Returned X.... Going to Samsung (runs away...!)

[mazdamiata210]

Hi All,

Guess who's back....

OK, so firstly let me say I have given the Note 8 a week of use.

I am coming back to iPhone.

Everything was fine for the first couple of days, it was really cool having a new phone, going through the hundreds of new settings and being able to configure the hell out of the device is something really different to iOS, where you are constrained by the OS.

But, after 3 days you start to realise that being able to change all of these settings was great, but actually you just want the phone to work and then leave it as it is.

A couple of points annoy the hell out of me;

1. Having both "Samsung" and android variants of things. It's like Samsung wrote some apps initially for an earlier version of Android, but now that Android has caught up it still bundles the software in and it's really un-necessary. I ended up switching default messaging app quite quickly to Textra as it is much more streamlined than the messagins app.

2. Notifications are not as intuative. The flashing light is great, but for the most part pretty useless unless you are going to remember what every colour in the rainbow represents. When you recieve a new message the AOD (always on display) just shows a symbol, it doesn't show the portion of the message. You can show this, but it requires you to touch the screen.

3. No iMessage/Facetime/Find my Friends/basically anything Apple. I thought this wouldn't be an issue, but it just is. Everyone I know is on iPhone, which means I have to use additional brain power to comminucate easily. I needed to facetime my wife yesterday, so I had to use whatsapp video call. I needed to see how far away my wife was whilst she was driving and I couldn't as i didn't have find my friends. I needed to stream music to my airport express' so I had to download Airsync and play through that.... The list goes on.

4. The finger print sensor is in a silly place- no getting away from it. The majority of the time I used facial recognition which for me worked really well. Coming from an X (which seems to be the benchmark), it's really very good, and only generally struggled in low light or awquard angles. Apps do NOT seem to have implemented facial recognition so banking apps still need fingerprint.

5. Samsung pay is incompatible with Barclays. Not a biggie, just seems like a bit of a half baked attempt.

6. And this was the straw that broke the camels back- the general software interface was not speedy enough. Saturday night was the first night I really needed to push the software and do loads of things on the phone at the same time, rather than my usual just watching programmes and making phone calls, and it really didn't do well. I needed to find cinemas in the local area shoowing a show, when i found there weren't any i then needed to use TeamViewer to log into my Mac at home and download a film instead, publish it to plex and then stream it to my phone. The phone worked fine, but I have done the process a few times on an iPhone, and it's just much more slick.

Anyway. I'm going to go back to the Apple store and get myself an 8 Plus.At the moment I think this is going to be my best option, and hope that Apple decides to pull an X plus out of the bag next September.

David

You pretty much summed it up.

I've owned Samsung before...

Samsung Blackjack

iPhone 2G

iPhone 3G

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 4

iPhone 4S

Galaxy S3

Note 1

Note 2

Note 3 (had issues and traded it for the iPhone 5S)

iPhone 5S

iPhone 6 Plus

iPhone 6S Plus

So I'd say I had my fair share of experience on both OSes.

Day 1- I was blown away by the amount of customization. Almost overwhelming to be honest. Every setting has another menu that is 3-4 menus deep with each of those menus having a ton of settings too. It's a double edge sword because while everything is laid out nicely and explained with descriptions and tips... 3 days later and I'm still trying to figure out basic things to turn on/off and setup.

Which leads me to day 2 and 3... I'm still trying to figure out why I can't interact with notifications as quickly and easily as you can on iOS. If the phone is locked, you can't do anything without putting in a passcode which involves picking up the phone and unlocking it. Then to, say reply to a text, you press reply on the lock screen and it either takes you into the app... or unlocks the phone to the home screen and then replies from a small little window in your notification shade. Seems like everything is 3-4 extra steps which take longer and slow down productivity in comparison to iOS.

Now I will say, the phone is great. No lag, battery is great, screen is awesome for content. Like I have literally no complaints other than I feel productivity is slowed down because of these few extra steps everything takes. I actually went back to my 6S+ because I had to get an email from my icloud account and the amount of lag and stutter on the iPhone is just insane. Plus I'm on 10.3.3 which runs alot better than 11 on there.

 

[suade8880]

Didn’t read this whole thread but after reading the OP main complaint about having to hover his head for Face ID to work when on the desk and chooses the Note 8 over that confuses the crap out of me. Does he not know that the Note 8 facial recognition is far inferior and the fingerprint reader is on the back so that it will be required for him to pick up the phone anyway to get in? Smh...

 

[mazdamiata210]

Didn’t read this whole thread but after reading the OP main complaint about having to hover his head for Face ID to work and chooses the Note 8 over that confuses the crap out of me. Does he not know that the Note 8 facial recognition is far inferior and the fingerprint reader is on the back so that it will be required for him to pick up the phone anyway to get in? Smh...

Did you know that you can set the lock time to keep the phone screen off, but unlocked? Also you can set up "known devices" so say you're in your car and connected to bluetooth the phone will disable the lock so you can quickly get into the phone.

It's little things like that which blow my mind when discovering them.

 

[Allyance]

There is a lot to learn and discover about the X, had mine a little over a week and still learning new tricks.

 

[convergent]

I love the iPhone X software gesture-based UI over Android or regular iOS UI. But I like how Android has a ton of customisation. Sure, I don’t customise my S8 everyday, but every now and then, I’d enjoy just spending some time customising it.

But IMO, I feel that the “back-home-multitasking buttons” on Android kinda old-fashion now (regardless of whether the buttons are hardware or software based). I’d love to see Google release a gesture-based Android next year.

Anyway, I love Samsung’s hardware design and I don’t mind the compromise in bloatware. I prefer watching videos on the S8 over the iPhone X too.

I know people who hate non-stock Android and would prefer the Pixel 2... but IMO, the hardware is so lacking that spending that much money on one is not worth the compromise. Heck, even with the more expensive price tag, the iPhone X is much better value than the Pixel 2... and the software experience is excellent (minus the ability to customise) and the hardware much more advanced.

Oh, Google Assistant > Siri. And while you can download Google Assistant on iOS, you need to actually launch her app to use it, which is annoying.

EDIT: If you’d ask me to pick the single, best, standalone smartphone right now, I’d say the Note 8. But if I had to pick a smartphone for everyday life (which includes work), then I have to pick the iPhone X. Using an iPhone gives you access to virtually all services (Microsoft, Google and Apple) and syncs seamlessly with all your other work/personal devices without hassle (if you use a Mac or iPad). The two main things lacking on the iPhone X that the Note 8 have are (proper) stylus support and split-screen multitasking.

The "if you use a Mac at work" is a big "if" for many people, and if that isn't true then it negates your conclusion.

You pretty much summed it up.

I've owned Samsung before...

Samsung Blackjack

iPhone 2G

iPhone 3G

iPhone 3GS

iPhone 4

iPhone 4S

Galaxy S3

Note 1

Note 2

Note 3 (had issues and traded it for the iPhone 5S)

iPhone 5S

iPhone 6 Plus

iPhone 6S Plus

So I'd say I had my fair share of experience on both OSes.

Day 1- I was blown away by the amount of customization. Almost overwhelming to be honest. Every setting has another menu that is 3-4 menus deep with each of those menus having a ton of settings too. It's a double edge sword because while everything is laid out nicely and explained with descriptions and tips... 3 days later and I'm still trying to figure out basic things to turn on/off and setup.

Which leads me to day 2 and 3... I'm still trying to figure out why I can't interact with notifications as quickly and easily as you can on iOS. If the phone is locked, you can't do anything without putting in a passcode which involves picking up the phone and unlocking it. Then to, say reply to a text, you press reply on the lock screen and it either takes you into the app... or unlocks the phone to the home screen and then replies from a small little window in your notification shade. Seems like everything is 3-4 extra steps which take longer and slow down productivity in comparison to iOS.

Now I will say, the phone is great. No lag, battery is great, screen is awesome for content. Like I have literally no complaints other than I feel productivity is slowed down because of these few extra steps everything takes. I actually went back to my 6S+ because I had to get an email from my icloud account and the amount of lag and stutter on the iPhone is just insane. Plus I'm on 10.3.3 which runs alot better than 11 on there.

You have a fair share of experience up to Galaxy 3. We are at 8 and soon to be 9. Your experience is not all that useful in comparing what anyone would buy today. I had a Galaxy S5 for 6 months and hated it. I love the Note 8.

 

[mazdamiata210]

You have a fair share of experience up to Galaxy 3. We are at 8 and soon to be 9. Your experience is not all that useful in comparing what anyone would buy today. I had a Galaxy S5 for 6 months and hated it. I love the Note 8.

You're right, my experience isn't useful. There aren't people here who have used an iPhone for 10 years and are looking to switch but would be completely overwhelmed by the UI like I was. /s 🙄🙄🙄

OH WAIT THIS IS AN APPLE FORUM.

 

[mattysmith118]

Hi All,

Guess who's back....

OK, so firstly let me say I have given the Note 8 a week of use.

I am coming back to iPhone.

Everything was fine for the first couple of days, it was really cool having a new phone, going through the hundreds of new settings and being able to configure the hell out of the device is something really different to iOS, where you are constrained by the OS.

But, after 3 days you start to realise that being able to change all of these settings was great, but actually you just want the phone to work and then leave it as it is.

A couple of points annoy the hell out of me;

1. Having both "Samsung" and android variants of things. It's like Samsung wrote some apps initially for an earlier version of Android, but now that Android has caught up it still bundles the software in and it's really un-necessary. I ended up switching default messaging app quite quickly to Textra as it is much more streamlined than the messagins app.

2. Notifications are not as intuative. The flashing light is great, but for the most part pretty useless unless you are going to remember what every colour in the rainbow represents. When you recieve a new message the AOD (always on display) just shows a symbol, it doesn't show the portion of the message. You can show this, but it requires you to touch the screen.

3. No iMessage/Facetime/Find my Friends/basically anything Apple. I thought this wouldn't be an issue, but it just is. Everyone I know is on iPhone, which means I have to use additional brain power to comminucate easily. I needed to facetime my wife yesterday, so I had to use whatsapp video call. I needed to see how far away my wife was whilst she was driving and I couldn't as i didn't have find my friends. I needed to stream music to my airport express' so I had to download Airsync and play through that.... The list goes on.

4. The finger print sensor is in a silly place- no getting away from it. The majority of the time I used facial recognition which for me worked really well. Coming from an X (which seems to be the benchmark), it's really very good, and only generally struggled in low light or awquard angles. Apps do NOT seem to have implemented facial recognition so banking apps still need fingerprint.

5. Samsung pay is incompatible with Barclays. Not a biggie, just seems like a bit of a half baked attempt.

6. And this was the straw that broke the camels back- the general software interface was not speedy enough. Saturday night was the first night I really needed to push the software and do loads of things on the phone at the same time, rather than my usual just watching programmes and making phone calls, and it really didn't do well. I needed to find cinemas in the local area shoowing a show, when i found there weren't any i then needed to use TeamViewer to log into my Mac at home and download a film instead, publish it to plex and then stream it to my phone. The phone worked fine, but I have done the process a few times on an iPhone, and it's just much more slick.

Anyway. I'm going to go back to the Apple store and get myself an 8 Plus.At the moment I think this is going to be my best option, and hope that Apple decides to pull an X plus out of the bag next September.

David

Haha only just seen this thread and read the original post. Then I was about to comment "See you soon you'll be back"

Went to the last page and seen this comment in a reply and laughed.

I've owned a few Samsung devices in the past. I had one for about 6 months and I couldn't hack it anymore. Every Samsung device I've had slowed down and became terribly slow after a few months. At first I thought I must have a defect device but no way all of them I got could of been defected.

Also waiting for Samsung to update software was like waiting for Christmas. At least with iOS they push them through pretty fast and regular and bring out new features etc.

Notifications was a pain in the bum too. I hated the fact whenever I got a text I would have to unlock the phone open it go into messages and then read and reply and lock the phone again. With 3D touch you can respond straight on the home screen. Although I'm not sure if this has changed since I haven't had a Samsung for about 2 years now.

People say 3D touch is just a gimmick, but they probably use it a lot more than they realise.

I do like the way all Apple products integrate with each other iMac/iPad/iWatch/iPhone etc and iMessage/FaceTime is actually more useful than we think.

All in all I think Samsung is far more advanced on technology than Apple. But Apple like to perfect it. Waiting for updates and having features that aren't that reliable kinda put me off Samsung devices for the future.

I don't think I could possibly go back to Samsung again.

Not a hater, just not for me.

 

[Ixidor]

The "if you use a Mac at work" is a big "if" for many people, and if that isn't true then it negates your conclusion.

The “Mac” part (or iPad part) yes. But that was only half the argument. The other argument I gave was that using an iPhone gives you access to all services (Apple, Google and Microsoft being the main ones) and most ecosystems.

Android devices don’t get access to most Apple services while an iPhone gives a person more flexibility in the services he can choose to use. IPhones can access most of google’s ecosystem if desired too (Chromecast over Apple TV, Android/Tizen smartwatches over Apple Watch to a certain degree, Google home over HomePod).

Naturally, many, if not most, people don’t use Apple services or devices (simply because most people use Windows/Android), and that’s perfectly fine. But objectively speaking, if someone wishes to have the most flexibility in ecosystems and services, the iPhone is usually (but not always) the one to go with.

 

[mazdamiata210]

Notifications was a pain in the bum too. I hated the fact whenever I got a text I would have to unlock the phone open it go into messages and then read and reply and lock the phone again. With 3D touch you can respond straight on the home screen. Although I'm not sure if this has changed since I haven't had a Samsung for about 2 years now.

Literally my only complaint with my Note 8 or I would keep it. Hundreds of notifications a day are a pain in the ass to deal with having to unlock your phone every time to interact with them. Especially when you have a passcode and the fingerprint reader is on the back.

 

[mib1800]

You're right, my experience isn't useful. There aren't people here who have used an iPhone for 10 years and are looking to switch but would be completely overwhelmed by the UI like I was. /s 🙄🙄🙄

OH WAIT THIS IS AN APPLE FORUM.

Overwhelm is your way of saying you have a mind block which prevents you from seeing the simple truth. That android is simpler (and yet more complex) than iphone

Dont talk about advanced features of Android. Just use android like you use iphone. What is so overwhelming? Tell us how you use iphone in daily routines and how is android over-whelming to carry out these daily routines?

 

[mattysmith118]

Literally my only complaint with my Note 8 or I would keep it. Hundreds of notifications a day are a pain in the ass to deal with having to unlock your phone every time to interact with them. Especially when you have a passcode and the fingerprint reader is on the back.

Last time when I switched to Samsung we had quick reply on the lock screen but didn't have it on the Galaxy. This is probably the main reason why I moved back and wouldn't ever go back to Samsung unless they changed it tbh. It is by far the most convient feature ever

 

[mazdamiata210]

Overwhelm is your way of saying you have a mind block which prevents you from seeing the simple truth. That android is simpler (and yet more complex) than iphone

Dont talk about advanced features of Android. Just use android like you use iphone. What is so overwhelming? Tell us how you use iphone in daily routines and how is android over-whelming to carry out these daily routines?

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...msung-runs-away.2085559/page-12#post-25462075

 

[mib1800]

https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...msung-runs-away.2085559/page-12#post-25462075

So iPhone security is a farce then. Anyone can see your notifications and reply without authentication. I don't like this at all.

For me I only react to important notifications which are selectively shown on AOD. I unlock (fps or Iris) at an instant and I can deal with those notifications easily as they are prioritize on top of the notification list.

iPhone still sort you notifications sequentially isn't it? That's why you have to waste time and effort to deal with notifications all day haphazardly.

 

[mattysmith118]

So iPhone security is a farce then. Anyone can see your notifications and reply without authentication. I don't like this at all.

For me I only react to important notifications which are selectively shown on AOD. I unlock (fps or Iris) at an instant and I can deal with those notifications easily as they are prioritize on top of the notification list.

iPhone still sort you notifications sequentially isn't it? That's why you have to waste time and effort to deal with notifications all day haphazardly.

I think he means by unlocking the phone, going into home and then into the required app. Where as on iOS you can reply on the lock screen. There are different settings for security though

 

[lordofthereef]

You should update the OP to indicate you have come back and why. Most folks read the original post and maybe the last few posts in a thread.

 

[mazdamiata210]

So iPhone security is a farce then. Anyone can see your notifications and reply without authentication. I don't like this at all.

For me I only react to important notifications which are selectively shown on AOD. I unlock (fps or Iris) at an instant and I can deal with those notifications easily as they are prioritize on top of the notification list.

iPhone still sort you notifications sequentially isn't it? That's why you have to waste time and effort to deal with notifications all day haphazardly.

Sounds like you like Android better. Good for you. I'm sorry my opinion is wrong.

 

[mib1800]

I think he means by unlocking the phone, going into home and then into the required app. Where as on iOS you can reply on the lock screen. There are different settings for security though

Android is clearcut on this unlike iOS. When you are at "lock screen", it means your phone is locked from unauthorized access. You can opt for notification details shown that's all. If you want to reply/modify you have to authenticate first. After which it opens the app/message directly or in some cases you can do reply inline.

 

[mattysmith118]

Android is clearcut on this unlike iOS. When you are at "lock screen", it means your phone is locked from unauthorized access. You can opt for notification details shown that's all. If you want to reply/modify you have to authenticate first. After which it opens the app/message directly or in some cases you can do reply inline.

Yeah? I get this but I don't get your point lol

We was saying it's easier and more convenient on iOS

 

[mib1800]

Sounds like you like Android better. Good for you. I'm sorry my opinion is wrong.

You don't have to be that harsh on yourself. You spend one week with Note8 and most probably you didnt have enough time to explore. You can't bring the iphone paradigm over and expect note8 to work in the same manner. If you want to do like iphone where you can interact on lock screen...then you can disable authentication. Not the same but achieve the same results.
[doublepost=1510645639][/doublepost]

Yeah? I get this but I don't get your point lol

We was saying it's easier and more convenient on iOS

Disable security then. For note8 lockscreen implementation got no in-between. Secured or non-secured. Not half secured like iphone. If this is so important then replace Samsung lockscreen with a 3rd party lockscreen

 

[mattysmith118]

Disable lockscreen then. For note8 lockscreen implementation got no in-between. Secured or non-secured. Not half secured like iphone. If this is so important replace Samsung lockscreen with 3rd party lockscreen

Would replacing the lock screen with 3rd party require root or?

I still think it's better on iOS tbh but opinions are opinions

 

[mib1800]

Would replacing the lock screen with 3rd party require root or?

I still think it's better on iOS tbh but opinions are opinions

Think no root needed (not absolute sure here - maybe someone more familiar can confirm this). Just authorized accessibility permission, I think.

iPhone maybe easier on this. But iPhone without AOD and LED light already is more cumbersome in handling notifications.

 

[mattysmith118]

Think no root needed (not absolute sure here - maybe someone more familiar can confirm this). Just authorized accessibility permission, I think.

iPhone maybe easier on this. But iPhone without AOD and LED light already is more cumbersome in handling notifications.

Just out of curiosity what phone/phones do you use?

 

[mazdamiata210]

If you want to do like iphone where you can interact on lock screen...then you can disable authentication. Not the same but achieve the same results.
[doublepost=1510645639][/doublepost]

Disable security then. For note8 lockscreen implementation got no in-between. Secured or non-secured. Not half secured like iphone. If this is so important then replace Samsung lockscreen with a 3rd party lockscreen

Or... now check this out... I can just use an iPhone which does exactly what I want and in less steps.

 

[mib1800]

Or... now check this out... I can just use an iPhone which does exactly what I want and in less steps.

Well, you have to regularly on/unlock your phones to check whether you have notifications on iphone. On the galaxy you have LED light/AOD so you dont need to do that so you save time. You can also double tap the notification icon in AOD screen and it will bring you directly.

 

[mazdamiata210]

Well, you have to regularly on/unlock your phones to check whether you have notifications on iphone. On the galaxy you have LED light/AOD so you dont need to do that so you save time. You can also double tap the notification icon in AOD screen and it will bring you directly.

Still faster on an iPhone. What happens when I have multiple different notifications? LED color means nothing then.

Also I believe you mean... double tap, pick up Note, fingerprint unlock, find notification I want, then interact with it.