This is not a full screen touch smartphone. Many pixels around the edges are insensitive to touch. With more than 2 to 1 ration the screen area of the 5.8 inches S8 is not much bigger than iPhone 7 Plus. This is a trick TV makers have been used to fool consumers for years.
I have used the 5.7' Galaxy Note, the 5.7' Galaxy Edge+ and the "Plus" iPhones. The 5.7' Samsung phones are indeed noticeably bigger. And the S8 is bigger than the 5.7 inch phones. And the S8+ is bigger still. But the fact that we are having this argument in the first place is sufficient enough. As recently as summer 2015, iPhone advocates - such as those on this blog - insisted that 4' screens were the perfect size, and that the larger screened Android phones were gimmicks, bad design, bad UI/UX and proof that Android was incapable of matching Apple's sophistication and expertise. Similar to above, you can include the mocking - a good bit of it from Apple's upper echelon designers and executives themselves - of OLED screens, multi-window apps, stylus support, having more than 1 GB of RAM ... you name it. The iPhone 7 is a lot more similar to the Galaxy S line than it is the iPhone 5, and with the iPhone 8, Apple will have entirely abandoned their own design language - the one that they spent years suing Samsung for infringing - in favor of designs and features that were used as iOS differentiators by Samsung, HTC and other Android OEMs for years.
Feel free to retort that the Google Pixel is an iPhone 7 clone (physical home button excluded of course) as many do. But even there ... the Pixel didn't emulate the iPhone 4 or iPhone 5, merely the iPhones that were changed to look and function more like Android phones in the first place.
Fair is fair, guys. There is no more real competition - as Windows Mobile and Blackberry are dead - and the failed lawsuit/patent strategy has been abandoned so smartphones are now converging in look, feel and function. This has been going on since at least 2015, so continuing to claim that Android is copying Apple is silly. Especially since Force Touch (or was it 3D Touch) - the last major "new" feature introduced by Apple that wasn't on a Samsung or LG device first - has been ignored by Samsung, LG, HTC and Google to this point and is neither in stock Android or in TouchWiz, Sense or the other major skins, and it isn't in any of the community Android ROMs like Paranoid Android or LineageOS either.
My initial impression is this new Samsung phone is 2-3 years ahead of where the latest iPhone is. The features I like the most are when the device is able to recognize real world objects, and then offer the option to purchase those objects, when the phone can connect to a monitor, keyboard and mouse, and 5 hours of use with a 5 minute charge.
I have been anti-Samsung for years, but will switch to Samsung in 2018 if:
1. The iPhone doesn't compete this Fall in looks, and the above noted features
2. The iPhone doesn't physically connect to a "dummy" laptop, and then offer a similar experience to macOS (windows, file hierarchy, etc.)
3. Samsung releases a device with their own OS. I refuse to use the Android OS where almost everything done on the phone is tracked by Google, and where OS updates are rare
4. The Samsung phone doesn't explode on an airplane
If I didn't love my iPhones (and was completely invested in the App store ecosystem), I'd give the S8 a look. It's very pretty on the front. The upper back is a mess of bumps and ridges.
I'd probably go with a Pixel just for its undiluted (and more frequently updated?) OS.
I won't comment on the phone. It sounds fine. I'm not buying a Samsung but I am sure the people who do will like it. But FFS, change the name of the AI assistant!! I suggest calling it "Chav"
All I know is I am ready for an OLED iPhone. I carry an S7 Edge for work just to have a toe in the Android world and the screen is miles better. Granted the OS is bloated, the apps are usually cheap imitations and the phone easily gets hot when being used. However, the screen is fantastic and the form factor is much better than iPhone 7+.
If the rumors are true, the iPhone 8/X/Edition will only have 5.15 inches of usable screen space. That would be a major bummer for those of us who really like the big screen form factor.
"The form factor is much better than iPhone 6"
You mean the iPhone form factor that %100 of iPhone knockoffs use?
Please guys, tell the truth. The Galaxy Note 7 had iris scanning. Further, Android phones have had iris scanning as far back as 2015 when Qualcomm first began building the capability into their chips.
Second, augmented reality support was built into Android thanks to Google and Qualcomm in Android 7. So thank Google's Project Tango for AR support, and Google announced Project Tango in 2014. The first device to fully support Project Tango was the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro released in 2016. And as Project Tango is supported at the hardware layer with the Qualcomm SOC, every Android phone that has the Snapdragon 835 and Android 7 will fully support AR, and also will fully support VR because Android 7 and the Snapdragon 835 support the Daydream VR platform too (although you will not hear Samsung mention that, as Samsung's Gear VR is on the competing Oculus platform). In fact, as the Snapdragon 821 also supports both Tango and Daydream, the LG G6 and the $499 Asus ZenFone AR - the best Android device for the money as the thing even has 8 GB of RAM! - also have AR and VR support.
So please folks, stop claiming that ideas that Samsung - and a host of other Android OEMs - implemented first, and in some cases YEARS FIRST - are attempts to copy Apple. Even the physical home button ... less an attempt to copy Apple than an attempt to maximize the screen to bezel ratio. Physical home button support was never in base Android but was added by Samsung into TouchWiz. Samsung - and LG - are adopting a design similar to 2014's Sharp Aquos Crystal. So, unless Apple emulates Samsung with a curved OLED screen, the iPhone 8 will be a derivative of this guy ... which also does not have a physical home button.
Funny how you blame the article instead of Samsung for bragging about these features. you must be new to Samsung. For years they've been copying Apple and rumors to be first to market and for years they fail to implement these rumors correctly because copying speculation blindly is a recipe for failure.
Typical iKnockoff-user argument where they'll compare 1,000+ android iWannabes to ONE iPhone and say "Apple copies [insert different iKnockoff here]" while completely dismissing the fact the ENTIRE android OS and hardware lineup are iPhone ripoffs.
If you really wanna get technical I was using AR apps before the first iPhone knockoff released.
I still don't understand the appeal of bezel-less displays. Your fingers are going to constantly be blocking the view of the content and possibly touching the screen. Cases have nothing to attach to and the camera/sensors up top looked crammed in a way that is not esthetically pleasing. In all.. I'd say this is pretty "meh".
Not sure what Samsung solution would be Isn't it easily addressable by a virtual bezel?
I still don't understand the appeal of bezel-less displays. Your fingers are going to constantly be blocking the view of the content and possibly touching the screen. Cases have nothing to attach to and the camera/sensors up top looked crammed in a way that is not esthetically pleasing. In all.. I'd say this is pretty "meh".
You won't ever understand the appeal until Apple does it because they do things right and not because some other company is rumored to do it.
Every new feature on this iPhone wannabe will be like every new feature they introduce every year. They'll say it's innovative and it will feel forced and no one will use it.
Sounds like a nice phone. Some pretty interesting new features. Not into the edge display but beyond that it's cool. Is there anything in this phone that would make me jump ship? Not at all but I think it will knock the Pixel from its purch as the best android phone.
and the $499 Asus ZenFone AR - the best Android device for the money as the thing even has 8 GB of RAM!
And still iOS runs smoother with 3 GB maybe 16 GB will do the trick.
Arguments from 4 years ago are beneath you. No one talks about stutter and lag on Android devices anymore. Even cheap devices like the Moto G run smooth. Also, Apple's even going to 3 GB of RAM in the first place was a major concession. For years Apple claimed that the only reason why Android needed more than 1 GB of RAM (which the iPhone had as recently as the iPhone 6) and 2 CPU cores was because of bad design, lack of vertical integration and the Java JVM. Android advocates claimed that it was because Android did more ... things that Apple claimed were gimmicks that made the devices more difficult and confusing to use whereas Apple promoted simplicity. But lo and behold ... as Apple began adding features that were previously on Samsung and other Android phones starting with the iPhone 6 (meaning bigger and higher resolution screen, multi-window/multi-tasking etc.) Apple "discovered" that more cores and more RAM was needed also. So Apple is now on 3 GB of RAM, that is the same amount of RAM that the Galaxy S6 and Note 6 had.
Take a look at the Phonebuff tests and you will see that iOS does more with less memory. Memory management in Android is weak.
Can anyone explain to me why rounded display edges or a screen that goes underneath my hand and/or case is a desirable feature?
You can guarantee the iPhone will not have either of these.
After I put a case on my phone, there's a lot of bezel left. That's the part that could be screen without going underneath my hand. Your case and hand may vary.
The famous level headed technology reviewer from Re/Code Mr.Walter Mossberg today said on CNBC that this time he would wait to review Galaxy S8 based on past issues with Samsung phones. He said S8 battery is smaller than S7 while pushing more pixels on screen so wait to see real world usage and battery life..
and the $499 Asus ZenFone AR - the best Android device for the money as the thing even has 8 GB of RAM!
And still iOS runs smoother with 3 GB maybe 16 GB will do the trick.
Arguments from 4 years ago are beneath you. No one talks about stutter and lag on Android devices anymore. Even cheap devices like the Moto G run smooth. Also, Apple's even going to 3 GB of RAM in the first place was a major concession. For years Apple claimed that the only reason why Android needed more than 1 GB of RAM (which the iPhone had as recently as the iPhone 6) and 2 CPU cores was because of bad design, lack of vertical integration and the Java JVM. Android advocates claimed that it was because Android did more ... things that Apple claimed were gimmicks that made the devices more difficult and confusing to use whereas Apple promoted simplicity. But lo and behold ... as Apple began adding features that were previously on Samsung and other Android phones starting with the iPhone 6 (meaning bigger and higher resolution screen, multi-window/multi-tasking etc.) Apple "discovered" that more cores and more RAM was needed also. So Apple is now on 3 GB of RAM, that is the same amount of RAM that the Galaxy S6 and Note 6 had.
The first iPhone ran smooth without stutter. Why'd it take Google so long? Because they ship unfinished products and software. While this device has iris scanning, if it's like the Note 7, it will be so slow and pain to even be useful.
No, we are not copying Apple in the naming. We named the larger version the "Plus", because it is obvious there is no other name it could be called. All trolls everywhere immediately began vehemently nodding their heads.
So you think Samsung "copied" the plus naming convention from Apple??? Samsung is using Plus in naming their devices for many years already. Samsung SII plus was released in 2013 - just to give an example. There are MANY more Samsung phones with plus naming convention, much before iPhone 6 plus came in late 2014. In fact, Samsung releases so many phones with so many names every year, it is very difficult to come up with a new name which does not have any resemblance to any of the existing Samsung phones. You can accuse ANY OEM of copying name from Samsung phones blindly and it would not be far off from the truth. To claim that Samsung is copying name from Apple is - pure ignorance and lack of knowledge.
and the $499 Asus ZenFone AR - the best Android device for the money as the thing even has 8 GB of RAM!
And still iOS runs smoother with 3 GB maybe 16 GB will do the trick.
Arguments from 4 years ago are beneath you. No one talks about stutter and lag on Android devices anymore. Even cheap devices like the Moto G run smooth. Also, Apple's even going to 3 GB of RAM in the first place was a major concession. For years Apple claimed that the only reason why Android needed more than 1 GB of RAM (which the iPhone had as recently as the iPhone 6) and 2 CPU cores was because of bad design, lack of vertical integration and the Java JVM. Android advocates claimed that it was because Android did more ... things that Apple claimed were gimmicks that made the devices more difficult and confusing to use whereas Apple promoted simplicity. But lo and behold ... as Apple began adding features that were previously on Samsung and other Android phones starting with the iPhone 6 (meaning bigger and higher resolution screen, multi-window/multi-tasking etc.) Apple "discovered" that more cores and more RAM was needed also. So Apple is now on 3 GB of RAM, that is the same amount of RAM that the Galaxy S6 and Note 6 had.
Hmm -- would you care to link to where Apple "claimed" all the things you're saying they did? I'm not aware of Apple engineering weighing in on these things at all.
these clowns at Samsung even copied the marketing name from Apple -- the "Plus". really? is that the only possible nomenclature for a larger size? pathetic.
Comments
Feel free to retort that the Google Pixel is an iPhone 7 clone (physical home button excluded of course) as many do. But even there ... the Pixel didn't emulate the iPhone 4 or iPhone 5, merely the iPhones that were changed to look and function more like Android phones in the first place.
Fair is fair, guys. There is no more real competition - as Windows Mobile and Blackberry are dead - and the failed lawsuit/patent strategy has been abandoned so smartphones are now converging in look, feel and function. This has been going on since at least 2015, so continuing to claim that Android is copying Apple is silly. Especially since Force Touch (or was it 3D Touch) - the last major "new" feature introduced by Apple that wasn't on a Samsung or LG device first - has been ignored by Samsung, LG, HTC and Google to this point and is neither in stock Android or in TouchWiz, Sense or the other major skins, and it isn't in any of the community Android ROMs like Paranoid Android or LineageOS either.
I'd probably go with a Pixel just for its undiluted (and more frequently updated?) OS.
You mean the iPhone form factor that %100 of iPhone knockoffs use?
People talk like they were born yesterday.
Funny how you blame the article instead of Samsung for bragging about these features. you must be new to Samsung. For years they've been copying Apple and rumors to be first to market and for years they fail to implement these rumors correctly because copying speculation blindly is a recipe for failure.
Typical iKnockoff-user argument where they'll compare 1,000+ android iWannabes to ONE iPhone and say "Apple copies [insert different iKnockoff here]" while completely dismissing the fact the ENTIRE android OS and hardware lineup are iPhone ripoffs.
If you really wanna get technical I was using AR apps before the first iPhone knockoff released.
Every new feature on this iPhone wannabe will be like every new feature they introduce every year. They'll say it's innovative and it will feel forced and no one will use it.
rinse and repeat.
Take a look at the Phonebuff tests and you will see that iOS does more with less memory. Memory management in Android is weak.
You can guarantee the iPhone will not have either of these.
So you think Samsung "copied" the plus naming convention from Apple??? Samsung is using Plus in naming their devices for many years already. Samsung SII plus was released in 2013 - just to give an example. There are MANY more Samsung phones with plus naming convention, much before iPhone 6 plus came in late 2014. In fact, Samsung releases so many phones with so many names every year, it is very difficult to come up with a new name which does not have any resemblance to any of the existing Samsung phones. You can accuse ANY OEM of copying name from Samsung phones blindly and it would not be far off from the truth. To claim that Samsung is copying name from Apple is - pure ignorance and lack of knowledge.