You know if you drop one of these phones and break the screen.
With no insurance its 300.00
And they phone is gone for about 3 weeks.
S8 / S8+ First Impressions Thread
- Thread starter James Falconer
- Start date
You know if you drop one of these phones and break the screen.
With no insurance its 300.00
And they phone is gone for about 3 weeks.
pinkivy98
Well-known member
- Apr 13, 2014
- 160
- 0
- 0
I always sync my data right before a reset. I usually only lose some of the data from that day.
So...the removal of the hard buttons and bezel is supposed to be impressive? The ONLY time that comes into play is during videos or games. Otherwise, the space at the top of the screen where the notifications are and the bottom where the logical buttons are completely useless. May as well have kept the hard buttons. The edge space is nice. The logical buttons don't disappear, they remain. Why? Nobody has addressed this. It's a scam. There is no more screen space than a S7.
I think I'm missing something coming from the s7 edge - I used to have the aod night time clock on the side panel at night and it automatically switched to the center screen aod based on a schedule. I can't find this option with the s8+. Also wished Samsung would do what the iPhone 7 plus does when in landscape mode. All the apps switch to landscape automatically.
CincyGuy
Well-known member
- Jan 1, 2013
- 299
- 0
- 0
1 full day in on the smaller s8. Coming from a Nexus 6p.
Touchwiz - couldn't stand a variety of things about it, and within 30 minutes I installed Nova again. Maybe I'm just getting too old (47) and set in my ways, but I ended up setting up everything just like my 6p. A deal breaker on touchwiz for me was the dumb decision for swiping up *and* down on the screen to open up your app drawer. With how tall these phones are (how are you s8+ people dealing with this??) Nova is a fantastic solution for one-hand swiping down of the notifications from anywhere on the screen.
Side gripe: a bunch of app makers need to start redesigning apps for nav buttons to be at the bottom of the screen, where you can actually reach it with your thumb. I read someone else coming from an iphone complaining how the Android Twitter app is dumb because of this (iphone Twitter app nav buttons are at the bottom). This is why I am actually trying the Samsung stock browser instead of Opera or Chrome. Jury is still out.
Battery - seems good so far. I have the AOD display on, with one of the cool little background patterns you can select. I left the phone unplugged last night at 100% and 10-ish hours later came down to 89%. Doesn't seem to drain horribly quickly with normal usage, but still need a few days to see.
Lag - seems minimal so far. I noticed Twitter, LinkedIn and FB can be a little choppy when scrolling down the first time, at full speed, but how often do you do that? You are usually scrolling somewhat slowly to scan for stuff to read. I did activate developer options and reduce the 3 animation scale options to 0.5x so it makes transitions between apps and home screens very snappy. Time will tell on whether or not lag gets worse.
Size - I think the s8 is perfect and think the s8+ would have been too big for me, and I am 6'3" with appropriate hands for my height (wear size L gloves). But then again I thought the 6p was too big. You still can't one-hand the phone, but I know this will fit in my pockets easier than the + would have since the + is a tad taller than the 6p. My finger hits the finger print scanner perfectly on the s8 and it would have been a wiggle-stretch on the s8+.
Unlock - Finger print scan (FPS) works well 80-85% of the time for me. I have two scans of my finger and will do one more to see if that makes it even better. Much better hit rate than the horrible Note 7 was, and is easy to find because I have a case on my phone. Face scan is great in good light but *terrible* in low light (never works for me in low light). Iris scan is great in low light and normal light, but I hear it is bad in strong sunlight (haven't tried that one yet). Thing I don't like about iris scan is you still have to hold up your phone a certain distance from your face, and you still have to hit the power button/invisi home button and swipe up to have it work. FPS is just a one-move deal, so I'm glad it works better than it did on the Note 7. I would be hating life if I had the s8+ and had to rely on the FPS.
Buttons - I hate the Bixby and volume button locations. They both needed to be shifted lower on that side, because you simply cannot reach the volume up button one-handed. Terrible. And the damn Bixby is useless right now, so hitting that by mistake brings up the stupid useless Bixby feed.
Screen - Good Lord what a great step up from the 6p. Too be able to read my screen outside in sunlight, ahhh. The only gripe I have is the width, which any narrower would have been a deal breaker. Too many websites don't auto-wrap their text, so you easily end up having to turn the phone into portrait mode to read stuff, especially if you have to pinch-zoom to increase text size. And with my age needing to use readers (sometimes) this is a pain. Screen is also still very tall, even on my s8, so reaching the top with my thumb ain't happening. Edge panels are okay I guess, the screen capture panel is nice to give you those options for screen shots. And no red tint for me.
Camera - Have only taken a couple of pictures so far, so I can't comment. I assume this will produce better pics than my 6p, so that is all I care about. I still need to figure out if I should disable the stock gallery app - I don't want to bork the camera, and I don't know how the camera interacts with the stock gallery. I prefer to use the google photo's app since this back up everything no matter what phone I use.
Overall this seems to be a solid upgrade for me from the 6p. Once I went through the agony of setup and now have everything how I like it, I am good. I know I'll get at least one Android version upgrade (to "O") so I am okay knowing I will lag 6 months behind everyone on Pixels. I don't care about having the latest version of Android like I used to. As long as the battery life doesn't deteriorate, and the phone doesn't start lagging over time, this should last me 2 years until the s10. Still need to get a wireless charging stand (which will be anice upgrade over the 6p) and a better case than this Spigen, but having the s8 will provide me with many more case options than I had with the 6p.
Touchwiz - couldn't stand a variety of things about it, and within 30 minutes I installed Nova again. Maybe I'm just getting too old (47) and set in my ways, but I ended up setting up everything just like my 6p. A deal breaker on touchwiz for me was the dumb decision for swiping up *and* down on the screen to open up your app drawer. With how tall these phones are (how are you s8+ people dealing with this??) Nova is a fantastic solution for one-hand swiping down of the notifications from anywhere on the screen.
Side gripe: a bunch of app makers need to start redesigning apps for nav buttons to be at the bottom of the screen, where you can actually reach it with your thumb. I read someone else coming from an iphone complaining how the Android Twitter app is dumb because of this (iphone Twitter app nav buttons are at the bottom). This is why I am actually trying the Samsung stock browser instead of Opera or Chrome. Jury is still out.
Battery - seems good so far. I have the AOD display on, with one of the cool little background patterns you can select. I left the phone unplugged last night at 100% and 10-ish hours later came down to 89%. Doesn't seem to drain horribly quickly with normal usage, but still need a few days to see.
Lag - seems minimal so far. I noticed Twitter, LinkedIn and FB can be a little choppy when scrolling down the first time, at full speed, but how often do you do that? You are usually scrolling somewhat slowly to scan for stuff to read. I did activate developer options and reduce the 3 animation scale options to 0.5x so it makes transitions between apps and home screens very snappy. Time will tell on whether or not lag gets worse.
Size - I think the s8 is perfect and think the s8+ would have been too big for me, and I am 6'3" with appropriate hands for my height (wear size L gloves). But then again I thought the 6p was too big. You still can't one-hand the phone, but I know this will fit in my pockets easier than the + would have since the + is a tad taller than the 6p. My finger hits the finger print scanner perfectly on the s8 and it would have been a wiggle-stretch on the s8+.
Unlock - Finger print scan (FPS) works well 80-85% of the time for me. I have two scans of my finger and will do one more to see if that makes it even better. Much better hit rate than the horrible Note 7 was, and is easy to find because I have a case on my phone. Face scan is great in good light but *terrible* in low light (never works for me in low light). Iris scan is great in low light and normal light, but I hear it is bad in strong sunlight (haven't tried that one yet). Thing I don't like about iris scan is you still have to hold up your phone a certain distance from your face, and you still have to hit the power button/invisi home button and swipe up to have it work. FPS is just a one-move deal, so I'm glad it works better than it did on the Note 7. I would be hating life if I had the s8+ and had to rely on the FPS.
Buttons - I hate the Bixby and volume button locations. They both needed to be shifted lower on that side, because you simply cannot reach the volume up button one-handed. Terrible. And the damn Bixby is useless right now, so hitting that by mistake brings up the stupid useless Bixby feed.
Screen - Good Lord what a great step up from the 6p. Too be able to read my screen outside in sunlight, ahhh. The only gripe I have is the width, which any narrower would have been a deal breaker. Too many websites don't auto-wrap their text, so you easily end up having to turn the phone into portrait mode to read stuff, especially if you have to pinch-zoom to increase text size. And with my age needing to use readers (sometimes) this is a pain. Screen is also still very tall, even on my s8, so reaching the top with my thumb ain't happening. Edge panels are okay I guess, the screen capture panel is nice to give you those options for screen shots. And no red tint for me.
Camera - Have only taken a couple of pictures so far, so I can't comment. I assume this will produce better pics than my 6p, so that is all I care about. I still need to figure out if I should disable the stock gallery app - I don't want to bork the camera, and I don't know how the camera interacts with the stock gallery. I prefer to use the google photo's app since this back up everything no matter what phone I use.
Overall this seems to be a solid upgrade for me from the 6p. Once I went through the agony of setup and now have everything how I like it, I am good. I know I'll get at least one Android version upgrade (to "O") so I am okay knowing I will lag 6 months behind everyone on Pixels. I don't care about having the latest version of Android like I used to. As long as the battery life doesn't deteriorate, and the phone doesn't start lagging over time, this should last me 2 years until the s10. Still need to get a wireless charging stand (which will be anice upgrade over the 6p) and a better case than this Spigen, but having the s8 will provide me with many more case options than I had with the 6p.
amyf27
Well-known member
- Oct 24, 2015
- 9,907
- 274
- 83
Plenty more screen. I've used both and here's a few pics of my old 7edge and the 8+. Now, the 8 maybe doesn't have much more screen, but the 8+ definitely does.
Is S8 really that badly optimized? I was just watching speed tests on youtube, and I saw Sony Xperia XZ and HTC 10 beat it on opening apps(not on opening games, only on opening apps)
gendo667
Trusted Member
- Jun 6, 2015
- 4,685
- 1,632
- 113
I kinda the same. I've got a Nexus/Pixel setup on my GS8 using Nova and Action Launcher respectively.
msm0511
Trusted Member
- Aug 23, 2014
- 4,619
- 9
- 38
Yeah, I saw where I could set a schedule for AOD, and I saw where to turn the Edge clock on. But I couldn't find how to switch between the two on a schedule
CincyGuy
Well-known member
- Jan 1, 2013
- 299
- 0
- 0
Ok, so I just used Samsung Pay for the first time on a grocery trip to Kroger. That was really cool and easy to use 
Interesting to see it showed up on my CC as "Kroger" and not Samsung Pay. This is interesting, because you get some kind of points for using S Pay. I'm going to have to check into what you get for the points, because I use my one credit for everything I possibly can (Venture rewards = 2 miles/dollar !), and routinely rack up $3k - $9k per month. So if I am still getting the protection of my credit card because it shows up as XYZ store purchase, and I am still getting my CC miles, and I'm getting the S Pay points....WIN WIN WIN.
This was a happy morning for me
Interesting to see it showed up on my CC as "Kroger" and not Samsung Pay. This is interesting, because you get some kind of points for using S Pay. I'm going to have to check into what you get for the points, because I use my one credit for everything I possibly can (Venture rewards = 2 miles/dollar !), and routinely rack up $3k - $9k per month. So if I am still getting the protection of my credit card because it shows up as XYZ store purchase, and I am still getting my CC miles, and I'm getting the S Pay points....WIN WIN WIN.
This was a happy morning for me
Im loving the S8+, been a blackberry user for 10years now.
after using the priv for 6 months, i figured the S8+ is the right direction to move.
after using the priv for 6 months, i figured the S8+ is the right direction to move.
EMGSM
Trusted Member
- Apr 8, 2015
- 6,013
- 0
- 0
Going on the fourth day of use and so far, still lag free, no accidental touches (S7e had a lot), battery life is impressive (better than my S7e), audio quality is great and I'm getting used to the fps location. I just found out that you don't need to push the power button to turn it on. I just rest my finger on the fps and it turns on/unlocks.
RiaHannam
Active member
- Sep 23, 2013
- 34
- 0
- 6
Loving this phone. The size of the S8 is perfect for me but it took me a day to get used to the new aspect ratio, since I was still using my S7edge till my case arrived. However after a day with it, I'm completely fine. I had a few remorse moments on not getting the S8+ but that went away as this one fits so perfectly in my hand and I can use it one handed. I could not do that with the S8+.
The only annoying thing so far is this Bixby butting in while I'm trying to take a photo. I know there must be a way to get rid of that reminder, I just need to search and turn it off........ or something. I'm not sure how helpful Bixby is going to be but I'll give him a chance.
Voice to text is much better than what I used on my old phone. Will try Google as I'm curious and it may even be better.
The color of the Orchid Gray is amazing! It's purple........ then it's gray....... then it's mysteriously dark........ depending on the light. Such an awesome color. I want a vehicle in this color!!!!
I am sooo glad to have 64GB of internal memory on board. The 32GB of my S7edge was constantly running out of internal memory and I had as much on the SD card as possible!
The battery will be it's downfall if there is one. So far I made it thru the day much better than my old phone that was a year old. Time will tell on this .
The only annoying thing so far is this Bixby butting in while I'm trying to take a photo. I know there must be a way to get rid of that reminder, I just need to search and turn it off........ or something. I'm not sure how helpful Bixby is going to be but I'll give him a chance.
Voice to text is much better than what I used on my old phone. Will try Google as I'm curious and it may even be better.
The color of the Orchid Gray is amazing! It's purple........ then it's gray....... then it's mysteriously dark........ depending on the light. Such an awesome color. I want a vehicle in this color!!!!
I am sooo glad to have 64GB of internal memory on board. The 32GB of my S7edge was constantly running out of internal memory and I had as much on the SD card as possible!
The battery will be it's downfall if there is one. So far I made it thru the day much better than my old phone that was a year old. Time will tell on this .
T48
Well-known member
- Dec 2, 2011
- 467
- 47
- 28
Is anyone still reading these 199 posts in? 
Have had a S8+ for almost two days. Most of which has been just using for phone/text & set up if I was messing with it.
When I saw the display units at BB, just naturally gravitated toward the + variant. We use a website (for work) that can make all of the screen real estate super useful. However, for me & this is just my opinion, should have went with the reg S8. May yet exchange it, but hate to as this one works flawlessly & dread set up all over again.
The obvious as others have posted, the phone is gorgeous. Though have now put a otterbox defender holster case on it to keep it that way.($38 at Sams btw. Best deal I could find & the ends are raised so the screen should not hit pavement if dropped. 2 inexpensive holster style Amazon cases I purchased previously were not raised enough).
Do not have a need for the FPS. But using it has completely been a non issue.
Battery life is amazing. My phone is fairly minimalist in terms of AOD is off, few notifications, apps etc. But phone has been off of charger 2 hours & still showing 99%.
Only issue noticed yesterday was that the Bixby button was not working. Did a quick search & seems Samsung was messing with the firmware? Do not really care about Bixby at this point, just more so concerned it was a hardware issue. More details at link. https://us.community.samsung.com/t5...nd-Answers/Bixby-button-not-working/m-p/91753
Overall highly recommend to anyone still questioning whether to buy or not.
Have had a S8+ for almost two days. Most of which has been just using for phone/text & set up if I was messing with it.
When I saw the display units at BB, just naturally gravitated toward the + variant. We use a website (for work) that can make all of the screen real estate super useful. However, for me & this is just my opinion, should have went with the reg S8. May yet exchange it, but hate to as this one works flawlessly & dread set up all over again.
The obvious as others have posted, the phone is gorgeous. Though have now put a otterbox defender holster case on it to keep it that way.($38 at Sams btw. Best deal I could find & the ends are raised so the screen should not hit pavement if dropped. 2 inexpensive holster style Amazon cases I purchased previously were not raised enough).
Do not have a need for the FPS. But using it has completely been a non issue.
Battery life is amazing. My phone is fairly minimalist in terms of AOD is off, few notifications, apps etc. But phone has been off of charger 2 hours & still showing 99%.
Only issue noticed yesterday was that the Bixby button was not working. Did a quick search & seems Samsung was messing with the firmware? Do not really care about Bixby at this point, just more so concerned it was a hardware issue. More details at link. https://us.community.samsung.com/t5...nd-Answers/Bixby-button-not-working/m-p/91753
Overall highly recommend to anyone still questioning whether to buy or not.
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