Video: iPhone X vs Note 8 - Real World Comparison after 1 month
I started out my smartphone experience right at the launch of the very first Android phone, HTC's G1 and stuck to that OS until the last couple years. We've been comparing the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 against the iPhone 8 and iPhone X for over a month now and I think it's time to talk about the real world differences between these two flagship devices.
Both phones have a really premium feel due to the all metal and glass construction but I do prefer the build of the iPhone X. The screen is really nice on the Note 8, with a higher resolution that provides a sharper image and less color shift when viewing at off angles. I also prefer the larger size of the display for multimedia, but the phone is uncomfortable in your hand. The iPhone 8 Plus is similar in the hand but the iPhone X smaller size is perfect for most people.
I was disappointed with the iPhone X's display size at first, since the surface size is actually smaller than the iPhone 8 plus's even though its rated at a larger 5.8 inches. Now that I'm used to the size the Note 8 feels huge in the hand but If you watch a lot of video its larger display provides for a great viewing experience.
Unfortunately, the speakers on the Note 8 are quite poor. Not only are the iPhone's speakers much louder, but they are of higher quality with more punch on the low end, clearer mids, and crisp highs.
The other big difference is the stereo sound. Apple started using the earpiece speaker along with the bottom loudspeaker in the iPhone 7, and they've perfected and balanced the sound on the iPhone X which provides a massively better audio experience than the note.
Because of this, even though i prefer the much larger screen, without the annoying notch in my videos, i'd choose the iPhone X any day if using the built in speakers. Other than when watching videos, the notch is fine.
We compared speaker quality in a recent video, and you can hear the difference for yourself by clicking the card above.
iPhones have been known for taking the best photos, but in the past couple of years, android phones have really caught up.
We tested both cameras for photo quality, and the Note 8 was just slightly ahead. It seemed to be a bit sharper, the noise reduction was better, and blur effect photos turned out nicer as well.
The iPhone X did a better job with color accuracy and dynamic range, but it wasn't enough.
However, the iPhone X definitely takes the cake on the video side, being able to shoot high resolution video at higher frame rates, with better video quality, especially shooting slow motion video.
I was basically forced to switch over to bluetooth headsets on the iphone and thus don't really have a need for the Note 8's headphone jack its still there because Samsung loves to give you options. When they add a new feature, they rarely take an old one away. Because of that, we have face unlock, iris scanning, and fingerprint scanning.
In the real world, Face ID beats them all since it's really fast, secure, and convenient. Most of the time I don't even notice it's there, almost like going back to the days when no one had passcodes on their phones.
I do like having the fingerprint scanner, but its location on the Note 8 is ridiculous. Even with large hands, its inconvenient to have to reach up, right next to the camera lenses to unlock. Plus, if it's laying flat on a table, you have to pick it up first to use it. It would have been much better to have it where the Samsung logo is.
The iPhone X performs much better in benchmarks, but we won't get too far into that since in real world use there's not much of a difference other than some UI lag every once in awhile on the Note 8. The iPhone X's extra performance will come in handy if you're a person who keeps their phones for a few years.
Battery life is close, with the Note 8 coming out on top by a slim margin. But we definitely noticed that the note 8's battery drains much faster in standby.
The Galaxy Note 8 does have more RAM. In specific tests when you're opening a bunch of apps, it'll keep apps open longer, but for most of us, there's really no difference.
One of my big complaints with the iPhone X was the control center being at the top. With the Note 8 we have the same scenario, just a larger screen to reach across to access it.
One aspect I really love about the Note 8, and android in general, is the notification bar at the top. I used to miss a lot of notifications when I switched to an iPhone since it's easy for me to pass over the smart icons. If you don't clear up all your texts and emails, one number higher won't really mean anything.
Thankfully with iOS 11 I can now pull down notifications, but I still prefer the notification bar since I can see that I've gotten a new email or text since the last time I checked the app.
The last software feature where I think the note excels in up on top is multi-tasking. The ability to have multiple apps open at once is a phenomenal. The iPhone X's quick app switches is nice, but nothing like watching a video while getting through emails at the same time.
Now onto the S Pen. I've owned almost every single note phone, except the note 7, which I avoided for the obvious reasons, and with each one of those phones I used the S Pen for a few days, and then never use it again until I bought a newer Note Phone. The stylus really isn't much for use for me so I can't count it against the iPhone for not including one.
Both of these phones are the best from each company, and you really can't go wrong with either one. If you're a Mac user you'll likely choose the iPhone X. While the Apple ecosystem does make it tougher to use an Android phone, My personal choice is still the iPhone X even if I didn't use other Apple devices.
The mix of great performance, nice display, convenient Face ID, surprisingly good speakers, and software that may limit options but lets me do what I need as simply as possible seals the deal.
Both phones have a really premium feel due to the all metal and glass construction but I do prefer the build of the iPhone X. The screen is really nice on the Note 8, with a higher resolution that provides a sharper image and less color shift when viewing at off angles. I also prefer the larger size of the display for multimedia, but the phone is uncomfortable in your hand. The iPhone 8 Plus is similar in the hand but the iPhone X smaller size is perfect for most people.
I was disappointed with the iPhone X's display size at first, since the surface size is actually smaller than the iPhone 8 plus's even though its rated at a larger 5.8 inches. Now that I'm used to the size the Note 8 feels huge in the hand but If you watch a lot of video its larger display provides for a great viewing experience.
Unfortunately, the speakers on the Note 8 are quite poor. Not only are the iPhone's speakers much louder, but they are of higher quality with more punch on the low end, clearer mids, and crisp highs.
The other big difference is the stereo sound. Apple started using the earpiece speaker along with the bottom loudspeaker in the iPhone 7, and they've perfected and balanced the sound on the iPhone X which provides a massively better audio experience than the note.
Because of this, even though i prefer the much larger screen, without the annoying notch in my videos, i'd choose the iPhone X any day if using the built in speakers. Other than when watching videos, the notch is fine.
We compared speaker quality in a recent video, and you can hear the difference for yourself by clicking the card above.
iPhones have been known for taking the best photos, but in the past couple of years, android phones have really caught up.
We tested both cameras for photo quality, and the Note 8 was just slightly ahead. It seemed to be a bit sharper, the noise reduction was better, and blur effect photos turned out nicer as well.
The iPhone X did a better job with color accuracy and dynamic range, but it wasn't enough.
However, the iPhone X definitely takes the cake on the video side, being able to shoot high resolution video at higher frame rates, with better video quality, especially shooting slow motion video.
I was basically forced to switch over to bluetooth headsets on the iphone and thus don't really have a need for the Note 8's headphone jack its still there because Samsung loves to give you options. When they add a new feature, they rarely take an old one away. Because of that, we have face unlock, iris scanning, and fingerprint scanning.
In the real world, Face ID beats them all since it's really fast, secure, and convenient. Most of the time I don't even notice it's there, almost like going back to the days when no one had passcodes on their phones.
I do like having the fingerprint scanner, but its location on the Note 8 is ridiculous. Even with large hands, its inconvenient to have to reach up, right next to the camera lenses to unlock. Plus, if it's laying flat on a table, you have to pick it up first to use it. It would have been much better to have it where the Samsung logo is.
The iPhone X performs much better in benchmarks, but we won't get too far into that since in real world use there's not much of a difference other than some UI lag every once in awhile on the Note 8. The iPhone X's extra performance will come in handy if you're a person who keeps their phones for a few years.
Battery life is close, with the Note 8 coming out on top by a slim margin. But we definitely noticed that the note 8's battery drains much faster in standby.
The Galaxy Note 8 does have more RAM. In specific tests when you're opening a bunch of apps, it'll keep apps open longer, but for most of us, there's really no difference.
One of my big complaints with the iPhone X was the control center being at the top. With the Note 8 we have the same scenario, just a larger screen to reach across to access it.
One aspect I really love about the Note 8, and android in general, is the notification bar at the top. I used to miss a lot of notifications when I switched to an iPhone since it's easy for me to pass over the smart icons. If you don't clear up all your texts and emails, one number higher won't really mean anything.
Thankfully with iOS 11 I can now pull down notifications, but I still prefer the notification bar since I can see that I've gotten a new email or text since the last time I checked the app.
The last software feature where I think the note excels in up on top is multi-tasking. The ability to have multiple apps open at once is a phenomenal. The iPhone X's quick app switches is nice, but nothing like watching a video while getting through emails at the same time.
Now onto the S Pen. I've owned almost every single note phone, except the note 7, which I avoided for the obvious reasons, and with each one of those phones I used the S Pen for a few days, and then never use it again until I bought a newer Note Phone. The stylus really isn't much for use for me so I can't count it against the iPhone for not including one.
Both of these phones are the best from each company, and you really can't go wrong with either one. If you're a Mac user you'll likely choose the iPhone X. While the Apple ecosystem does make it tougher to use an Android phone, My personal choice is still the iPhone X even if I didn't use other Apple devices.
The mix of great performance, nice display, convenient Face ID, surprisingly good speakers, and software that may limit options but lets me do what I need as simply as possible seals the deal.
Comments
Those sample photos look really bad for the note 8, poor exposure and lacking detail in the sky and on the guys face. Not to mention the wrong colour of the hooded top he is wearing in the first pic.
Its great to have a comparison with an android phone where the reviewer actually used it. Android phones always seem to have a killer problem whether its a finger print sensor next to the camera or sub-par display. let alone the lack of updates. Honest android reviews will mention the UI lag that eventually seems to manifest itself. After one month of use is pretty fast to experience lag. It would be interesting to see iOS running on the Note8.
I've heard other people have problems with FaceID and I've yet to read or hear any proof that repeated use of FaceID for years is medically SAFE.
That's why in a shoot out between the Note and iPhone X the winner is the the iPhone 8Plus. Much rather have an iPhone with TouchID on Back or TouchId Under the Display. Looking forward to the iPhone 9Plus next year. Maybe when the iPhone XIII is released it will be worth looking at. Hopefully it will have something more substantial that Animoji to set it apart.
Good point but maybe a chance (I don't know) that operating a phone whilst driving isn't illegal in Prague !
Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode and tap Reset Face ID. Then tap Set up Face ID to set it up again.
The other issue that most people hate about iPhones is that truly it is the worst media unfriendly device. You can't just stick in any media file and just open video play and play it. You have to use iTunes.
Until Apple figures out nobody likes iTunes they will one day get left behind by Streaming media sites and Google.
Note 8 has a bad finger sensor, no doubt. But once you get used to it, I much rather deal with that than the constant Apple Facelock challenge. There is not one day you can just buy an app or song without having to deal with the annoyance of entering your passcode or password on the iPhone.
You must also be new here.
Do you know how many trolls show up here at AI with a brand new account and their first post is a stupid comment (always a negative and usually about some signature Apple feature)?
The vast majority of the time when they are called on it it turns out the assumption was correct (troll). I see no reason to believe otherwise this time.
About the cameras, try taking a picture of a sunset or sunrise with the note vs. The iphone....it's almost like the note has a uv filter on it....But I have no clue, there is no lens flare on the note but the iPhone does flare....some instances I liked the note, others I like iPhone because of the lens flare.....
Just an observation
This is one is amateur hour.
I have owned every I phone but the first and the 8 and x. The first three I had to have Att and Verizon because I was a Verizon customer. I have enjoyed all of them.
I have owned many android. Moto, Samsung, Htc and Lg. They have vastly improved over the years. I have enjoyed using them too which some more than others.
Now to get to my point. Everyone will like what they like. My issue with this article is it was biased on his opinion. I have I phone 7plus and a note eight I use daily. I love both phones. Apple has messed up my phone with 11 and it is just now getting close to where it was. It had been a while since I had lag on IPhone but 11 did it. My note has no lag at all I have had it for months. My hands are big and the phone is perfect for me.
People need to realize that are own bias affects how we feel about things. For me my 7 is not less than the new ones. Not worth the investment. I have 256 gb jet black. Beautiful phone. With the update Apple took away my favorite wall papers. I am still pissed about that. I have black note 8 with 256 gb card. Beautiful phone.
This is a wonderful site. I come here to get all my apple news but they could have just not done this article. To me it wasn’t done fairly. I hope what ever phones you own that you enjoy them as much as I do mine. I have spent way too much money over the years but it is like a hobby for me.