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What to choose?

D

Dodgeman

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 30, 2016
1,355
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So I have trouble deciding.
I think I’m going to switch to Android.
Apple just isn’t exciting this year without the associated $$.

Either way I’m debating on the Note 8 and S8+.

S8+ Reasons:
Slightly longer battery.
Less features = less confusing.
I prefer this size to the Note 8s size.
Equivalent to Note 8 w/o Stylus.
Cheaper.
Might not actually use the extra features or dual have a need for dual camera lens.

Note 8:
Newer than S8+
Has a ton of features with the stylus!
Larger screen is nice, but bigger hardware. (Not sure I want that trade off)


—>For me all the reasons are pointing to the s8+ but part of me wants the larger Note 8 with the pen to see if I’ll use or enjoy it.
It is extra money than the s8+ and the stylus features may not be used at all.
The dual camera doesn’t mean much to me as day to day shots for my use will appear to be the same and there’s less confusing camera features.


What’s everyone thoughts, go s8+ or Note 8?
 
I don't think the size should be on your list. If you go hold the two of them, they are almost exactly the same size, other than the more curved corners. I came from an iPhone 6s+ and it feels almost the same... a little narrower and a little taller. Its a better feel in my hand.

You have to decide if the couple of extra things are worth the extra moola. The 2x optical zoom is kind of nice. There are a lot of things you can do with the pen, but I haven't been using it a ton thus far.

I would suggest watching this guy's video comparison, and his hidden features ones are good to -
 
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Yeah I held them both and I can tell a difference in the size. It’s slight but there’s a difference.
My only comparison is I could probably not care about the camera but I’m trying to figure out if the pen features are worth it or to get the s8+ which gives me the screen size and battery I’m after.
 
Dodgeman said:
Yeah I held them both and I can tell a difference in the size. It’s slight but there’s a difference.
My only comparison is I could probably not care about the camera but I’m trying to figure out if the pen features are worth it or to get the s8+ which gives me the screen size and battery I’m after.
Click to expand...
The Note has the more efficient brighter screen along with 2gb of ram and the almighty S Pen. Also the increase in feature set can't really be a detriment since you would only be aware of them if you actively looked. Otherwise it would be just a slightly bigger S8+ with a better camera setup. The battery life is virtually identical.
 
Voodoochild346 said:
The Note has the more efficient brighter screen along with 2gb of ram and the almighty S Pen. Also the increase in feature set can't really be a detriment since you would only be aware of them if you actively looked. Otherwise it would be just a slightly bigger S8+ with a better camera setup. The battery life is virtually identical.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree. Bit of a tough choice. Get one and probably wish you had the other.
 
Dodgeman said:
Yeah I agree. Bit of a tough choice. Get one and probably wish you had the other.
Click to expand...
If the price difference wasn't so substantial, it would be easy. Note 8 all day but since it is and most people don't need the S Pen it isn't easy at all. I will say that the extra 2gb of ram is a big difference. I've made your choice harder but at least you can be better informed. ;)
 
Dodgeman said:
Yeah I held them both and I can tell a difference in the size. It’s slight but there’s a difference.
My only comparison is I could probably not care about the camera but I’m trying to figure out if the pen features are worth it or to get the s8+ which gives me the screen size and battery I’m after.
Click to expand...

Did you watch the video? Although the S8+ has a bigger battery, the Note 8 has longer battery life. The guy in the video explains that the software in the Note 8 has a lot of extra stuff in it, and battery efficiency may be coming from that, but there is no guarantee that Samsung will eventually get all that software refinement to the S8/S8+. He mentioned that with the S7 that it didn't go smoothly. And the RAM does make a difference. If you didn't watch the video, I'd encourage you to do so. But it also comes down to the money also. Since there are better discounts on the S8+, the gap is bigger. I got $300 off in an AT&T deal, but I could have gotten that off on the S8+ as well.

One other thing not in the video... not sure if the S8+ can do it. That is the split screen running two apps. This is very well done. Again, in software so they may bring it to the S8+ if its not there already, but they also may not. You can start a video of some type in the type 1/4 of the screen, and then use the bottom 3/4 to do something else like email. The extra screen space makes this very doable; and its super simple to setup. You can even save shortcuts of App pairs that you can reopen together.
 
convergent said:
Did you watch the video? Although the S8+ has a bigger battery, the Note 8 has longer battery life. The guy in the video explains that the software in the Note 8 has a lot of extra stuff in it, and battery efficiency may be coming from that, but there is no guarantee that Samsung will eventually get all that software refinement to the S8/S8+. He mentioned that with the S7 that it didn't go smoothly. And the RAM does make a difference. If you didn't watch the video, I'd encourage you to do so. But it also comes down to the money also. Since there are better discounts on the S8+, the gap is bigger. I got $300 off in an AT&T deal, but I could have gotten that off on the S8+ as well.

One other thing not in the video... not sure if the S8+ can do it. That is the split screen running two apps. This is very well done. Again, in software so they may bring it to the S8+ if its not there already, but they also may not. You can start a video of some type in the type 1/4 of the screen, and then use the bottom 3/4 to do something else like email. The extra screen space makes this very doable; and its super simple to setup. You can even save shortcuts of App pairs that you can reopen together.
Click to expand...

I’ve watched the video.
My bottom line is do I want that TINY bit of extra screen size and/or the s pen. The s pen and it’s features are the biggest deciding factors. I don’t need it at all, but it’s the latest technology that could be useful and fun. I’m going to play with it another day or two and go from there.

As far as the app pair, I’ll have to research that. I know you can multi task which I’ve done with the web browser and say YouTube and have the split screen. I’ll have to see how the app pair actually works.
I’m not sure it’s on the s8+, but are you actually using it, and if so in what scenarios?
 
Dodgeman said:
I’ve watched the video.
My bottom line is do I want that TINY bit of extra screen size and/or the s pen. The s pen and it’s features are the biggest deciding factors. I don’t need it at all, but it’s the latest technology that could be useful and fun. I’m going to play with it another day or two and go from there.

As far as the app pair, I’ll have to research that. I know you can multi task which I’ve done with the web browser and say YouTube and have the split screen. I’ll have to see how the app pair actually works.
I’m not sure it’s on the s8+, but are you actually using it, and if so in what scenarios?
Click to expand...

App pairing is just a way to save two apps so you don't have to go to the trouble to open them. I've not really used it, as it only takes a few seconds to setup. Is that what you meant? I'm using the split screen the same way you mentioned... video at top, something else at bottom.

I'm just getting to learn more about the SPen. I'd suggest watching some videos on that... a lot of good ones. The translate thing is cool, but its odd that they require the pen to do it because they could have just as easily done it with finger. I am sure I will find use with it as it does so much. Its kind of funny hearing people bash Samsung software so much and they've actually gotten some really good stuff unique to Samsung. I think people are still reacting to older Galaxy phones... I hated the S5.
 
convergent said:
App pairing is just a way to save two apps so you don't have to go to the trouble to open them. I've not really used it, as it only takes a few seconds to setup. Is that what you meant? I'm using the split screen the same way you mentioned... video at top, something else at bottom.

I'm just getting to learn more about the SPen. I'd suggest watching some videos on that... a lot of good ones. The translate thing is cool, but its odd that they require the pen to do it because they could have just as easily done it with finger. I am sure I will find use with it as it does so much. Its kind of funny hearing people bash Samsung software so much and they've actually gotten some really good stuff unique to Samsung. I think people are still reacting to older Galaxy phones... I hated the S5.
Click to expand...

Yeah the Galaxy S3 wasn’t that great as it aged.
I’ve pretty much played with the Note’s pen a lot. Just not sure those extra features would really be necessary. They can definitely be handy but day to day usage I’m like hmm.
Oddly enough I like the live messenging.
 
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