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

[iphonehype]

How about the vendor that spends every last dollar trying to make a better product, so they have nothing left over at the end and are barely still solvent? And the product does more and costs less?

Just thinking out loud here.

I think this is a very good point however, I do believe that Apple products are better manufactured (if that makes sense) / materials comparing to a Samsung Galaxy.

I really don't think the R&D costs between the S7 vs S7 was much different if not Apple may have spent more. That's just speculation on how they did the colours esp jet black.

Really and truly, if we think about it. I am sure Apple has made a phone prototype that has all the features the S8 has + more.

When Apple release a product it works. Touch ID worked, Siri worked, Apple Pay worked. Yes they've had a few issues e.g. Apple Maps but they fix without releasing new hardware.

 

[AZ63]

I hope Apple learns from this and make the iPhone 8 something worth.

Way too late to have any impact on Apple's next phone. An Apple response to this phone would be seen in Sept. of 2018. Timelines stretch out a long way when you start talking about what goes into development and then the production of millions and millions of units. It is not like the manufacturing of this year's iPhone will start in September.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I think this is a very good point however, I do believe that Apple products are better manufactured (if that makes sense) / materials comparing to a Samsung Galaxy.

I really don't think the R&D costs between the S7 vs S7 was much different if not Apple may have spent more. That's just speculation on how they did the colours esp jet black.

Really and truly, if we think about it. I am sure Apple has made a phone prototype that has all the features the S8 has + more.

When Apple release a product it works. Touch ID worked, Siri worked, Apple Pay worked. Yes they've had a few issues e.g. Apple Maps but they fix without releasing new hardware.

Apple Maps is still mediocre.

 

[Dirtfarmer]

I pay Apple for their expertise in being able to integrate their hardware, software and services in a manner which affords me that unique user experience which only Apple can give.

The things I do with my iPhone can't be replicated with 2 or even 3 android smartphones, so it doesn't matter how cheap the competition is. I am still not getting them, because they don't give me more of what I want (which is an integrated computing solution which "just works" right out of the box.

I would pay ten fold for that if it was a thing.

And I'm a guy who has spent tens of thousands on Apple hardware personally and hundreds of thousands professionally.

I have personally deployed and supported almost every piece of Apple hardware from the Pismo Powerbook onwards, including jellybean iMac, toilet seat iBook, every type and generation of white plastic machines, TiBook, Cube, gooseneck iMac, eMac, alBook, PowerMac G5, iPhone 1-6s, iPod Firewire shuffle mini nano click wheel touch, iPad 1-pro, AppleTV 1-3, Intel XServe, Mini G4 though current, Watch 1, Macbook, Macbook Pro Touch Bar, and stuff that I am forgetting. (Never been around an XServe G5 or XServe RAID, original Apple Bluetooth headset, and some other things for sure)

"Just works" has never been my experience, but "just works more than Windows" was my experience up until around the end of the last decade.

To use your metaphor, Apple is a Naturopath. They convince you to spend hundreds of dollars on snake oil, but you come away satisfied because you want to believe.

I no longer believe. Supporting Windows 7 SP1+ and Lollipop+ made me unable to tolerate how simultaneously inflexible and unreliable the Apple ecosystem is relative to the more mature alternatives.

 

[bozzykid]

The previous quarter was an unmitigated disaster. Profit could be up 12% but losing billions takes a while to recover.

Overall, Samsung profits were up 77%. There is not much to recover from since they are such a huge company. The chip market is pushing them to new highs in profits.

 

[Kabeyun]

2 options I can think about:
Maybe you missed the /s tag or you were living under the a giant rock since the time S7E was launched. Even someone with low IQ could easily see how Samsung have been constantly upgrading their designs after S5. S8 is a result of that process and has nothing to do with iPhone.

Maybe a yucky poopy face could ignore Sammy's track record of copy-and-smother. Maybe you were living in a cave instead of realizing, like even morons and doody-noses have, that Apple's design direction and corporate acquisitions are basically out in the open and available for harvest. Maybe even a kindergartner knows that 2+2 doesn't equal 5.

Can we switch to civil discourse or should we continue like this?

 

[TurboPGT!]

I'm not seeing where the wow is.

Why would I ever want a screen with rounded corners? Ever? Like, ever?

 

[Abazigal]

Good to take a lot of profits if you're a shareholder or a manager who needs his quarterly bonus.

This worked great for RIMM, PALM, Microsoft, and the movie studios...right up until it didn't.

In technology, you stay ahead of the curve or you die a sudden and undignified death.

Apple is still pimping out the ideas that Steve had between the 80's and 2007. They have literally done nothing revolutionary in 10 years.

Their high profit margins speak to this, as reselling old ideas definitely keeps costs and risks down.

Tim should print out a PALM OS logo and tape it to the fridge in the coffee room.

Look at Symbian, RIM, PALM. They kept selling devices for a long time after they stopped having new ideas.

You still didn't answer the question.

In any business, market share is the means. Profits is the end. All the market share in the world means squat if they don't let the company in question make a meaningful profit.

What exactly am I losing out by Apple having a lower market share? What exactly are android smartphone users getting from android having majority market share? As it stands, Apple is one company, so it's lower market share belies the fact that 14% market share still translates into a ton of phones sold in an absolute sense. Did Apple not sell over 200 million iPhones last year?

So I would argue that Apple has the best of both worlds. It has both market share and profits where they matter.

 

[xflashx]

They had better bring more than an iPhone 7S.

I hope they skip the 7S and jump directly to iPhone 8. No new "iPhone Edition", simply good old two different sizes with a new design and state of the art tech. Can't stand the idea of a "premium premium" iPhone starting at $1000+, that would be nothing else than just greed.

 

[TurboPGT!]

Apple Maps is still mediocre.

What is mediocre about it? The data itself? I suppose that could be true if I were constantly comparing its data to something with better data. I don't know. I don't spend my time that way. I just...use it.

As for the App itself (mapping data aside)...it is unparalleled in quality, and the iOS 10 version is the best it has ever been by lonnng way.

 

[I7guy]

Overall, Samsung profits were up 77%. There is not much to recover from since they are such a huge company. The chip market is pushing them to new highs in profits.

What does the profits Samsung corporate profits have to do with anything remote to this discussion? Samsung mobile division lost billions while Apple has been cleaning up as far as profits go.

But it seems as if Samsung is keeping up their stance on cramming hardware into their phones.

 

[Michael Scrip]

The G6 really took away the thunder from their messaging about the screen. Shame.

In a month no one will be talking about LG.

Hell... in a week no one will.

LG is a name we still recognize... but they haven't been a major smartphone player in years. Kinda like HTC still getting lots of press... yet they barely sell any phones.

LG stole Samsung's thunder?

I think Samsung will weather the storm.

 

[Rogifan]

Never trust iVerge for anything in tech. They are paid shills.

What the heck is iVerge? The Verge certainly isn't pro-Apple.

 

[Dirtfarmer]

In other words, you're not putting your money where your mouth is.

That's too bad you're not long AAPL. Could have been making money like I am.

My money is exactly where my mouth is.

There are lots of ways to bet against Apple's long term success.

Until you sell, the only money you've made are dividends. And AAPL are as stingy with their dividends as they are with their innovation.

 

[Abazigal]

I
To use your metaphor, Apple is a Naturopath. They convince you to spend hundreds of dollars on snake oil, but you come away satisfied because you want to believe.

Belief has nothing to do with it.

iPhone + Airpods + Apple Watch.

iPad Pro + Apple Pencil + Apple TV.

iOS only apps such as overcast, tweetbot, fantastical and spark.

Services such as Apple Pay, continuity and airdrop.

Find me the competing alternatives which work just as well, assuming they even work at all.

 

[TurboPGT!]

But it seems as if Samsung is keeping up their stance on cramming hardware into their phones.

This is what I don't understand...why are there never any examples of why the crammed-in hardware is good?

When Apple embraces a new hardware component, they create a product around it. Like Touch ID. Like 3D Touch. There is depth, and thought, and deep integration.

Samsung just puts out "Finger print reader". Sounds sexy : / What does it do? What is its purposes? Why is that always in theory a good thing, but there is no bigger picture of the product.

Like with this new display. Where are their examples of why this particular resolution? Where are there examples of how it makes content look good? Where is take-your-breath-away-you-didn't-even-know-you-wanted-it explanation for the rounded edges of the screen, something no one could ever convince me is a good idea?

It just goes on and on. Samsung does bullet points. Apple does products.

 

[I7guy]

My money is exactly where my mouth is.

There are lots of ways to bet against Apple's long term success.

Until you sell, the only money you've made are dividends. And AAPL are as stingy with their dividends as they are with their innovation.

You forgot imo. But those who home Apple long term will make killing in the current market. But that still isnt germane to the discussion.

 

[9081094]

What is mediocre about it? The data itself? I suppose that could be true if I were constantly comparing its data to something with better data. I don't know. I don't spend my time that way. I just...use it.

As for the App itself (mapping data aside)...it is unparalleled in quality, and the iOS 10 version is the best it has ever been by lonnng way.

Maps is a joke. No bike or walking paths, no transits. No offline mapping when you take it on a bike tour. It's a complete joke. As is the pace they're implementing transit solutions. Luckily there is google maps.

 

[Abazigal]

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

Or Apple will what?

Theverge asked a similar question last year, ironically. The rest as we know it is history.

 

[I7guy]

Maps is a joke. No bike or walking paths, no transits. No offline mapping when you take it on a bike tour. It's a complete joke. As is the pace they're implementing transit solutions. Luckily there is google maps.

Apple maps is better at poi than google maps imo, I don't even have it installed.

 

[9081094]

This is what I don't understand...why are there never any examples of why the crammed-in hardware is good?

When Apple embraces a new hardware component, they create a product around it. Like Touch ID. Like 3D Touch. There is depth, and thought, and deep integration.

Samsung just puts out "Finger print reader". Sounds sexy : / What does it do? What is its purposes? Why is that always in theory a good thing, but there is no bigger picture of the product.

Like with this new display. Where are their examples of why this particular resolution? Where are there examples of how it makes content look good? Where is take-your-breath-away-you-didn't-even-know-you-wanted-it explanation for the rounded edges of the screen, something no one could ever convince me is a good idea?

It just goes on and on. Samsung does bullet points. Apple does products.

See the iPhone 7 plus and the Samsung S8 next to each other. See for yourself and there you have your answers. Seeing is believing.

 

[blairh]

S8 is a very large flagship phone. 10 mm taller than the iPhone 7. That's very big.

I'm a lot more impressed with the S8 Plus which is essentially the same size as the iPhone 7 Plus but boasting .7" more screen in comparison.

No stereo speakers. Thumbs down.

Overall still impressive and will sell very well despite Note 7 disaster.

 

[KidAKidB]

That was my exact experience with seeing a doctor.

I had a skin allergy a few years back. I initially visited a couple of clinics near my home, and they either couldn't diagnose my condition, or gave me medicine which didn't work.

I then visited a skin specialist, who took one look at me, showed me a bunch of PowerPoint slides about hives, and gave me a container of pills which quickly and managed to solve my skin allergy issue.

Sure, the skin specialist charged way more than the other family doctors, and the medicine he gave likely didn't cost very much, but it worked. In the end, I was effectively paying for the specialist's expertise in knowing how to diagnose my condition and what medicine to dispense to best treat my problem.

What use is cheaper medicine if it still doesn't give me what I need? What use is visiting a doctor with cheaper rates if he can't solve my problem?

Same corollary here. I pay Apple for their expertise in being able to integrate their hardware, software and services in a manner which affords me that unique user experience which only Apple can give.

The things I do with my iPhone can't be replicated with 2 or even 3 android smartphones, so it doesn't matter how cheap the competition is. I am still not getting them, because they don't give me more of what I want (which is an integrated computing solution which "just works" right out of the box.

You can say you prefer iOS, but most Android devices these days just work right out of the box as well...

 

[9081094]

Apple maps is better at poi than google maps imo, I don't even have it installed.

How can you compare the two? Apple maps is missing half the information of google maps here. So for me it's a no brainer.

 

[Abazigal]

This is what I don't understand...why are there never any examples of why the crammed-in hardware is good?

When Apple embraces a new hardware component, they create a product around it. Like Touch ID. Like 3D Touch. There is depth, and thought, and deep integration.

Samsung just puts out "Finger print reader". Sounds sexy : / What does it do? What is its purposes? Why is that always in theory a good thing, but there is no bigger picture of the product.

Like with this new display. Where are their examples of why this particular resolution? Where are there examples of how it makes content look good? Where is take-your-breath-away-you-didn't-even-know-you-wanted-it explanation for the rounded edges of the screen, something no one could ever convince me is a good idea?

It just goes on and on. Samsung does bullet points. Apple does products.

You have just illustrated what makes Apple uniquely Apple.

Apple has done what it does best: take an emerging product category with a frustrating user experience and deliver a polished product made possible by its control over both the hardware and software.

Samsung controls only the hardware, but not the underlying software layer or the services. So there is an inherent limit to what they can do.

And so long as people continue to obsess over paper specs in a vacuum while not caring a hoot about whether or not they translate into a meaningful user experience, and as long as Samsung remains as Google's whore, nothing will change.