Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

Who already preordered one of the new galaxy phones? What do you like/dislike about it?

I know I would like to see Anker products for the new S8 and S8+! I for sure would like an Anker case and screen protector for the S8+ I preordered!

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First, I have not already preordered it, and do not plan on doing so, however, here are my opinions:
This is a great phone, there is no question about it!
By far my favorite thing about it is the infinite display. It looks so sexy and I love the screen to body ratio!
Now, how it feels might be different, but the looks are top notch! However, there is a catch that the average person may not know. The default resolution is set to full HD, not quad HD, which is what is being marketed. To get the full effect, I would definitely recommend changing this in settings when you receive the phone.
The continuation of water and dust resistance is great! And I love that it comes with 64gb of expandable storage! Also, the front camera received a nice upgrade. One other thing I’m excited Samsung did was make the move to USB Type C! Way to go, as this really is the future!
Now onto the things I’m not so fond of…
1st: No stereo speakers. Why Samsung?! Much of the competition is ahead of you in this department.
2nd: Make wireless charging more useful/convenient. I know this isn’t a huge deal, but because the batteries still definitely a limiting factor, why can’t we have something like long range wireless charging.
3rd: Bixby… seems like a gimmick to be. We already have so many virtual assistants. I can’t say much though as I (obviously) haven’t been able to try it out.
4th: Fingerprint Reader Placement. WHY is it right next to the camera?! The back of the phone is just fine, but why can’t it be below the camera, which is where other smartphones have it (I’m talking about you, LG phones and Pixel). That would be so much more convenient and result in less smudging of the camera lens. Now, some people might say that you don’t need to use the fingerprint reader anymore because of the improved face unlocking as well as iris scanning, however, you have to align this with your face for it to work. If it’s not pointing at your face, then you have to reposition the align of the device relative to your face/eyes. With a fingerprint reader, this is not an issue
5th: No improved camera. The back camera is the same sensor as last years S7. Main/only difference is different processing, and a few new software features. Not saying the camera will be bad, but it would have been nice to see an upgraded one… it would certainly help to make this “the perfect phone”
6th: The buttons are UGLY. Now, I know you can change the look of them with a launcher (or at least I think you can), but the default ones are really weird. You tell me if it’s just me.
7th: The price. At $100 more than the iPhone 7, it’s not going in the direction I’d hope.
8th: Aspect ratio. WHY CAN’T THEY JUST STICK TO ONE?! It’s going to be super annoying. Plus, this isn’t just 18:9, but 18.5:9, which seems even more strange. I would’ve liked it more if they just shrunk the bezels down, but kept the 16:9 ratio. We’ll see…

Obviously this phone is one of the best there is, especially from an aesthetics perspective, but there are also obvious rooms for improvements. A trend that I’ve noticed recently is that many people are finally starting to understand that they don’t need to upgrade every year or two, and that they don’t really do things on their phone that warrant an upgrade. Also, they are starting to make the realization that many of the phones are starting to more and more alike each other… Anyways, that’s my thoughts. Please respond to them, and tell me if you agree or disagree. But yeah, this seems like another fairly interesting phone for tech geeks. It’s just that new phones are becoming less and less exciting anymore, especially for just the average person who doesn’t use and/or care about any of the extra gimmicks or 10% processing power that they will never notice, haha. As for the Dex… I don’t have too strong of an opinion either way. Anyways, that all I’ve got.

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Wow, I’m still the only one that’s commented. I’ve realized that some people don’t think it’s as beautiful as I do…

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I’ll be preordering my S8+ sometime this week and probably opting for the $99 Gift package as well. Played with both the S8 and S8+ at my local best buy for a couple of hours over the last few days and I’m really loving the design. As for Joshua’s previous comment, a few youtubers have noted that the sensor did infact change for the S8 from the S7 from a SonyIMX260 to an IMX333, Samsung has also noted there is a part lottery for these sensors and some regions might have a few models with another sensor that performs near identical to the IMX333.

For a user with larger hands like mine I didn’t have any issues with the fingerprint sensor placement but I know thats not the case for other users. With the inclusion of the AKG headphones (and the wireless premium AKG headphones you can also get in the gift bundle) I don’t mind the S8 not including stereo speakers, I never really mind when any device doesn’t have them because I use headphones and bluetooth speakers anyway. I’m pretty excited to finally upgrade from my LG G4.

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I also saw/heard about the screen resolution thing, that is an easy fix with the settings. I agree with your 3rd point but the first two do not bother me. Bixby is ehh, I am not a huge fan of voice control type things so I do not see a huge need for them. I have large and flexible (I guess) hands so the fingerprint sensor location won’t be an issue, although I admit it is silly placement. The camera hardware itself may not be improved, but the software is and that can work some magic (like with the pixel). We will see how the screen ratio messes with things soon enough lol. Overall, versus my S6 the S8+ was an easy decision for me. For those with an S7 it would be a harder decision, though.
I really liked your response by the way, you had really good reasons for everything :slight_smile:

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I went ahead and grabbed the $99 gift package because the micro SD card alone made it worth it, and I figured the other stuff was just an added bonus.
Interesting comment about the camera sensor, though.

Good luck with your soon to be phone!

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I’m not saying the whole screen resolution deal is not as easy fix (it is), BUT the majority of consumers are probably not going to change it, and all that’s saying is that screen resolution matters negligibly past FHD. Samsung is clearly marketing the S8 (it’s all over their website) as a QHD+ phone. Basically, this takes down one of the (what we once thought were obvious) upgrades to a QHD phone, including the S8. As for your comment about upgrading from the S6 to the S8+, and considering that the S6 came out just two years ago, I would say that it’s a pretty easy decision to stick with your S6 for another good year. There just aren’t very many compelling reasons to upgrade anymore - once you dig past the marketing fluff, that is.

That is a valid point about the screen. As far as upgrading, I am just a huge fan of having the newest phone or piece of technology when it comes down to it. Plus my S6 is starting to run a little slow and the lack of expandable memory is killing me.

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Cool, man!

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