5 month review

amyf27

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Well, I got my Note 8 on Sept 7th so I'm about a week past 5 months.

I love this phone. Not anywhere close to tired of it or fussing mich about anything. Now, I did have a handful of glitchy issues including one that I ultimately ended up getting a replacement Note 8 about 2 weeks ago from.

All in all, LOVE IT. Keeps up with anything and everything I want to do. Takes incredible photos, good videos, and for work email it's superb. List goes on. Very satisfied Note lover here.
 

Thomasrope

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I got mine about the 3rd week in September and I'm still in love with it. The pictures I take with it are stunning. I have a minimalist case on it with no screen protector and still not a scratch b on it. it hasn't slowed down one bit and I've gotten used to the fingerprint sensor placement. My only minor complaint is I wish it were a bit shorter and wider so it wouldn't stick out of the top of my pocket. I give it a 9.8 out of 10.
 

amyf27

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I'm thinking the same - If it were a tad shorter and wider, that would be ideal. Love the photos. I too don't use screen protectors - never did like them. The original Note 8 did get a few VERY small scratches though barely noticeable. I have some minimalist cases as well as a heavy duty Defender case. Started using Pop Sockets as well on occasion - nice little accessory stand.
 

Nubwy

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I am not a huge photo guy, but personally I found the live photo feature to be terrible. My old iPhone 7 in general shot better pictures. Again it's not a huge deal breaker but I've never been impressed with the cameras on Samsung.
 

anon(7901790)

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I've had mine for about two months now. It's been hiking, biking, camping, and to the beach; and is fixing to go to Okinawa soon. I recently did a factory reset, but that was because of the Substratum theme app was causing issues. The camera is superb and I don't get any lagginess or freezing. I'm getting pretty good battery life out of it, and wireless charging is a plus. Wireless charging was one of the things I missed the most when I switched from Windows Mobile.

I use Microsoft Launcher, so I can't really talk much about Touchwiz. I used Touchwiz for a while on my S8+, but switched to Microsoft when it made huge improvements in its launcher. All in all, it is a great phone. Good enough, that I will probably be using it for a couple years at least.
 

bkrell

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I've had mine since late October, so almost 4 months. I've had 3 Samsungs (4 if you count the Blackjack) and 3 iPhones and this is the first Android/Samsung device I've owned where I didn't feel at least a bit inferior to my iPhone friends. I don't even try to evangelize them. Their loss for not seeing past the travesty of green imessages. I love then pen, even if I don't use it often. But when I do, it's incredibly handy. Screen size is perfect. The long, thin screens of the Note 8 and Galaxy 8 are what kept me on the Samsung side. It makes the iPhone look way too chunky. I keep mine in an Otterbox Defender in my backpocket all the time. Camera quality is spectacular with Live Focus. Outside of Live Focus, it just feels the same as the last Galaxy. But I've had many of the Live Focus pics I've taken of friends end up being used by them as their social media profile pics.
 

h2ofun

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Live focus does not work. Ruined lots of my video's. I turned off the feature waiting for it hopefully to be fixed
 

o4liberty

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Hands down best device to date! You can't go wrong with the note8 super fast with an awesome camera. First device for me that had never disappointed me to date.
 

anon(1733)

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I agree great device. I had a great time with it sold it and got the iPhone X. Very disappointing with that. As much as I tried I always regretted leaving my note behind. So I sucked it up traded my device in and got the note again. Such a great phone. So glad I'm back.
 

Climb14er

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Second week of September, averaging six hours SOT, perfect reception, camera accurate and fast, internet data... fast, display clean and crisp. Bottom line...best phone I've ever used!
 

Thomasrope

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I am not a huge photo guy, but personally I found the live photo feature to be terrible. My old iPhone 7 in general shot better pictures. Again it's not a huge deal breaker but I've never been impressed with the cameras on Samsung.

My wife has the iPhone X. When we go to a family event or on a trip, hands down the Note 8 pictures are much better that the iPhone's in side by side comparisons, especially in low light situations.
 

Lepa79

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Preordered mine. This is the best Note phone yet. 5 months solid use and still no lag. Can't get any better. I normally upgrade every year and mainly because of lag. This time around, I'm probably good to hold on until Note 10. Amazing device. Just love it.
 

amyf27

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I agree great device. I had a great time with it sold it and got the iPhone X. Very disappointing with that. As much as I tried I always regretted leaving my note behind. So I sucked it up traded my device in and got the note again. Such a great phone. So glad I'm back.

How long did you have the IPhone x for, curious
 

chamomiami

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My first Samsung ever, and is a good good phone so far but the Byxby app is driving me crazy i hate it so much when i press the left button
 

anon(10414364)

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Interesting Samsung want publish negative comments about the S8. They "moderate" the posting first and the post never appears. So don't expect to get real help with issues here or through customer service.
 

Chromium 4

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The Samsung Note 8 is the Swiss Army knife of phones: just a big, beautiful, feature-packed monstrosity of fun and functionality. Almost half a year of ownership and it runs as fast and as smooth as the first day out of the box. I've owned a number of different brands over the years and this is hands down one of the best devices I've had. This is just an all around great piece of technology and I'm so glad I purchased it. Hats off to Samsung.
 
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jjinal

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I've had mine for about two months now. It's been hiking, biking, camping, and to the beach; and is fixing to go to Okinawa soon. I recently did a factory reset, but that was because of the Substratum theme app was causing issues. The camera is superb and I don't get any lagginess or freezing. I'm getting pretty good battery life out of it, and wireless charging is a plus. Wireless charging was one of the things I missed the most when I switched from Windows Mobile.

I use Microsoft Launcher, so I can't really talk much about Touchwiz. I used Touchwiz for a while on my S8+, but switched to Microsoft when it made huge improvements in its launcher. All in all, it is a great phone. Good enough, that I will probably be using it for a couple years at least.
You must be a Southerner.
 

D13H4RD2L1V3

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I've had mine for the same amount of time. I ordered and got mine in mid-September and has been my daily driver since.

Many of its high points remain. It is chock full of features, many of which I use on a daily basis. Screen Write has been more useful than I thought for pointing out things to other people and using the S Pen itself has helped me multiple times, especially when planning a remodel for my room.

Samsung Experience has definitely improved in terms of design, where I finally feel that its complementing the hardware aesthetic than working against it and the battery life has been solid, with me averaging 5-6 hours of on-screen time over 18+ hours of my usual usage pattern, sometimes more, sometimes less depending on how hard or how little I use it every day.

The camera may not be as superb as the Pixel 2 but it is still a very good performer and after using the HDR+ port, I feel that it is able to hold its own against the P2 in terms of stills. And it still looks absolutely beautiful.

But that length of time has also exposed some of its low points. First off, Bixby hasn't improved much, if at all. It's not what it does but how it tends to get what I say wrong. I very rarely use AI assistants but even with slightly slurred speech, GA most often gets what I wanted to say 90% of the time. But with Bixby, I have to speak to it like a robot in order to get what I wanted. It feels like it came out of 2011, which isn't really great.

On a similar note, it's still annoying on how the Bixby key cannot be remapped. It's not because I want it to open GA but rather, I want it to do what I want it to do based on whether I press it once, twice or hold it much like the Active key. I would very much like it to launch the HDR+ camera when I hold it. Sure, there are apps which can do the same but I'd rather not use a hacked up solution when I know Samsung could have done the same.

Performance has held up well for the most part but it's also somewhat prone to the occasional hiccup and weirdness. Granted, not all that new but still a little disconcerting.

And lastly, updates. Don't buy this phone if updates are a prime factor. It's not that it doesn't get updates at all but it can get pretty slow and inconsistent. My unlocked SM-N950F unit was on August for months, then got November just before December and December shortly after, and has since stuck there.

I don't want to end on a low note because this is actually a pretty good phone. However, nothing is flawless and after 5 months of usage, I feel I should share what I feel about this phone now. I still love it but I'd be daft if I never said anything about its pitfalls.
 

jimd1050

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Dec 14, 2011
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The Samsung Note 8 is the Swiss Army knife of phones: just a big, beautiful, feature-packed monstrosity of fun and functionality. Almost half a year of ownership and it runs as fast and as smooth as the first day out of the box. I've owned a number of different brands over the years and this is hands down one of the best devices I've had. This is just an all around great piece of technology and I'm so glad I purchased it. Hats off to Samsung.
Well, I was going to type a review, but after reading yours Chromium 4, I'm just going to say "Ditto" and Great Review!
 

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