Heck... it’s a big upgrade for me even coming from an 8 Plus. It feels smoother. UI is so optimized — usually the plus phones are a tad slower than their smaller counterparts.. but this one isn’t. Only few negatives I have with the phone, probably like everyone else here:
The battery — not nearly as good as my 8 Plus was.
The screen “estate” —
I do agree with the screen feeling so much bigger on the 8 plus. Spacious is the word. It’s like walking into a big long narrow room.. big, but narrow. VS going into a spacious rectangular room and having that extra width to breathe and stretch. It’s narrow. And I understand why it may not be someone’s cup of tea. But is it really that big of a deal?
The lack of portrait navigation through emails and texts. I really liked texting in portrait and having the contacts and lists on the sides. It feels like a bit of a UI limitation and I hope it comes back in a future upgrade.
The positives over the plus —
Again. The screen. The smile on my face when booting the phone up. It looked unreal seeing an iPhone edge to edge. I really loved the Note 8 — but this was a different take on “bezel-less” and Apple wasn’t lying.
The UI fluidity. There’s a sense of floaty and responsiveness to this phone that this plus doesn’t have. To the animations, to the way gestures work. I’m sure the plus could’ve pulled it off — but oh, it just feels soo good!
The Portrait front facing camera - Yes! Double yes. There were so many times I wanted to take a good shot.. and it was low light. And I couldn’t — “More light required. Flash may help.” This is no longer an issue in most cases — and if you let the camera focus, adjust your posture and angles just for a few seconds instead of snapping a photo instantly, you’ll get a much better depth effect.
The Multi-Tasking Home bar — it’s a gem I didn’t know I would want. But I don’t know if I can live without it. Swiping left and right when talking to family and reading the news has never been easier. I actually can be bothered to reply to that text sooner — it’s a much quicker swipe away.
OIS on both lenses and the slightly better aperture — when taking a video for the first time and seeing the 4k camera as well as the 1080p 60fps mode zoomed in with a 2x lens and not seeing the wobble that dooms the 8 Plus — I felt complete.
The rounded edges to the UI make the phones OS and UI so aesthetically pleasing to go along with the look and feel of the X.
The battery — not nearly as good as my 8 Plus was.
The screen “estate” —
I do agree with the screen feeling so much bigger on the 8 plus. Spacious is the word. It’s like walking into a big long narrow room.. big, but narrow. VS going into a spacious rectangular room and having that extra width to breathe and stretch. It’s narrow. And I understand why it may not be someone’s cup of tea. But is it really that big of a deal?
The lack of portrait navigation through emails and texts. I really liked texting in portrait and having the contacts and lists on the sides. It feels like a bit of a UI limitation and I hope it comes back in a future upgrade.
The positives over the plus —
Again. The screen. The smile on my face when booting the phone up. It looked unreal seeing an iPhone edge to edge. I really loved the Note 8 — but this was a different take on “bezel-less” and Apple wasn’t lying.
The UI fluidity. There’s a sense of floaty and responsiveness to this phone that this plus doesn’t have. To the animations, to the way gestures work. I’m sure the plus could’ve pulled it off — but oh, it just feels soo good!
The Portrait front facing camera - Yes! Double yes. There were so many times I wanted to take a good shot.. and it was low light. And I couldn’t — “More light required. Flash may help.” This is no longer an issue in most cases — and if you let the camera focus, adjust your posture and angles just for a few seconds instead of snapping a photo instantly, you’ll get a much better depth effect.
The Multi-Tasking Home bar — it’s a gem I didn’t know I would want. But I don’t know if I can live without it. Swiping left and right when talking to family and reading the news has never been easier. I actually can be bothered to reply to that text sooner — it’s a much quicker swipe away.
OIS on both lenses and the slightly better aperture — when taking a video for the first time and seeing the 4k camera as well as the 1080p 60fps mode zoomed in with a 2x lens and not seeing the wobble that dooms the 8 Plus — I felt complete.
The rounded edges to the UI make the phones OS and UI so aesthetically pleasing to go along with the look and feel of the X.
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