S8 demos are on the floor at Best Buy

[ttrimmer]

I also played the S8/S8+ at my local Best Buy. There wasn't a single other person there looking at them which I thought was odd. I love the new home button. It was very much like the new iPhone's button in feedback. The screens on both look amazing. Samsung upped the displays again. The speaker seemed decent in volume in the loud store. Camera was quick overall and I like the double click of the power button to launch like my Pixel XL. I tried the iris scanner and it seemed a little too slow for everyday use for me. The fingerprint scanner is definitely in the worst possible place next to the camera. That's going to really bother people. That whole hidden folder thing Samsung does is still there. The only thing I noticed that I didn't like was the per app notification settings. It seemed quite limited compared to my Pixel XL. If I remember correctly it was notification, no notification, priority only and something else. On the Pixels you can really be specific with notifications. You can do auto, allow all options, peek only, notify only in the status bar with no vibrate or audio, no visible notification but show at the bottom of the notification shade under all other notifications and I think that's it. It seems like a minor thing but Android is all about tweaking and I thought that was a strange omission. Comparing the S8 to my XL my phone seemed huge. The S8+ is about the same height but quite a bit smaller in width. Leaving Best Buy I was torn if I want to grab a new phone or not. My Pixel started to look big and clunky in comparison. It doesn't help that my old S6 would make a great trade in to knock the Verizon price down quite a bit.

 

[m3lover1]

Don't think theres many that knows or thought it would be out on display so quick after the announcement. I certainly wouldn't have thought it'll be out so quick had I not checked the forums earlier.

I briefly checked it out before dinner. I was able to hold the regular s8 not tethered to the display. Held both in my hands and they both felt glorious. The regular one is particularly impressive imo in terms of the size in relation to the screen size and how great it feels in hand. I'm still most likely going to keep my plus preorder, but boy did holding the regular one almost sway me to go regular size. The plus felt amazing in hand too, certainly much better than the v20 that I'm using right now just by how slightly more narrow it is.

I saw all 3 colors and while I'm getting black, boy that orchid gray is something special

 

[Blues Fan]

The regular S8 looks nearly identical in size the the s7 edge. I'm glad I order the S8 Plus! The s7 Edge is a bit too small for me personally. I loved texting and typing on the Note 5, Note 7 and my LG v20.

 

[Matty]

Anyway, go try 'em out at BB!

Thanks very much for that detailed review @cellomj always love it when people do this. Good to see you actually like the narrow design. I'm sure it does make things a little easier to each on all side of the device.

The finger print sensor position was also a little concern of mine. Seem like it's not in the right place. Maybe for the Galaxy S9 they can move it below the camera sensor and make it more easily accessible.

 

[ed1111]

So I tried calling my local best buy to see if the S8 was on display. I spent 20 minutes going through the prompts and wasn't able figure out how to just talk to a person. Eventually I just pressed the number for Geek Squad as I figured they have to answer phones and then they could transfer me.

I asked the guy what was wrong with the phone system and he said best buy re-did it so that the only reachable people in store actually is geek squad.

This is annoying, I don't want to drive there for no reason. Anyone know of an easier way?

 

[mundo472]

I didnt notice other colors at my best buy. I stopped when I saw the black one

Yup. They nailed the murdered - out black this time.

 

[DWS44]

So I tried calling my local best buy to see if the S8 was on display. I spent 20 minutes going through the prompts and wasn't able figure out how to just talk to a person. Eventually I just pressed the number for Geek Squad as I figured they have to answer phones and then they could transfer me.

I asked the guy what was wrong with the phone system and he said best buy re-did it so that the only reachable people in store actually is geek squad.

This is annoying, I don't want to drive there for no reason. Anyone know of an easier way?

Ran into the same thing when I tried to call my local Best Buy a couple days ago. Very annoying. Everything I tried was clearly transferring me away from the local store. Didn't think to try the Geek Squad option, though.

 

[omgitselaine]

Best Buy at Garden State Plaza in NJ has these on display already.

I would think most Best Buys will sooner rather than later have them by the weekend.

 

[Chriiiiis]

I hope they have these in Canada too, I'd like to get a touch of this beauty.

 

[donm527]

Stopped by my Best Buy on the way home work to check out the new phone. I'll post pictures below and maybe comments later but after seeing them in person and holding them I have to say this phone does feel very nice and of course the screens are beautiful. I don't want to like them too much because I'm just concerned about the battery size right now .

 

[amyf27]

Holding him - so you held the sales guy as well as a phone? LOL I like those kind of typos

 

[Maknora]

can somebody please take a picture with the screen off?? I really want to see how black the screen is and if blends in with the chin

 

[amyf27]

.

 

[donm527]

Got a moment to comment...

I am right handed... but I operate one-handed with left hand. So the FPS is positioned better for left hand not needing to cross over the camera. With that said... and saying from the position that I like the phone... the phone looks super nice and felt super nice... the FPS location is a stupid place to be positioned. They should have put it below and center like everyone else. I have small hands so have to do a slight shimmy or get use to resting the bottom of the phone further down my optimum resting spot on my palm. If they had put the FPS below and center, you probably wouldn't need to shimmy on the 8+ either. The 8+ is a TALL phone... but when you hold it, it doesn't feel BIG due to the width. But when you do the major shimmy you're reminded it's BIG. I'd still probably go with the smaller 8 though between the two.

It feels nice in the hand. I thought I was done with the edge look and feel but feels good. Haptic home button feels nice. Phone locked it's nice you can press on that location and it will wake.

 

[donm527]

Whoa, I edited that post before getting to the end of your sentence lol. Damn Google dictaction!!

Holding him - so you held the sales guy as well as a phone? LOL I like those kind of typos

 

[donm527]

Oh, and Orchid gray looks really nice. Right now I'd rank black and orchid a 1-2 tie and silver a 3rd.

 

[anon(782252)]

I'm sure nobody at Samsung wanted the FPS there but by the time they knew the embedded FPS tech wasn't going to be finished they just had to go with something and that's the only spot that worked.

I'm looking forward to the embedded sensor in the Note 8.

 

[johnts]

My local VZ has them on display for pre order. sitting next to them on a different table is the G6. I'm liking the G6 better. Not a fan of the curved edges.

 

[DCal2722]

Can someone explain the meaning of "JOD" ? Also does anyone know if a nice clean "Factory Unlocked" version is available for "pre-order", and this item available at Best Buy? Any help will be appreciated.

 

[anon(782252)]

Can someone explain the meaning of "JOD" ? Also does anyone know if a nice clean "Factory Unlocked" version is available for "pre-order", and this item available at Best Buy? Any help will be appreciated.

Jump on demand... T-Mobile