Samsung Unveils Galaxy S8 and S8+ With Iris and Facial Recognition, No Home Button

[lazyrighteye]

I feel ya'! I am really, really hoping Apple knocks this one out of the park with a fully bezel-less design. This Samsung phone is really nice looking, but I think Apple is courageous enough to do even better, and get us something to be even more happy about.

Def. While the S8 looks nice, it still looks like Samsung. No thanks.

While we never get all of the crazy rumored goodness in any one Apple device, I have a feeling we're going to be pretty pleased with their next gen offering. Don't feel like it will resemble anything we've seen yet. #pumped

 

[McCool71]

Are you concerned with the image distortion from the curved display? IMO, it's too curved wrecking the image/video/desktop..

For the person actually using the phone and looking directly at it the curved display makes very little difference. For those watching the phone from the side it is of course more pronounced.

 

[Rafterman]

384GB of storage is nice. A lot of laptops don't come with that much.

 

[9081094]

lol. Samsung's battery is so advance it explodes.

Oh please, that argument is soooo old. It's Cook's last resort to use before the iPhone exodus begins

 

[mthomas184]

How is the home button on the back of the device working out for those that have phones with a home button on the back? It seems to me (as someone who has never used a phone that has a fingerprint sensor/home button on the back of the device) that it would take some getting used to. I guess it's probably muscle memory as much as anything else, though.

I had it on the short time I used the Pixel and I personally hated it. It was a whole new feel to me and will never get a phone that has it on the back as long as there are phones with it on the front.

 

[Rafterman]

I'm tempted because my new Benz has a charging pad built into the console. Just toss it in and you are good to go. You can even connect to android auto. Must say - tempting - really, really tempting.

It is tempting. The wireless charging and 384GB of storage. But in the end, as a Mac user, having an iPhone is more "pertinent" to my environment, and the apps are better.

 

[wxman2003]

The problem with android phones are the inefficient use of storage. The OS and Samsung bloatware will use close to 12GB. Compare that to iOS. only about 3GB.

 

[PDavidAlexander]

A fingerprint sensor right next to the camera lens? D'oh! Wonder how often people are going to be wiping down their camera lens because they got greasy fingerprints all over it trying to hit the fingerprint scanner.

 

[dojoman]

The problem with android phones are the inefficient use of storage. The OS and Samsung bloatware will use close to 12GB. Compare that to iOS. only about 3GB.

But but but you can extend your storage with microSD card unlike iPhone.

 

[hot spare]

Their services like Bixby, S Pay, etc have always been underwhelming imo and so don't impress me.

Nobody have used Bixby so far, whereas Apple has been trying to do something (whatever that something is) with Siri for 5 years now.
And on which universe is S Pay less useful/featured than any other payment solution?

 

[9081094]

Even as you are "trashing" Apple their stock is going up, not down.

Since when is being realistic 'thrashing'? Have you seen compelling products coming from Apple these last four years?

 

[Kabeyun]

Really beautiful looking device, hope apple brings something like this September

Apple better have a good answer to this. Looks fantastic.

The Samsung phone looks like this because Apple's phone will look like this. This phone is the preemptive answer to what they knew Apple has been developing. So don't worry.

 

[McCool71]

A fingerprint sensor right next to the camera lens? D'oh! Wonder how often people are going to be wiping down their camera lens because they got greasy fingerprints all over it trying to hit the fingerprint scanner.

I think you need to give people more credit when it comes to learning new stuff... If this is an issue for someone more than a week until they get used to it I suspect that person can barely dress himself.

 

[lazyrighteye]

iPhone 8 might, but how does Apple talk up the 7s/7s plus?

I'm still not sold that we'll see 2 7s variants and a special 8.
Despite the chatter, that still feels odd for me.

That said, if ANYONE can talk about something as potentially awkward as this, it is Apple Marketing.

 

[69Mustang]

I find it interesting that something useful and well used as the 'home button' is subject to such distaste. I think it's a function of chasing fashion and it's now fashionable to dislike the home button. The bevel thing is also interesting since these things are so expensive I know I've never used a iPhone without a hardcase to protect it. The color of the phone doesn't matter - that's hidden by the case. These phones without bezels will be problematic for a wrap around case. Would there be a 'case function' that shrinks the screen space so you're not tearing the edges of your case to touch some hidden bit of screen to move to the next screen? Interesting watching the Samsung presentation from Facebook instead of having to watch it from my iPad as I would have to do with the Apple events.

Cases have never been an issue for Edge phones. They won't be for the S8 either. Case makers always find a way. Besides, it would be Samsung if they didn't already offer multiple cases.

 

[mthomas184]

And on which universe is S Pay less useful/featured than any other payment solution?

I would definitely take Samsung Pay over Apple Pay all day long.

 

[wxman2003]

But but but you can extend your storage with microSD card unlike iPhone.

You have to with android since it wastes so much internal memory.

 

[slimothy]

Def. While the S8 looks nice, it still looks like Samsung. No thanks.

While we never get all of the crazy rumored goodness in any one Apple device, I have a feeling we're going to be pretty pleased with their next gen offering. Don't feel like it will resemble anything we've seen yet. #pumped

Exactly. We've all been underwhelmed with the releases since the iPhone 6... so it's about time for Apple to innovate on the design-front. So yeah, I think the iPhone 8/X will be monumental for everyone. Definitely excited!

 

[admob71]

No innovation? Bixby looks to be able to do so much more than Siri. Camera integration, system awareness, dedicated hardware button, and instead of a dumb, "sorry, I can't do that," Bixby will actually learn how to do what you're asking of it.

Iris scanner and facial recognition will not only unlock your phone but also enable you to sign into secure webpages and utilize the superior Samsung Pay.

The Dex dock looks to be amazing and powerful in its own right.

Wireless charging is super convenient and with the S8 phones, it's been improved upon to not only be faster, but also less picky about how you set your device on the pad.

USB Type-C is the next wave of cables that aren't proprietary like the Lightning cable that only Apple uses.

Gear VR and the 360 camera are amazing and you can even upload videos with the camera into Facebook for others to view from either the headset or without.

And how can you say it looks cheap? This is a beautifully designed piece of hardware that is nearly all screen on front and no camera bump on the back.

I can understand you being an iPhone lover, but you can't ignore the features and design of the new Galaxy line.

You are obviously not aware of said poster lol, yes he can!!!!

 

[imagineadam]

Hmm. Infinity display? What will apple call theirs on the iPhone 8/edition?

Since Samsung is supplying the oled for apple don't you guys think this is a huge preview of what the display will be like for the 8/edition? Maybe not the curves though.

 

[MH01]

They kept the headphone jack, smart move.

 

[rudychidiac]

The front looks good, the back looks terrible

 

[McCool71]

The Samsung phone looks like this because Apple's phone will look like this. This phone is the preemptive answer to what they knew Apple has been developing. So don't worry.

Ahh, the classic "Samsung copied something from the future" argument...

 

[itguy06]

Not from my experience. Apps take a while to load when in memory on Android phones and get purged quickly.

"Faster" is subjective. I can say my old iPhone 6 is faster than many Androids I've used. Specs wise and benchmark wise the iPhones always draw circles around Android. Look at YouTube vids comparing RAM and speed of phones. Though not 100% accurate they do show real world use and not just paper stats.

I only spent a couple days with the GS5 again and it was on 6.0 and it was decent speed wise. Definitely more responsive than my 6+ though. The 6+ has this annoying habit of when mail comes in the phone goes near unresoponsive for seconds. Safari also likes to reload a bunch and just seemed to be a slow experience. Not sure when it started but it was noticeable when compared to another phone.

The Axon on 7.1.1 is smooth as butter and so far a very speedy experience. It's not without its flaws but the iPhone and iOS 10 has those as well.

 

[BeSweeet]

I'm tempted because my new Benz has a charging pad built into the console. Just toss it in and you are good to go. You can even connect to android auto. Must say - tempting - really, really tempting.

My Toyota Tacoma has a wireless charging pad and it's extremely slow with my S7 as it's not a fast wireless charger. I'll stick with a fast wired car charger. Cool to have, but pretty useless given how slow it is. YMMV.