I still have my Galaxy S7 that I've had since launch. It was still running fairly well until it was updated to Android Oreo. Now, it is unbearable. It is so bad, that I've considered abandoning Samsung, even though I've been a longtime Samsung user. I don't think the update should have ever been pushed to the S7. My wife's S7 has suffered the same fate as mine after the update. For example, my phone's screen will frequently time out 1 to 2 times (15 seconds each) just while waiting on my phone to open my messaging app and send a text message. My battery is typically dead with an hour or less of screen time.
Anyway, I'm in need of a new phone. I've always gotten the latest flagship phone when I was ready to upgrade. However, with the current prices of flagships at $1k and continuing to rise, I can no longer justify it. According to Samsung's website, I can get the Note 8 or S9 for $20/month on Verizon, which is about as cheap as I have found for any Samsung phone released in the past year. I've never upgraded to a phone that was already a year old. I know that the Note 8 is much more powerful than my S7, but seeing how my S7 has aged makes me worried to buy a phone that is already a year old. How has the Note 8 aged and would it still be able to compete with new phones today? Reviews seem a little mixed. Some say their Note 8 still runs as fast and smooth as the day they got it. Others say they started experiencing lag and battery drain after a year. I will likely try to keep whatever phone I get for 2 years before upgrading. So how do you think the Note 8 will age when it's 3+ years old?
Anyway, I'm in need of a new phone. I've always gotten the latest flagship phone when I was ready to upgrade. However, with the current prices of flagships at $1k and continuing to rise, I can no longer justify it. According to Samsung's website, I can get the Note 8 or S9 for $20/month on Verizon, which is about as cheap as I have found for any Samsung phone released in the past year. I've never upgraded to a phone that was already a year old. I know that the Note 8 is much more powerful than my S7, but seeing how my S7 has aged makes me worried to buy a phone that is already a year old. How has the Note 8 aged and would it still be able to compete with new phones today? Reviews seem a little mixed. Some say their Note 8 still runs as fast and smooth as the day they got it. Others say they started experiencing lag and battery drain after a year. I will likely try to keep whatever phone I get for 2 years before upgrading. So how do you think the Note 8 will age when it's 3+ years old?