Samsung's Galaxy S9 phones inch out iPhone X for top Consumer Reports ranking

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Comments

  • Reply 21 of 38
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    That's not surprising at all considering the horrific turn consumer report has taken, it's sliding fast into irrelevency too.
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 22 of 38
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Many of those options are not really "locking" the phone at all, so wth are talking about.
    magman1979watto_cobra
  • Reply 23 of 38
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    How many of Sammy’s “wins” are subjective? Headphone jack?

    Convenient security features? Does CR know it runs Android?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 24 of 38
    They hate us 'cause they ain't us
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 25 of 38
    1) I think it's overall a pretty fair review by CR.
    2) Do these phone makers have to put a glass back on everything? Kind of fetishizes wireless charging, doesn't it--or maybe it's about fetishizing phone insurance.
    3) The drop test result is interesting. I wonder if the softer aluminum on the Samsung takes gouges while the stainless on the iPhone transmits the shock to the glass?
    4) As someone who is Apple for all computing, tablet and music player use, but "off brand" for the watch (Garmin) and phone (Samsung Note 4), I wish Apple would be a little more flexible in their approach to design, and incorporate some of the useful stuff of Samsung; better reception and carrier aggregation, a headphone jack, a rugged option, more flexibility with USB. Apple has a clear advantage over every Android attempt on the processor and on OS security -- why won't they provide the full suite of features?
    5) I've been waiting for someone to come up with something significantly more practical than my Note 4, and I'm still waiting, but my hand's about to be forced by security issues. I could still go either way.
    Inghell2
  • Reply 26 of 38
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,292member
    avon b7 said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Facial recognition definitely has a convenience factor to it. Use it for general use and switch to the fingerprint scanner/passcode when security needs to be increased.

    It's nothing new for Samsung and others, who have been using it for various functions for a while now, and, as you say is consumer friendly.
    The fact they have to put in multiple systems because only 1 is actually safe enough for financial uses means the others are garbage, and is the anti-thesis of user friendly, as it serves to confuse the consumer having to decide / remember which method to use for which function, it's totally pathetic.

    Please don't be an apologist for bunk tech, it's off-putting.
    watto_cobraStrangeDays
  • Reply 27 of 38
    magman1979magman1979 Posts: 1,292member
    avon b7 said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Actually having multiple and competing mechanisms on the same device is the opposite of user friendly. Try again. 

    If Samsung doesn’t trust a bio authentification mechanism it shouldn’t be there. 
    Choice is good and not particularly new. The only real difference is that we have more options open to us than before.

    On iOS devices you have passcode options with two choices (activated or deactivated) plus biometrics (TouchID or FaceID) depending on the device.

    Android offers other options with different choices for unlocking (trusted places/devices).

    While some iOS users will prefer Apple to take these decisions regarding choice for them, others will not.

    It's not simply a question of user friendliness or not, but having options or not and perceived design compromises.

    Is having competing keyboard options, web browsers, pdf viewers etc in some way anti user friendly?

    It is not only biometrics. It's everything.

    Personally, I wouldn't go with any biometric option that had potential health issues (iris scanning) but many others don't offer that anyway but still offer alternatives where possible. It has nothing to do with user friendliness.

    I wonder how many iPhone 8 series users would like the option of facial recognition using the device's camera even knowing full well that it couldn't be used for payments etc.

    As a convenience option, I think many would like to have it.

    Is limiting FaceID to one user, user unfriendly?


    Spoken like a true Android troll... The whole push by Android is "choice", but you have actually just illustrated how this undermines a smooth UX on the device and serves to confuse the end user who just wants the damn thing to work with the one method they've chosen and not have to fuss about it, especially at the checkout counter!

    Throwing in the counter point of add-on keyboards and web browsers is just a measly attempt at deflecting the topic which is focused on Samsung's piss pour biometrics solutions, and throwing in so many of them instead of having one system that does it all and is seamless to use.
    edited April 2018 watto_cobraStrangeDays
  • Reply 28 of 38
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    jsmythe00 said:
    Soli said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    You misspelled “hacker and law enforcement friendly.”  😃
    Well...truely do you think your data on iOS is safe from law enforcement. And please don't mention youryo in Facebook.

    Let's face it, the US government has our data.  If you're not planning on using a dumb flip phone, how much are you going to inconvenience youreself for a false sense of security?
    So, because you believe the US gov't has all your data you're going to leave yourself open for identity theft? What a completely rational argument to not use any security for anything that holds your personal information¡ 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 29 of 38
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    avon b7 said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Actually having multiple and competing mechanisms on the same device is the opposite of user friendly. Try again. 

    If Samsung doesn’t trust a bio authentification mechanism it shouldn’t be there. 
    Choice is good and not particularly new. The only real difference is that we have more options open to us than before.

    On iOS devices you have passcode options with two choices (activated or deactivated) plus biometrics (TouchID or FaceID) depending on the device.

    Android offers other options with different choices for unlocking (trusted places/devices).

    While some iOS users will prefer Apple to take these decisions regarding choice for them, others will not.

    It's not simply a question of user friendliness or not, but having options or not and perceived design compromises.

    Is having competing keyboard options, web browsers, pdf viewers etc in some way anti user friendly?

    It is not only biometrics. It's everything.

    Personally, I wouldn't go with any biometric option that had potential health issues (iris scanning) but many others don't offer that anyway but still offer alternatives where possible. It has nothing to do with user friendliness.

    I wonder how many iPhone 8 series users would like the option of facial recognition using the device's camera even knowing full well that it couldn't be used for payments etc.

    As a convenience option, I think many would like to have it.

    Is limiting FaceID to one user, user unfriendly?


    Spoken like a true Android troll... The whole push by Android is "choice", but you have actually just illustrated how this undermines a smooth UX on the device and serves to confuse the end user who just wants the damn thing to work with the one method they've chosen and not have to fuss about it, especially at the checkout counter!

    Throwing in the counter point of add-on keyboards and web browsers is just a measly attempt at deflecting the topic which is focused on Samsung's piss pour biometrics solutions, and throwing in so many of them instead of having one system that does it all and is seamless to use.
    Choice is important on Android but it doesn't undermine anything, much less ''smooth UX'.

    I have lost count of the times that UX has screwed things up on macOS and iOS. Just take iTunes as one supreme example. There are so many more. Confusion? The definition of confusion is iTunes!

    Wanting the 'damn thing to work' has crossed my mind many times while trying to get AirDrop to work. Safari has failed so much on iOS that we use Chrome now as a first option.

    Which part of Android doesn't just work?

    'Choice' comes after the default options. No one forces you to dig into the settings to change things. They are not unfriendly.

    I have no need to deflect attention away from anything. If choice is user unfriendly then be gone with it. Of course choice is not user unfriendly and if Apple tries to impose options, that is user unfriendly and is why you cannot send a photo you've just taken directly to the phone next to you without jumping through hoops. It is why iOS just couldn't handle email attachments well and no one ever found out for themselves how to 'undo' actions.
    edited April 2018 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 30 of 38
    racerhomie3racerhomie3 Posts: 1,264member
    Sadly , no one will buy the S9. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 31 of 38
    Did they not turn on the phones?  If they had they would have clearly seen that the Samsung phone runs Android.  That’s a Bill Paxton “Game over, man” moment right there, no need to test further. 
    Have you used any Android phones recently? There's very little difference between iOS and Android. I've tried going from Android to iOS and found it difficult because of habit but I can see fairly clearly that they are very similar. Each has a few minor advantages and I get that you might personally lean one way or the other but "game over" seems a little fanboish.
    singularity
  • Reply 32 of 38
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    I use an 8 Plus and overall I’m very happy with it. The only two things I count against it pertain to its camera...noticeable and distracting levels of noise when shooting video in low-light (in good light it’s great!) and not enough sharpening in photos, with a watercolor effect on details at high magnification.

    Apart from those I can’t think of anything else wrong with it, except maybe it’s now rather dated looking front aspect (especially in white) that none the less ergonomically has always worked very well.

    I handled an S9 recently and like it’s forebears with that wrap around screen, still feels uncomfortable in the hand to hold from the sides. There’s still a noticeable edge/sharpness where the screen glass meets the chassis/body IMO.
  • Reply 33 of 38
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    1983 said:
    I use an 8 Plus and overall I’m very happy with it. The only two things I count against it pertain to its camera...noticeable and distracting levels of noise when shooting video in low-light (in good light it’s great!) and not enough sharpening in photos, with a watercolor effect on details at high magnification.

    Apart from those I can’t think of anything else wrong with it, except maybe it’s now rather dated looking front aspect (especially in white) that none the less ergonomically has always worked very well.

    I handled an S9 recently and like it’s forebears with that wrap around screen, still feels uncomfortable in the hand to hold from the sides. There’s still a noticeable edge/sharpness where the screen glass meets the chassis/body IMO.
    Shooting video in low light, especially at high frame rate, always gives a crappy result on smartphones, and even on normal video cameras, that's why there is a market for video led clip on lights for smart phones and DSLR. Use the lowest frame rate possible if you want to shoot in low light (24fps).

    Shoot raw to see if it's the lens providing the "water color" effect (sometimes it's the jpg encoding that does it). Likely it's the lack of sharpness of those little lens in smart phones that are at issue (in DSLR, there is a whole fetish about lens sharpness). Smart phone lens / sensor combi will have more distorsion than bigger lens.

    I think people have actually accepted the hype that smart phones are as good as compacts or DSLR's. They are not even close in non ideal situations.
    edited April 2018 muthuk_vanalingamwatto_cobra
  • Reply 34 of 38
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    avon b7 said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Actually having multiple and competing mechanisms on the same device is the opposite of user friendly. Try again. 

    If Samsung doesn’t trust a bio authentification mechanism it shouldn’t be there. 
    Choice is good and not particularly new. The only real difference is that we have more options open to us than before.

    On iOS devices you have passcode options with two choices (activated or deactivated) plus biometrics (TouchID or FaceID) depending on the device.

    Android offers other options with different choices for unlocking (trusted places/devices).

    While some iOS users will prefer Apple to take these decisions regarding choice for them, others will not.

    It's not simply a question of user friendliness or not, but having options or not and perceived design compromises.

    Is having competing keyboard options, web browsers, pdf viewers etc in some way anti user friendly?

    It is not only biometrics. It's everything.

    Personally, I wouldn't go with any biometric option that had potential health issues (iris scanning) but many others don't offer that anyway but still offer alternatives where possible. It has nothing to do with user friendliness.

    I wonder how many iPhone 8 series users would like the option of facial recognition using the device's camera even knowing full well that it couldn't be used for payments etc.

    As a convenience option, I think many would like to have it.

    Is limiting FaceID to one user, user unfriendly?
    No, you have this all wrong. Having choice is fine when it comes to colors, or even different models. But it’s lousy, horrible UI to have multiple choices on bioauthentication and not all of them are able to do things like, pay. That’s just a clear sign that the knockoffs lack focus and faith in their own implementations.

    The fact that thy ship an implementation that can damage your eyes is a fucking joke. 
  • Reply 35 of 38
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    avon b7 said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Actually having multiple and competing mechanisms on the same device is the opposite of user friendly. Try again. 

    If Samsung doesn’t trust a bio authentification mechanism it shouldn’t be there. 
    Choice is good and not particularly new. The only real difference is that we have more options open to us than before.

    On iOS devices you have passcode options with two choices (activated or deactivated) plus biometrics (TouchID or FaceID) depending on the device.

    Android offers other options with different choices for unlocking (trusted places/devices).

    While some iOS users will prefer Apple to take these decisions regarding choice for them, others will not.

    It's not simply a question of user friendliness or not, but having options or not and perceived design compromises.

    Is having competing keyboard options, web browsers, pdf viewers etc in some way anti user friendly?

    It is not only biometrics. It's everything.

    Personally, I wouldn't go with any biometric option that had potential health issues (iris scanning) but many others don't offer that anyway but still offer alternatives where possible. It has nothing to do with user friendliness.

    I wonder how many iPhone 8 series users would like the option of facial recognition using the device's camera even knowing full well that it couldn't be used for payments etc.

    As a convenience option, I think many would like to have it.

    Is limiting FaceID to one user, user unfriendly?


    Spoken like a true Android troll... The whole push by Android is "choice", but you have actually just illustrated how this undermines a smooth UX on the device and serves to confuse the end user who just wants the damn thing to work with the one method they've chosen and not have to fuss about it, especially at the checkout counter!

    Throwing in the counter point of add-on keyboards and web browsers is just a measly attempt at deflecting the topic which is focused on Samsung's piss pour biometrics solutions, and throwing in so many of them instead of having one system that does it all and is seamless to use.
    Indeed. Moving the goalposts and misdirecting is all the knockoff defenders know how to do. 
    edited April 2018
  • Reply 36 of 38
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    jsmythe00 said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Actually having multiple and competing mechanisms on the same device is the opposite of user friendly. Try again. 

    If Samsung doesn’t trust a bio authentification mechanism it shouldn’t be there. 


    Actually it does. You have the option of using the one that best fits your personal habits or your present situation.

    Too much sun, FaceID fails.  Use touchid. 
    Hands wet, use faceid.  
    At work, user location unlock
    At the gym, Bluetooth earbuds keeps your phone unlocked

    The last thing you can argue against is choice.  The more the better
    Wrong. First, Face ID hasn’t failed for me in the sun. Doubt you even have it. 

    Second, if they were all equal auth methods honored by the OS you might have a point. But the fact that they aren’t, and can’t all auth the same behaviors (like payments) is just nuts. Shit UX design. 
  • Reply 37 of 38
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    avon b7 said:
    jsmythe00 said:
    brucemc said:
    That Samsung's biometric security options for retina scan and facial recognition continue to get a pass says all that you need to know about CR.

    It doesn't get a pass . We all know it's garbage but Sammy offers a wide range of options for securely unlocking your phone... Making usability much more consumer friendly
    Actually having multiple and competing mechanisms on the same device is the opposite of user friendly. Try again. 

    If Samsung doesn’t trust a bio authentification mechanism it shouldn’t be there. 
    Choice is good and not particularly new. The only real difference is that we have more options open to us than before.

    On iOS devices you have passcode options with two choices (activated or deactivated) plus biometrics (TouchID or FaceID) depending on the device.

    Android offers other options with different choices for unlocking (trusted places/devices).

    While some iOS users will prefer Apple to take these decisions regarding choice for them, others will not.

    It's not simply a question of user friendliness or not, but having options or not and perceived design compromises.

    Is having competing keyboard options, web browsers, pdf viewers etc in some way anti user friendly?

    It is not only biometrics. It's everything.

    Personally, I wouldn't go with any biometric option that had potential health issues (iris scanning) but many others don't offer that anyway but still offer alternatives where possible. It has nothing to do with user friendliness.

    I wonder how many iPhone 8 series users would like the option of facial recognition using the device's camera even knowing full well that it couldn't be used for payments etc.

    As a convenience option, I think many would like to have it.

    Is limiting FaceID to one user, user unfriendly?
    No, you have this all wrong. Having choice is fine when it comes to colors, or even different models. But it’s lousy, horrible UI to have multiple choices on bioauthentication and not all of them are able to do things like, pay. That’s just a clear sign that the knockoffs lack focus and faith in their own implementations.

    The fact that thy ship an implementation that can damage your eyes is a fucking joke. 
    Ah! I have it all wrong? My bad!

    NOT!

    As I have made patently clear, even the iPhone X will allow you to not set any authentication if you wish. After that you can choose to set a passcode and use FaceID.

    Hey, in my book they are options.

    On top of that there are limiting factors to FaceID and Apple itself sets out situations where FaceID is not ideal.

    Limiting FaceID options to just one face, while making sense to a point, is a hinderance to those who want to share their phones among partner/family and not reveal the passcode (biometrics are mostly limited to individuals and are non-transferable).

    Having a fingerprint scanner on the X (or facial recognition on 8 series phones) wouldn't complicate or confuse anyone.

    As I mentioned before, sometimes there are design compromises. Apple wanted a full screen phone and didn't want a rear placed scanner. That's their decision but that brings limitations. In-screen scanners weren't feasible at release so they ran with a dual strategy. FPS on 8 Series and FaceID on the X.

    There are other issues too (price/availability/reliability). Apple will have to decide if they cascade Face ID down the line as a sole biometric option or incorporate other options but that has nothing to do with unfriendly design or confusing users.




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