Still can't decide between V30 and Samsung S8+ anyone on here tired both?

PAC757

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Been comparing both the AT&T V30 AND AT&T S8+, reading reviews, watching YouTube videos, and it seems like the opinions are split almost 50/50 on these 2 phones. Anyone on here actually owned both or used both phones? I know I can swap them out within the 14 day period, just was looking for opinions from regular users not just reviews from Android sites. Thanks.
 

chanchan05

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Maybe it would help to know what phones you've used prior, so we can also see what things you might miss if you go either way.
 

PAC757

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LG V20, (gave it to my daughter to replace a broken phone) almost every Google Nexus, HTC M8, u11, Samsung, Note 2, S6 Active and my company phone is a plain S7. Wasn't crazy about the Nexus 4, or the M8. Other than that, my main priorities on any phone these days are cell signal, call quality, and battery life. That's about it. For my purposes as long as the camera takes pictures that are not terrible, or require messing around with a bunch of settings I'm happy. Don't really care about photographer quality pictures, just as long as there good enough to email for parts identification and readable writing on the images. I know there's plenty of low priced mid tier phones but I also need wifi calling to work so it has to be an AT&T branded phone.
 

Rumblee1

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Been comparing both the AT&T V30 AND AT&T S8+, reading reviews, watching YouTube videos, and it seems like the opinions are split almost 50/50 on these 2 phones. Anyone on here actually owned both or used both phones? I know I can swap them out within the 14 day period, just was looking for opinions from regular users not just reviews from Android sites. Thanks.

I tried both at T-mobile. They're both top notch Android devices. The only differences between the 2, is that the s8+ has a bigger screen. Of course that also makes the phone bigger. The reason I bought the V30 was because of the dac, and because the V30 is so much more ergonomic in the hand. Light too.
 

RapidTurtle

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Thanks, but how well does it work as a Phone, cell signal, call quality, battery life? Which carrier are you using it on?

This is one question that I never see asked or answered in any of the reviews. Cell signal is a huge determining factor for me. I've had phones that work great in fringe areas, and then another wouldn't even get service in that same spot. I wish they would do more reviews on signal strength.
 

PAC757

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This is one question that I never see asked or answered in any of the reviews. Cell signal is a huge determining factor for me. I've had phones that work great in fringe areas, and then another wouldn't even get service in that same spot. I wish they would do more reviews on signal strength.

Yes you are correct. It appears that everyone in the technology field has totally forgotten that these things we spend good money on are called Smart PHONES! First and foremost the darn thing needs to work reliability as....... Surprise... A Phone. I sometimes think I'm the only person that actually depends on it as a phone first, then after that almost any priced phone will take pictures, check emails, play games. But if your phone has no signal and you stuck someplace alone, well I guess you can take pretty pictures of the place you stuck abandoned at :)
 

AustinTech

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Yes you are correct. It appears that everyone in the technology field has totally forgotten that these things we spend good money on are called Smart PHONES! First and foremost the darn thing needs to work reliability as....... Surprise... A Phone. I sometimes think I'm the only person that actually depends on it as a phone first, then after that almost any priced phone will take pictures, check emails, play games. But if your phone has no signal and you stuck someplace alone, well I guess you can take pretty pictures of the place you stuck abandoned at :)

Nobody has forgotten about anything. Cell reception is completely dependant on your location. So how the hell is some reviewer supposed to comment on the cell reception that you may or may not experience? What's the point? Choose your carrier, then chose your phone.
 

PAC757

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Nobody has forgotten about anything. Cell reception is completely dependant on your location. So how the hell is some reviewer supposed to comment on the cell reception that you may or may not experience? What's the point? Choose your carrier, then chose your phone.

There are ways to compare a cell phone's signal strength in the exact area the person testing the phone is at on all networks that the phone is capable of. Using a calibrated cellular RF signal (read in db) meter and compare that to what the phone is actually receiving. Example : cell phone A and cell phone B are sitting stationary in a known location that is putting out a known signal of -72 db on carrier X, phone A is reading an incoming signal of say -112 for example, and phone B is reading -74 that would mean that phone A has either a poor antenna, poor antenna placement, or poor radio software. I know this is all beyond the spectrum of a phone reviewer and should be the responsibility of the manufacturer. But there are phones out there with poor antenna placement, poorly made antennas, and / or mismatched baseband radio software.
I guess being an engineer makes me a little OCD about these things :)
 

jasqid

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I know what you mean. I have seen a huge difference between my iPhone 6s+ and Alcatel idol 4s with (dead) windows. The Alcatel always has shown stronger signal strength in the locations I frequent.

Sorry I can't speak on these droids in specifics...but I plan on get a v30 over the holidays and sound same research.
 

bembol

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*raises hand. LOL

Finger Print is placed in the right spot and DAC yes the V30 gets my vote.

Camera. I could care less.

Build Quality and Design. Even.

I do prefer Samsung's TouchWiz but with Nova Launcher Prime I guess it makes no difference.
 

flyingkytez

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Been comparing both the AT&T V30 AND AT&T S8+, reading reviews, watching YouTube videos, and it seems like the opinions are split almost 50/50 on these 2 phones. Anyone on here actually owned both or used both phones? I know I can swap them out within the 14 day period, just was looking for opinions from regular users not just reviews from Android sites. Thanks.

I had the S8+ and I was annoyed by it so much I immediately sold it within a week. The fingerprint scanner you will NOT get used to, it's extremely annoying. The shape is very weird too, it's freakishly long and skinny, so when watching a video via landscape mode, the screen looks small (narrow display + YouTube black bars from aspect ratio). It feels more like a 5.4 inch phone really. And the curves are just too much... phantom touches and trying to put a screen protector on that thing you're going to go crazy. On the positive side, it is an excellent phone. The camera shutter speed is instantaneous and the 8MP selfie looks very nice. However, I could not see myself using it long term because of the annoying shape and design so I bought a V20 AGAIN.

Oh yeah and Touch Wiz sucks, uses too much RAM. Probably will slow down over time just like every other Samsung. I enjoy the LG OS much better, very fast and absolutely no hiccups even years later. Plus the tap to wake makes life easier. BTW I'm not a Samsung hater, I still own a Samsung laptop which still rocks. But phones and TV's I'm starting to question their longevity (S6 phone battery died too soon, Samsung TV died within 2 years).
 

PAC757

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Get the Pixel 2XL. Awesome phone and manufactured by LG. Don't let the screen hype fool you and the unlocked version supports wifi calling.

Yes but AT&T will not allow you to use wifi calling on any phone they don't sell themselves. Been through this with them on a few unlocked phones. Wifi calling is useless on AT&T if it's not an AT&T branded phone.
 

PAC757

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Went to an AT&T store today played with the V30, Note 8, and S8+, I really have no need for the Note at all, and I can't get over the edge thing on the S8, I thought Samsung improved on the edge after the S7 edge but it's the same, the V30 is almost like a flat screen, the little bit of curve it has is not bad at all. I found the same problem on the Samsungs that I found on the S7 Edge, keep hitting things randomly by just hitting the edge with your palm. The screen on the V30 looks great in person, actually the S8 was uneven looking on a totally white background. And after owning the V20 the phone just felt more familiar to me. So the V30 it is. Thank you all for the responses.
 

PAC757

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Enjoy your new phone!

Thanks, I didn't buy it yet, not a single AT&T Store any where within 100 miles of me actually has a V30 to sell. I'm just waiting to see if AT&T has any kind of offers or discounts this weekend, if not the LG $400 rebate on any other LG product is pretty good as I'm looking for a new bedroom TV and have had pretty good experiences with my other LG TVs. Did order a few cases off eBay though :)
 

Buddy1969

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... Other than that, my main priorities on any phone these days are
-cell Signal
-call quality, and
-battery life.

That's about it. For my purposes as long as the camera takes pictures that are not terrible, or require messing around with a bunch of settings I'm happy.[...]as long as there good enough to email for parts identification and readable writing on the images. I know there's plenty of low priced mid tier phones but I also need wifi calling to work so it has to be an AT&T branded phone.

Hi

I don't want to discourage you from buying either of your chosen favorites, but reading your requisites, I get the feeling, you could save a lot of money if you buy something cheaper (I edited the quoted post a bit, to make your wishes better visible).

I am no American, so I don't know what brands AT&T are offering, but the things you demand from a smartphone are IMHO something most phones can do well. So it might be worth testing something like, say, the Moto G5Plus or so. High quality budget phones are normally way enough for most demands.

But if it must be Samsung S8+ or the LG V30 I am a bit biased, being an ex Samsung user who had a lot of troubles with the phone. My personal choice is always "anything but Samsung", but I must say, the LG V30 gave me that "wanna have" feeling instantly. IP68, MIL-STD 810G, quick/wireless charging ... all of that seems very cool and are the reason I decided for this phone and not for the Huawei Mate 10 Pro, which was the other interesting option for me.

So as always: this is just my 2 Euro-cents.
:)
 
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al23

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I used both phones. In fact I used the GS8, Note 8, V30 and GS8+. The V30 is an excellent phone. While I am partial to LG (having had much better luck with them than Samsung), I ended up on the GS8+. Although the form factor and location of the fingerprint sensor are inconvenient, I have adjusted this time. As for the V30, every feature seemed on par with the Samsung galaxies. In fact I would say I preferred it because of the more convenient location of the fingerprint sensor, camera options (e.g., widescreen shots), knock code (something so simple, but I absolutely love it), voice unlock and face unlock. It was great having ALL those options available at the same time (with Samsung, you cannot use face unlock AND iris recognition at the same time). Battery life for the V30 was fantastic. The color shift when looking at the display was there, but: 1) it's there with the Samsung phones too and 2) I didn't notice it after a while. Yes, the display is a notch below Samsung. But honestly, I didn't notice. When staring at it, I just thought it was fantastic. The V30 camera is excellent.

So why did I choose the GS8+? I had bluetooth problems with both V30s I used. I experienced static during calls (yeah, I still use my phone for calls. Weird, I know). This was not an issue with any other phone I used this year (I also used the G6 and the Samsungs I list above). When my second V30 had the same problem and I could only find one other person on line reporting the issue, I realized it was likely a compatibility issue with my car's bluetooth audio. Although the static issue seems unique to me, it seems to be one that I will continue to experience with the V30, so I decided against a third attempt at the phone. That being said, the V30 is an outstanding phone. As is the S8+ (and I can deactivate Bixby. Soo thrilled at that). But if bluetooth were not an issue, I would be the proud owner of a V30.
 
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