3 things the S9/+ must have to make you jump from the S8/+

[mundo472]

The S8/+ are pretty awesome devices. What do you need to see on the S9/+ to make you upgrade? The Note screen? Fingerprint scanner placement? Working facial recog? The color red?
What 3 (or one. Or ten) things are the trigger that will make you abandon your S8/+ for this next incarnation.

 

[Rukbat]

Removable battery. Fingerprint scanner on the front would be nice. Definitely facial or iris recognition. Definitely an SD card. And better annealing on the screen, so it doesn't develop cracks on the curves. (Actually, I'd prefer a flat screen.) Black, white, gold, bronze are all the same to me. It's more than time I bought a new phone, but the only ones with removable batteries I don't like, and I'm not paying $60, and going without my phone for days, to replace a $10 battery in 60 seconds. (And if they do these with the Note 9, I will probably buy it - fat fingers. But I'd buy an S and a stylus if they did it the way I liked.)

 

[anon(5506951)]

I haven't had a Samsung phone since the S3 I9300. I currently have the Nexus 6P, but I absolutely refuse to give my money to Google for the Pixel 2 XL, due to that horribly unacceptable screen, not to mention the myriad of other issues it has.

Although I've gotten used to being the first in line to get software updates, stock Android is rather boring, in the sense that it has no useful features. For me to go back to Samsung and get either the S9+ or Note 9, I want:

1) a 4,000mAh OPTIMIZED battery, with excellent stand by time.

2) superior audio, both wired (headphone jack!) and through dual stereo speakers, with a great DAC.)

3) MUCH better fingerprint scanner location-- either on the back under the camera sensor where your finger naturally rests, or under the screen technology.

 

[mundo472]

I'd forgotten about sound, girl_interrupted513 but hell yes!
Rukbat, I'd not heard of crack problems. When do they appear and on the screen or outer glass?

 

[anon(5506951)]

I'd forgotten about sound, girl_interrupted513 but hell yes!
Rukbat, I'd not heard of crack problems. When do they appear and on the screen or outer glass?

I have to admit being wary of Samsung phones, due to the inevitable lag and "stickiness", but Samsung screens are top of the line with unsurpassed daylight visibility, which is also important. But yeah, I stream my music on GPM often, and I'd love to have great audio.

There is a rumor out there that either the S phones or the Note will come with stereo speakers from AKG (already on the Tab S3), so that is good to hear.

 

[jjinal]

1. Embedded fps
2. SD 845
3. 6GB RAM

 

[Tim1954]

Yup! All of the above. Big battery and better biometrics are a must.. I'm wavering in my loyalty to galaxy devices lately...

 

[Matty]

As other members have mentioned. The idea of having a finger print sensor that's embedded into a small section of the screen would definitely make a lot of people consider switching over. Especially since there were a couple complaints about the rear sensor being a little too high.

 

[anon(123856)]

I would love to see an unlocked Active version. I don't really care for the curved screen on my S8 (as it adds nothing and creates screen protector chaos). I really don't want to switch carriers to get one either. Having no version that works on Verizon stinks.

Better placement of the FPS.

Higher Quality Audio would be nice too.

 

[anon(5506951)]

I would love to see an unlocked Active version. I don't really care for the curved screen on my S8 (as it adds nothing and creates screen protector chaos). I really don't want to switch carriers to get one either. Having no version that works on Verizon stinks.

Better placement of the FPS.

Higher Quality Audio would be nice too.

Thank you, 100% this.

 

[11B1P]

...I absolutely refuse to give my money to Google for the Pixel 2 XL, due to that horribly unacceptable screen, not to mention the myriad of other issues it has.

How long did you have the Pixel 2 XL before you returned it?

 

[anon(5506951)]

I didn't buy it at all. I went into a Verizon store even before the reviews came out and held it in hand, and tested it for about an hour. I also compared it to the Note 8, S8+, and V30. I even went as far as to download a white wallpaper right in store to really test the screen. It had a horrendous blue tint, even slightly off axis. Also, although I prefer sRGB mode enabled, the colors on the screen were *very* dull. Say what you will about "software fixes", but no thanks. The phone also felt so light in hand, it was too light. To me, it felt like a plastic toy. No way am I giving Google $850 for that, especially after finding out the U11+ was supposed to be the Pixel 2 XL. As it stands, I'd pay no more than $400 for the current 2 XL.

The Note 8 screen is absolutely amazing, and of course, it felt great in hand. But I'm honestly scared of Samsung's software and inevitable lag, and I hate the placement of the FPS. I've seen reviews on Amazon of people calling the phone "junk" because the glass is so fragile, and getting cracks on both sides of the phone despite having a case on it. Having said that, though, my options are few, cause as fast as stock Android is, there are just no features on it. It's deadly boring. And let's face it, the only devices that get maximum support in terms of accessories are Samsung and Apple. I've seen good case options for the Note 8 from manufacturers I've never even heard of. Not to mention the fact that should you have an issue, you can pretty much take it to any local shop for repair.

 

[11B1P]

I didn't buy it at all. I went into a Verizon store even before the reviews came out and held it in hand, and tested it for about an hour. I also compared it to the Note 8, S8+, and V30. I even went as far as to download a white wallpaper right in store to really test the screen. It had a horrendous blue tint, even slightly off axis. Also, although I prefer sRGB mode enabled, the colors on the screen were *very* dull. Say what you will about "software fixes", but no thanks. The phone also felt so light in hand, it was too light. To me, it felt like a plastic toy. No way am I giving Google $850 for that, especially after finding out the U11+ was supposed to be the Pixel 2 XL. As it stands, I'd pay no more than $400 for the current 2 XL.

The Note 8 screen is absolutely amazing, and of course, it felt great in hand. But I'm honestly scared of Samsung's software and inevitable lag, and I hate the placement of the FPS. I've seen reviews on Amazon of people calling the phone "junk" because the glass is so fragile, and getting cracks on both sides of the phone despite having a case on it. Having said that, though, my options are few, cause as fast as stock Android is, there are just no features on it. It's deadly boring. And let's face it, the only devices that get maximum support in terms of accessories are Samsung and Apple. I've seen good case options for the Note 8 from manufacturers I've never even heard of. Not to mention the fact that should you have an issue, you can pretty much take it to any local shop for repair.

I'm impressed with your thorough in-store testing. I do agree I wouldn't put that kind of money into a phone with the display issue right off the bat. Now conversely, I also wouldn't use a display phone as proof of a faulty screen. I'm sure there are plenty of people that haven't seen any screen issues. If an update has been pushed to correct the screen issue, would that sway your decision toward it?

I'm not sure I agree with your thought on inevitable lag. I use a Samsung Galaxy S7 and the only lag I see is if I have to reboot the phone. But once the phone settles down and gets everything up and running in the background, I don't have any issues.

As far as the cracks, I always carry my phone in a case, but that doesn't mean I throw it around either, but I have also owned a business repairing phones and game consoles, so I'm probably more careful than the average joe. A case will only protect the phone so far.

 

[Doug Moffat]

Replaceable battery. It ain't going to happen. It's all style and glass to compete with Apple.

 

[anon(5506951)]

I'm impressed with your thorough in-store testing. I do agree I wouldn't put that kind of money into a phone with the display issue right off the bat. Now conversely, I also wouldn't use a display phone as proof of a faulty screen. I'm sure there are plenty of people that haven't seen any screen issues. If an update has been pushed to correct the screen issue, would that sway your decision toward it?

I'm not sure I agree with your thought on inevitable lag. I use a Samsung Galaxy S7 and the only lag I see is if I have to reboot the phone. But once the phone settles down and gets everything up and running in the background, I don't have any issues.

As far as the cracks, I always carry my phone in a case, but that doesn't mean I throw it around either, but I have also owned a business repairing phones and game consoles, so I'm probably more careful than the average joe. A case will only protect the phone so far.

The only update that's been pushed to that phone regarding the screen is the addition of a "Boosted" mode to punch up the colors, and the ability of the navigation keys to fade in and out. The blue tint off axis still exists, although people have said that it was "a batch issue", and that phones manufactured after October 20th seem to have better screens.

Then again, I've also seen people make excuses, saying, "I view my phone head on, so the tint doesn't bother me.", or "It's not too bad." To each their own, but if I'm spending over $1, 000 when all is said and done, including taxes, insurance and accessories, that phone better be damn near perfect, inside and out.

And I also failed to mention the other issues pertaining to the screen, like burn in, image retention, banding, unevenness, blotchiness, "black crush", etc. Don't get me wrong, I know some of these issues are just the nature of AMOLED, but come on. If you're gonna have the balls to charge premium prices, use premium materials. But Google did pay through the nose for LG's display tech, so right there, I call second-rate, and not ready for prime time with the big boys.

As far as Samsung goes, granted, I haven't owned one since the S3, so logic dictates that things may have changed since then. I'm just so used to plain old stock, that anything with any sort of skin will make me notice that extra half a second it takes for things to open. I even
"felt " it on my dad's new Mate 9 (excellent phone) when I set it up for him today.

Wow, is the Note 8 gorgeous, though, especially with the official Samsung Smart View folio case. If only it had the FPS in a better spot, I probably might have went ahead and bought it, after my annoyance with the 2 XL. With the Note 9 supposedly coming with the FPS in a more natural spot, as well as stereo speakers, I'm more apt to wait for it to drop next September.

 

[milehigherik]

First the S9 must be produced... it appears as though that isn't happening now.

 

[mundo472]

new leak on the news section of AC shows an S9 looking almost indistinguishable from the S8. the fingerprint sensor is at the bottom of the camera / sensor stack which should make it easier to hit.
also, I've not had lag issues with the S7, S8, or S8+. a reboot every couple of weeks and a (less frequent) clearing of the cache clean up glitches (like a smartlock setting not working) but that is less frequent than any other phone i've had. I hated Sammy's for years (my son loved em) but those days are gone.

 

[ThrottleJohnny]

Replaceable battery. It ain't going to happen. It's all style and glass to compete with Apple.

Seem Apple is the one that went back to glass.

 

[alexcapone]

Dual SIM available in the US market

 

[rushmore]

128gb internal. Card slot too of course.

At least 25% CPU speed increase for emulators.

Better GPU for Gear VR

Higher res mode for Gear VR (movies and web). That, or no pentile negating a third of the pixels like current Samsung's. Screen door ain't cool.

Bring back the IR blaster!

No curved corners.

Since none of that is happening, happily keeping my 8+.