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

[bt231]

And that is precisely what makes Apple so awesome in my book. That they march to their own beat and don't care two hoots about what the rest think.

As for Samsung, I think this quote by them sums up everything.

So long as Samsung remains as insecure, petty and small minded as they are now, they can never be true to themselves and design the products that they want to design.

And that is why Samsung is doomed to forever live in Apple's shadow. Samsung is motivated by a desire to beat Apple, and their products are designed based on what they feel will let them one-up the iPhone, not what they feel gives the best user experience for their users.

Now I understand why some folks believe corporations are persons who are capable of exercising religion.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

About the trackpad. It would be more efficient to keep my hands near the keyboard when i make a typo or have to change text instead of reaching to the touchscreen.

About the gui. It is not about the apps it is about the base screen when choosing an app. App icons could be smaller, etc , that is it.

About the filemanager. It would be easier for me to attach more than one kind of file in an email or to put a local file in the cloud/icloud drive.

It does when all the choices suck, because you have spread yourself so thin working on multiple features all doing the same thing. As compared to focusing all your resources and energies on working on just one feature and making it work really well.

Clearly you need a time machine to take you to 1984

It does when all the choices suck, because you have spread yourself so thin working on multiple features all doing the same thing. As compared to focusing all your resources and energies on working on just one feature and making it work really well.

Clearly you need a time machine to take you to 1984
[doublepost=1491123536][/doublepost]

About the trackpad. It would be more efficient to keep my hands near the keyboard when i make a typo or have to change text instead of reaching to the touchscreen.

About the gui. It is not about the apps it is about the base screen when choosing an app. App icons could be smaller, etc , that is it.

About the filemanager. It would be easier for me to attach more than one kind of file in an email or to put a local file in the cloud/icloud drive.

Wow, you REALLY don't see how?

Not everyone wants or needs a bazjillion ways to do ONE SIMPLE THING - they want it to have been pre-decided for them, and they pay good money to have had that decision made for them by people infinitely more informed and qualified to do so than they are... IE, designers and UX experts, they are - after all - generally everyday, normal people who use iPhones - the fatal misunderstanding (either through genuinely misunderstanding how "normal" people think, or often, through sheer tunnel-vision-driven ego) hardcore users tend to fall for is assuming EVERYONE must be a geek and sit on their chair playing around with every single facet of the OS, day in day out - that is NOT how "normals" work - they wake up, get washed, have breakfast with their kids, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch telly and SLEEP! Anything else that consumes whatever precious time they have left, unnecessarily, is annoying and a nuisance; machines are, after all, meant to FREE UP our time, not cost us it!

Studies have been carried out on consumers who are asked to go into a shop and choose a product from shelves containing EIGHTY varieties and brands of the same product. Most left baffled, annoyed, overwhelmed, and walked away empty handed, as opposed to a shop where there were... say... THREE of the same product. Less options make the mind work less on things it REALLY shouldn't need to be working on... too much choice has been repeatedly proven to be worse than not enough - in fact, just give me FOUR TV channels to choose from, and save me the 45 mins of tediously trawling the 10,000 movies in Netflix, which leaves me TOTALLY drained, annoyed and NOT AT ALL feeling like wanting to watch ANYTHING any more.

How this SIMPLE logic escapes SO many people, escapes ME! (then again, maybe it doesn't so much; that's maybe why there's only ONE Apple, and countless "meh" Android vendors, each very sameish and uninspiring, varying slightly, but nothing worth going to a launch event over.)

Clearly in the bold text, you argued the case for having a choice.
It's very amusing reading this forum and seeing people desperate to justify their chosen products. This has been one of the best threads for months.

 

[Shanghaichica]

So you expect me to bring a Wacom tablet to class? These two aren't even remotely similar. With the iPad Pro, I can walk around the classroom and still write on my iPad. Try doing the same thing with a Wacom tablet which would just tether me to the front desk.

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

And very often, it's the user experience which makes all the difference between a person being willing to use a certain feature, and not bothering at all.

You don't need a Wacom tablet to use a Wacom stylus. You can get a Wacom stylus and use it with your iPad.

It does when all the choices suck, because you have spread yourself so thin working on multiple features all doing the same thing. As compared to focusing all your resources and energies on working on just one feature and making it work really well.

The user can disable the apps they aren't using and set the one they are using as the default. They don't have to use all of them. Samsung only make their stock apps. All of the others have nothing to do with Samsung so Samsung are not spreading themselves thin.

As for Apple the stock apps work well enough for me. I've not felt the need to use alternatives to the stock apps.

 

[itguy06]

Yup. I've never swallowed the belief that people get "more" out of a more expensive device. I own a 5S, a Moto G 3rd gen, two Lumias (640 & 640 XL) and numerous old BlackBerries - Classic, 2x Z10... and a load more. I'm happy chopping and changing around with my secondary/tertiary phones, just to see what's out there. Thinking about getting another Moto G4 (because the G5 is, apparently, not a lot of an upgrade to the G4, and the G5 has a WORSE camera!)

I hear that. I have had "flagships" since the Treo 650 was a Flagship. iPhone 3G, 4s, 6+, Droid X, Samsung Galaxy S5. I recently picked up an Axon 7 and really like it. Yes, it's rough around the edges and need some software polish but ZTE seems to be receptive and is keeping it updated. It's got awesome sound, a killer display, great battery life, and neat features. All for about 1/2 price of my 6+. It is one heck of a device for the price. Only unknown is if it holds up but it's got a 2 year warranty.

 

[Dirtfarmer]

Did the blackberry have an App Store, a digital assistant, mobile payment system, music streaming service, much less integrate with its own unique line of tablets, PCs and wearables?

No, the blackberry had no ecosystem to call its own. The Apple of today is nothing at all like the blackberry of yesteryear. Not saying Apple is invulnerable but it will take a lot more to topple Apple than what people here are suggesting.

You are misunderstanding.

I'm not saying that the Blackberry of yore was technically comparable to today's smartphone ecosystems.

Just that for it's day it was risky and revolutionary and there was nothing like it.

But Blackberry got lazy and didn't invent "the next big thing" -- they just sat there milking their old 90's idea.

In 2007, the iPhone came along and easily killed Blackberry in just a few years. It did this because it was totally revolutionary and surpassed Blackberry's now ten-year-oild revolution by being better, smarter, riskier, braver.

Now it is ten years after THAT and Apple keeps declining to release the next big thing. They are just sitting there, enjoying revenue from a risk they took a decade ago.

That's why they are like Blackberry.
[doublepost=1491141666][/doublepost]

Apple isn't coasting, as to whether one thinks they are ordinary or not is based on ones biases.

Revolutions are self-evident. The last one from Apple was in 2007.

 

[I7guy]

You are misunderstanding.

I'm not saying that the Blackberry of yore was technically comparable to today's smartphone ecosystems.

Just that for it's day it was risky and revolutionary and there was nothing like it.

But Blackberry got lazy and didn't invent "the next big thing" -- they just sat there milking their old 90's idea.

In 2007, the iPhone came along and easily killed Blackberry in just a few years. It did this because it was totally revolutionary and surpassed Blackberry's now ten-year-oild revolution by being better, smarter, riskier, braver.

Now it is ten years after THAT and Apple keeps declining to release the next big thing. They are just sitting there, enjoying revenue from a risk they took a decade ago.

That's why they are like Blackberry.
[doublepost=1491141666][/doublepost]
Revolutions are self-evident. The last one from Apple was in 2007.

Nope not self evident at all and their customers agree.

Now There hasn't been any real "next big thing" from other manufacturers for years, just small incremental improvements.

 

[6foot5foot]

You are misunderstanding.

I'm not saying that the Blackberry of yore was technically comparable to today's smartphone ecosystems.

Just that for it's day it was risky and revolutionary and there was nothing like it.

But Blackberry got lazy and didn't invent "the next big thing" -- they just sat there milking their old 90's idea.

In 2007, the iPhone came along and easily killed Blackberry in just a few years. It did this because it was totally revolutionary and surpassed Blackberry's now ten-year-oild revolution by being better, smarter, riskier, braver.

Now it is ten years after THAT and Apple keeps declining to release the next big thing. They are just sitting there, enjoying revenue from a risk they took a decade ago.

That's why they are like Blackberry.
[doublepost=1491141666][/doublepost]
Revolutions are self-evident. The last one from Apple was in 2007.

You can't just snap your fingers and generate "the next big thing" (cringe) on a whim. People assume creativity and vision are things you can just turn on like a conveyor belt, throw in some hope, clever people and an open-ended budget one end, and out pop "revolutions" the other end, which are guaranteed to be something "YUUUUGE" like the iPhone was.

If it's THAT easy, why aren't the other people turning on their magic conveyor belts and churning out "revolutions"?

Maybe there's NO "next big thing" to be had - it's possible - you can't just summon up paradigm shifting ideas complete with a guarantee that they'll change everything, that's an INCREDIBLY simple minded, naive way of thinking, based upon a root of having no understanding of how inventive people's minds work.

Apple are a silent inventor - just because WE don't hear or see anything happening, why would anyone think that nothing IS happening inside their minds, on their prototype tables and being carved out on Jony's CNC machines? Do you assume no meal is being prepared at your next door neighbour's house every night, just because they don't open their front door and hold out a plate of food to prove it to you?

Never, ever assume you know what's happening inside Apple, you can't possibly know, stop second guessing - you make a fool of yourself and are almost certainly wrong.

 

[Dirtfarmer]

You can't just snap your fingers and generate "the next big thing" (cringe) on a whim. People assume creativity and vision are things you can just turn on like a conveyor belt, throw in some hope, clever people and an open-ended budget one end, and out pop "revolutions" the other end, which are guaranteed to be something "YUUUUGE" like the iPhone was.

If it's THAT easy, why aren't the other people turning on their magic conveyor belts and churning out "revolutions"?

Maybe there's NO "next big thing" to be had - it's possible - you can't just summon up paradigm shifting ideas complete with a guarantee that they'll change everything, that's an INCREDIBLY simple minded, naive way of thinking, based upon a root of having no understanding of how inventive people's minds work.

Apple are a silent inventor - just because WE don't hear or see anything happening, why would anyone think that nothing IS happening inside their minds, on their prototype tables and being carved out on Jony's CNC machines? Do you assume no meal is being prepared at your next door neighbour's house every night, just because they don't open their front door and hold out a plate of food to prove it to you?

Never, ever assume you know what's happening inside Apple, you can't possibly know, stop second guessing - you make a fool of yourself and are almost certainly wrong.

Didn't say it was easy and I didn't say they aren't trying.

But the proof is in the pudding. As Yoda said, Do or do not - - there is no try.

Cars, wearables, health, home automation. Not a revolution in sight. Just conservative pokes at decent products that didn't take any unnecessary risks .

In the old days their idea of brave was to kill the world's music and movie industries as we knew them, forever.

They now use the word Brave to describe headphone jack removal.

How very accountant-like.

 

[I7guy]

Didn't say it was easy and I didn't say they aren't trying.

But the proof is in the pudding. As Yoda said, Do or do not - - there is no try.

Cars, wearables, health, home automation. Not a revolution in sight. Just conservative pokes at decent products that didn't take any unnecessary risks .

In the old days their idea of brave was to kill the world's music and movie industries as we knew them, forever.

They now use the word Brave to describe headphone jack removal.

How very accountant-like.

Actually iPhone wasn't revolutionary as cell phones existed prior. It was hugely popular no doubt, but the revolution already happened. Apple makes its money on new takes on already existing technologies.

But yeah, it's easy to play move the goalposts.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Actually iPhone wasn't revolutionary as cell phones existed prior. It was hugely popular no doubt, but the revolution already happened. Apple makes its money on new takes on already existing technologies.

But yeah, it's easy to play move the goalposts.

Well I would argue that they brought the smartphone to the masses. It wasn't just a cellphone that could make calls and send messages. You could browse the web, get your emails, listen to your music. When the App Store came that pushed things on even further.

 

[I7guy]

Well I would argue that they brought the smartphone to the masses. It wasn't just a cellphone that could make calls and send messages. You could browse the web, get your emails, listen to your music. When the App Store came that pushed things on even further.

All of that could be done prior to the cell phone. anyway when pushing negativity large swaths of reality have to be ignored too make a point.

 

[Mac 128]

I have no idea but it does seem compelling. I'm 99% done paying top dollar for "flagship" devices. I recently moved downmarket in the phone space and it's actually quite good!

I don't really see people clamoring for 3D Touch on all of Apples devices, or even really using it, much less talking about it -- and it's been many more than 6 months. The truth is that Apple is guilty of releasing its own share of useless, gimmicky, technology on their products, prompting them as indispensable must-haves, which then fail to have people talking about it 6 months down the line.

The new iPad which is a generational step backward, is a perfect example of Apple ignoring their own marketing -- a flood of reduced feature iPads are going to hold developers back for years. Meanwhile the SE just got a 128gb upgrade which ensures it will persist even in the face of new gimmicky tech soon to be released for the iPhone.

 

[I7guy]

I don't really see people clamoring for 3D Touch on all of Apples devices, or even really using it, much less talking about it -- and it's been many more than 6 months. The truth is that Apple is guilty of releasing its own share of useless, gimmicky, technology on their products, prompting them as indispensable must-haves, which then fail to have people talking about it 6 months down the line.

The new iPad which is a generational step backward, is a perfect example of Apple ignoring their own marketing -- a flood of reduced feature iPads are going to hold developers back for years. Meanwhile the SE just got a 128gb upgrade which ensures it will persist even in the face of new gimmicky tech soon to be released for the iPhone.

Who is making the determination of must have vs gimmicky? I'll bet you ask many people and you'll get different lists.

I don't see this holding developers back.

 

[6foot5foot]

Want a good reason NEVER to buy a Samsung? (amongst a HUGE list of other reasons):

 

[bobob]

But the proof is in the pudding. As Yoda said, Do or do not - - there is no try.

TropesRUs

 

[Dirtfarmer]

Nope not self evident at all and their customers agree.

Now There hasn't been any real "next big thing" from other manufacturers for years, just small incremental improvements.

"Well nobody else has done it either" means what, exactly?

Apple used to take something that sucked (like digital music, or desktop computers, or smartphones, or tablets) and make it amazing.

The last time they did that was a decade ago. They have stopped.

Now they are doing what other companies do: Take something that's good and tweak it, then try to spin their latest tweak via a very expensive marketing campaign.

What they're finding out though is that they aren't actually very good at that. They are still full of the Jobsian Hubris in which they believe that they can tell the marketplace what it wants.

They don't realize that you can only do that if your product is a thousand percent better than competitors.

iMac was a thousand percent better for consumers than the Windows 95 desktops of the day
OS X was a thousand percent better for consumers than Windows 98 and Vista
iPod was a thousand percent better than any MP3 player of the day
iPhone was a thousand percent better than Blackberry and Windows Mobile

...and that was the last time they did that.

Literally nothing they ship now is an order of magnitude better than the competition.

Windows 10 is good, Android is good, other wearables are good, lots of laptops are good. Maybe not great but definitely good.

You can argue that Apple is better at one feature or another, but in no cases are they "iPod vs. Creative Nomad Jukebox" better.

And the marketplace knows it.

 

[LordVic]

Want a good reason NEVER to buy a Samsung? (amongst a HUGE list of other reasons):

No, This is a reason never to poke and cause any battery to be punctured.

This same sort of thing will happen even on iPhones.

NEVER POKE, PUNCTURE, CUT OR OPEN A BATTERY. EVER. FROM ANY MANUFACTURER.

 

[mi7chy]

No, This is a reason never to poke and cause any battery to be punctured.

This same sort of thing will happen even on iPhones.

NEVER POKE, PUNCTURE, CUT OR OPEN A BATTERY. EVER. FROM ANY MANUFACTURER.

Unless perhaps you're LG.

 

[LordVic]

Unless perhaps you're LG.

professional lab test is professional lab tests

not to be confused with home users taking a nail to their own devices than making up some ******** narrative

 

[I7guy]

"Well nobody else has done it either" means what, exactly?

Apple used to take something that sucked (like digital music, or desktop computers, or smartphones, or tablets) and make it amazing.

The last time they did that was a decade ago. They have stopped.

Now they are doing what other companies do: Take something that's good and tweak it, then try to spin their latest tweak via a very expensive marketing campaign.

What they're finding out though is that they aren't actually very good at that. They are still full of the Jobsian Hubris in which they believe that they can tell the marketplace what it wants.

They don't realize that you can only do that if your product is a thousand percent better than competitors.

iMac was a thousand percent better for consumers than the Windows 95 desktops of the day
OS X was a thousand percent better for consumers than Windows 98 and Vista
iPod was a thousand percent better than any MP3 player of the day
iPhone was a thousand percent better than Blackberry and Windows Mobile

...and that was the last time they did that.

Literally nothing they ship now is an order of magnitude better than the competition.

Windows 10 is good, Android is good, other wearables are good, lots of laptops are good. Maybe not great but definitely good.

You can argue that Apple is better at one feature or another, but in no cases are they "iPod vs. Creative Nomad Jukebox" better.

And the marketplace knows it.

All hyperbole, really nothing to address. Not going to change apples stock price or market cap or profits. The old one mans innovations are another meh is an old meme already.

That android market share beats windows had to happen given the free and low cost phone options. But call me when the world runs in android.

 

[Dirtfarmer]

All hyperbole, really nothing to address. Not going to change apples stock price or market cap or profits. The old one mans innovations are another meh is an old meme already.

That android market share beats windows had to happen given the free and low cost phone options. But call me when the world runs in android.

Apple's share price is fine...no argument from me.

Reminds me of these guys:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

"Altitude, airspeed, and heading are all fine. 99% of our avionics are reading normal. The only thing that's unusual is that we lifted off the runway more easily than usual, and that doesn't exactly sound like a problem now does it." said the pilot.

Small changes in strategy can lead to significant changes in outcomes later on.

 

[6foot5foot]

No, This is a reason never to poke and cause any battery to be punctured.

This same sort of thing will happen even on iPhones.

NEVER POKE, PUNCTURE, CUT OR OPEN A BATTERY. EVER. FROM ANY MANUFACTURER.

You're talking to a hugely experienced electronics engineer with 25+ years in the business, yep, well aware. As for "a battery" - wrong - there are many types of battery which are inert and PERFECTLY safe to open.

Best not to, if you're unsure, yah.

 

[I7guy]

Apple's share price is fine...no argument from me.

Reminds me of these guys:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimli_Glider

"Altitude, airspeed, and heading are all fine. 99% of our avionics are reading normal. The only thing that's unusual is that we lifted off the runway more easily than usual, and that doesn't exactly sound like a problem now does it." said the pilot.

Small changes in strategy can lead to significant changes in outcomes later on.

Sometimes the outcomes can be bigger and broader and more successful than originally was envisioned. Other than "my take on Apple is negative " and nobody knows the future, but we pretend to be smarter than the mgmt team at Apple, it seems Apple is doing fine.

 

[grkm3]

You're talking to a hugely experienced electronics engineer with 25+ years in the business, yep, well aware. As for "a battery" - wrong - there are many types of battery which are inert and PERFECTLY safe to open.

Best not to, if you're unsure, yah.

The iPhone is using the same battery tech! I thought you were in IT?

 

[Dirtfarmer]

Sometimes the outcomes can be bigger and broader and more successful than originally was envisioned. Other than "my take on Apple is negative " and nobody knows the future, but we pretend to be smarter than the mgmt team at Apple, it seems Apple is doing fine.

1375 posts on Macrumors forums about a fake iPhone from Samsung.

Near-single-digit market penetration in every category.

No world-changing announcements in 10 years.

CEO forfeiting his bonus due to poor sales.

Yeah no Apple is doing fine and nobody is worried.