Curent Take on Flagship Phones LG G6, Samsung S8 S8+, Google Pixel

[consultant1027]

So I'm a techie and had this LG G4 for almost 2 years now. I'm in my mid 40's so even though I'm in the IT profession and prefer to have recent technology in my palm and pocket, I'm not your typical newer generation person that looks at their phone like wearing jewelry, is worried about spec bragging rights, or considers their mobile device as contributing to their personal image.

With that said, I spent several hours online and in the stores looking at the latest, being the LG G6, Google Pixel XL, and Samsung S8 and S8+. I figure I would distill what I concluded for whatever it's worth to those out there agonizing about commiting $650-$850 to get the lastest and "greatest" right now.

I'll just start out by saying, at the end of the day, the conclusion *for me* at this point was none of these phones offered a compelling advantage over my trusty G4 to justify investing in them *at the price they are currently selling for.* My G4 looks and works like new, I don't play games, and I have an APS-C compact Sony camera for serious photography (the G4 camera is still one of the better smartphone cameras for those quick point-and-shoots.) So instead I ordered a $15 replacement battery from Amazon to get that brand new battery life (not that my battery was failing but after 2 years it wasn't what it used to be.)

There are lots of finer points to compare on all these, and what is important is going to vary from person to person a bit, but here's a summary of the main points I got from all the research and seeing/handling them in person.

Google Pixel XL
+ It's Google so no bloatware and fastest updates
+ Argeuably best camera currently on any flagship smartphone
+ Really good video stabilization
- No micro-SD card slot
- No IP68 dust and water resistance
- No wireless charging

Samsung S8/S8+
+ AMOLED screen is best you'll see on any phone right now (even though all these have great screens, this one really "pops" - it looks incredible)
+ Very stylish design (important to you Millenials) if you're okay with the curved edge
+ Camera is right up there close if not on par with Pixel XL
+ 64GB internal memory
+ Micro-SD Card slot
+ IP68 dust and water resistance
+ Snapdragon 835 processor is more efficient than 821 on Pixel and G6 = better battery life
+ S8+ has good battery life, S8 not as much - just average
- Slick as **** to hold - I mean slippery slick, not you look slick holding it
- Curved screen edges is gimicky and makes glass screen protectors and/or cases that protect the front face a bit impractical
- Fingerprint sensor in a bad location (hard to find and you can easily smudge camera)
- Samsung interface is slow and bloated in comparison to Pixel and somewhat G6
- Aspect ratio is even greater than 2:1 making the screen longer than the new standard 18:9 trend. I was amazed that the 6.2" S6+ did not look like a big phone but after handling it, I think it's too long. I'd prefer they made the phone 6.2" in 18:9 instead of 18.5:9 ratio so it was not as long.
- No removable battery

LG G6
+ Micro-SD card slot
+ Camera comparable to Pixel and S8 but also has wide angle lens
+ Fingerprint sensor in good location
+ Excellent case design - personally WAY prefer the flat face over the S8 curved, not as slick in the hand
+ LG interface not as heavy handed as Samsung
- No removable battery
- Battery life worse than S8 (mainly due to 821 versus newer 835 processor)

If you like Samsung products, play a lot of games, or just want something that people can easily recognize as being the lastest from Samsung - the S8/S8+ is a no brainer.

If you want to always have the latest Android version quickest and/or like to have the freedom to switch carriers without having to unlock and without having carrier-specific firmware, the Pixel is the way to go.

If you're not a Samsung fanboy, and/or don't like the Edge curved design, and don't care about being carrier agnostic (assuming you don't buy an International unlocked version), then I think overall the LG G6 provides the best value and overall design/engineering of the three, all things considered. The other two beat it in certain aspects but overall I think it's the best for the money for most users. I think it's biggest complaint is going to be the less powerful and less efficient 821 processor instead of the 835 (even though the Pixel is 821), and the brand name isn't as "in-style" as Samsung and Google, both probably more of a concern with the younger crowd or those on their phone *constantly* all day playing games and watching videos, but not a major drawback for most others.

 

[Mooncatt]

I'm thinking I'm about to the point I'll be holding on to one phone for a rather long time (I.e. Over 2 years). I'm currently on the V20, and I'd still pick it over those other 3 any day because it has almost all the features I want. Features that used to be commonplace and are becoming harder and harder to find in one package. Not to mention there isn't really any major developments over prior flagships (mostly incremental upgrades), and the mid tier phones are performing rather well by comparison too.

Phones in general have kind of plateaued for now.

 

[mgbosshogg]

I was in same boat.
I'm also 40+ professional. I'm in electronic engineering.

My 2 pence worth - I had a Oneplus3 since release, 11 months or so. My wife has a Oneplus3 T , although she will keep it until it develops a fault likely.

I don't really care for having the best "name". But I do switch quite often. Other than good value, the price is largely irrelevant to me.

I agree, performance has plateaued to a degree.
Via friends / work etc, I tried a G6 , Pixel XL and a S8+.
In the house we also have a Honor 8, S7 and some Apple nonsense for my daughter.

The most disappointing part of the OP3 was the camera, this is quite important to me. I have a canon Eos DSLR, but don't carry it 24/7 . My phone I do.

The pixel runs great. Battery not brilliant. Looks and feels very dated. Camera impressive, big sensor with kick *** software. Also unlimited storage is good, but ties you in.ib already have the 1TB plan with Google and hence don't keep anything on my devices.

The G6 did feel slightly sluggish. It's sold on its camera. For me the S8 beat it.

So I bought one. S8+ would not fit in my 2017 car's inbuilt signal booster/ wireless charger.

Thoughts now after using it anger. Camera is very impressive, best I have tried. Feels no faster than my OP3. But no slower.
The FPS on the rear has not caused one problem. Not had to clean camera once.
Bloat is a non event. Had no problems. Everything works, everything connects with ease.
Battery is exemplary. Miss dash charge though, but that just hides the below average performance.
The device looks and feels more cutting edge than any device out. Everything else looks and feels dated.

 

[consultant1027]

So I've had my G6 about 3+ months now. Here's my conclusions so far:

Real-world usage there is no significanty noticeable performance increase than my G4. Bringing up camera takes longer than I would like and notification pull-down is slow too. Same as G4 and same as probably 95% Android Phones unless maybe I have too many applications running. It is not a big issue but I am still faster than my phone can respond when performing many tasks. I've seen many comparison videos between Pixel, S8, G6 of app launch timings and in most cases G6 is only an insignificant amount slower, in a few cases faster.

Camera I think image quality is very close to G4 which was good to begin with, but in JPEG, I think S8 and Pixel edge out G6 - but I use DSLR when I want good image quality. The wide angle lens on G6 I have used and do like having that option very much. Maybe a user who's only camera is their phone the Pixel or S8 is a bit better choice but I think for many like myself, the wide angle lens more than compensates for very slight difference in image quality. By the way RAW (DNG) mode the image quality is much better but requires post processing to adjust color/contrast/etc so I put it in mode to shoot JPEG and RAW at the same time.

I think upgrading to G6 was waste of money as is the case with going from iPhone 6 to iPhone 7 and S7 to S8. The differences are too minor to justify $800 expenditure.

Here is what I think is a huge SCAM on G6 and S8 - the screen has just been elongated to give better specs (slightly larger screen size and pixels) but aspect ratio is not used by video player (You Tube), Camera, and many apps. So it is just wasted space in my opinion on most apps. So even though screen spec is larger on S8 compared to S7 or G6 compared to G4, it is just that they added slightly more screen to top and bottom - size of fonts and width of screen is same. It is really a SCAM by manufacturers. Kind of like how they had megapixel spec wars on cameras because consumers think "more is always better."

The main benefit I enjoy from my G6 is because of the metal body as opposed to plastic body on G4, I do not have any more "dead zones" in my home for phone calls. (Cell signal in my area is poor.) I work from home so this is VERY IMPORTANT and worth the upgrade all alone. Otherwise, I would say keep G4-G5/S7 and save your $700-$850 for G7/S9.

I think most new versions of the best phones are now just a mostly "psychological upgrade" - Hey! Look at me! I have the latest model! What does that mean? Not much I see. (And I am $800 poorer for it - so with these phones you can consider we look "rich..." or... foolish with our money.)

So I bought one. S8+ would not fit in my 2017 car's inbuilt signal booster/ wireless charger.

Thoughts now after using it anger. Camera is very impressive, best I have tried. Feels no faster than my OP3. But no slower.
The FPS on the rear has not caused one problem. Not had to clean camera once.
Bloat is a non event. Had no problems. Everything works, everything connects with ease.
Battery is exemplary. Miss dash charge though, but that just hides the below average performance.
The device looks and feels more cutting edge than any device out. Everything else looks and feels dated.

 

[consultant1027]

I'm thinking I'm about to the point I'll be holding on to one phone for a rather long time (I.e. Over 2 years). I'm currently on the V20, and I'd still pick it over those other 3 any day because it has almost all the features I want. Features that used to be commonplace and are becoming harder and harder to find in one package. Not to mention there isn't really any major developments over prior flagships (mostly incremental upgrades), and the mid tier phones are performing rather well by comparison too.

Phones in general have kind of plateaued for now.

I 100% agree. But they will still sell a lot of them to the "image conscious phone addict Millenials"

 

[mgbosshogg]

So I've had my G6 about 3+ months now. Here's my conclusions so far:

Real-world usage there is no significanty noticeable performance increase than my G4. Bringing up camera takes longer than I would like and notification pull-down is slow too. Same as G4 and same as probably 95% Android Phones unless maybe I have too many applications running. It is not a big issue but I am still faster than my phone can respond when performing many tasks. I've seen many comparison videos between Pixel, S8, G6 of app launch timings and in most cases G6 is only an insignificant amount slower, in a few cases faster.

Camera I think image quality is very close to G4 which was good to begin with, but in JPEG, I think S8 and Pixel edge out G6 - but I use DSLR when I want good image quality. The wide angle lens on G6 I have used and do like having that option very much. Maybe a user who's only camera is their phone the Pixel or S8 is a bit better choice but I think for many like myself, the wide angle lens more than compensates for very slight difference in image quality. By the way RAW (DNG) mode the image quality is much better but requires post processing to adjust color/contrast/etc so I put it in mode to shoot JPEG and RAW at the same time.

I think upgrading to G6 was waste of money as is the case with going from iPhone 6 to iPhone 7 and S7 to S8. The differences are too minor to justify $800 expenditure.

Here is what I think is a huge SCAM on G6 and S8 - the screen has just been elongated to give better specs (slightly larger screen size and pixels) but aspect ratio is not used by video player (You Tube), Camera, and many apps. So it is just wasted space in my opinion on most apps. So even though screen spec is larger on S8 compared to S7 or G6 compared to G4, it is just that they added slightly more screen to top and bottom - size of fonts and width of screen is same. It is really a SCAM by manufacturers. Kind of like how they had megapixel spec wars on cameras because consumers think "more is always better."

The main benefit I enjoy from my G6 is because of the metal body as opposed to plastic body on G4, I do not have any more "dead zones" in my home for phone calls. (Cell signal in my area is poor.) I work from home so this is VERY IMPORTANT and worth the upgrade

The S8 is proving to have great signal compared to my other devices. That said, I also work from home a lot, I use WiFi calling a lot. Works flawlessly.

The camera is also important to me. I have a bag full of canon Eos DSLR's . I don't have them with me all the time, I do have my phone always.

The screen auto adapts if the app does not support it. Pretty much everything gives you a full screen experience.
Have not had any issues yet.