Galaxy S8 Preorders Were Samsung's 'Best Ever'

[powertoold]

S8 performance lag and stuttering
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...-new-hardware-meets-old-software-habits/5/#h2

That may be true for them, but like I said, I haven't experienced anything annoying with my s8.

With my iPads, I experience often wifi drops, and also the display renders some moire patterns when scrolling through certain content.

My opinion of Apple has soured after the tMBP. It's not much faster than my late 2011 15" MBP and is priced too high for what it is. Plus I had some display flickering problems that were fixed with the latest update.

Literally as I'm posting this, my tMBP has froze up on Firefox. (Posting from my s8)

 

[Fruitblaze]

Bought the regular size model. Had to return it due to mediocre speaker sound. For a 2017, $700+ smartphone I expected more. Great phone though.

 

[wikiverse]

If the new iPhone looks anything like this render, Apple's order numbers will leave Samsung soaking with envy.

No, they won't. That is an iPhone 6/6s/7 with a slightly larger screen. I still have an iP5 and desperately need a new phone. I would not pay $1000 for a 3 year old design that is removing useful features like a universal headphone jack so i can use the same headphones with my Macbook without a dongle.

 

[v0lume4]

Android guy .

I had been an Android user since 2011, broken up by a short stint with Windows Phone. I can say that iOS is much more smoother than every Android version that I had used prior. I don't have any experience with Nougat though. I really haven't had any bugs or issues with iOS, save for the betas having poor battery life at times. It's beta software so I'm not gonna hold that against Apple. I think notifications is the biggest thing that needs to be fixed in iOS really. Beyond that, I can't really find any major glaring issues with it, at least in my usage.

I started getting fed up with Android toward the tail end of my LG G3 usage, and it finally came to a head with the Note 5. I went through 3 replacements and I finally said enough was enough. This was also around the time of the Note 7 debacle, where airlines were prohibiting that phone onboard and even some were making everyone with any Samsung device turn them off. I had a busy travel season coming up, so I decided to trade in my third replacement Note 5 in on a 7 Plus, and thus I completed my Apple integration circle (Mac, iPad Mini and iPhone). It is possible that with Nougat, Android has improved but I'm really enjoying iOS right now. I think I will stick with this for the foreseeable future. iMessage is amazing and I wish Google could come up with a competitor. I didn't realize how good iMessage actually is, until I switched over. The vast majority of the people that I know, have an iPhone, so it makes it easy for me to connect with them due to iMessage. For those who don't, I just use WhatsApp. If I get a second line though, maybe I'll pick up a Galaxy again. The Note 5 burned me though, on Samsung. I'm hoping the S8 line doesn't have any issues, going forward.

That was an insightful read, thank you for the share. I do wonder if there will be some small oddities with Android that I will begin to get fed up with over time. Time will tell!

 

[johnnyturbouk]

I'm sure they will sell like hot cakes!

 

[TallManNY]

Well there has to be some serious pent up Samsung fans after the Note debacle. Lots of folks who wanted that will buy the S8 Plus. This seems like a great phone, but we have to see how many Note users are juicing the numbers.

 

[dan110]

Honestly, this is the best designed phone in ages. And from the look of iPhone 8 renderings, the S8 just might be the best designed phone for until at least 2018 as well.

 

[inkswamp]

Is it my imagination or is it the case that every time Samsung stories show up on Macrumors there's always a post or two near the top by people praising it and talking crap about the iPhone. And they always have the same general tone.

Samsung marketing bots?

 

[grkm3]

Well, Samsung offers a lot of free stuff for pre-order, you can get a 2 for 1 deal, you can get free VR Gear, etc.

Apple doesn't have to offer anything else, it will be heaven for all Apple users if we could buy one, get one free.

What are you talking about? AT&T has buy one get one free and I just got 3 iPhone 7s at target and got 3, that's right 3, 300 dollar gift cards!

 

[Ludatyk]

Well there has to be some serious pent up Samsung fans after the Note debacle. Lots of folks who wanted that will buy the S8 Plus. This seems like a great phone, but we have to see how many Note users are juicing the numbers.

Count me on part of that group.

I had the Note7 and it was a awesome device... and I was full on board with Samsung. I knew from the rumors that the upcoming iPhone wasn't on par with the Note7. I gave up my 6s Plus at the time for it.

Then when the Note7 issue came up, I then had to go back to the iPhone... decided on getting the 7 Plus. Don't get me wrong, I like the 7 Plus.. as much users complain how much hasn't changed from the 6s Plus, I think the minor changes Apple implemented was a great addition.

But now, I have my hands on the S8 Plus and the screen is definitely top notch... I'm giving it a go and see if can replace my 7 Plus.

 

[grkm3]

Too many problems out the gate with the S8: Terrible rear finger sensor placement, broken and insecure facial unlock. Slow and awkward Iris unlock. No voice assistant due to performance issues. Red-tint display defects. Lower shipped display resolution setting due to battery life and performance issues. Older less secure version of Android...

I'm sure Samsung has a large Ad budget, but these kind of things quickly cause a device to fall out of favor.

Man thanks for the laugh! What ever makes you sleep at night lol

Here is my gs8 running April 2017 security patch...i don't know how much newer you can get bud.

 

[jkichline]

And yet every cell phone store and kiosk I walked past in the mall tonight just had the S8 setting there for $850, screen off and nobody looking at it. Sounds like a popular option.

Put hey, if you want to plop down nearly a grand for a phone that still can't touch the performance of the nearly year old iPhone 7... have at it: http://bgr.com/2017/04/24/galaxy-s8-vs-iphone-7-plus-comparison-speed-test-final/

 

[Tech198]

We are in the "best ever" contest...


Samsung probably *did* loose a few customers due to past issues, but not enough to call it a "loss" That's what they are trying to say.

 

[H2SO4]

Man thanks for the laugh! What ever makes you sleep at night lol

Here is my gs8 running April 2017 security patch...i don't know how much newer you can get bud.

View attachment 697405

What?? You realise that’s 24 days old now right!!

s/

 

[demodave]

I tried going to SamsungRumors.com to find my Mac news, but no luck.

Totally, because this is exactly the "MacRumors news and rumors you care about"!

 

[44267547]

Honestly, this is the best designed phone in ages. And from the look of iPhone 8 renderings, the S8 just might be the best designed phone for until at least 2018 as well.

I would agree with this. As phones continue to advance, I think we are now to the point where we are going to start seeing buttons start to be replaced with touch capacitive controls and fingerprint sensor's embedded in the displays, ultimately eliminating external hardware. The S8 is a whole lot of display with reduced bezels.

 

[jkichline]

Totally turned out to be a non-issue, especially when you can use fingerprint gestures to swipe open and close the notification bar. And being able to unlock the device and use Samsung Pay with your eyes using the iris scanner makes the fingerprint scanner even more of an option.

Glad to know I can pay for my new iPhone 8 by taking your picture and hacking the crappy iris scanning security.

 

[invisibleshoes]

Glad to know I can pay for my new iPhone 8 by taking your picture and hacking the crappy iris scanning security.

Sheesh. The hostility in these threads is appalling.

 

[mi7chy]

Glad to know I can pay for my new iPhone 8 by taking your picture and hacking the crappy iris scanning security.

You might want to understand the difference between face unlock for convenience and iris scanning which is more secure than fingerprint and it doesn't leave a liftable print for making a passable fake.

 

[Winni]

PLEASE tell me you’re joking. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that the Apple marketing department is truly military grade. Truly, I mean the best there is. If their products were as accomplished as the marketing there would be no downsides.

A German magazine, back in the 1990s or even the 1980s, wrote about Apple that they are "a marketing company that occasionally also releases an actual product" (rough translation).
[doublepost=1493101749][/doublepost]

Cute

Buffering against iPhone as usual.
Low self esteem again

"What do you want for Christmas? -- An Apple."
(That was one of those "tramp" advertisements back in the 1980s. And Charlie Chaplin-"tramp"-lookalike stood for IBM back in those days.)

"...dutifully performing dull little tasks... Now the Intel processor is set free and gets to live inside a Mac. Imagine the possibilities."


Then the keynote where Steve Jobs showed picture of a DELL computer with five billion cables connected to it -- and an iMac without any cables on the other side. "Who wants something like that?" he asked. Well, apparently every Mac Pro user, because that would have been the same setup, but of course he had to show a Dell desktop and not a Mac Pro.


"Hi, I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC..."

The list goes on, but I don't have the time. Apple's marketing has always been about belittling others - for DECADES - but apparently it's okay when the fruit logo company does it...

 

[H2SO4]

A German magazine, back in the 1990s or even the 1980s, wrote about Apple that they are "a marketing company that occasionally also releases an actual product" (rough translation).
[doublepost=1493101749][/doublepost]

"What do you want for Christmas? -- An Apple."
(That was one of those "tramp" advertisements back in the 1980s. And Charlie Chaplin-"tramp"-lookalike stood for IBM back in those days.)

"...dutifully performing dull little tasks... Now the Intel processor is set free and gets to live inside a Mac. Imagine the possibilities."


Then the keynote where Steve Jobs showed picture of a DELL computer with five billion cables connected to it -- and an iMac without any cables on the other side. "Who wants something like that?" he asked. Well, apparently every Mac Pro user, because that would have been the same setup, but of course he had to show a Dell desktop and not a Mac Pro.


"Hi, I'm a Mac. And I'm a PC..."

The list goes on, but I don't have the time. Apple's marketing has always been about belittling others - for DECADES - but apparently it's okay when the fruit logo company does it...

I agree. But I can't deny they have the formula right. Here I am on my Mac Pro with Apple accessories and phone, (except the monitor which they took too long to update).

 

[Winni]

And yet every cell phone store and kiosk I walked past in the mall tonight just had the S8 setting there for $850, screen off and nobody looking at it. Sounds like a popular option.

Put hey, if you want to plop down nearly a grand for a phone that still can't touch the performance of the nearly year old iPhone 7... have at it: http://bgr.com/2017/04/24/galaxy-s8-vs-iphone-7-plus-comparison-speed-test-final/

For everyday use, those benchmarks became irrelevant years ago -- they might be interesting for people who mostly use their phones as game consoles, but even that can be doubted. The times when you had to suffer from the Java tax when using an Android phone are gone. What you buy today is fast enough to provide a good enough user experience throughout all tasks.

The S8, with its dock that turns it into a DESKTOP PC, has been tested to even provide sufficient compute power to run it as a portable/mobile desktop platform -- and unlike iOS, Android CAN multi-task and PROPERLY run multiple applications simultaneously (what you would expect from a true desktop). Try doing that with an iPhone.

 

[BvizioN]

That's what I am asking though, like what? What options do you get?

Well.... where do I start?
I will give you one small example (this is one of many)
Secure Folder! This is like having a secondary account on your phone. One personal and one work! Any app can be added to secure folder and secure folder can only be unlocked by iris scanner or fingerprint scanner. I can't believe Apple themselves have not implemented a touch ID on apps like photo gallery for example! Is not uncommon for a person to hand their device to someone, to look at apps like maps for directions and all the sudden they are in the photo apps.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

Is it my imagination or is it the case that every time Samsung stories show up on Macrumors there's always a post or two near the top by people praising it and talking crap about the iPhone. And they always have the same general tone.

Samsung marketing bots?

Or maybe those people actually like the device? Not everybody here only uses an iPhone dude...
[doublepost=1493103720][/doublepost]

And yet every cell phone store and kiosk I walked past in the mall tonight just had the S8 setting there for $850, screen off and nobody looking at it. Sounds like a popular option.

Put hey, if you want to plop down nearly a grand for a phone that still can't touch the performance of the nearly year old iPhone 7... have at it: http://bgr.com/2017/04/24/galaxy-s8-vs-iphone-7-plus-comparison-speed-test-final/

As a person who actually works in retail and who sells mobile phones, I can assure you the phone sold pretty damn well. I can't speak for every retailer or mobile phone store, but in mine...we were busy as hell and sold a lot and I mean a lot of Sammy's S8s

 

[ds2000]

Looking at that edge-to-edge screen, all I can say is this as far as mobile phone evolution can go? Before I am accused of bashing Samsung and not Apple, the same applies to the rumours about the next iPhone. I honestly don't care about edge-to-edge screens, curved glass etc. What I do care about is battery life, signal reception, robustness, construction quality, and getting things done with my phone.

I agree and being honest, there is nothing that has been added to the iPhone in the last 4 years that I care about (touch ID aside). A better camera is nice but it'll never replace my SLR (although I have had some great results using RAW on my 6S - see below). As for 3d touch, I forget it is there, my better half says the same with her phone.

I like the idea of edge to edge mainly because it'll hopefully mean I can go back to the iPhone 4/5 size and still keep the 6s sized screen.