Consumer Reports recommends Galaxy S7 over iPhone 8

[convergent]

In a new rating Consumer Reports has released, the testing organization has awarded the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ scores of 81 out of a possible 100, topping the iPhone 8's score of 80. What's worse, despite receiving the same score, Consumer Reports actually recommends the Galaxy S7, with its own score of 80, over Apple's new handsets.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/10/18/old-galaxy-s7-beats-iphone-8-in-new-report.html

OK, now I'm going to get some popcorn and a beer and wait for the fun.

But seriously, I've never owned a Galaxy S7 so would be curious from those that have what their opinion of this is. I'm guessing that CR weighed cost into their recommendation.

 

[tbayrgs]

This thread exists purely to start ridiculous arguments and will ultimately lead to more nonsense and likely name calling. It should just be locked off before it even starts.

And before I get accused of bias as an admitted iPhone user, I’d state the exact name thing if the results were the opposite. Nothing good will come of this thread.

 

[apolloa]

In a new rating Consumer Reports has released, the testing organization has awarded the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ scores of 81 out of a possible 100, topping the iPhone 8's score of 80. What's worse, despite receiving the same score, Consumer Reports actually recommends the Galaxy S7, with its own score of 80, over Apple's new handsets.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/10/18/old-galaxy-s7-beats-iphone-8-in-new-report.html

OK, now I'm going to get some popcorn and a beer and wait for the fun.

I have to say I’m not surprised by this, a lot of people with S7’s certainly seem to like them! The fact the handset is dirt cheap Now would also help.
Shame about those software updates though....

Also the S7 does look dated next to the S8, the S7 Edge is a better looking design.

 

[convergent]

This thread exists purely to start ridiculous arguments and will ultimately lead to more nonsense and likely name calling. It should just be locked off before it even starts.

And before I get accused of bias as an admitted iPhone user, I’d state the exact name thing if the results were the opposite. Nothing good will come of this thread.

As opposed to all the other threads that result in ridiculous arguments that lead to more nonsense and name calling?

My comment about popcorn was a joke, because I'm sure people have opinions on it. I have my own opinions of the validity of anything CR says, but I've never had a Galaxy S7 to weigh in.

If people can discuss it in a civil way, then maybe something is to be learned. I no longer have a CR membership so I can't even access the article. Maybe someone else on here can and will provide more information.

 

[Klyster]

I have both, both are good devices.
The Note does stuff the S7 just can't do.
The Note 8 way more expensive.
The camera is better, its faster and I get better battery life with the Note 8.
If money was your main factor, yes the S7 is a better choice but it's not a better phone by any metric but price and maybe repairability and charging speed.

That said, I wouldn't say they were wrong.

 

[Voodoochild346]

I have both, both are good devices.
The Note does stuff the S7 just can't do.
The Note 8 way more expensive.
The camera is better, its faster and I get better battery life with the Note 8.
If money was your main factor, yes the S7 is a better choice but it's not a better phone by any metric but price and maybe repairability and charging speed.

That said, I wouldn't say they were wrong.

IPHONE 8. Not NOTE 8.

 

[Klyster]

Oh..They scored the S7 higher than the Note 8 too.
Sorry.
I don't have an iPhone 8 so I have no opinion on that, disregard my post

 

[1BadManVan]

S7 is a nice phone but I wouldn’t pick that over an iPhone 8. Pretty sure that’s just the cost factor that kept it up there

 

[torana355]

Ive owned an S7 and im an bias Android user but no way is it better then an iPhone 8. The S8+, well thats a different story and is far more subjective.

 

[JaySoul]

I had an S7 Edge (now have an S8).

The S7 is the better phone, for sure, in terms of it being the complete package. For me, it will go down as a Top 3 Android phone this decade, it just nails everything. My wife is keeping her S7 until it dies, probably.

As for comparison to iPhone 8, it's apples to oranges.

 

[HDFan]

The S8, S8+ scored 81. S7, Note 8, 8+, 8 scored 80. The major difference is the battery life, where the Samsungs were very good, and the iPhones just good. The 8 and 8+ have better rating for navigation, the 8+ a lower rating for calling.

All of the models are recommended.

"iPhones have never been know for very long battery life and while not a top scorer, the iPhone 8 Plus did earn a respectable battery life of 21 hours. That makes it the longest lasting iPhone we have ever tested. "

They also say:

"Apple claims the A11 Bionic Chip is the fastest processor in a smartphone and our benchmark tests proved that to be true."

For a one point "lower" rating you get better usability and a faster phone, at the expense of battery life. I'd call it a tie. It's clear to me which one I would want.

 

[Breaking Good]

This thread exists purely to start ridiculous arguments and will ultimately lead to more nonsense and likely name calling...

...Nothing good will come of this thread.

Are you saying that we should spend our hours surfing the Internet just looking at pictures of cats?

I no longer have a CR membership...

This is really the best advice that will come from this thread. I stopped caring what Consumer Reports thought about anything in 1995 when they rated the Saturn SL higher than the Honda Civic.

I currently have an iPhone 6S+ for work and a Samsung Galaxy S8+ for personal use. I prefer the iPhone over the S8+. But in January when I am eligible to upgrade my work phone I’m seriously contemplating getting a Samsung Galaxy S8+ for work and switching to an iPhone 8 personal.

There are a number of reasons why I am considering this which I will save for other threads, but suffice to say Consumer Reports’ opinion is not among them.

With all that said, if you are happy with your choices, and you are not harming others or engaged in self-destructive behavior, then I am happy for you. Even if that means you are reading Consumer Reports.

 

[Tsepz]

In a new rating Consumer Reports has released, the testing organization has awarded the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ scores of 81 out of a possible 100, topping the iPhone 8's score of 80. What's worse, despite receiving the same score, Consumer Reports actually recommends the Galaxy S7, with its own score of 80, over Apple's new handsets.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/10/18/old-galaxy-s7-beats-iphone-8-in-new-report.html

OK, now I'm going to get some popcorn and a beer and wait for the fun.

But seriously, I've never owned a Galaxy S7 so would be curious from those that have what their opinion of this is. I'm guessing that CR weighed cost into their recommendation.

Wasn't Consumer Reports one of the iFans favorite reports up until recently??? I remember particular members of this forum quoting them in years gone by, lol!

I have owned a S7 Edge, my grandmother owns a normal S7 and my little brother also owns a normal S7 and I can thoroughly recommend both handsets depending on what you want.

The regular S7 is so well sized and comfy to use for people who don't want Phablets, I'd recommend the regular S7 for anyone who just wants a brilliant regular smartphone with a simple design, it's a great little gadget and it has features that Apple in their iPhone 8 call new and a whole lot that the iPhones dont have. The S7 is even IP68 protected, better than the "all new" iPhone X's IP67, has Fast Wireless Charging, a WQHD (577ppi) Display etc etc...

You know what??? The new iPhones need to rather be compared to the S7 and S7 Edge.

 

[I7guy]

Wasn't Consumer Reports one of the iFans favorite reports up until recently??? I remember particular members of this forum quoting them in years gone by, lol!

I have owned a S7 Edge, my grandmother owns a normal S7 and my little brother also owns a normal S7 and I can thoroughly recommend both handsets depending on what you want.

The regular S7 is so well sized and comfy to use for people who don't want Phablets, I'd recommend the regular S7 for anyone who just wants a brilliant regular smartphone with a simple design, it's a great little gadget and it has features that Apple in their iPhone 8 call new and a whole lot that the iPhones dont have. The S7 is even IP68 protected, better than the "all new" iPhone X's IP67, has Fast Wireless Charging, a WQHD (577ppi) Display etc etc...

You know what??? The new iPhones need to rather be compared to the S7 and S7 Edge.

Out if curiosity how are the sales of the s7 doing vs other iPhones? That will tell you how the customers are viewing the phones.

And to answer your idiotic statement/question, consumers reports was never “ifans” favorite magazine.

 

[Radon87000]

The iPhone design is a 2014 design while the S7 is a 2016 design. No comparisdon there

 

[Tsepz]

Out if curiosity how are the sales of the s7 doing vs other iPhones? That will tell you how the customers are viewing the phones.

And to answer your idiotic statement/question, consumers reports was never “ifans” favorite magazine.

The current S7 sales vs. iPhones are probably going the same way as current Michael Buble or Jay-Z vs. current Justin Bieber or Cardi B sales, they don't say much about what is better.

It will be a very sad day for you when that sales straw falls clutch, and clutch on it hard mate!

 

[convergent]

Wasn't Consumer Reports one of the iFans favorite reports up until recently??? I remember particular members of this forum quoting them in years gone by, lol!

I have owned a S7 Edge, my grandmother owns a normal S7 and my little brother also owns a normal S7 and I can thoroughly recommend both handsets depending on what you want.

The regular S7 is so well sized and comfy to use for people who don't want Phablets, I'd recommend the regular S7 for anyone who just wants a brilliant regular smartphone with a simple design, it's a great little gadget and it has features that Apple in their iPhone 8 call new and a whole lot that the iPhones dont have. The S7 is even IP68 protected, better than the "all new" iPhone X's IP67, has Fast Wireless Charging, a WQHD (577ppi) Display etc etc...

You know what??? The new iPhones need to rather be compared to the S7 and S7 Edge.

They were all praises for Consumer Reports a short time ago when they gave a low rating of reliability on older model Surface Pros. Personally, I subscribed to CR about a year ago because we had to make some purchases that they traditionally have been good at rating... car, mattress, appliance, etc.. I found what they provided to be pretty weak compared to what I could get from other free sources so canceled.

Out if curiosity how are the sales of the s7 doing vs other iPhones? That will tell you how the customers are viewing the phones.

And to answer your idiotic statement/question, consumers reports was never “ifans” favorite magazine.

Just because something sells more doesn't mean its a good value. A lot of Apple's customers frankly are clueless about technology and/or follow the fad, just like if it was the cool brand of purse. That doesn't mean they all are... I've bought a lot of Apple gear.

 

[I7guy]

They were all praises for Consumer Reports a short time ago when they gave a low rating of reliability on older model Surface Pros. Personally, I subscribed to CR about a year ago because we had to make some purchases that they traditionally have been good at rating... car, mattress, appliance, etc.. I found what they provided to be pretty weak compared to what I could get from other free sources so canceled.



Just because something sells more doesn't mean its a good value. A lot of Apple's customers frankly are clueless about technology and/or follow the fad, just like if it was the cool brand of purse. That doesn't mean they all are... I've bought a lot of Apple gear.

I can’t make a general statement about the masses, only talk about myself; and I would rather buy an iPhone 8 than a galaxy s7. Just like you made a general system about Apple customers; I’ll make a general statement about Samsung customers, who frankly buy based on a spec sheet. That doesnt mean they all do. Right? Nothing like some Pejorative unproven general statements.

And I give you a thumbs up for discussing the infamous “they” and making a “general” statement.
[doublepost=1508504027][/doublepost]

The current S7 sales vs. iPhones are probably going the same way as current Michael Buble or Jay-Z vs. current Justin Bieber or Cardi B sales, they don't say much about what is better.

It will be a very sad day for you when that sales straw falls clutch, and clutch on it hard mate!

sales drive revenue which drive profits. End of story. As far as future sales, I’m not in charge of the universe and for all we know Apple will hit 1 trillion before we know it.

But this topic should be sent to wasteland where it belongs.

 

[convergent]

I can’t make a general statement about the masses, only talk about myself; and I would rather buy an iPhone 8 than a galaxy s7. Just like you made a general system about Apple customers; I’ll make a general statement about Samsung customers, who frankly buy based on a spec sheet. That doesnt mean they all do. Right? Nothing like some Pejorative unproven general statements.

And I give you a thumbs up for discussing the infamous “they” and making a “general” statement.
[doublepost=1508504027][/doublepost]
sales drive revenue which drive profits. End of story. As far as future sales, I’m not in charge of the universe and for all we know Apple will hit 1 trillion before we know it.

But this topic should be sent to wasteland where it belongs.

My "general statement" was in response to a general statement about sales of iPhones vs. Galaxies. I have bought many Apple products, spent a fair amount of time in the Apple store, and have many friends and family that have iPhones. I believe that my "general statement", which I qualified with "A lot" and not "All", that many Apple customers aren't tech savy, and also buy what is popular, is accurate. I said "a lot", not "all". There are also a lot that buy because of tie to the ecosystem. If you don't accept that, then I'm not sure what to tell you.

Your statement that Samsung customers buy "based on spec sheet" ... not accepting it. Samsung has some of the best AMOLED displays made. That is visual, not a spec. Their design with curved displays and minimal bezels look more modern than currently shipping iPhones. The Note, which I bought, has an S-Pen and does things no iPhone can do. It also has a headphone jack, which is important to me. If they bought purely on specs, they would buy an iPhone that Apple keeps touting as having the fastest CPU.

So "thumbs up" for making a cute attempt to pick apart what I was trying to say by playing a gotcha word game, but you failed to make your case.

And it is interesting that Apple folks always want to push topics to the wasteland that they don't like or agree with. I didn't see anyone wanting to push the negative CR story about Surface Pro to the waste land. In fact it was on the front page news.

 

[I7guy]

My "general statement" was in response to a general statement about sales of iPhones vs. Galaxies. I have bought many Apple products, spent a fair amount of time in the Apple store, and have many friends and family that have iPhones. I believe that my "general statement", which I qualified with "A lot" and not "All", that many Apple customers aren't tech savy, and also buy what is popular, is accurate. I said "a lot", not "all". There are also a lot that buy because of tie to the ecosystem. If you don't accept that, then I'm not sure what to tell you.

Your statement that Samsung customers buy "based on spec sheet" ... not accepting it. Samsung has some of the best AMOLED displays made. That is visual, not a spec. Their design with curved displays and minimal bezels look more modern than currently shipping iPhones. The Note, which I bought, has an S-Pen and does things no iPhone can do. It also has a headphone jack, which is important to me. If they bought purely on specs, they would buy an iPhone that Apple keeps touting as having the fastest CPU.

So "thumbs up" for making a cute attempt to pick apart what I was trying to say by playing a gotcha word game, but you failed to make your case.

And it is interesting that Apple folks always want to push topics to the wasteland that they don't like or agree with. I didn't see anyone wanting to push the negative CR story about Surface Pro to the waste land. In fact it was on the front page news.

Wasteland because if the unproven generalizations being thrown around, which is sad to say if people really view the world like that.

Whatever your feeling about CR, they rated these items what they rated them. But you make a generalization about Apple customers and reject a “generalization” about Samsung customer. Ironic actually. But I reject your hypothesis about Apple customers, but I guess if I qualified my statement with “some” or “a lot” it could be plausible even if unproven.

So “thumbs up” for the word game started in this thread before I even made my first comment.

 

[Knowimagination]

Great now all the 60 year olds that still care what consumer reports says will buy samsungs instead.

Seriously though I can't remember ever caring what consumer reports said about anything whether positive or negative against apple so I don't plan on starting now.

 

[convergent]

Wasteland because if the unproven generalizations being thrown around, which is sad to say if people really view the world like that.

Whatever your feeling about CR, they rated these items what they rated them. But you make a generalization about Apple customers and reject a “generalization” about Samsung customer. Ironic actually. But I reject your hypothesis about Apple customers, but I guess if I qualified my statement with “some” or “a lot” it could be plausible even if unproven.

So “thumbs up” for the word game started in this thread before I even made my first comment.

Distractions aside, back to the original topic... why would CR recommend the S7 over the iPhone 8?

 

[Zwhaler]

The S7 edge is a fantastic phone. I don't really care about these scoring contests. The S7 is nice but if I had to choose between an S7, S7 edge, and an iPhone 8 Plus right now, I'd go with the S7 edge.

Why? The exterior design is better! I simply don't see how you can argue around this. Yes, I like the headphone jack (I don't need one forever and ever but having one does NOT make my life less convenient), I prefer the curved edge, the battery has 3600mAh (fantastic!) and it has thin bezels all around. Plus expandable storage!

I recently recommended one of those phones to a friend coming from an iPhone 5S, and he likes it a lot! The 8 has an excellent screen, yes, but I prefer Android software (that's my OPINION), and I prefer OLED, and curved for that matter.

 

[KingslayerG5]

The S7 edge is a fantastic phone. I don't really care about these scoring contests. The S7 is nice but if I had to choose between an S7, S7 edge, and an iPhone 8 Plus right now, I'd go with the S7 edge.

Why? The exterior design is better! I simply don't see how you can argue around this. Yes, I like the headphone jack (I don't need one forever and ever but having one does NOT make my life less convenient), I prefer the curved edge, the battery has 3600mAh (fantastic!) and it has thin bezels all around. Plus expandable storage!

I recently recommended one of those phones to a friend coming from an iPhone 5S, and he likes it a lot! The 8 has an excellent screen, yes, but I prefer Android software (that's my OPINION), and I prefer OLED, and curved for that matter.

I like your opinion but I hate curved displays when typing.

S7 edge does look better than the S8 or any iPhone that ever existed. Yes, nicer than my iPhone SE. But yuck! Glass rears that got sticky quickly after a polish and the initial lag on that heavy Android skin.

I had three of the most beautiful phones next together one time...

HTC One M7 (glacial silver)
Apple iPhone SE (space gray)
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge (titanium silver)

M7 ranks #1, S7e #2, and SE #3. But SE works the best for me since M7 is old now and S7 edge is awkward to hold or text on.

I got a free Gear VR and only used it twice to watch Whiplash (2014) and Season 7 finale of The Walking Dead. That VR was CRAP. Had to update software all the time. Gave me eye strain after 20 minutes. Didn't look as nice compared to on my Samsung TV.

I miss my Pixel more but had to get rid of it because my MacBook Air doesn't recognize it and Oreo ruined its standby time. I basically used that S7 edge only to make animated gifs of nude scenes and Family Guy cutaways I liked. Never needed water-resistance.

My next brand will not be Samsung. Sorry. Not until Galaxy X gets refined and foldable display seems useful. Note8 looks great but rather stick to LG or Pixel series. Or maybe try Nokia (HMD) or Sony next out. Can't wait for Nokia 9.

Only thing I miss from S7e is Samsung Pay. MST rocks. Much more common than the NFC-based Apple Pay and Android Pay. I used Samsung Pay at least a dozen times. I have Apple and Android Pay but only used the former once and never used the latter. MST is just way more accepted.

 

[ultravegeta1981]

The S7 is the first samsung galaxy that was close to perfect. You get better value for your money with the S7.

That doesn't make the iPhone 8 a bad device. Far from it.