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

[KingslayerG5]

I would return to a Galaxy flagship for mainly Samsung Pay.

Cash, nearly 100%
Credit/Debit, 97%
Samsung Pay, 85%

Apple Pay, 50%
Android Pay, 40%

Smartphone mobile payment drawbacks -
Gas station machine next to the pump
ATM machines
Drive-thru fast food (hand it to the cashier)
Some hole-in-the-wall places

Samsung Pay is important to me the same way iMessages is to iOS users. Not critical important but still very useful in case I forget my debit at home.

I only did Apple Pay once and never Android Pay. I had to look up what restaurants accept both of them. It was a pretty pathetic lists. I can't eat McDonald's or KFC every day.

I want to eat at places like Lucille's BBQ, Yoshinoya, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers (thanks, Postmates), Five Guys, Thai BBQ, Urban Plates, Mendocino Farms, Mimi's Cafe, or whatever the heck I see in my DoorDash orders.

I want to eat Vietnamese pho ("fa") and Thai sate ("ste"). Can't eat crap every single day. Like my women, travels, and gadgets, I need variety. Samsung Pay rules. MST > NFC.

I also got a free Gear VR headset from T-Mobile when I got the S7e. Its inside the box in my closet. I think VR is a joke and hate updating the software. Takes so long and my eyes start to hurt after awhile. But for watching movies a different way out of pure boredom, might as well use it again.

Samsung Pay = best mobile payment there is. Far superior to Apple's and Google's.

 

[bopajuice]

I say give the iPhone 8 Plus a try. The 6 and 8 have some big differences. Camera, processor, and wireless charging to name few. The phone is fast, wireless charging is a no brainer (can’t believe Apple didn’t come out with it sooner), portrait mode, live view, and processing speed. For me I don’t think a phone needs to be any faster.

It looks the same, I’ll give you that. As far as bezels the only ones I hear mentioning them are the X users belittling anything but the X. I guess you have to justify paying a grand somehow.

 

[iteklog]

Hi All,

I know this is a Mac forum, but I have to vent somewhere.

I've been an Apple fan since the first iPhone, but unfortunately the X has not hit the mark for me, and this is the first occassion I've decided to move away.

I bought an X on Friday and have used it for a couple of days. I really just can't get on with it- the face id is frustrating, and although it works everytime, it's annoying to have to hover over my phone when on my desk at work to unlock it. The main issue I have is the video playback moving from a plus. It's just not big enough, and when expanded the notch is frustrating.

Some of you may say, why not just get an 8 then? Well, I'm sorry but I really feel like the 8 is basically the same phone as the 6, which I've already upgraded 3 times (6+ > 6S+ > 7+).

A couple of the guys in my team have android devices and the main one that's caught my eye is the Note8. The screen is stunning, the picture looks so vivid and the aspect ratio of the device makes viewing videos a pleasure.

I've purchased directly from Samsung, who now have a 28 dya no quibble returns so lets see how I get on. I'm sure I'll be back, but prob not until the 8 range gets a good facelift.

Let the flaming begin....

EWWWW

 

[TravisPNW]

Some of you may say, why not just get an 8 then? Well, I'm sorry but I really feel like the 8 is basically the same phone as the 6, which I've already upgraded 3 times (6+ > 6S+ > 7+).

Actually... when you look at it from a technical standpoint... the 8 Plus is basically the same phone as the X.

Same processor, same storage, same ram.

You definitely shouldn't feel like you are going back to a 6 if you choose the 8 Plus. It's loads better than the 6.

 

[KingslayerG5]

For anyone who wants to know more about Samsung Pay...

I go to many different stores to buy snacks or whatever. With Postmates, it's not always about food. You can end up in liquor stores. I once even picked up a MacBook Pro doing a Postmates order. Went to Apple Store (Fashion Island, Newport) to drop off to Laguna Beach. Didn't get a tip for it. Boo!

Main reason going back to a Galaxy (far, far away) -

1. Samsung Pay

2. MicroSD slot: using SD adapter, way faster media transfers than Android File Transfer on Mac. Pixels don't have microSD slot.

3. I like the Samsung gif maker although a better one in the Play Store can be found.

4. Fast charging, maybe 3rd fastest only to Oppo (they started it) and LG.

5. Gear VR, although kinda a novelty.

6. Aren't they just a little more sexier too?

Let's not forget all the FREEBIES when you get them. Too bad for the carrier branding and bloatware on them. Verizon Pixels are the best Androids to get without them.

 

[convergent]

Very good luck to you and by all means come back here and tell us about your experience with the Note 8. Pros and cons

I did the same thing as the OP. Had iPhones since 3G. Tried Android once before with Galaxy S5 for 6 months and totally hated it. I've had an iPhone 6s+ and Apple Watch Gen 0 for two years and they gave me a good run. I watched the Apple keynoted and was totally unimpressed... a 6sss or a premature X with no plus option. Also thought about Pixel 2 XL. In the end I bought a Note 8 and Gear S3 Frontier, and love them both.

I'll start with the Cons on both:

Apple ecosystem is really the main con... my whole family has iPhones and so iMessage, Facetime, and Airplay kinds of things take an adjustment. They mostly haven't been an issue moving to GroupMe, Duo, Chromecast, etc.. The worst of it all is MMS needs to be updated/replaced by the industry. All of this amounts to a minor annoyance, but if you do have a Mac, iPad, etc.. may be a bigger deal for you. I ditched that stuff a while back.

Updates and Support - No idea what this is going to be like, but Samsung has supported their devices for about 3 years with updates, so should be OK. Unlike Apple, the Note 8 hasn't needed to keep having updates to fix release bugs. Apple has gotten sloppy on the software side.

Apps - I haven't found any apps that work dramatically differently on Android other than fewer banking apps work with FPS. Some do, but fewer.

On the Pros side:

Unlocking - Having FPS and Iris is a better option than just one. Iris gets faster and faster for me and I can't see where it would be dramatically different from FaceID. But also having FPS lets me use both together so they race to unlock and in some use cases one will work better than the other. Love having both. The location of the FPS is not that bad... your finger naturally lands there when holding the phone, so don't see the big issue.

Camera - I think the camera on all of them is great. I like the camera app and capabilities on the Note 8 better. I can have complete control of settings, different shooting modes, optical zoom, etc.. For video, I think the Note 8 falls behind in indoor night shooting vs. the iPhone (my daughter has an iPhone 8 that I'm comparing to).

S-Pen - I like this and use it. I have a pen also on my Surface Pro, so can use OneNote back and forth and edit on either side. Its also helping me break the habit of scrap paper notes.

UI - People complain about Samsung's software being laggy and bloated. This is just incorrect on the Note 8. Its polished and quick.

Display - Note 8 gorgeous. I am hearing of issues from some X owners, but then its rated highly so who knows. And no notch. That thing would drive me crazy in landscape mode. I see a lot people saying "you get used to it". I don't want to "get used to it" on a device that is $1500 (with AC+).

Integration with Windows - Microsoft seems to be putting energy into Android integration with Windows now that they killed Windows Phone. I'm using their Launcher and its very nice.

Flexibility of Android - I'm having a blast learning the power of all the things I can do with Android.

Samsung Pay - accepted nearly everywhere in the US... way more places than Apple Pay

Gear S3 - This was the sleeper for me. I expected to really miss Apple Watch, but the Gear S3 is so much more intuitive and works for what I use it for better. The Gear S3 is likely to be what keeps me from ever going back.

Size - I like the plus size. The X is a competitor of the s8, not the Note 8.

 

[Thresher]

Hi All,

I know this is a Mac forum, but I have to vent somewhere.

I've been an Apple fan since the first iPhone, but unfortunately the X has not hit the mark for me, and this is the first occassion I've decided to move away.

I bought an X on Friday and have used it for a couple of days. I really just can't get on with it- the face id is frustrating, and although it works everytime, it's annoying to have to hover over my phone when on my desk at work to unlock it. The main issue I have is the video playback moving from a plus. It's just not big enough, and when expanded the notch is frustrating.

Some of you may say, why not just get an 8 then? Well, I'm sorry but I really feel like the 8 is basically the same phone as the 6, which I've already upgraded 3 times (6+ > 6S+ > 7+).

A couple of the guys in my team have android devices and the main one that's caught my eye is the Note8. The screen is stunning, the picture looks so vivid and the aspect ratio of the device makes viewing videos a pleasure.

I've purchased directly from Samsung, who now have a 28 dya no quibble returns so lets see how I get on. I'm sure I'll be back, but prob not until the 8 range gets a good facelift.

Let the flaming begin....

[doublepost=1510007914][/doublepost]Yeah, I have severe buyer's remorse. The phone works fine and it looks great. But the narrower width is causing usability issues for me. My eyes aren't as good as they used to be and while I can read the X screen, it's much more difficult.

I'm not going Samsung, but I'll probably go back to my iPhone 7+ or upgrade to an iPhone 8+.

I hope Apple comes out with a wider screened version next year. As good as this looks, it's just too small and the other upgrades aren't worth it if I can't see the thing.

 

[flowave]

If you were iPhone user all long the way, isn't it hard for you to switch? Personally, I am so locked to apple ecosystem I cannot make a move, even though i know note 8 stunning phone. Isn't owning Apple all about software? Features like iTunes backup, iCloud photo library, better apps, and smooth UI bars me from moving. If there was no iTunes backup I would have moved to android years ago. It's a huge time saver for me and my family.

 

[MarkB786]

Ok it's official!

MR is now M&S Rumors.

Yay! Most of the Android/Samsung forums are not as good. Would love to see a Samsung/Android forum way at the bottom of the forum list page. MR would get more traffic = more revenue; but then MR might get overrun... Or how about a sister Android Rumors site?

 

[pat500000]

At least this thread is a lot better than that one person who made a thread "goodbye, apple" and that was made on the same day that the account was made.

 

[csurfr]

At least this thread is a lot better than that one person who made a thread "goodbye, apple" and that was made on the same day that the account was made.

"I made an account just to tell you I'm leaving. Peace."

 

[AdonisSMU]

I would return to a Galaxy flagship for mainly Samsung Pay.

Cash, nearly 100%
Credit/Debit, 97%
Samsung Pay, 85%

Apple Pay, 50%
Android Pay, 40%

Smartphone mobile payment drawbacks -
Gas station machine next to the pump
ATM machines
Drive-thru fast food (hand it to the cashier)
Some hole-in-the-wall places

Samsung Pay is important to me the same way iMessages is to iOS users. Not critical important but still very useful in case I forget my debit at home.

I only did Apple Pay once and never Android Pay. I had to look up what restaurants accept both of them. It was a pretty pathetic lists. I can't eat McDonald's or KFC every day.

I want to eat at places like Lucille's BBQ, Yoshinoya, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers (thanks, Postmates), Five Guys, Thai BBQ, Urban Plates, Mendocino Farms, Mimi's Cafe, or whatever the heck I see in my DoorDash orders.

I want to eat Vietnamese pho ("fa") and Thai sate ("ste"). Can't eat crap every single day. Like my women, travels, and gadgets, I need variety. Samsung Pay rules. MST > NFC.

I also got a free Gear VR headset from T-Mobile when I got the S7e. Its inside the box in my closet. I think VR is a joke and hate updating the software. Takes so long and my eyes start to hurt after awhile. But for watching movies a different way out of pure boredom, might as well use it again.

Samsung Pay = best mobile payment there is. Far superior to Apple's and Google's.

Samsung pay is horrendously insecure. Eek. As if Magnetic Stripe wasn't insecure enough now they made it wireless.

 

[pat500000]

"I made an account just to tell you I'm leaving. Peace."

Do you even remember that thread?

 

[ABC5S]

I did the same thing as the OP. Had iPhones since 3G. Tried Android once before with Galaxy S5 for 6 months and totally hated it. I've had an iPhone 6s+ and Apple Watch Gen 0 for two years and they gave me a good run. I watched the Apple keynoted and was totally unimpressed... a 6sss or a premature X with no plus option. Also thought about Pixel 2 XL. In the end I bought a Note 8 and Gear S3 Frontier, and love them both.

I'll start with the Cons on both:

Apple ecosystem is really the main con... my whole family has iPhones and so iMessage, Facetime, and Airplay kinds of things take an adjustment. They mostly haven't been an issue moving to GroupMe, Duo, Chromecast, etc.. The worst of it all is MMS needs to be updated/replaced by the industry. All of this amounts to a minor annoyance, but if you do have a Mac, iPad, etc.. may be a bigger deal for you. I ditched that stuff a while back.

Updates and Support - No idea what this is going to be like, but Samsung has supported their devices for about 3 years with updates, so should be OK. Unlike Apple, the Note 8 hasn't needed to keep having updates to fix release bugs. Apple has gotten sloppy on the software side.

Apps - I haven't found any apps that work dramatically differently on Android other than fewer banking apps work with FPS. Some do, but fewer.

On the Pros side:

Unlocking - Having FPS and Iris is a better option than just one. Iris gets faster and faster for me and I can't see where it would be dramatically different from FaceID. But also having FPS lets me use both together so they race to unlock and in some use cases one will work better than the other. Love having both. The location of the FPS is not that bad... your finger naturally lands there when holding the phone, so don't see the big issue.

Camera - I think the camera on all of them is great. I like the camera app and capabilities on the Note 8 better. I can have complete control of settings, different shooting modes, optical zoom, etc.. For video, I think the Note 8 falls behind in indoor night shooting vs. the iPhone (my daughter has an iPhone 8 that I'm comparing to).

S-Pen - I like this and use it. I have a pen also on my Surface Pro, so can use OneNote back and forth and edit on either side. Its also helping me break the habit of scrap paper notes.

UI - People complain about Samsung's software being laggy and bloated. This is just incorrect on the Note 8. Its polished and quick.

Display - Note 8 gorgeous. I am hearing of issues from some X owners, but then its rated highly so who knows. And no notch. That thing would drive me crazy in landscape mode. I see a lot people saying "you get used to it". I don't want to "get used to it" on a device that is $1500 (with AC+).

Integration with Windows - Microsoft seems to be putting energy into Android integration with Windows now that they killed Windows Phone. I'm using their Launcher and its very nice.

Flexibility of Android - I'm having a blast learning the power of all the things I can do with Android.

Samsung Pay - accepted nearly everywhere in the US... way more places than Apple Pay

Gear S3 - This was the sleeper for me. I expected to really miss Apple Watch, but the Gear S3 is so much more intuitive and works for what I use it for better. The Gear S3 is likely to be what keeps me from ever going back.

Size - I like the plus size. The X is a competitor of the s8, not the Note 8.

Thanks for the feedback. Though I’m heavily into the apple ecosystem, I am waiting till the galaxy S9 to come out next year, hopefully sometime in April and I’ll be weighing my options. I’m seeing each and every year that galaxy have so much more to offer and giving us users something that Apple will not give us or that Apple takes away from us such as the headphone jack, not giving us IP 68 or a better camera, not to mention a larger screen. Apple has so many billions of dollars you would think they would have everything that Samsung galaxy has, plus a Good operating system.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Samsung pay is horrendously insecure. Eek. As if Magnetic Stripe wasn't insecure enough now they made it wireless.

https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-pay-what-you-need-to-know-faq/
Samsung Pay does not store the account or credit card numbers of cards on the device, instead using tokenization for transactions. Each time a purchase is made, the Samsung Pay handset sends two pieces of data to the payment terminal. The first is a 16-digit token that represents the credit or debit card number, while the second piece is a one-time code or cryptogram generated by the phone's encryption key.

 

[Pascal325]

Enjoy the Note 8. I owned one for almost 2 months. It was a great fast phone. But my major complains were, stupid place for finger sensor (so you will still have to pick it up off the table to unlock it). And the tall screen required me to move my hands a lot to reach things. I like the wider format more than the newer taller format. So I went to a 8 plus and love it.

 

[AdonisSMU]

https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-pay-what-you-need-to-know-faq/
Samsung Pay does not store the account or credit card numbers of cards on the device, instead using tokenization for transactions. Each time a purchase is made, the Samsung Pay handset sends two pieces of data to the payment terminal. The first is a 16-digit token that represents the credit or debit card number, while the second piece is a one-time code or cryptogram generated by the phone's encryption key.

https://www.blackhat.com/us-16/briefings.html#samsung-pay-tokenized-numbers-flaws-and-issues

This app is a complex mechanism which has some limitations relating security. Using random tokenize numbers and implementing Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) technology, which do not guarantee that every token generated with Samsung Pay would be applied to make a purchase with the same Samsung device. That means that an attacker could steal a token from a Samsung Pay device and use it without restrictions. Inconvenient but practical is that Samsung's users could utilize the app in airplane mode. This makes it impossible for Samsung Pay to have a full control process of the tokens pile. Even when the tokens have their own restrictions, the tokenization process gets weaker after the app generates the first token relating a specific card.

As I correctly stated, Samsung Pay is insecure.

 

[Pascal325]

One other thing I forgot to mention is if you watch a lot of youtube videos, or any videos, the iphones are much nicer to watch on because of STEREO speakers. Unlike them, the Note 8 has one speaker that fires at the bottom and unless you cup it, it's not near as loud as the iPhone dual speakers. I always had to cup my Note 8 to hear it better.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

https://www.blackhat.com/us-16/briefings.html#samsung-pay-tokenized-numbers-flaws-and-issues



As I correctly stated, Samsung Pay is insecure.

You would either have to be stupid enough to open and use Samsung pay while allowing a stranger to be extremely close(inches) to you to steal a token, or someone to have access to your device. That would be the equivalent of giving someone your Apple ID credentials. It's almost an impossible task in a real life scenario. Also, tokens expire after 24 hours.

Unless you are part of the Mission Impossible team, Samsung Pay isn't getting hacked.

 

[AdonisSMU]

You would either have to be stupid enough to open and use Samsung pay while allowing a stranger to be extremely close(inches) to you to steal a token, or someone to have access to your device. That would be the equivalent of giving someone your Apple ID credentials. It's almost an impossible task in a real life scenario. Also, tokens expire after 24 hours.

Unless you are part of the Mission Impossible team, Samsung Pay isn't getting hacked.

They advise using the app in airplane mode as the only way to be secure using Samsung Pay and at that point it's totally inconvenient. My roommate has a Samsung device and refuses to use Samsung pay.

 

[Sajal]

Congratulations on a decision you took yourself. Also now you will spend more time on optimising the note 8 to be like iOS.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

They advise using the app in airplane mode as the only way to be secure using Samsung Pay and at that point it's totally inconvenient. My roommate has a Samsung device and refuses to use Samsung pay.

My point still stands. The odds of having your Samsung Pay credentials compromised is way less than the odds of having Face or Touch ID compromised. And I doubt your roommate doesn't use any biometrics on his Samsung device.

 

[flat five]

but I have to vent somewhere.

why?


(real question.. not rhetorical)

 

[Deeds500]

OP I'm like you, I want the Note because had it with iphone, but just be aware that if your N8 is on your desk, and you wanna continue using touch ID, you got to pick up the N8 because the FPS is on the back. That may be more of an inconvenience than FID.

I'm holding out for the Note 9 because I suspect it will be under the display with the N9.

 

[Tapiture]

Without Samsung, Apple would have little motivation to innovate. Competition and choices are always good. Returning your X and buying the competitor helps make Apple realize they need to step it up.