't know why I can't type names in the dialer and my contacts pop up on my iPhone. But on the S8, and other Android devices, I can.

I think the important thing to remember is we are also comparing a recently released device with one that has been out for almost a year. Hopefully the next iPhone introduces some of these features. But I honestly don't think anyone can objectively say the S8 isn't ahead of the iPhone 7. The iPhone 7 absolutely does what I "need", but so does the S8. And the S8 does quite a bit more. Not sure of many features the iPhone 7 has that the S8 doesn't. Although there are a few that the iPhone arguably does better.

When I posted that I had only used it in the store a few times. Since then I've "played" with it outside the store environment. I really like it. More than I originally gave it credit for. I really like my 7 Plus but it made me really appreciate some things I dismissed. You make excellent points. I'm struggling to fight the urge to get it now. Ugh!!!!

 

[Quis89]

When I posted that I had only used it in the store a few times. Since then I've "played" with it outside the store environment. I really like it. More than I originally gave it credit for. I really like my 7 Plus but it made me really appreciate some things I dismissed. You make excellent points. I'm struggling to fight the urge to get it now. Ugh!!!!

I understand. After using it, my opinions definitely changed. It really has me excited for what Apple brings with iOS 11. My biggest complaints with the S8 are due to features that can only exist on iPhone such as imessage. Id definitely recommend anyone on the fence give it a shot.

 

[cwbcpa]

I understand. After using it, my opinions definitely changed. It really has me excited for what Apple brings with iOS 11. My biggest complaints with the S8 are due to features that can only exist on iPhone such as imessage. Id definitely recommend anyone on the fence give it a shot.

I really do want to give it a shot. There are a few things holding me back. First is my family and friends all being on iOS. I have had to deal with that before though. The second is waiting on the Note 8. I've had every Note and chances are that I will get this one as well. The third issue that I have with switching, even to the Note, is the Apple ecosystem. I have become really comfortable with it over the last 7 months. I like my apps on my 7 Plus and Apple Watch and how they work together so well.

We will see. I think I will try to hold out until I see iOS 11, the Note 8 and the iPhone 8. Even if I got the S8 now, I would want one of those other phones this fall.

 

[Quis89]

I really do want to give it a shot. There are a few things holding me back. First is my family and friends all being on iOS. I have had to deal with that before though. The second is waiting on the Note 8. I've had every Note and chances are that I will get this one as well. The third issue that I have with switching, even to the Note, is the Apple ecosystem. I have become really comfortable with it over the last 7 months. I like my apps on my 7 Plus and Apple Watch and how they work together so well.

We will see. I think I will try to hold out until I see iOS 11, the Note 8 and the iPhone 8. Even if I got the S8 now, I would want one of those other phones this fall.

The bolded items are the exact reasons why I don't think the S8 will become my one and only device. My iPhone talks so well with my other Apple devices and I don't think I could give that up. Primarily, the consistency of my messages and having iMessage. If iMessage was possible on Android, I may consider it more.

 

[cwbcpa]

The bolded items are the exact reasons why I don't think the S8 will become my one and only device. My iPhone talks so well with my other Apple devices and I don't think I could give that up. Primarily, the consistency of my messages and having iMessage. If iMessage was possible on Android, I may consider it more.

iMessage is definitely a factor. I didn't used to have many group messages, but for some reason I have started more in the last 6 months or so than I ever have. In most cases, they are all iPhone users so I would have to ask everyone to start a fresh group message or I would be out. The bigger issue for me is the apps. Most apps are on both platforms, but I do use a few that are iOS only and then I have a few that are just better on iOS. On the flip side of that, I could make an argument that many apps, while not as pretty on android, are more useful because of the openness of Android. Both have positives and negatives.

The S8 is definitely the phone to beat right now when it comes to hardware and Google is really jumping way ahead with services. How loyal I stay to iOS will be determined by iOS 11 and then when I see the iPhone 8. Honestly, iOS 11 is a bigger deal to me as I think it will point to the priorities of Apple. It is just a challenge right now as I would normally be jumping on the S8 and then either switching back to the iPhone in the fall or grabbing the Note. It is so hard for me to stick to the same phone for as long as I have. It really says something about the 7 Plus and iOS.

 

[erasat]

When you say "use it", do you mean a full day where its your main driver. Or you've been in a store and played with it?

I've been using it for the past few days as my main phone and honestly...there's no question. It absolutely is ahead of the iPhone 7/plus. That's not a knock to the iPhone. I still love my iPhone. But man this S8 is a beast.

A few features I've found myself using quite a bit.

Split screen

The ability to play videos within the browser. On my iPhone, videos take up the entire screen when activated. On the S8 (and probably other android devices) the video can be played embedded, or enlarged onto the entire screen.

The screen is beautiful and the images fall off the edge due to the lack of bezels.

Always on display makes notification checking easier than ever without sacrificing battery life.

Trusted locations means that while I'm at home, my phone doesn't require me to unlock the device. This is also true for when the phone detects it's in my pocket or on me.

Edge panels. The ability to swipe on the side of the screen to view sports scores, news stories or send a quick text, while still having an active application on the main display is very convenient. I can be in a text conversation, swipe over and check the latest sports scores, then send that information without ever leaving the conversation.

Bluetooth 5.0 obviously.

Setting default applications is a real plus in some situations.

Smart stay keeps the phone screen on when I'm reading something on it.

I still don't know why I can't type names in the dialer and my contacts pop up on my iPhone. But on the S8, and other Android devices, I can.

I think the important thing to remember is we are also comparing a recently released device with one that has been out for almost a year. Hopefully the next iPhone introduces some of these features. But I honestly don't think anyone can objectively say the S8 isn't ahead of the iPhone 7. The iPhone 7 absolutely does what I "need", but so does the S8. And the S8 does quite a bit more. Not sure of many features the iPhone 7 has that the S8 doesn't. Although there are a few that the iPhone arguably does better.

Thanks for your unbiased detailed explanation, that's a great list of just SOME features (Believe me there are a lot more like using another launcher and can call for actions or apps or other stuff with gestures) where I also think the S8 is far superior to the iPhone and most important, when I use an iPhone as my daily driver, I miss all the time.

 

[erasat]

The bolded items are the exact reasons why I don't think the S8 will become my one and only device. My iPhone talks so well with my other Apple devices and I don't think I could give that up. Primarily, the consistency of my messages and having iMessage. If iMessage was possible on Android, I may consider it more.

That's the MAIN ( and I honestly think that only) reason that Apple may have never, ever, released iMessage for Android or any other platform, they are simply holding their cards. But like I've mentioned before, I never let exclusive features dictate the phone I want so even when my daughters and wife have iPhones, when I also use an iPhone as my daily driver we never communicate through iMessage, it's there just for the new in-app games, but our ONLY way of messaging communication is via WhatsApp, we use our own Family group for that.

One thing I really miss though is Find My Friends, having 2 teenage daughters it was the best tool on iOS for me. I currently can deal with it while at home because I have an iPad 2017 mostly for that, but while at work or simply not at home, I'm relying on Google's new Location Sharing within Google Maps but it still too new and glitchy or buggy, not even refreshes the location with the Refresh command.

 

[cwbcpa]

That's the MAIN ( and I honestly think that only) reason that Apple may have never, ever, released iMessage for Android or any other platform, they are simply holding their cards. But like I've mentioned before, I never let exclusive features dictate the phone I want so even when my daughters and wife have iPhones, when I also use an iPhone as my daily driver we never communicate through iMessage, it's there just for the new in-app games, but our ONLY way of messaging communication is via WhatsApp, we use our own Family group for that.

One thing I really miss though is Find My Friends, having 2 teenage daughters it was the best tool on iOS for me. I currently can deal with it while at home because I have an iPad 2017 mostly for that, but while at work or simply not at home, I'm relying on Google's new Location Sharing within Google Maps but it still too new and glitchy or buggy, not even refreshes the location with the Refresh command.

Life 360 is a great app for tracking the kids. Cross platform, free and works great. You can pay for additional features, but it's certainly not required to get what you need from it.

 

[Quis89]

That's the MAIN ( and I honestly think that only) reason that Apple may have never, ever, released iMessage for Android or any other platform, they are simply holding their cards. But like I've mentioned before, I never let exclusive features dictate the phone I want so even when my daughters and wife have iPhones, when I also use an iPhone as my daily driver we never communicate through iMessage, it's there just for the new in-app games, but our ONLY way of messaging communication is via WhatsApp, we use our own Family group for that.

One thing I really miss though is Find My Friends, having 2 teenage daughters it was the best tool on iOS for me. I currently can deal with it while at home because I have an iPad 2017 mostly for that, but while at work or simply not at home, I'm relying on Google's new Location Sharing within Google Maps but it still too new and glitchy or buggy, not even refreshes the location with the Refresh command.

To your iMessage point...texting sucks lol. Instant messaging is just so much more convenient in a variety of ways. So being the ONLY one with Android really throws off the convenience of messaging between my family members. Sure, I could ask them to download WhatsApp or something. But thats asking them to download a separate app just to communicate with me. I typically don't allow exclusive features to determine what phone I use, unless those exclusive features make my experience better.

 

[Quis89]

That's the MAIN ( and I honestly think that only) reason that Apple may have never, ever, released iMessage for Android or any other platform, they are simply holding their cards. But like I've mentioned before, I never let exclusive features dictate the phone I want so even when my daughters and wife have iPhones, when I also use an iPhone as my daily driver we never communicate through iMessage, it's there just for the new in-app games, but our ONLY way of messaging communication is via WhatsApp, we use our own Family group for that.

One thing I really miss though is Find My Friends, having 2 teenage daughters it was the best tool on iOS for me. I currently can deal with it while at home because I have an iPad 2017 mostly for that, but while at work or simply not at home, I'm relying on Google's new Location Sharing within Google Maps but it still too new and glitchy or buggy, not even refreshes the location with the Refresh command.

To your iMessage point...texting sucks lol. Instant messaging is just so much more convenient in a variety of ways. So being the ONLY one with Android really throws off the convenience of messaging between my family members. Sure, I could ask them to download WhatsApp or something. But thats asking them to download a separate app just to communicate with me. I typically don't allow exclusive features to determine what phone I use, unless those exclusive features make my experience better.

 

[erasat]

Life 360 is a great app for tracking the kids. Cross platform, free and works great. You can pay for additional features, but it's certainly not required to get what you need from it.

I've tried that before but nothing beats a native feature or app that is integrated to the OS. So having a third party app installed just for that didn't feel right to my girls, I mean, they know I'm tracking their whereabouts but when it's something that comes from the phone they were not bothered about it as much as they did when I tried the 3rd party app. I don't know, maybe they thought that it was a trust issue...

 

[erasat]

To your iMessage point...texting sucks lol. Instant messaging is just so much more convenient in a variety of ways. So being the ONLY one with Android really throws off the convenience of messaging between my family members. Sure, I could ask them to download WhatsApp or something. But thats asking them to download a separate app just to communicate with me. I typically don't allow exclusive features to determine what phone I use, unless those exclusive features make my experience better.

I know what you mean about WhatsApp and having to install it but that's the thing, is WhatsApp, the app that as of 1/2017 was installed and active over 1.2 billions users, so there is a huge chance that most, if not all my contacts have it already.

To me is different, I think that by just use iMessage I'm limiting myself and my people to just use one specific app, that as we are discussing here will leave about 50% of my contacts out.

 

[cwbcpa]

I've tried that before but nothing beats a native feature or app that is integrated to the OS. So having a third party app installed just for that didn't feel right to my girls, I mean, they know I'm tracking their whereabouts but when it's something that comes from the phone they were not bothered about it as much as they did when I tried the 3rd party app. I don't know, maybe they thought that it was a trust issue...

I sell it as a safety tool. It has nothing to do with trust, in our case anyway. We all(kids included) actually prefer Life 360 to the native app for iOS. Even before I used that app it was a condition for having a phone. If I am paying for it, I get to track it and you. Again, safety/security, not trust.

Anyway, good luck. I totally get your point. At the end of the day, we just want our kids to be safe and the iOS app is certainly a good way to do it.

 

[badelhas]

I understand. After using it, my opinions definitely changed. It really has me excited for what Apple brings with iOS 11. My biggest complaints with the S8 are due to features that can only exist on iPhone such as imessage. Id definitely recommend anyone on the fence give it a shot.

I agree. If only we could have the best of both worlds, right?

Cheers

 

[iN8ter]

I don't find iMessage to be the advantage it was 5 years ago. I couldn't care less whether I lose it or not. Most people are perfectly content sending 90%+ of their messages through Facebook or WhatsApp (region-dependent).

 

[BoneCollecter]

Samsung hardware is always desirable, but the OS is what is downside for me.
Can't leave Apple eco system.