S8 / S8+ First Impressions Thread

[T48]

I like this phone but I hate the finger print sensor in the back. Too hard to get a valid finger print. Iris works generally well and really fast but many times it didn't work. They should have waited until finger print sensors can be embedded in the screen instead of moving it in the back.

Just saw a leak today about iPhone 8 & they are moving the fps to the back of phone as they cannot get the under screen sensor to work properly. Granted it was a leak or rumor, but this may be something that is not truly ready for mass market until next year.

 

[ctk4949]

I do NOT like that Samsung removed the long press on the icon to bring up the sub menu. Like it was on my Pixel XL.

 

[gendo667]

I do NOT like that Samsung removed the long press on the icon to bring up the sub menu. Like it was on my Pixel XL.

Launcher? Nova and Action do it.

 

[amyf27]

It took me a while to get everything set up. This phone is awesome. Every thing is smooth. No red tinting, no lag. I went with the S8 and I have absolutely no "REGERTS"

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[KupKrazy]

The iris scanner is so much faster than the Note7 and now I use that instead of the FPS sometimes depending on where my fingers are. I love the iris face masks because it doesn't make me look like a moron having my eyes reflected back at me. Also, I don't have a problem with the FPS even though I hold it on my left hand. The pulling down and up of the notification bar is also great.

So far, this phone has been all positives no negatives yet.

 

[johnmcc0710]

I got my S8+ and my wife got her S8 yesterday and we are both very happy with them so far.

 

[rugby_polonauti]

Finally received my Artic Silver s8! I'm in love with it so far. Will update after more usage.

 

[ctk4949]

Launcher? Nova and Action do it.

yea, I might have to go back to Action Launcher.

 

[DaveInFL]

Mine arrived today but haven't really had much of a chance to play with it. I let Google do it's thing and download all my apps, or at least most of them, might be 1 or 2 missing.

I do like the size of the phone and the screen and seems to be fine in my hands. I've set up the Iris scanner but not sure if I have it set up in the best way. I have to do a long press on the home key and then a swipe to get the Iris scanner up, but once up it's very quick. Ideally would like for it to just work from the lock screen without having to do anything except hold the phone up. If anyone has some details if this is possible then please share

One feature I am liking is that when I put the phone in my car, in the middle near the cup holders, it will charge via wireless since my car has a wireless charger built in. That is great in that I don't need a cable in my car, just pop it in the middle and it charges

Screen is very nice, only have it at around 50% right now and that seems plenty bright, but will get a better feel over the weekend when I am out in the FL sunshine.

I am coming from a HTC 10, which I love is still silky smooth after 1 year. That is my only concern, how well the S8 holds up over time and if it will slow down.

 

[ravenwhale]

Mine is Verizon and says Gray. Made in Vietnam. Interesting.

 

[Cladster]

Shame it needs a case, makes the back look so UGLY with the camera and FPS boxed in.

 

[neil74]

My S8+ arrived last night. Some early thoughts

1 - FPS is as bad as expected. When setting it up I had to basically turn the screen away from me so I was looking at the back to ensure I did not get the errors. Once registered it is slightly better but on the plus the stretch coupled with no physical reference to feel for and guide you makes it hit and miss. Sorry Samsung this is a really poor implementation.
2 - Luckily for point 1 the iris scanner is really fast and works well, I feared it would be slower than pin unlock but it is not, also seems to work well in low light. Does mitigate the FPS to a degree. Not tried face recognition yet
3 - Love the black
4 - The virtual bezel is actually quite large so in real world use for most apps you are not really gaining that screen space
5 - No red tint that I can see
6 - More compact than I remember from the display models. Feels more manageable than an iPhone 7+. Not at all unwieldy.

Overall, really like it so far just hoping the FPS does not start to grate over time.

 

[jcp007]

Had my AT&T GS8 a little over twelve hours now. It came with 43% battery. So far, it's has been snappy and smooth. Still going through the settings and getting used to a curved display. Definitely not regretting it so far.

 

[hrking2000]

Received my S8+ yesterday (upgrading from S6E) from EE (UK) and really happy with it. I am torn between what I am most impressed by: the ergonomics of the plus, the screen or the iris scanner. The iris scanner works a charm in all light situations for me, included in the dark.... while in bed!

I did not like the the fact that I needed to swipe up in the lock screen to activate the iris scanner but then found a setting to kick it in automatically when screen switches on.

Now I am just trying to find the right case; currently I am on the samsung 2 piece case which I think is perfect for around the house but would be less comfortable with it out and about - I don't consider myself a prone 'dropper'. Waiting for the mint green Alcantara case to arrive to test it out in the wild.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a premium back cover aside from the Alcantara?

 

[rushmore]

Checked again to just confirm impressions of the display after the fifth time comparing content with my Note 4. I luv everything about the 8+, but prefer the content on the Note 4 since more display surface is used with no need for cropping to fill the screen. If the portrait display was as wide as the Note 4 I'd be sold, but guess that will be the Note 8.

Since I do luv everything else (well, not the Bix button), tried to will myself into liking the display ratio. Display whining aside, great device. The BB demos do not do the 8+ justice, since resources tied up to the Samsung demo software.

 

[brau0303]

So Far going good, no major issues, performance , cell signal, WiFi, both camera's, most apps running well. Kindle does run in What I would call "compatibility view mode", My Phone does not have the reddish tint some have complained about. I do miss my s-pen tho.
**Not fond of the Bixby button and it's location, I keep hitting it by accident**

Cheers
BR

 

[robertopod]

My only complaint is that gorilla Glass 5 is so soft. Big scratch on the screen after 1 day. No idea where it came from. Pisses me off

 

[Crimsonforce]

I'm coming from an iPhone 6S Plus. Before that I had a myriad of android phones - Droid Eris, Droid X, Moto X, Galaxy S4 etc. My first impressions are mostly good but a few issues:

The screen is amazing. The colors and the ergonomics just make it a joy to use and look at. The FPS is usable and not as bad as I thought it might be. Face recognition/iris scanner is very good and works most of the time. Even on the iPhone Plus there was some wrangling you had to do to unlock the phone and it's not different with the S8 Plus. The build quality and feel in the hand is very good also. Doesn't feel unwieldy and fits the pocket nicely. Battery life seems good and charging time is very fast. Overall the phone is pretty smooth but there is a little more choppiness than I thought there might be. The Bluetooth audio is very good but the external speaker is just adequate.

Now for the not so good. I'm surprised that a lot of the apps I use are not nearly as well optimized on android. For instance Twitter. On my iPhone it scrolls perfectly smooth with no issues and has a minimalistic navigation bar fixed at the bottom of the screen. On android, the (bulky) navigation bar is at the top of the screen and it disappears when scrolling then reappears once you stop scrolling. This is really annoying because it creates a rubber band effect meaning when you stop scrolling where you want to the app then makes the navigation bar come back and it moves your timeline down past where you were at. I'm assuming this is a "feature" but it just makes the app seem choppy and there doesn't seem to be a way to turn it off. Also, a couple of financial/banking apps that I use don't support fingerprint to unlock on android.

With all that being said I really like the phone but kind of on the fence about whether I'm going to keep it or not. I'm going to use it for a solid week and then decide. I think we're past the point of one flagship phone being "better" than another one. At this point it's really just which manufacturer and operating system you prefer. I

 

[msm0511]

It took me a while to get everything set up. This phone is awesome. Every thing is smooth. No red tinting, no lag. I went with the S8 and I have absolutely no "REGERTS"

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[aweber1nj]

Upgraded from VZ S6E to S8 and love this phone. Unicorn Beetle case fits well.

Only major issue thus far is that my AW 2.0 watch won't connect properly. It keeps seeming to pair, but AW constantly says "Trying to Connect", and the notifications to the watch are very inconsistent. Something's very wrong with that. I do not know if this is a S8 thing or a general Nougat thing, because I came from the S6E and that was Marshmallow (and worked fine right to the point I shut it down).

Otherwise, it's absolutely a beautiful phone and a definite keeper!

-AJ