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Samsung Galaxy S8 · S8+ |OT| - Available April 21, 2017

A

ashbash159

Member
Just switched from an iPhone 6S Plus to a Samsung Galaxy S8, mainly because I wanted a smaller phone and I really liked Android when I had a Moto X (2014) before my iPhone and use Google features a lot. Also the rumors of the new smaller Pixel phone do not sound great at all.

I'm honestly surprised I'm disappointed.

First of all, I said I wanted a smaller phone, which it is, but because the screen is taller I still have the issue where I need to use two hands to do a lot of things.

Secondly, I liked Android when using the Moto X because it was basically stock Android and I used all of the Google services. It seems I didnt' do too much reasearch with how Samsung handles their phones, becuase by default it prefers to use Samsung services over Google services, so it's a pain to change every default to Google services.

I don't like Bixby and would rather Google Assistant (is it not called Google Now any more?) in its place, as I used that a lot on my Moto X. Is there any way to set up scrolling right from the home screen to the Google Assistant?

It is also quite hitchy all the time. There's a lot of stutter and pauses. Which for a high end phone is very disappointing. I don't think the old Moto X I gave to my dad is this bad.

Also the finger sensor is worse than the iPhone and I'm not used to it yet, but I think it's in a bad position.

I don't know what to do. I'd still rather continue using my iPhone and wait even longer for a phone I like the look of.

I bought it from Argos and I don't think they accept returns of opened items. I'm not sure though. Anyone can help? Not sure what to do other than hopefully get used to it.
 
A

Afrikan

Member
ISee said:
One feature I'm starting to learn to appreciate about the s8 are the incredibly high brightness levels. This is the first phone I've ever owned that can be used in the sun without too much trouble. According to rumors the Iphone X display is darker, especially in direct comparison. Probably not a huge deal for most people, but something to be considered when making a decision based on display quality alone.
Click to expand...

Speaking of which, I come from the old school of PocketPC Casio Cassiopeia baby.... but do any phones now a days have reflective screens? To where you can still see in daylight without using any brightness?
 
S

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
ashbash159 said:
Just switched from an iPhone 6S Plus to a Samsung Galaxy S8, mainly because I wanted a smaller phone and I really liked Android when I had a Moto X (2014) before my iPhone and use Google features a lot. Also the rumors of the new smaller Pixel phone do not sound great at all.

I'm honestly surprised I'm disappointed.

First of all, I said I wanted a smaller phone, which it is, but because the screen is taller I still have the issue where I need to use two hands to do a lot of things.

Secondly, I liked Android when using the Moto X because it was basically stock Android and I used all of the Google services. It seems I didnt' do too much reasearch with how Samsung handles their phones, becuase by default it prefers to use Samsung services over Google services, so it's a pain to change every default to Google services.

I don't like Bixby and would rather Google Assistant (is it not called Google Now any more?) in its place, as I used that a lot on my Moto X. Is there any way to set up scrolling right from the home screen to the Google Assistant?

It is also quite hitchy all the time. There's a lot of stutter and pauses. Which for a high end phone is very disappointing. I don't think the old Moto X I gave to my dad is this bad.

Also the finger sensor is worse than the iPhone and I'm not used to it yet, but I think it's in a bad position.

I don't know what to do. I'd still rather continue using my iPhone and wait even longer for a phone I like the look of.

I bought it from Argos and I don't think they accept returns of opened items. I'm not sure though. Anyone can help? Not sure what to do other than hopefully get used to it.
Click to expand...

Get Nova Launcher which has the ability to add Google Now to the right swipe and download the Pixel icon pack.

The fast is smooth and fast for me. I hold my phone with my left hand and can easily access the sensor.
 
E

emag

Member
Afrikan said:
Speaking of which, I come from the old school of PocketPC Casio Cassiopeia baby.... but do any phones now a days have reflective screens? To where you can still see in daylight without using any brightness?
Click to expand...

phone_ny.png

https://yotaphone.com/us-en/
 
I

Izuna

Banned
The fingerscanner on the back is a feature I want to keep.

I can unlock my phone comfortably and immediately just by my natural grip taking it out of my pocket.
 
P

PixelatedBookake

Junior Member
I've been ignoring Bixby for months but have recently been having fun messing with it. Some voice commands and instant memos and calendar scheduling is pretty cool. I'm even starting to enjoy the button.
 
D

diaspora

Member
I don't know why people keep suggesting Nova with a pixel theme. The Launcher3 apk ripped from an Oreo ROM is as good if not better.
 
N

netBuff

Member
In terms of the ability to chose specific icons for every app from multiple icon packs, I find Action Launcher much better than Nova.
 
A

Afrikan

Member
emag said:
phone_ny.png

https://yotaphone.com/us-en/
Click to expand...

That's pretty nice looking phone. o_O

But I meant more like the whole screen and not just widgets/always on screen (like this phone ^ I think)... is it called paper display?

This was the reflective screens I meant... where it was still color and the whole regular screen. It was trippy back then. You could have brightness down to zero.

Bad image here sorry.
ipaq11.jpg
 
M

Mindwipe

Member
ashbash159 said:
Just switched from an iPhone 6S Plus to a Samsung Galaxy S8, mainly because I wanted a smaller phone and I really liked Android when I had a Moto X (2014) before my iPhone and use Google features a lot. Also the rumors of the new smaller Pixel phone do not sound great at all.

I'm honestly surprised I'm disappointed.

First of all, I said I wanted a smaller phone, which it is, but because the screen is taller I still have the issue where I need to use two hands to do a lot of things.
Click to expand...

Are you using the screen shrinking gesture? In the settings you can enable it, it lets you triple tap the home button or swipe diagonally to pull make things easier to reach one handed. Google keyboard also lets you resize the keyboard and move it to one side of the screen to type more easily.

The S8 is pretty much the only option for a smaller phone, as at least it isn't very wide.

Secondly, I liked Android when using the Moto X because it was basically stock Android and I used all of the Google services. It seems I didnt' do too much reasearch with how Samsung handles their phones, becuase by default it prefers to use Samsung services over Google services, so it's a pain to change every default to Google services.
Click to expand...

It's really a five minute job.

I don't like Bixby and would rather Google Assistant (is it not called Google Now any more?) in its place, as I used that a lot on my Moto X. Is there any way to set up scrolling right from the home screen to the Google Assistant?
Click to expand...

Install Action or Nova launcher. Google Assistant also still works by holding down the home button.
 
ISee

ISee

Member
Afrikan said:
Speaking of which, I come from the old school of PocketPC Casio Cassiopeia baby.... but do any phones now a days have reflective screens? To where you can still see in daylight without using any brightness?
Click to expand...

Maybe, but I don't know any...
 
Catphish

Catphish

Member
I currently have an LG G3, and one of the things that drives me absolutely insane about it is that whenever it reaches 100% battery charge, it makes this two-tone notification sound, and it can't be disabled. So, it makes this noise every night, and continues to do it in 1 or 2 minute intervals until I unplug the fucker.

The only way around this is to turn the phone off while it charges but, for several reasons, I don't want to do that.

Does the S8 make this sounds as well?
 
K

Kensation

Member
Catphish said:
I currently have an LG G3, and one of the things that drives me absolutely insane about it is that whenever it reaches 100% battery charge, it makes this two-tone notification sound, and it can't be disabled. So, it makes this noise every night, and continues to do it in 1 or 2 minute intervals until I unplug the fucker.

The only way around this is to turn the phone off while it charges but, for several reasons, I don't want to do that.

Does the S8 make this sounds as well?
Click to expand...
No
 
Z

z3phon

Member
Anyone having issues with gmail notifications on the S8+?
I've done everything I can think of to have notifications show up for my emails but nothings working. It seems to only download emails when I open the gmail app.
 
jm89

jm89

Member
z3phon said:
Anyone having issues with gmail notifications on the S8+?
I've done everything I can think of to have notifications show up for my emails but nothings working. It seems to only download emails when I open the gmail app.
Click to expand...

Have you tried turning off battery optimisation for gmail?

Settings>Device maintenance>Battery>Battery Usage>3 dots at the top right hand cornet>Optimise Battery Usage > Find gmail and untick it
 
R

Ric Flair

Banned
Bixby is the worst addition in the history of samsung smart phones. I hope this button can be changed to have a different feature in the future
 
Allforce

Allforce

Member
Ric Flair said:
Bixby is the worst addition in the history of samsung smart phones. I hope this button can be changed to have a different feature in the future
Click to expand...

It can be changed right now, just download bxactions. It's even mentioned at the top of this page.

Mine opens Google Assistant now but you can set it to do anything or nothing at all.
 
S

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Allforce said:
It can be changed right now, just download bxactions. It's even mentioned at the top of this page.

Mine opens Google Assistant now but you can set it to do anything or nothing at all.
Click to expand...

Does bxactions impact performance? Last time I had a Bixby disabler/remapper Bixbye I think it hurt the phones performance.

Also, I got the Bixby update to at least disable the button.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Coming from a 6p which lasts 2 hours before it inexplicably shuts down at 20% this battery is blowing my mind. In fact it's better than my 6p even when it was fresh.

I know the battery will go to shit in 2 years like they always do but man it feels so good for now.
 
A

ashbash159

Member
After using it for a few days I now quite like this phone.

I'm quite surprised I had such negative first impressions (near the top of this page), but I'm a lot happier now!

Definitely took me longer to get used to than I expected.

Also there were a lot of settings and changes I made which took quite a bit of time to do but makes it much nicer.

Edit:
All the hitching and slowdown issues I were having were with the first 3 or so hours of using the phone. They've all gone now. Don't know what was happening. It wasn't updating past the first 30 minutes, so I don't know what it was.
 
B

BertramCooper

Banned
I've currently got an unlocked S8 in my Amazon cart to replace my 6P and its piece-of-shit defective battery. Haven't clicked buy quite yet.

Should I do it, folks? Samsung doing a decent job with updates for the unlocked version?
 
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