Anyone else feel the Galaxy S8 is too small to hold?

[aokusman]

My Droid X was massive compared to most other phones at the time and now it would be normal to small.

I remember when the first 4 inch phone was considered a monster.

 

[Mike Dee]

I remember when the first 4 inch phone was considered a monster.

Yeah but we have to remember most were coming off of flip phones that were getting smaller and smaller.

 

[tcdude]

And the answer is that there won't be a single figure that you can use for comparison. It will depend on whether you care more about the width or the area of the display - for the same diagonal both depend on the aspect ratio, but the width changes a bit faster.

A little bit of trigonometry says that if we define the aspect ratio as R:1 (length:width), then

width = diagonal/sqrt(1+R^2)
area = diagonal^2*R/(1+R^2)

Values of R would be:

16:9 = 1.778
2:1 = 2 (obviously)
18.5:9 = 2.056

So if we unroll the curved edges the S8's 18.5:9 screen has 89% of the width of a 16:9 of the same diagonal dimension, and 92% of the area. Because the width depends linearly on the diagonal and the area quadratically this means it has the area of a 5.6" 16:9 screen and the width of a 5.2" one (rounding both to 0.1"). However, the curved edges make comparing the widths this way impossible, since how much they change the width by will depend on the shape of the curve, which varies between models.

Thanks for the detailed response, so when it comes to total screen area the S8 is larger but not by 0.3 inches vs the S7 edge

And this is by no means a complaint but I'm just not sure we're getting the difference in screen size advertised

 

[1812dave]

any chance that any of these curved-edge phones will have "gutters" options for various/all apps so that text/images don't spill over the edges? One thing I didn't like about the S7 Edge was how text and images spilled over the edges. Not cool, IMO.

 

[ThrottleJohnny]

any chance that any of these curved-edge phones will have "gutters" options for various/all apps so that text/images don't spill over the edges? One thing I didn't like about the S7 Edge was how text and images spilled over the edges. Not cool, IMO.

That's the whole point of a curved display though.

 

[donm527]

I like the size of the S8... I don't like really big phones and always felt 5.2"... or back then when the G2 was out... a phone with that dimension was perfect.

I like the S8 size... I like they can fit a bigger screen in such a small form factor... but there is a trade off in smashing all those pixels in a narrower phone. I went to Best Buy again today to play and pics below is S8 screen and S7 Edge. Edge is fat compared to S8 lol... more noticeable is the icons and texts compared.

Coming from the s7 edge the s8 would be the sweet spot for me.

The s8+ feels too big for me.

 

[Premium1]

I remember when the first 4 inch phone was considered a monster.

I remember the HTC thunderbolt and how it was considered "Huge" oh how the times have changed.

 

[trucksmoveamerica#AC]

My Droid X was massive compared to most other phones at the time and now it would be normal to small.

Yes it was. I hated that phone, that phone made me go to the iPhone S. Think I came back to the Droid Maxx, been Android ever since. Been with Samsung since note 2.

 

[anon(10206632)]

The fact that Samsung is making a 5.8 inch screen feel small is simply amazing. Don't forget folks that 5.7 inch was phablet territory and now S8 is being labeled too small.

Samsung hit this one out of the park. I would buy both if I can. Both amazing sizes!

 

[edubb256]

Thanks for the detailed response, so when it comes to total screen area the S8 is larger but not by 0.3 inches vs the S7 edge

And this is by no means a complaint but I'm just not sure we're getting the difference in screen size advertised

You are misunderstanding the math here. The correct way to make the point I think you are trying to make is that the percentage increase in screen area is less than the percentage increase in diagonal length. Comparing the absolute change in diagonal length to absolute change in display area is comparing apple to oranges. One is inches, the other is square inches.

If someone tries to take diagonal length and assumes display area should go up by the same percentage amount, that person will draw the wrong conclusion. It is not because the advertising is misleading, it is because that person doesn't understand the difference between diagonal length and display area.

 

[wolfedude88]

Yes it was. I hated that phone, that phone made me go to the iPhone S. Think I came back to the Droid Maxx, been Android ever since. Been with Samsung since note 2.

What? The original Droid X is still my favorite android phone to this date. It was huge but insanely thin at the time. Man I loved that phone.

 

[Mike Dee]

Yes it was. I hated that phone, that phone made me go to the iPhone S. Think I came back to the Droid Maxx, been Android ever since. Been with Samsung since note 2.

The Maxx was bigger I think

 

[Mike Dee]

And the answer is that there won't be a single figure that you can use for comparison. It will depend on whether you care more about the width or the area of the display - for the same diagonal both depend on the aspect ratio, but the width changes a bit faster.

A little bit of trigonometry says that if we define the aspect ratio as R:1 (length:width), then

width = diagonal/sqrt(1+R^2)
area = diagonal^2*R/(1+R^2)

Values of R would be:

16:9 = 1.778
2:1 = 2 (obviously)
18.5:9 = 2.056

So if we unroll the curved edges the S8's 18.5:9 screen has 89% of the width of a 16:9 of the same diagonal dimension, and 92% of the area. Because the width depends linearly on the diagonal and the area quadratically this means it has the area of a 5.6" 16:9 screen and the width of a 5.2" one (rounding both to 0.1"). However, the curved edges make comparing the widths this way impossible, since how much they change the width by will depend on the shape of the curve, which varies between models.

You didnt

 

[1812dave]

So you WANT text and images to be distorted and show up on the curve?? Not me! If they could just leave a background on the edge and not wrap text or images around the edges, THEN I wouldn't be opposed to curved screens. I didn't like the 7 Edge for that reason, so I got the 7. I fail to see the fun in trying to read distorted text along the edges. Call me crazy.

 

[smooth4lyfe]

So you WANT text and images to be distorted and show up on the curve?? Not me! If they could just leave a background on the edge and not wrap text or images around the edges, THEN I wouldn't be opposed to curved screens. I didn't like the 7 Edge for that reason, so I got the 7. I fail to see the fun in trying to read distorted text along the edges. Call me crazy.

That doesnt even happen and barely if it does...I have never had any problem with curved text on the edges...even tested out the S8 and didn't have that problem...not sure whats wrong with ur phone

 

[donm527]

http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...ng-edge-edge-anymore-like-s7.html#post5740205

So you WANT text and images to be distorted and show up on the curve?? Not me! If they could just leave a background on the edge and not wrap text or images around the edges, THEN I wouldn't be opposed to curved screens. I didn't like the 7 Edge for that reason, so I got the 7. I fail to see the fun in trying to read distorted text along the edges. Call me crazy.

 

[Ilya Ivanov]

After holding both, the S8 is just too small to hold. It feels like hold the Galaxy S7 although I know its bigger. Maybe because I'm used to bigger phones, the S8+ feels more perfect

Anyone else feel this way?

It felt very small, similar to iPhone 7. Which is too small for my taste

 

[the_munc_e]

I think it's the most comfortable phone to hold. this guy kind of shows how it feels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjFsladlIPo&feature=youtu.be

What if you're playing a game or something and hit the spot on the screen where the home button is and you leave the app on accident?

 

[Swapnil Vartak]

With all the talk about diagonal lengths and display sizes, I just have a couple of questions.. Haven't we all used, at some point, phones as small as Nokia dumb phones to massive phablets? We've managed to adjust then, why the fuss now?

 

[Frozen Corpse]

It's funny how large of phones we get used to. I remember when I never wanted anything larger than my Blackberry Pearl. Lol.

View attachment 255602

I miss my Blackberry Pearl...