Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Reviews: 'Beautiful' Display and Solid Dual Rear Cameras at Premium Price

[polterbyte]

"Buy for the stylus, stay because you're a fan", although very precise (as per The Verge's review), doesn't sound like a good marketing strategy to me.

 

[elmaco]

"That brings us to what stinks about the Note 8. Some of the biometrics, including the ability to unlock your phone by scanning your face or irises, are so poorly executed that they feel like marketing gimmicks as opposed to actual security features. "

The only reason I would buy a Samsung was if South Korea was bombed by North Korea and I wanted to show my support.

 

[DCJ001]

And the Note 8 has a really great facial recognition system...

... if you do not mind having everyone log in to your phone with a picture of you, or by showing your FaceBook photo.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/09/05/iphone-8-face-recognition-samsung-galaxy-s8-note-8/

 

[2268473]

I'm Not sure why people make posts like this. Either you have no experience with android or you're just jumping on the bandwagon effect to make an comment about their operating software being "Terrible". That's entirely false. I have personally tested it and it's not terrible at all, it's completely different from iOS, but it's unique in its own right. And Nor am I defending android, because I am an iPhone user. Just correcting what you stated is false.

Indeed both of our comments are our opinions. No bandwagon here. I have used Android phones and it is a terrible experience compared to Apple’s products.

 

[Defthand]

No disgusting protruding lens either.

The protruding camera lens is a non-existent for 99.99% of iPhone owners. Why? Because, those persons use cases, some of which are so thick that the protruding lens appears recessed. My own phone is in an Apple silicon case. Viewed from the side/edge, the camera is invisible.

 

[Vanilla35]

that's like saying: at least my blackberry has a physical keyboard.

I'm not getting the correlation. Basically every phone on the market right now uses a finger print scanner.

 

[Defthand]

“Most people think it’s how they look, but it’s not really how they look, it’s how they work.”

- Steve Jobs on design

Amen. Function before form. That--combined with powerful simplicity--distinguished MacOS from its competitors' products. Unfortunately, iOS doesn't follow that tenant as religiously. Apple has been slow to improve on the WebOS platform that it adopted from Palm. I learned that some of the "game-changing" improvements coming in iOS 11, existed in WebOS all along. Why, in the case of the iPad, did Apple withhold obvious productivity features for so long?

 

[slash7844]

And the Note 8 has a really great facial recognition system...

... if you do not mind having everyone log in to your phone with a picture of you, or by showing your FaceBook photo.

https://9to5mac.com/2017/09/05/iphone-8-face-recognition-samsung-galaxy-s8-note-8/

That's a demo phone at Best Buy, which is meant to be unlocked regardless of what face is used. You don't want someone to come and lock the phone so the next shopper is unable to check out the phone.

 

[stopthenonsense]

Maybe, but then so has the quality of their products. Apple hasn't been shy with their increases in price either. Let's face it, Apple is overpriced for what are effectively midrange phones. For all the idea the iPhone is a flagship device, spec wise, it has a midrange screen, less than most ram and lacks numerous features of a flagship, e.g. Fast charging, expandable memory etc

Surely you are kidding that the iPhone is a midrange phone, when it blows every single android phone out of the water with those "lower" specs. Android needs all that ram, bc its so inefficient! fast charging isn't an issue when your battery doesn't die, and expandable memory is needed on android when the OS takes up 50% of a base models phone memory.
[doublepost=1504663500][/doublepost]

I'm Not sure why people make posts like this. Either you have no experience with android or you're just jumping on the bandwagon effect to make an comment about their operating software being "Terrible". That's entirely false. I have personally tested it and it's not terrible at all, it's completely different from iOS, but it's unique in its own right. And Nor am I defending android, because I am an iPhone user. Just correcting what you stated is false.

I had an S8 for 3 weeks and it had to go. Typical Samsung style... runs great until you install apps. Then it goes to hell in a hand basket. it really is terrible. Not android.... samsungs android.

 

[remydlc]

I've read two of these reviews and none mention the elephant in the room with Samsung: Performance.

It's ridiculous and am embarrassment that I have friends spending so much on the S8 and they suffer from lag that their competitors phone's from the pervious generations do not (*cough*Pixel, HTC, OnePlus cough*). They pick up a Pixel or an iPhone and are astounded at the instant-ness of the OS - it's something they can't unsee.

Literally all Samsungs fault for crap development of their touch layer, and often mismanagement of the hardware. I'd not spend a few hundred, let alone nearly a grand if that is something still plaguing their flagship hardware.
People often say they don't care about speed because phones are so fast at this point, but here we see many common actions have some sort of lag that can increase with continued use or heavy usage... that's a basic requirement for any phone.

Obsessives scream that they're buttery smooth, but ask any other Android user and the rep stands firm with the S8

Hmm another one of those stories. I call it bs. The reason why i got the s8 was because the long term reviews showed no slow down whatsoever. My brother S7 is also as fast as my Pixel (running beta 8.0 back then). My Pixel seems faster than my wife 7plus, so go figure. If people install over 100 apps on their phone expect slow downs, same thing with your computers, it just how this works. No matter the OS. Source: 12 year Unix and Windows Sys admin with experience in Smartphone forensics.

 

[jamesrick80]

Best phone of the year.....and the most fully featured. Thank you Samsung......the note 8 is surely one of a kind.

 

[torana355]

I've read two of these reviews and none mention the elephant in the room with Samsung: Performance.

It's ridiculous and am embarrassment that I have friends spending so much on the S8 and they suffer from lag that their competitors phone's from the pervious generations do not (*cough*Pixel, HTC, OnePlus cough*). They pick up a Pixel or an iPhone and are astounded at the instant-ness of the OS - it's something they can't unsee.

Literally all Samsungs fault for crap development of their touch layer, and often mismanagement of the hardware. I'd not spend a few hundred, let alone nearly a grand if that is something still plaguing their flagship hardware.
People often say they don't care about speed because phones are so fast at this point, but here we see many common actions have some sort of lag that can increase with continued use or heavy usage... that's a basic requirement for any phone.

Obsessives scream that they're buttery smooth, but ask any other Android user and the rep stands firm with the S8

Let me start by saying my S7 did lag and had microstutters here and there. However my S8 is buttery smooth, it runs smoother then a work mates iPhone 7 plus. It also seems to be running better with each monthly update, quite the opposite to my S7 which got slower over time. Also early reports are saying the Note 8 is faster and smoother again. I think it time to stop this hogwash about Samsung phones being laggy, it simply is not the case anymore.

 

[inscrewtable]

And honestly, how often are you staring at the camera bar or the protruding lens when taking the picture or using the phone? Better tech sometimes requires trade offs and that's exactly what happened here.

You obviously do not understand the appeal that the design of Apple has to people who care about detail, this is why Jobs insisted that the insides of their computers also looked good, even the bits that almost no one would ever see.

 

[farewelwilliams]

I'm not getting the correlation. Basically every phone on the market right now uses a finger print scanner.

saying "at least it has one" doesn't really mean jack if it ruins the experience of using the phone. the position of the fingerprint scanner is essential to its purpose since the user unlocks their phone over a hundred times a day. having it in an awkward position makes it useless.
[doublepost=1504668518][/doublepost]

Yikes...unlocking causes bad performance with facial recognition thing..huh?

what?

 

[Juan007]

Is this phone even allowed on airplanes?

 

[BaltimoreMediaBlog]

What caught my attention is that they ridiculed the facial recognition and Iris scan as a gimmick, but still loved the phone because it still has a solid fingerprint sensor, albeit in a poor location.

This might be the iPhone 8's achilles heal. It will have no TouchID. I sense the coming storm.

 

[pat500000]

saying "at least it has one" doesn't really mean jack if it ruins the experience of using the phone. the position of the fingerprint scanner is essential to its purpose since the user unlocks their phone over a hundred times a day. having it in an awkward position makes it useless.
[doublepost=1504668518][/doublepost]
what?

Some of the biometrics, including the ability to unlock your phone by scanning your face or irises, are so poorly executed that they feel like marketing gimmicks as opposed to actual security features.

 

[cylack]

Still hard to believe after all these years that Jobs allowed that snake Eric Schmidt to sit on Apple’s board and quietly steal the iphones ideas for Google.

 

[stopthenonsense]

Hmm another one of those stories. I call it bs. The reason why i got the s8 was because the long term reviews showed no slow down whatsoever. My brother S7 is also as fast as my Pixel (running beta 8.0 back then). My Pixel seems faster than my wife 7plus, so go figure. If people install over 100 apps on their phone expect slow downs, same thing with your computers, it just how this works. No matter the OS. Source: 12 year Unix and Windows Sys admin with experience in Smartphone forensics.

I have well over 100 apps on my 7+ and have no slow downs at all. Samsung phones do not stay fast. It's a known fact.

 

[CarpalMac]

Samsung spend billions in marketing. That money also goes to pay writers of those ADrticles.

And exactly how much does Apple spend on their marketing? Also, how many journos fear writing something negative, worrying that they will be frozen out of future Apple events/early hands on opportunities? That would be a foot traffic killer for a lot of sites so they play it safe so they can stay within the Apple inner'ish circle.

That is an incredibly poor card to play if you're trying to make Apple out to be better.

 

[farewelwilliams]

Some of the biometrics, including the ability to unlock your phone by scanning your face or irises, are so poorly executed that they feel like marketing gimmicks as opposed to actual security features.

yeah, but had the same feeling about touchscreens/tablet devices before iphone/ipad came out. we'll see how iphone 8 does it.

 

[Feenician]

Apple has been slow to improve on the WebOS platform that it adopted from Palm

Apple “adopted a platform” from WebOS? Do tell. Last I heard LG bought that. If your “adopted a platform” comment actually means “uses cards in multitasking” then it is the weakest of weak sauces.

That's a demo phone at Best Buy, which is meant to be unlocked regardless of what face is used.

No. Every time we hear the same claim. Wrong. CNET did not try it with a demo unit.

https://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-note-8-fooled-face-unlock-not-secure/

We tried it on our own Note 8, and sure enough, it's still possible to fool it with a flat photo. A Samsung rep tells CNET that the company's guidance remains the same: You'll want to use the fingerprint sensor or iris scanner for security, and should view facial recognition as a convenient alternative to the simple swipe-to-unlock gesture.

Thank you Samsung

Brand adoration surely any company would love.

However my S8 is buttery smooth, it runs smoother then a work mates iPhone 7 plus

Ah yes. You and your work mate who sit around comparing the buttery smoothness of your phones

 

[JayIsAwesome]

I've read two of these reviews and none mention the elephant in the room with Samsung: Performance.

It's ridiculous and am embarrassment that I have friends spending so much on the S8 and they suffer from lag that their competitors phone's from the pervious generations do not (*cough*Pixel, HTC, OnePlus cough*). They pick up a Pixel or an iPhone and are astounded at the instant-ness of the OS - it's something they can't unsee.

Literally all Samsungs fault for crap development of their touch layer, and often mismanagement of the hardware. I'd not spend a few hundred, let alone nearly a grand if that is something still plaguing their flagship hardware.
People often say they don't care about speed because phones are so fast at this point, but here we see many common actions have some sort of lag that can increase with continued use or heavy usage... that's a basic requirement for any phone.

Obsessives scream that they're buttery smooth, but ask any other Android user and the rep stands firm with the S8

I have an S8+ that runs just as smooth as my 7+. The days of the "omg android is so slow and laggy" arguments are long gone. This isn't 2011 anymore. The S8 is a beast of a phone, as is the Note. Both are smooth, as is my 7+
[doublepost=1504677303][/doublepost]

$930 Samsung? Nobody bats an eye. $999 iPhone? EVERYBODY PANIC

Both are crazy expensive. But unfortunately that's the cost of a good premium device nowadays....if you're Samsung or Apple aka the only two companies who can get away with that. Imagine LG coming out with a 1000 dollar G7
[doublepost=1504677442][/doublepost]

Samsung spend billions in marketing. That money also goes to pay writers of those ADrticles.

So positive reviews for Samsung = them paying for it. Yet when those same sites praise Apple, it's genuine? Or is Apple also paying folks to praise their products? Hmm...

 

[Feenician]

I have an S8+ that runs just as smooth as my 7+. The days of the "omg android is so slow and laggy" arguments are long gone. This isn't 2011 anymore. The S8 is a beast of a phone, as is the Note. Both are smooth, as is my 7+

How is it that every year that we see people having to admit that last year’s stuttered

(Just up this page from one of the most ardently pro Samsung and Android posters, but echoed all over the internet in this and other forums)

Let me start by saying my S7 did lag and had microstutters here and there.

And every year we see people trying to imply, “This isn’t 2011 anymore”, that the stutter is somehow a thing of the distant past? How does that happen?
[doublepost=1504678029][/doublepost]

And exactly how much does Apple spend on their marketing?

So positive reviews for Samsung = them paying for it. Yet when those same sites praise Apple, it's genuine? Or is Apple also paying folks to praise their products? Hmm...

Before this was published and Samsung were humiliated by it and started to close up their marketing spending from public view

http://www.asymco.com/2013/04/02/the-cost-of-selling-galaxies-updated/

And then we learned that was actually short for billions of dollars for “Sales promotions” (read: bribing cellphone salespeople with incentives)

http://fortune.com/2013/04/04/samsungs-4-3b-ad-budget-its-not-just-for-mocking-apple/

Roughly about twice as much as Apple. I’ll take a cash bet, if anyone can find credible figures for 2016/2017 that the gap has widened too.

BTW are we counting the Korean student budget?

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2013/04/17/samsung-fake-web-reviews/

 

[JayIsAwesome]

2016 portrait mode on iPhone: "What a stupid gimmick, Apple is doomed!"
2017 Portrait mode ripoff on Note 8: "You see, now that's innovative!"

Pretty much the same can be said for APPLE and its fans.

2011: Nobody needs a stylus! It's so stupid. Shamesung sucks!

2015: OMG that Apple Pencil tho!

2014: Nobody needs 4k recording on a phone. Its a useless gimmick.

2015: OMG THE 6S IS GETTING 4K RECORDING!!!

2013: Nobody needs a bigger screen phone. 4in is the perfect size!!! Samsung looks stupid with its big phones.

2014: OMG the 6 Plus!!!!!

And for the record, most folks praised the portrait mode feature on the 7+ b/c it was and still is a really badass feature. Hoping it's improved even more for the 8. I love using that feature on my 7+
[doublepost=1504678531][/doublepost]

How is it that every year that we see people having to admit that last year’s stuttered

(Just up this page from one of the most ardently pro Samsung and Android posters, but echoed all over the internet in this and other forums)


And every year we see people trying to imply, “This isn’t 2011 anymore”, that the stutter is somehow a thing of the distant past? How does that happen?

So I guess I must have a special S8 that doesn't lag b/c my phone (yes I actually own one) doesn't lag and it's just as fast as my 7+. Yes I know just said something positive about Samsung. I'm surely gonna get banned from this site now. And cool, you found somebody that has issues with the S8. OK awesome. I can just as easy find somebody who has had issues with lagging and random glitches on the iPhone
[doublepost=1504678721][/doublepost]I still find comical how some of yall have this undying hatred for Samsung. It's as if the company collectively stole your lunch money and ran over your dog and erased Game Of Thrones on the DVR all in the same week