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Current state of android (S8-related)

P

Psyclone

Member
So I'm in the market for a new phone. I have moved from the Samsung Galaxy S2 6 years ago to the Sony Expera Z3 and ,two years ago, to an iPhone 6 (over the Galaxy S6 after deliberating for weeks but wanting a change)

My initial trepidation to jumping on the iPhone train may have initially been stubbornness. I heard how restrictive the platform is and how most free apps on android were actually paid apps on the iTunes Store.

Since getting the iPhone 6 I have come to see things differently of course. I love the simplicity and apple's straight to the point approach, and have since then bought an iPad Pro and pencil for work (I am a teacher) and a Mac mini for music production at home.

So it's time for a change. The S8 and S8+ are clearly excellent phones, and android seems to have come a long way. Wireless charging seems handy, being able to screencast to my roku and Samsung tv is a plus (no Apple TV here), and that screen looks amazing. So, in order to help me decide, I would like people's opinions on a number of points:

- how bad is the bloat ware situation?
- is touchwiz (called something different now?) any good?
- s8 or s8+?
- or do I stay strong, wait to see the iPhone 8 and iOS 11?

What have been your personal experiences? Have you recently (or in the past) made the switch either way? Do you regret it? What do you like/dislike about either platforms/brands?
 
Y

Your Entertainer

Member
Bloatware is still there. Samsung has two apps for pretty much everything - their proprietary garbage and google. Bixby is half baked garbage rn.

TW seems to inch forward for every iteration, but imo still is not where it should be. Still doesn't look good, and is not as smooth as its competitors in UI performance.

I would wait for the iPhone 8. If you're still dead set on Samsung, the note 8 will be out and you might snag an S8 deal.
 
U

uncelestial

Member
Get a Pixel. Samsung is really not the standard-bearer you think they are anymore. I promise you you won't go back. Esp if you get Project Fi with it!
 
P

Psyclone

Member
uncelestial said:
Get a Pixel. Samsung is really not the standard-bearer you think they are anymore. I promise you you won't go back. Esp if you get Project Fi with it!
Click to expand...

Just looked into Project Fi, not available in the uk. But pixel has been on my radar. When are we expecting the updated 2?
 
L

Last_colossi

Member
I would suggest waiting to see what the Pixel 2 has to offer as the S8 has quite a few flaws, especially for it's price, don't get me wrong though it's definitely not a bad phone but I really think the next Pixel will give you a much more polished and stable Android experience. (S8+ owner here)
 
J

jokkir

Member
I have the S7 and not the S8 and honestly, the Samsung stuff isn't evn that bad anymore compared to older Galaxy devices. It's minimal enough where the extra features that Samsung does implement are actually useful. And if there are apps that do bother you, you can just get Package Disabler Pro on the Play Store to get rid of the extra nonsense that you don't want.
 
P

Psyclone

Member
Last_colossi said:
I would suggest waiting to see what the Pixel 2 has to offer as the S8 has quite a few flaws, especially for it's price, don't get me wrong though it's definitely not a bad phone but I really think the next Pixel will give you a much more polished and stable Android experience. (S8+ owner here)
Click to expand...

What would consider to be the S8's flaws?
 
S

Sir_Crocodile

Member
I'm thinking of getting the LG V20, but I heard some rumours of boot loop so I need to see how frequent it is as the phone isn't available in my country.

Also very tempted by the ZX Premium, as I have a Xperia Z1 which is ace, but it's very expensive. Oneplus 5 looks good but has no sd expansion option which sucks.
 
W

wumster3000

Member
I've never owned an Android phone, but I have been very interested in them. Honest question, ehat do you guys and others mean when you say bloatware on a phone? I know what bloatware is on a computer, but what kind of programs can they possibly force on a phone?
 
L

Last_colossi

Member
Psyclone said:
What would consider to be the S8's flaws?
Click to expand...

Well:

- The Bixby button and Samsung's constant effort to block people from remapping it
- Bixby in general
- The bloatware
- IMHO the typing experience due to the bezels being so minimal (it's one of the reasons I have to use a case on on the phone otherwise hitting Q or P on the keyboard is like trying to push my thumbs through my lower index fingers)
- The screen is beautiful but the aspect ratio comes with trade offs as 16:9 content will always either run with black sidebars or the top and bottom cut off while being stretched to fullscreen (this especially sucks for general YouTube content)
- Glitches in the TouchWiz UI like the phone freezing on the App Overview screen (I had to restart the phone before it would let me access it again) also the messages app constantly closing unexpectedly just from trying to open URLs

I could go on but they are my main complaints with the phone.
 
ArtHands

ArtHands

Thinks buying more servers can fix a bad patch
What are the apps that are free on android playstore but is paid on itunes?
 
B

BrhysH

Member
Sir_Crocodile said:
I'm thinking of getting the LG V20, but I heard some rumours of boot loop so I need to see how frequent it is as the phone isn't available in my country.

Also very tempted by the ZX Premium, as I have a Xperia Z1 which is ace, but it's very expensive. Oneplus 5 looks good but has no sd expansion option which sucks.
Click to expand...

I have the V20 its a really nice phone. I haven't had a boot loop issue yet *touch wood*.
 
P

pinsomniac

Member
I'm not sure I get the issue with Bixby. I don't care for it at all, but it's easy enough to ignore. TouchWiz + Nova is surprisingly okay. UI performance could be a bit better, though -- I've seen a bit of stuttering here and there, but I do use my phone pretty heavily.
 
C

CS_Dan

Member
From what I've heard, the S8 suffers from the usual Samsung performance issues over time.
I've got a OnePlus 3T and love it, absolutely smooth after a month and was really good value (128gb for ~£400).

Honestly wouldn't go for a Pixel at this point, the design has aged horribly in only a year and it's ludicrously expensive. Check out the OnePlus 5, LG G6 and HTC U11

The Blackberry KeyOne is also weirdly appealing
 
G

GameAddict411

Member
Get the Pixel or the new One Plus 5. Avoid Samsung like the plague. They have shitty software period. And they are the ones who give android a bad name.
 
AHA-Lambda

AHA-Lambda

Member
Thing I've never understood is that on many forums the hate for Samsung phones/touchwiz etc is quite strong.

But if so why do all of their new phones consistently get praised by tech reviewers as some of the best on the market?
 
U

uncelestial

Member
n0razi said:
I went from a Pixel to an S8 and dont miss the Pixel one bit
Click to expand...

I don't know anyone who prefers Samsung/Touchwiz to stock Android but I guess to each their own. Pixel is so zippy and clean and such a great all-arounder. If you use Google services I don't see the point of any other phone. And Samsung's S8 is more expensive than a Pixel 32gb.
 
Q

quesalupa

Member
I love my S8 and I came from a Pixel. The stock home launcher is pretty laggy for some reason but Nova works like a dream on this. That's really the only essential change I feel you need to make. All the Samsung bloat can be disabled or uninstalled. Touchwiz has all the features of regular Android and some extra features. Tbh I kind of like it better than the Pixel's interface after some personalization. Android in general is perfectly fine now.
 
U

Unknown Soldier

Member
AHA-Lambda said:
Thing I've never understood is that on many forums the hate for Samsung phones/touchwiz etc is quite strong.

But if so why do all of their new phones consistently get praised by tech reviewers as some of the best on the market?
Click to expand...

Because on many forums, people prize 'stock Android' which doesn't really exist, no one installs and uses a pure AOSP build and it's not even really possible because you need drivers for specific hardware. AOSP doesn't even include the Google apps which are closed source.

Normal people who like their phones to do useful things tend to be happy with Samsung phones which include many value-added features in addition to superfluous things which are commonly thought of as bloat. You take the good and bad there.

Samsung sells the most Android phones by a very wide margin for a reason, whereas Pixel sells only to a minuscule base of purists who probably also use Linux or something.
 
K

Kill Your Masters

Member
The S8 is pretty good. And I usually never bothered with anything non nexus. Some of that so called bloat I would actually call features. Features I'd wish "stock" Android would have.

uncelestial said:
I don't know anyone who prefers Samsung/Touchwiz to stock Android but I guess to each their own. Pixel is so zippy and clean and such a great all-arounder. If you use Google services I don't see the point of any other phone. And Samsung's S8 is more expensive than a Pixel 32gb.
Click to expand...
This is not true. The pixel is still at the same price, while the S8 is getting price drops all the time while having the new Snapdragon chip.
 
G

GrizzleBoy

Banned
AHA-Lambda said:
Thing I've never understood is that on many forums the hate for Samsung phones/touchwiz etc is quite strong.

But if so why do all of their new phones consistently get praised by tech reviewers as some of the best on the market?
Click to expand...

Touchwiz hasn't been an actual problem for a good few generations now.

Some people just want stock android. Some people just don't like touchwiz.

I personally could not get on with stock. I like the extra functionality and will happily take it over 0.03 seconds faster reaction time for an app to open or switch. If I wanted a basic phone I'd have been an iphone user already.

Funny thing is that over time, stock android has been incorporating more and more features pioneered by touchwiz.

And as for bloat, Samsung's apps are actually pretty good depending on what you want. I usually use outlook and chrome apps for email and web browsing, but I now just use Samsung's in house mail and web browser on both my S7E and S8+ because of how well Samsung apps are integrated with the touchwiz.

For example, I use a web based reporting app for logging completed work and giving status updates on work to be completed.

Before, I'd have to enter a password every time to log in. Then I got an S7 and all I did was hold my finger on the scanner and I'd be logged in as soon as the web page loaded. Now I have an S8+ and all I do is look at the phone and I'm logged in. Same goes for other sites that sign you out after a period of inactivity.

Video history is also awesome in Samsung's browser.

Then there's knox, which I use to keep all my work and non work stuff totally isolated. Not just in some folder with a password, but ACTUALLY isolated in an independently existing instance of the OS with its own Google account. Even the keyboard suggestions are seperate. Which means it's impossible for my 2 year old to get hold of my phone and turn it into a mess of icons and randomly deleted/opened/moved files etc. Unless he steals one of my eyeballs.

I don't like having a lock on my phone so I don't have security to enter the phone, but I can lock away stuff easily in a seperate version of my phone, within my phone, for when I need it.

Then there's the keyboard that allows you to swipe across it in any direction to move the cursor which is great for posting on GAF. Especially since I hate the mobile site. You can also hold the shift button and swipe to select text.

Then there's swiping right on a contacts name in your call log to call them, or swiping left to send a message, which I've used since the very first Galaxy S. Hated that I couldn't do it on my LG G2/G3. Was refreshing to finally get it back on my S7E.

There's probably a crap load more touchwiz stuff I take advantage of all the time that I don't even notice or remember to note here.

Seriously though, for a person like me, the OS isn't merely about speed, it's about whether the phone will actually allow me to do things that I actually want it to do.........and I can't see how a snappier feel could replace that.
 
H

HazySaiyan

Banned
Samsung's UI is a lot better these days, it's nowhere near as bad as it was. Touchwiz on the S2 was butt ugly.

The thing that pissed me off when I had a Galaxy (I had a Note 5) was how long they take to update the firmware, it was months before it even got Marshmallow. It put me off getting a Galaxy again.
 
A

Aquavelvaman

Banned
I think if you're open at all to using iOS you should wait a few months because the iOS 11 changes seem bangin' and Apple might surprise with the next iPhone iteration.

That said, I think the S8 is a great phone. It's a shame about the bixby button but with Nova launcher all of the touchwiz problems disappear.

Honestly the "touchwiz sucks" sentiment has been obsolete for several years. Samsung's UI is fine these days, and with Nova launcher and a material theme you're pretty much golden.

HazySaiyan said:
The thing that pissed me off when I had a Galaxy (I had a Note 5) was how long they take to update the firmware, it was months before it even got Marshmallow. It put me off getting a Galaxy again.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's an annoying thing. I finally got Google Assistant on my Note 5 last week.
 
n0razi

n0razi

Member
uncelestial said:
I don't know anyone who prefers Samsung/Touchwiz to stock Android but I guess to each their own. Pixel is so zippy and clean and such a great all-arounder. If you use Google services I don't see the point of any other phone. And Samsung's S8 is more expensive than a Pixel 32gb.
Click to expand...

Ive owned a ton of Nexus phones back with the original N1, Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus 4. The current version of Touchwiz is honestly not that different from stock Android and most people use a custom launcher (I use Nova) anyways.
 
M

Madness

Member
My galaxy note 4 just died on me last week and I went and picked up a galaxy S8+ today. Aside from missing the stylus and being weirded out by this edge wrapped svcreen, it is the finest phone I have ever used. Super fast, hardly any bloatware, very intuitive.
 
U

uncelestial

Member
Kill Your Masters said:
This is not true.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it might not be true in the future, but for now the Galaxy S8 is $750 and the Pixel 32 is $650.

n0razi said:
Ive owned a ton of Nexus phones back with the original N1, Galaxy Nexus, and Nexus 4. The current version of Touchwiz is honestly not that different from stock Android and most people use a custom launcher (I use Nova) anyways.
Click to expand...

It can help to use a custom launcher but why even have all that crap on your phone in the first place? Also the launcher doesn't cover everything -- aren't your notification and settings areas still all Samsung'd up? Nevermind if you get it through a carrier and get all *their* bloatware too. Especially AT&T, who seems to think we all want their GPS software. My Project Fi Pixel has jack shit on it that I didn't add or isn't stock Android, and it is so awesome. But I'm not a warrior about all this, y'all do whatever.
 
A

Azoor

Member
You hate bloatware? Get either Google Pixel or Oneplus 5, these phones are amazing performance wise.

Oh, I've got the Samsung S8 and while bloatware is still here, it's not as bad as it used to be. Still not ideal though.
 
M

mokeyjoe

Member
I'd only really consider the Pixel as an iPhone alternative - in terms of software anyway.

Everything else is dependent on the amount of jank you're willing to tolerate for sexy hardware.
 
D

Dr. Worm

Banned
Psyclone said:
Since getting the iPhone 6 I have come to see things differently of course. I love the simplicity and apple's straight to the point approach, and have since then bought an iPad Pro and pencil for work (I am a teacher) and a Mac mini for music production at home.

So it's time for a change.
Click to expand...

Why?

If you like your current phone, and you like being invested in Apple's ecosystem, what's the point of switching?
 
N

Netherscourge

Banned
I have an S8 and I can say without hesitation it has the best Photo and Video camera I ever owned in a smartphone.

I love my S8. Ignore the haters.

All the "bloatware" can be disabled. Bixby is pretty much a redundant Siri/Assistant option, except for the Bixby Vision camera which I find to be incredibly awesome.
 
Q

Quixzlizx

Member
uncelestial said:
Yeah, it might not be true in the future, but for now the Galaxy S8 is $750 and the Pixel 32 is $650.



It can help to use a custom launcher but why even have all that crap on your phone in the first place? Also the launcher doesn't cover everything -- aren't your notification and settings areas still all Samsung'd up? Nevermind if you get it through a carrier and get all *their* bloatware too. Especially AT&T, who seems to think we all want their GPS software. My Project Fi Pixel has jack shit on it that I didn't add or isn't stock Android, and it is so awesome. But I'm not a warrior about all this, y'all do whatever.
Click to expand...

You can currently get an unlocked (so no carrier bloat) s8+ for $525 from Samsung's website if you trade in any phone.

I've always avoided Samsung's phones, but that deal was too good for me to pass up. I was planning to get a Pixel last year, but they ended up releasing a slightly better than Nexus-caliber phone with flagship pricing.
 
The Faceless Master

The Faceless Master

Member
to be honest, the Google Apps are bloatware.

Samsung Email > Gmail, especially if you have email accounts not on Google

Samsung Internet > Google Chrome

Samsung Notes > Google Keep

Samsung Health > Google Fit

Samsung Pay > *

but seriously OP. just wait for the next iPhone
 
M

Michael F. Assbender

Banned
I’ve heard of people picking up S8s and S8+s for pretty crazy prices (apparently their sales have been somewhat below expectations), so this is likely a good time to buy one.

Or wait until the Note 8 releases and pick one up.

Or wait for the next iPhone to be announced and see what it offers.
 
T

The Llama

Member
My S8, from which I'm typing this, is awesome. I've used Android for a while, and this feels like Android how it should be IMO.
 
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