Wife and I needed to save some cash...

[Jtshurtleff]

So the wife and I need to save some money and have signed up with Sprint for their 1 year of free service if you bring your phone. Well we have AT&T iPhones and those are not compatible with Sprint, so we went on Samsung and got a BOGO S8 deal where I just have to trade in a Samsung S6 or newer. Got the S6 for about $160 and am going to send it in. I am an Android and S series veteran, my wife is more of a novice and has used an iPhone since the original with a few sprinklings of Android mixed in (she had the S7 for a few weeks and the S6 Edge Plus for a few weeks) but this time we have to keep them.
Any advice for her on what she can do to make the transition easier? We already use Hangout for OUR conversations and can use it for video calls in place of FaceTime and also both use Google Photos.
For her, she browses FB and Instagram a lot, does some Snapchatting, takes a ton of pictures and video and not much else. I heard FB is bad on battery, is this the case with the S8?
I remember when she had her S7 she loved the custom icons and stuff, any good recommendations?
Also has Bixby been fixed for the Sprint version of the phone? How are updates coming along? Does the Sprint version have Wifi calling?
Any advice is welcome! I know a good bit but love to learn.

 

[steveh552]

Cant answer any of the Sprint specific questions, I am on T-Mobile

As for the phone itself, I came from using an iPhone, have used it since the iPhone 5 and just got this phone in April a week after launch. The transition was not to difficult, it was just a matter of figuring out where settings were. The nice thing for me is being able to customize the home screen and such. For me Facebook does not use to much battery but then again I close apps after using them, it is rare that I leave one open so it is possible leaving an app open can cause some drain. I had the same habit on my iPhone too, closing when done using it.

I had no plans of going back to Android, I was using a iPhone 7 plus and all of my kids have iPhones so we switched to WhatsApp for our texting/video calls and it works perfectly and I too use google photos which was nice because I took about 1800 photos in Vegas just before I bought the S8 and they are all saved.

I am a Bixby voice beta tester but I hardly use it, its there for fun but not as secure as Siri. Anyone can walk up and say "Hi Bixby" and it opens up, on Siri if it was not my voice it would not open.

Set up Samsung pay if your into mobile payments or using cards like your speedway card or what not. Samsung gives you points and those points can be redeemed for rewards including cash gift cards plus as a new member I think you get a cash card instantly. The good thing about it is being able to use Samsung pay nearly anywhere due to the technology it uses, even places that do not have tap to pay it tends to work, only place I had issues was pay at the pump. If someone could tell me how to get that working, I would be thrilled as can be.

 

[anon(238680)]

There are a number of threads in this forum for/from iOS to Android converts, suggest you and your wife look those over to help with the transition. Hope you enjoy your new S8s!

 

[tube517]

https://www.androidcentral.com/switching-iphone-android-everything-you-need-know

 

[Almeuit]

https://www.androidcentral.com/switching-iphone-android-everything-you-need-know

Good article .

 

[GRUNT11B]

she can turn on easy mode and turn down the display to 720p it will be like an iPhone then

 

[Dconn1975]

So the wife and I need to save some money and have signed up with Sprint for their 1 year of free service if you bring your phone. Well we have AT&T iPhones and those are not compatible with Sprint, so we went on Samsung and got a BOGO S8 deal where I just have to trade in a Samsung S6 or newer. Got the S6 for about $160 and am going to send it in. I am an Android and S series veteran, my wife is more of a novice and has used an iPhone since the original with a few sprinklings of Android mixed in (she had the S7 for a few weeks and the S6 Edge Plus for a few weeks) but this time we have to keep them.
Any advice for her on what she can do to make the transition easier? We already use Hangout for OUR conversations and can use it for video calls in place of FaceTime and also both use Google Photos.
For her, she browses FB and Instagram a lot, does some Snapchatting, takes a ton of pictures and video and not much else. I heard FB is bad on battery, is this the case with the S8?
I remember when she had her S7 she loved the custom icons and stuff, any good recommendations?
Also has Bixby been fixed for the Sprint version of the phone? How are updates coming along? Does the Sprint version have Wifi calling?
Any advice is welcome! I know a good bit but love to learn.

I just got finished removing any hint or trace of sprint from my phone. They did me wrong though so I'm sure you will be fine. I didn't want to see their screen or bloat ware again so I had a buddy of mine flash my device and get rid of sprint.

 

[Almeuit]

Does the Sprint version have Wifi calling?

Yep it does .

 

[Almeuit]

I just got finished removing any hint or trace of sprint from my phone. They did me wrong though so I'm sure you will be fine. I didn't want to see their screen or bloat ware again so I had a buddy of mine flash my device and get rid of sprint.

That wouldn't really be a helpful recommendation for him since he said he wants WiFi calling.

 

[Dconn1975]

That wouldn't really be a helpful recommendation for him since he said he wants WiFi calling.

True as I didn't think about wifi calling. I did loose that feature. True indeed.

 

[burrzoo]

I haven't read those articles but I've been switching back & forth for years. I miss FaceTime a bit but still can FT on my MacBook.
I was only missing iMessage on my laptop and Android wifi tablet so I got Yappy SMS for phone, tablet & Computer. Works great, very convenient. My regular texting app on my S8+ is Textra but Yappy picks up all SMS/MMS even though it's not default on my phone then I'm using a Chrome Plugin on my MacBook. Get all texts quickly. Perfect setup for me.
I still live in the Apple/iCloud world so have been using 2 great Android apps fix me up. SmoothSync for cloud Contacts & SmoothSync for cloud Calendar. It's the best of both worlds! When I went back to iPhone with the 6+ I really missed SMS Backup+. THE best backup app for texts ever. Sync to a folder in your Gmail. Works great. I never could find an equal for iOS that works as simple as this Android app.
Even though my 6+ is jailbroken I am totally bored with ios and the phone. I don't even feel the need to be rooted on this S8+. Out of the box is so customizable! I LOVE the Weather Now app. Weather animations on your home screens, use my own wallpaper, has widgets. Lots of fun with Android!
So much good stuff to try out and many comparable app that ios has... Enjoy!

 

[jjinal]

Buy her a few wireless fast chargers. One for work and one for home.

 

[Jtshurtleff]

Thanks for all of the replies guys and gals! We are no strangers to Android so that will help. The wife is smart and has a techie as a husband so she has a good idea of how to do stuff on it. With her S7 she had it all customized before I even got home the day they came in the mail...really impressed me actually. I will take a look at those text apps, I used MightyText for my computer to text from there. Glad to hear about Wifi calling on the Sprint version. I was worried I made the wrong decision between the Sprint version and the Unlocked version but it seems like I made the right one. She is a teacher and schools do not have good reception so Wifi calling is a must. Also, not a huge bloat hater. I will use the Sprint version of the Account app, probably take a look at a few others before removing them. Also have 2 64gb memory cards sitting in my drawer at home so we will have plenty of space. I am looking forward to having her on Android WITH me instead of being alone. Should be nice and romantic.