iPhone X hype train

[thecaringkind]

OK. I've been holding back for a while now but I've just got to let it all out: the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is a BETTER phone all around than the iPhone X. Period without question.

Am I biased? Not at all. I have always carried an iPhone as my back up phone because for what they do, they do it very well. However, the X epitomizes all of the things that I have hated about Apple, tech reviewers and Apple fan boys alike. Apple no longer innovates. They copy. They copy very well. The most recent advertisement from Samsung basically showing that Apple fans need to 'grow up' is spot on.

Break it down objectively. Start with the screen. It's a SAMSUNG panel! Did Apple tune it to perfection? Probably. Is it appreciably better than the ones on the Note8 and S8 & 8 plus? Ahhhhh NO. Samsung is still king of the OLED game. I refuse to give Apple so much credit for a panel that they didn't even produce.

Reviewers are raving about the incredible power of Apple's newest chipset. They should. It's crazy powerful. However in review after review when subjected to every day use, the Note8 beats the X. Sometimes smokes it. Is it double the RAM and a pretty powerful Snapdragon chipset and much better tuning from Samsung the reason? Probably. The X is powerful but it's certainly not a world beater.

Cameras. In this category I would give Apple only the slightest of edges and only for being able to record 4K video @60fps as opposed to the Note's 30fps. Portrait lightning? Ummmmm OK far from a finished feature and the Notes's portrait game is still mighty strong in comparison. Otherwise both cameras are excellent as far as cellphone cameras go.

Battery life. Both will get you through the day. Apple has wireless charging now, big wup. We all know that's been a Sammy feature for a while now.

Features. I truly don't even want to take the time to type out the laundry list of features Samsung included in the Note8. It's a LONG one. Suffice it to say that Apple's newsest phone doesn't even come close in terms of features and functionality. Its. Not. Even. Close.

People keep touting Apple's ecosystem as if Google's and even some of Samsung's proprietary apps and services are garbage...ahhhhh NOPE.

I guess my bottom line is that I'm fed up with so many reviewers out there fawning over the X like Apple did something new. The design? New to Apple and that notch at the top is BUTT UGLY. All these people fakin the funk talking bout how 'they don't even notice it' riiiiiiight. That means it doesn't belong there!!!

The comparisons between the X and the Note 8 sometimes astound me. iOS 11? It's been a buggy mess lately. TRUE multitasking? HA! Only be if you're talking about the Note. Customization? Only in your fevered iOS dreams Apple fans! And one of the biggest jokes of all? You want fast charging with that X? You gotta pony up all kinds of extra cash for a charging brick just to get it done. THAT'S RIDICULOUS.

You simply get more for your money with the Note. If you've always been invested in Apple's world have a great time with the iPhone X (SUCKERS)

If you're a tech/smartphone enthusiast keep it real and recognize that right now the Note 8 is still the champ for overall features and functionality. Period.

Who's with me?

 

[digitalbreak]

Have you actually used an X or are you just posting this out of observation?

 

[magichoward]

Not to mention note had a single problem with the note 8.. Ios wouldnt work in cold climates and kept typing?.. Etc well done Samsung just improve on your updates

 

[chanchan05]

Reviewers raving about the speed of the chipset and comparing scores and saying it's faster than an i5 is actually misinformed as I understand things. Sure it posted higher scores but they do not understand what those scores mean. Those scores tallied how many instructions the phone was able to perform in a given time frame. But you have to take into account that the A11 is ARM based, meaning it uses RISC, while i5s uses CISC. The best description I've seen of the difference is that the instructions of RISC is simpler and entails more steps than CISC. For example, if you tell an i5 to compute for 2x2, the instruction would be, 2x2. However if you tell an A11 to compute 2x2, the instruction would be define '2', define multiply, multiply 2. Or basically, 3 instructions compared to 1 for CISC. I don't know if Geekbench asks the same exact instructions for INTEL and ARM chips, but based on that it can be inferred that an ARM chip with a score of 6000 (like the A11), is like an iCore with a score of around 2000.

It's kind of like how a 1.6Ghz 4th Gen i5 is faster than a 2.6Ghz i5 1st gen. The numbers lie.

I think the biggest joke is last I heard, to get a fast charging Apple OEM brick, you need to cough up enough money to buy a Samsung fast wireless charger AND a spare Samsung/3rd party fast charging power bank.

My sister is firmly entrenched in the iOS ecosystem, but she went for an 8 because the X is just not worth the money being asked. Plus the 8 would just cost her an equivalent of 300 bucks due to loyalty rewards from our carrier.

 

[Lepa79]

Have you actually used an X or are you just posting this out of observation?

Don't really have to use an X to realize Note 8 is the best value for the money smart phone out there.

OP, I'm with you.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Have you actually used an X or are you just posting this out of observation?

Sounds like OP doesn't have it.

One thing that I've noticed that android fans just simply don't get is you can't compare spec sheets of a phone and declare one a winner over the other. You need to use the phones, experience them and then you can make a decision. Phones are more than just a sum of their parts, which is why iOS and Apple products are so highly rated and so liked by their owners. There's an elegance and simplicity to them that just isn't matched by competing offerings. Rattling off a list of features the Note 8 has vs the iPhone X has doesn't mean anything because one thing that users would rate the iPhone infinitely higher on is iMessage, to which android simply does not have an answer for. Add to that, apps on iOS are *still* better than their android counterparts. Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook etc all run much better on iOS than on android and as an android user, it's extremely frustrating to use the android version of apps and feel like the unwanted step son.

Now those things aren't on a spec list. They're not an advertised feature like 'Snapchat runs better on iPhone' but they're relevant and only discovered when you use both devices/platforms together.

Is the Note 8 better than the iPhone X? I don't know, I don't have the iPhone X, but I can say with confidence now that the Note 8 isn't the best phone I've owned, at least in my subjective experience. The hardware of the Note 8 I think is unmatched and I don't think I've used or held a phone with more stunning hardware, but the software experience for me is simply not there. It's not a 2017 phone experience. And to me software > hardware every time.

 

[chanchan05]

Have you actually used an X or are you just posting this out of observation?

You don't need to own an X to know its a crazy money grab. I think part of the reason why the 8 is the same exact dimensions as the 7 is to make iOS users less inclined to buy it. But a smart iOS user upgrading now would take the 8/+ and not X. It's got the same chips, an LCD screen (better in this case because I believe Apple's handling of the OLED screen makes it more prone to burn ins), and most of the same features, has an FPS, and no notch.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

You don't need to own an X to know its a crazy money grab. I think part of the reason why the 8 is the same exact dimensions as the 7 is to make iOS users less inclined to buy it. But a smart iOS user upgrading now would take the 8/+ and not X. It's got the same chips, an LCD screen (better in this case because I believe Apple's handling of the OLED screen makes it more prone to burn ins), and most of the same features, has an FPS, and no notch.

Money grab or not, that's got nothing to do with the quality of the phone itself.

And the AMOLED screen is manufactured by Samsung, so if there's an issue with burn in, that's due to Samsung's panel.

 

[thecaringkind]

Have you actually used an X or are you just posting this out of observation?

I knew someone would ask me that. In all honesty I would err on the side of actually using the phone. I have an iPhone 7 plus and whole the experience of using the X is radically different from all of the previous iphones from what I have observed those changes don't add up to the X being a better phone than the Note. Hell it might not be better than the 7 or 8 just because of the fingerprint sensor. I think face ID is....meh. Classic case of if it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[thecaringkind]

Sounds like OP doesn't have it.

One thing that I've noticed that android fans just simply don't get is you can't compare spec sheets of a phone and declare one a winner over the other. You need to use the phones, experience them and then you can make a decision. Phones are more than just a sum of their parts, which is why iOS and Apple products are so highly rated and so liked by their owners. There's an elegance and simplicity to them that just isn't matched by competing offerings. Rattling off a list of features the Note 8 has vs the iPhone X has doesn't mean anything because one thing that users would rate the iPhone infinitely higher on is iMessage, to which android simply does not have an answer for. Add to that, apps on iOS are *still* better than their android counterparts. Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook etc all run much better on iOS than on android and as an android user, it's extremely frustrating to use the android version of apps and feel like the unwanted step son.

Now those things aren't on a spec list. They're not an advertised feature like 'Snapchat runs better on iPhone' but they're relevant and only discovered when you use both devices/platforms together.

Is the Note 8 better than the iPhone X? I don't know, I don't have the iPhone X, but I can say with confidence now that the Note 8 isn't the best phone I've owned, at least in my subjective experience. The hardware of the Note 8 I think is unmatched and I don't think I've used or held a phone with more stunning hardware, but the software experience for me is simply not there. It's not a 2017 phone experience. And to me software > hardware every time.

I didn't mention one spec. I actually emphasized features and bang for your buck.

 

[thecaringkind]

Sounds like OP doesn't have it.

One thing that I've noticed that android fans just simply don't get is you can't compare spec sheets of a phone and declare one a winner over the other. You need to use the phones, experience them and then you can make a decision. Phones are more than just a sum of their parts, which is why iOS and Apple products are so highly rated and so liked by their owners. There's an elegance and simplicity to them that just isn't matched by competing offerings. Rattling off a list of features the Note 8 has vs the iPhone X has doesn't mean anything because one thing that users would rate the iPhone infinitely higher on is iMessage, to which android simply does not have an answer for. Add to that, apps on iOS are *still* better than their android counterparts. Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook etc all run much better on iOS than on android and as an android user, it's extremely frustrating to use the android version of apps and feel like the unwanted step son.

Now those things aren't on a spec list. They're not an advertised feature like 'Snapchat runs better on iPhone' but they're relevant and only discovered when you use both devices/platforms together.

Is the Note 8 better than the iPhone X? I don't know, I don't have the iPhone X, but I can say with confidence now that the Note 8 isn't the best phone I've owned, at least in my subjective experience. The hardware of the Note 8 I think is unmatched and I don't think I've used or held a phone with more stunning hardware, but the software experience for me is simply not there. It's not a 2017 phone experience. And to me software > hardware every time.

I appreciate the software point of view however an operating system on a phone that has ZERO customization is a no go for me every time. Walled garden OS that assumes I'm stupid? iOS. No thanks.

 

[chanchan05]

Money grab or not, that's got nothing to do with the quality of the phone itself.

And the AMOLED screen is manufactured by Samsung, so if there's an issue with burn in, that's due to Samsung's panel.

Not everything can be laid at the manufacturer. There's the calibration you have to consider which Apple was the one who did.

There's a reason why Samsung and LG, manufacturers of OLED panels have their screens' usual brightness at around 50% of the max panel brightness. Note8 for instance has a max manual brightness of around 500nits, but the panel can go up to 1200 nits on auto overdrive mode. The LG panel on the Pixel 2XL is up to 40% brighter than the same panel on the v30. Ramping up an OLED's brightness will make it degrade faster, hence faster chance of burn in or screen retention. Assuming Apple's panel is running at the same 1200 max as the Note 8, their running closer to max at about 700+ nits brightness.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

I knew someone would ask me that. In all honesty I would err on the side of actually using the phone. I have an iPhone 7 plus and whole the experience of using the X is radically different from all of the previous iphones from what I have observed those changes don't add up to the X being a better phone than the Note. Hell it might not be better than the 7 or 8 just because of the fingerprint sensor. I think face ID is....meh. Classic case of if it ain't broke don't fix it.

So you acknowledge that the X functions completely differently to other iPhones, you haven't used it and you've read/watched information about it and have decided that the phone you've never used isn't as good as the phone you have?

Yeah, I have a Toyota Camry and there's no way the Honda Accord is better than it. I've never driven the Honda Accord, just read about it and watched videos and from that I know my car is better.

See any issue with that? Because I certainly do.

 

[chanchan05]

PS. I'm not dissing iPhone quality. They're well made and does what they're designed to do. I just don't believe they're worth the price it's asking. Same goes for the Pixel. They're great phones, but they should be cheaper based on what you get.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

I didn't mention one spec. I actually emphasized features and bang for your buck.

Everything you mentioned was a spec. I'm not talking ram, GHz, mAh, but the specifications and functions of the phone.

You pretty much went down a list comparing a phone you have to one you don't and *surprise* the one you own came out the winner.

I appreciate the software point of view however an operating system on a phone that has ZERO customization is a no go for me every time. Walled garden OS that assumes I'm stupid? iOS. No thanks.

That's fine. You don't have to buy the iPhone X and no one is trying to pry the Note 8 out of your hands.

But there are absolutely benefits to iOS that customers might value extremely highly and are happy to pay the price of admission into iOS. It doesn't suit you, no problem, but your whole post and your replies sound extremely condescending, as if people who purchase iPhones are stupid/clueless.

Not everything can be laid at the manufacturer. There's the calibration you have to consider which Apple was the one who did.

There's a reason why Samsung and LG, manufacturers of OLED panels have their screens' usual brightness at around 50% of the max panel brightness. Note8 for instance has a max manual brightness of around 500nits, but the panel can go up to 1200 nits on auto overdrive mode. The LG panel on the Pixel 2XL is up to 40% brighter than the same panel on the v30. Ramping up an OLED's brightness will make it degrade faster, hence faster chance of burn in or screen retention. Assuming Apple's panel is running at the same 1200 max as the Note 8, their running closer to max at about 700+ nits brightness.

Samsung did the claibration - Apple told them what they wanted it calibrated at.

Burn in is an inherent flaw of OLED displays. That's not Apple's fault. Samsung develops these panels and Apple, Samsung and whoever else purchases them now have to do work arounds to try to minimise the onset of it. Something Apple shouldn't really have to do.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

PS. I'm not dissing iPhone quality. They're well made and does what they're designed to do. I just don't believe they're worth the price it's asking. Same goes for the Pixel. They're great phones, but they should be cheaper based on what you get.

Every phone should be cheaper than what they're asking. The Note 8 is no different either. I'd like high end phones to be $400 but that's not going to happen.

Again, phones are more than a sum of their parts. If you're judging a phone just going down the list of features then you're on a fools errand.

 

[thecaringkind]

So you acknowledge that the X functions completely differently to other iPhones, you haven't used it and you've read/watched information about it and have decided that the phone you've never used isn't as good as the phone you have?

Yeah, I have a Toyota Camry and there's no way the Honda Accord is better than it. I've never driven the Honda Accord, just read about it and watched videos and from that I know my car is better.

See any issue with that? Because I certainly do.

Because I don't have to have the X in my hands to know that it doesn't offer nearly as much as the Note. It's not suddenly going to have more features and customization abilities just because I'm holding it. Part of my rant is how many reviewers seem to think it's this new paradigm in smartphones...it's not. It's new to long time iPhone users. To everyone else, objectively speaking it's playing catch up to what's already been here and done damn well by other OEMs in addition to Samsung

 

[thecaringkind]

Every phone should be cheaper than what they're asking. The Note 8 is no different either. I'd like high end phones to be $400 but that's not going to happen.

Again, phones are more than a sum of their parts. If you're judging a phone just going down the list of features then you're on a fools errand.

Features MATTER. What a phone can and cannot do matters. In some instances it matters as much as hardware, feel in hand, software, etc

 

[thecaringkind]

Everything you mentioned was a spec. I'm not talking ram, GHz, mAh, but the specifications and functions of the phone.

You pretty much went down a list comparing a phone you have to one you don't and *surprise* the one you own came out the winner.



That's fine. You don't have to buy the iPhone X and no one is trying to pry the Note 8 out of your hands.

But there are absolutely benefits to iOS that customers might value extremely highly and are happy to pay the price of admission into iOS. It doesn't suit you, no problem, but your whole post and your replies sound extremely condescending, as if people who purchase iPhones are stupid/clueless.




Samsung did the claibration - Apple told them what they wanted it calibrated at.

Burn in is an inherent flaw of OLED displays. That's not Apple's fault. Samsung develops these panels and Apple, Samsung and whoever else purchases them now have to do work arounds to try to minimise the onset of it. Something Apple shouldn't really have to do.

I own an iPhone 7 plus. I like it. I like what it can do. It can do allot. It also can't do half of what my note can do. I don't need to have the X in my hand to understand that it does a little more than what my 7 plus does and that's about it. If you felt that my words were condescending perhaps you can re examine their context. Think about it. iPhones give you zero control over the look and feel of your device based on your individuality and needs. It is a walled garden with a very specific way of doing things. If that works for you, and it does for millions of people, have at it hoss. I simply prefer, more versatile hardware and software for an overall much more interesting and deeper experience with a device that allows you to be use it as you see fit, not based on what the OEM thinks you should or should not do.

 

[I Can Be Your Hero]

Because I don't have to have the X in my hands to know that it doesn't offer nearly as much as the Note. It's not suddenly going to have more features and customization abilities just because I'm holding it. Part of my rant is how many reviewers seem to think it's this new paradigm in smartphones...it's not. It's new to long time iPhone users. To everyone else, objectively speaking it's playing catch up to what's already been here and done damn well by other OEMs in addition to Samsung

Well I disagree that you claim you can judge a phone without even using it.

You seem to think that because the Note 'offers more' that by definition means it's better, which I'd completely disagree with. More =/= better. If the features aren't useful, don't work well, are intrusive, slow the product down etc then I'd argue that those features are detrimental to the product and the phone would be better off without them.

Features MATTER. What a phone can and cannot do matters. In some instances it matters as much as hardware, feel in hand, software, etc

Sure features matter and those features have to be weighted to the device overall. They don't have equal weighting between devices and features you might weigh highly is something another customer couldn't care less about, so who's right?

I own an iPhone 7 plus. I like it. I like what it can do. It can do allot. It also can't do half of what my note can do. I don't need to have the X in my hand to understand that it does a little more than what my 7 plus does and that's about it. If you felt that my words were condescending perhaps you can re examine their context. Think about it. iPhones give you zero control over the look and feel of your device based on your individuality and needs. It is a walled garden with a very specific way of doing things. If that works for you, and it does for millions of people, have at it hoss. I simply prefer, more versatile hardware and software for an overall much more interesting and deeper experience with a device that allows you to be use it as you see fit, not based on what the OEM thinks you should or should not do.

You keep banging on about 'offering more' when you should be banging on about 'offering better'. Everything and the kitchen sink doesn't mean it's a better product. Never has, never will be. iPhones didn't become (and remain) popular because they do everything, they're popular because everything they do, they do it extremely well.

And saying you don't need an iPhone X is a pretty ridiculous statement. An iPhone X user could just say they don't need to use a Note 8 to know it's inferior to the iPhone X, I guess that'd be right too?