Samsung Galaxy S8+ to Verizon Pixel 2 XL worth it?

Keep GS8+ or switch to Verizon Pixel 2 XL ($300 off)

  • Keep GS8+

    Votes: 19 70.4%
  • Get Verizon Pixel 2 XL @ $300 off deal

    Votes: 8 29.6%

  • Total voters
    27

Dutt1113

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 30, 2005
Messages
1,601
Currently I have GS8+ that I've had since launch. Prior to that I had a Nexus 6p and loved it. I had it rooted and was quite the crack flasher. Flashed roms daily almost. A lot of fun. Then I got the gs8+ to try something new. I thought to Samsung features would make up for slow ass updates which it kindve does but not having the latest OS right away is bugging me. Right now Verizon has $300 off Pixel 2/XL 2 over 24 month credits. I could get what I owe on the gs8+ and actually have a cheaper monthly bill. The Verizon pixels have locked bootloader so rooting is out of the question right now, but it is really needed? I'm sure it would be cracked eventually but not required now that substratum and things like ad blocker don't require root anymore.

What do you think?
 
Personally I'd just keep the Galaxy S8+ unless you are in dire need of that cheaper monthly bill. If you had a 2016 or older phone then I'd say do it. Samsung's Oreo update is already in beta so I think it'll be pushed to the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 devices soon.

Also, if you haven't checked out the Pixel 2 XL in person then I'd recommend doing so. The screen is a deal breaker for some people, especially when compared to the latest Samsung displays.
 
Personally I'd just keep the Galaxy S8+ unless you are in dire need of that cheaper monthly bill. If you had a 2016 or older phone then I'd say do it. Samsung's Oreo update is already in beta so I think it'll be pushed to the Galaxy S8 and Note 8 devices soon.

Also, if you haven't checked out the Pixel 2 XL in person then I'd recommend doing so. The screen is a deal breaker for some people, especially when compared to the latest Samsung displays.

isn't the screen issue suppose to be fixed with some type of update or something?
 
isn't the screen issue suppose to be fixed with some type of update or something?

The only thing they "fixed" about the screen was the color saturation (they added another weakly calibrated color profile that increase color saturation) and they have attempted to mitigate the burn-in by dimming the navigation bar buttons. But the blue shift and "grain" are still issues that cannot be fixed with a software update. Black crush is also an issue at low brightness, but if Google wants they could mitigate the issue by increasing the minimum brightness. The Pixel 2 XL's screen is still a generation or two behind Samsung's current panels in my opinion.
 
I really want the latest OS, but not at the expense of a shit screen. Maybe i'll wait for the the pixel 3 next year when they hopefully can actually command the Overpriced Price they are asking for Pixel phones. Only reason I was considering the switch was because of the $300 off deal and it wouldn't really cost much to switch over, but you have to keep it for the full 24 months to benefit from the 24 monthly credits. This is more of a side grade and NOT an upgrade. Hardware is same, just the android experience is different. Since the Verizon version is bootloader locked, that's a load of shit. It's a Pure android phone, why does verizon give a shit to lock the bootloader on a phone that is designed to be third party friendly. If the customer wants to unlock, root, and potentially void warranty, then it should be our choice to do so. Verizon can take those 24 x $12.50 bill credits and shove it. Maybe google will have a sale down the road.
 
I would take my chances with the display lottery over chances of touchwiz lagging.
 
I'd take a stock Android phone with an ok screen, than a Lagwiz phone with the best display.

At the end of the day, the OS is what you interact with the most on a daily basis, and having a smooth, trouble free, and quickest up to date OS is more important to me, than a phone with none of that an a great screen.
 
If everyone listens to what's posted around here all people would own would be pixels. The fact is that the screen on the pixel 2 friggin sucks. I've seen multiple pixel 2 xls and the screens are just terrible. The current Samsung phones have the very best screens.

You can change your S8+ launcher, disable apps and get 90% of the way to a pixel on a Samsung phone. Not a damn thing you can do to make a pixel 2 screen look good. I have an s8 and it looks nothing like a Samsung product now after my customizations with Nova launcher prime and bkdisabler.

Plus having an SD card is awesome. I got a 256 gb card in my phone for $100. I'd much rather pay $100 to get 64gb internal and 256gb SD than move from 64gb internal to 128gb internal on the pixel.
 
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I'd take a stock Android phone with an ok screen, than a Lagwiz phone with the best display.

At the end of the day, the OS is what you interact with the most on a daily basis, and having a smooth, trouble free, and quickest up to date OS is more important to me, than a phone with none of that an a great screen.

Can you use your phone without interacting with th screen? Don't think so. Roll up your sleeves with bkdisabler and disable Samsung's services you don't want. He'll you can even permanently uninstall the bloatware using ADB commands if you wanted to do so.

I can't live with a shit screen.
 
If I had to choose between the S8+ and Pixel 2 XL, I'd definitely take the Pixel. But it'd be dumb to trade the S8+ for the Pixel 2 XL unless there was just some kinda deal breaking flaw with the phone for you, IMO. But the Pixel 2 XL is also a bit overpriced IMO and not anywhere near worth $850 to me. As good as the software experience may be on it, it doesn't make up for its lack of hardware features that less expensive phones have (like wireless charging, headphone jack, expandable storage, 6+ GBs of RAM, or a comparable display to the current Samsung phones). I don't care about having the best camera either though; any higher end phone from the last few years has been more than good enough for the pics I occasionally shoot.
 
I made the jump and did get a pixel XL 2. I still have the gs8+ though. I basically wanted to do a trial with the pixel before I sell the gs8+. The screen I don't notice being bad to my naked eye. The stock latest Android OS is pretty nice, but......the vibration motor in the pixel 2 xl f'ing BLOWS! The vibration is worthless in vibrate mode. You can't hear the phone vibrate while on a flat surface and someone calls or texts. Can't even feel it when it's in your pocket either. My gs8 could be raised up on thick stack of papers and you can still hear it. I think I found a deal breaker. The gs8 will have 8.0 very shortly then will be on equal ground for a while with pixel.
 
I made the jump and did get a pixel XL 2. I still have the gs8+ though. I basically wanted to do a trial with the pixel before I sell the gs8+. The screen I don't notice being bad to my naked eye. The stock latest Android OS is pretty nice, but......the vibration motor in the pixel 2 xl f'ing BLOWS! The vibration is worthless in vibrate mode. You can't hear the phone vibrate while on a flat surface and someone calls or texts. Can't even feel it when it's in your pocket either. My gs8 could be raised up on thick stack of papers and you can still hear it. I think I found a deal breaker. The gs8 will have 8.0 very shortly then will be on equal ground for a while with pixel.

I think we need to do an [H] group buy for Lasik eye surgery for people in this thread. I've had 4 pixel xl 2s in my house and they all looked like shit to me (the blue tint is bad but I think the "black crush" was worse, well that and the grain). Got 2 Samsung S8s just over 2 weeks ago and I thought they were the best screens I've ever seen. I'm honestly kinda shocked the Pixel 2 XL display doesn't look completely terrible to you versus an S8+.

Maybe watch a quality dark movie scene (even like 30 seconds of a movie trailer on youtube) on each phone and see if that difference doesn't jump out at you.
 
Does anyone have issues with weak vibration mode for text notifications or phone calls?
 
There has been a number of posts of people asking the same question. There is vibration intensity options in the settings that you could adjust. And also is your phone not in a case? Some people say that, when in a case, it somehow would intensify the vibration perhaps due to the camera bump and design the phone. Honestly, a good vibration motor you ought to not be able to hear it. If you have trouble feeling it though, that would be a problem.
 
There has been a number of posts of people asking the same question. There is vibration intensity options in the settings that you could adjust. And also is your phone not in a case? Some people say that, when in a case, it somehow would intensify the vibration perhaps due to the camera bump and design the phone. Honestly, a good vibration motor you ought to not be able to hear it. If you have trouble feeling it though, that would be a problem.

What I mean by hearing it, it's not the motor itself, but more the phone vibrating against table hard surface when laying flat. If there is an option for vibration intensity, it's no longer there in the 8.1 update or I can't find it. Any ideas?
 
I personally wouldn't switch it out. I had a Pixel 2 XL for 1 day and it went back.
 
I had an OG Pixel (non-XL). The screen issues were noticeable right out of the box for me when I went to the Pixel XL2. I just thought it was awfully expensive for what I was getting. The jump from my Nexus 5X to the Pixel was night and day. I couldn't tell the difference between the Pixel and Pixel XL2 other than the screen. I ended up buying an Essential PH-1 over Black Friday. I'm not a camera fanatic, and the $400 price for a Snapdragon 835 phone with 4GB/128GB seemed like a pretty good deal. It has a bigger screen and is very close in size to the OG Pixel (non-XL). It will get me through at least until I see what the S9/G7/Pixel3 generation of phones does.
 
I'm kindve digging the pixel 2xl. At $300 off it seems like a good deal and worth it to side grade from gs8+ to have pure Android experience and instant updates and even early beta tests.
 
Since the gs8 will be getting 8.0 very soon with the new Samsung experience do you think that be make it better keeping the gs8+?
 
Since the gs8 will be getting 8.0 very soon with the new Samsung experience do you think that be make it better keeping the gs8+?

It all depends on how much you like the Samsung Experience.

GS8+ vs. Pixel 2XL is a personal preference. Same internals. GS8+ has a better screen. Pixel 2XL has better software updates. I voted that since you already have the GS8+ just stick with it unless there is some reason why you don't want it anymore. Android 8 isn't that much different than 7, especially after Samsung gets done tweaking it. Too bad they don't make the S phones in the GPE like they did back in the day.

Definitely go check out the screen of a Pixel 2XL before buying. See if it's something you can live with or not.
 
It all depends on how much you like the Samsung Experience.

GS8+ vs. Pixel 2XL is a personal preference. Same internals. GS8+ has a better screen. Pixel 2XL has better software updates. I voted that since you already have the GS8+ just stick with it unless there is some reason why you don't want it anymore. Android 8 isn't that much different than 7, especially after Samsung gets done tweaking it. Too bad they don't make the S phones in the GPE like they did back in the day.

Definitely go check out the screen of a Pixel 2XL before buying. See if it's something you can live with or not.

I did pick up a pixel XL 2 to try out for 14 days to see if I like it. I'm trying to decide between selling my gs8+ to pay off it's balance or to return the pixel XL 2 before 14 days and just pay a $35 restocking fee. The pixel XL2 is nice and everything but it's locked on Verizon and since the gs8 plus will be getting Oreo very soon it will be on level ground I think because you can install the pixel launcher and disabled almost everything you want and basically have a pixel again with the Samsung Hardware And features.
 
I don't see why it would be locked to Verizon as all Verizon phones are unlocked (assuming the balance is paid off and the phone isn't blacklisted).

It's personal preference. I like the software updates in the Pixel line, but I disliked the screen. Realistically, you get one big update with Samsung and then you have to buy a new phone. Although if you only keep your phone for a year, it's not a big deal.
 
I don't see why it would be locked to Verizon as all Verizon phones are unlocked (assuming the balance is paid off and the phone isn't blacklisted).

It's personal preference. I like the software updates in the Pixel line, but I disliked the screen. Realistically, you get one big update with Samsung and then you have to buy a new phone. Although if you only keep your phone for a year, it's not a big deal.

I meant the pixel is bootloader locked so I cant custom rom flash it up like it did like every day on the 6p. I loved that, but it's not required because you have stock Android anyway.
 
The Verizon Pixel's are a big no no, they're not true Google phones, but instead a Verizon Pixel.

Locked bootloader's no Root and no ROM's allowed on the Verizon Pixel line is just so wrong on so many levels. That's what these phones are known for, the ease of rooting and being developer friendly.

F Verizon, bunch of Nazis and just the worst. Out of principal I couldn't pay them one penny to be in their network.
 
A Pixel with a locked bootloader is no Pixel. If anything, it's kind of an insult to the Nexus line it replaced.

Locked bootloaders are something Samsung sticks everyone in North America with because Verizon and AT&T just have to ruin it for the T-Mobile and Sprint users out there too, now that every one of their releases since the S7 is technically the same hardware variation with different software. If your problem with the S8+ is with software, then going over to another phone with a locked bootloader makes zero sense.

Think about it this way: eventually, even the promised three years of support Google claims for the Pixel 2 lineup will expire. Who will you go to for updates then? Your only choice is XDA-developers and the like, obviously. (Well, unless you change smartphones like underwear, then you probably won't even keep it past the first year.)

Also consider that you're likely to lose things like the microSD slot and headphone jack on top of the obvious screen downgrade. It probably won't bother you as much if you liked having a Nexus in the past, but those can be pretty big dealbreakers.
 
i've decided to go back to my gs8+ and return the pixel 2 xl i've been trying out for the past week. I've just have to pay the $35 restocking fee. Next year when the Galaxy S9/ Pixel 3 comes out i'll be able to get something worthy of upgrading to then.
 
The S9 will be out soon, as Samsung wants a new phone to compete against the iPhone X. Will be announced early next month, and in stores late Winter.

The Pixel 3 will most likely be HTC made ( both models ) but that's almost a year away
 
As I already had the s8+ for several months. Getting the pixel 2 xl was a side grade with the same specs just plain Android and it would have costed me around $100, it didn't make sense. I liked having the the pixel 2 xl it just didn't make as much sense and the pixel had locked bootloader which was annoying AF and felt held back
 
66% of all Pixel 2 XL may have bad screens, but 100% of Touchwiz will lag. Pretty easy decision right there if price is not a problem.

mine doesn't have I took bkdisabler and went nuts with it. Kinda surprises me on the [H]ard forum people wouldn't be willing to tweak the heck out of their devices.
 
I sure hope the 3 XL is made by HTC this time. LG really messed up the 2 XL

Even if it is, the chances of it being an LG display are still pretty high considering Google's investment into LG for their displays in the current 2 XL. I don't see Google investing $880 million for just one generation of phones.
 
Verizon locking down the Pixel 2, not sure it matters, because development on the unlocked version, is a ghost town. There's not one new ROM out yet for the Pixel 2 line, which is shocking.

Look at this;
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl/help/roms-future-development-t3717513
Wait, what? I thought custom development was the reason to get a Pixel, like the Nexus line it replaced, and instead, we have nothing, even with all the hubbub about Project Treble and unlockable bootloaders? That really doesn't sound right.

I do wonder how much the A/B system partitions have to do with it, since it's touched on in that thread. I think Google's the only one to actually bother with such partitioning due to how it allows for "seamless" updates (basically updating one partition in the background while running from the other, and switching every time there's an update), which may complicate things significantly for ROM development when nearly every other device just doesn't work that way.
 
Wait, what? I thought custom development was the reason to get a Pixel, like the Nexus line it replaced, and instead, we have nothing, even with all the hubbub about Project Treble and unlockable bootloaders? That really doesn't sound right.

I do wonder how much the A/B system partitions have to do with it, since it's touched on in that thread. I think Google's the only one to actually bother with such partitioning due to how it allows for "seamless" updates (basically updating one partition in the background while running from the other, and switching every time there's an update), which may complicate things significantly for ROM development when nearly every other device just doesn't work that way.


I am very surprised to see the slow development on the Pixel 2 line, it's shocking. Whereas the OnePlus 5 has -pretty healthy development and a lot of ROM's.

OnePlus 5;
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-5

Pixel 2;
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl

Look at the massive difference in amount threads, posts, etc... between the two devices.
 
Even if it is, the chances of it being an LG display are still pretty high considering Google's investment into LG for their displays in the current 2 XL. I don't see Google investing $880 million for just one generation of phones.

Then I’m out. LG makes the best TVs but their phone screens are subpar at best.
 
I am very surprised to see the slow development on the Pixel 2 line, it's shocking. Whereas the OnePlus 5 has -pretty healthy development and a lot of ROM's.

OnePlus 5;
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-5

Pixel 2;
https://forum.xda-developers.com/pixel-2-xl

Look at the massive difference in amount threads, posts, etc... between the two devices.
I would expect no less from a OnePlus device, all things considered. XDA-developers might as well have been their unofficial forums ever since the One, and it's also why people usually aren't too upset about their generally lackluster official update track record - because there's no shortage of custom ROMs to choose from.

People buy OnePlus because they want flagship-class specs at a fraction of the price (especially with how ridiculous things got this year with flagship pricing), and on top of that, because they want to run custom ROMs. Turns out that's actually a really good idea, considering how OnePlus rightfully got called out about all that datamining on XDA-developers a while back.

Problem is, they generally omit microSD slots, don't have CDMA for those poor saps stuck on Sprint and especially Verizon (seriously, you have no idea how glad I am to be on T-Mobile now, even if it meant having to retire my Note 4 simply for band incompatibility reasons), and once in a while, they do something stupid like leaving NFC out of the OnePlus 2 (2016 flagship killer my ass!), or leaving the headphone jack out of the OnePlus 5 and having that "jelly scrolling" issue on top of that due to the inverted panel mounting.

At least they're in a good spot with the 5T, lack of Project Treble support aside just because they don't want to risk bricking from adding a proper /vendor partition. Their userbase is precisely the sort that would demand Treble from the outset (and with how much easier it makes custom ROM development, you can't blame them), and also the sort that wouldn't have a problem recovering from any partitioning-related softbricks.

Then I’m out. LG makes the best TVs but their phone screens are subpar at best.
I sure hope they've improved their input lag issues on said HDTVs, because I was in a university student center years ago with two different LG flat-panels from the 1366x768 era.

I actually thought they were plasmas due to the image retention they suffered from, and despite being there for the explicit purpose of people connecting their consoles and PCs to them for gaming, the input lag was so bad that I could readily notice about a half-second delay or so between button press and action on screen, with no obvious game mode in the OSD. Yet people dared to play stuff like Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue on them, exactly the sort of genre where you do not want input lag at all!

Meanwhile, the G3's screen wasn't really that bad, especially for being the first 2560x1440p screen in a flagship smartphone that I'm aware of, except for the fact that it's still an LCD and obviously has nothing on the black levels of OLED.
 
I sure hope they've improved their input lag issues on said HDs, because I was in a university student center years ago with two different LG flat-panels from the 1366x768 era.

I actually thought they were plasmas due to the image retention they suffered from, and despite being there for the explicit purpose of people connecting their consoles and PCs to them for gaming, the input lag was so bad that I could readily notice about a half-second delay or so between button press and action on screen, with no obvious game mode in the OSD. Yet people dared to play stuff like Street Fighter IV and BlazBlue on them, exactly the sort of genre where you do not want input lag at all!

Meanwhile, the G3's screen wasn't really that bad, especially for being the first 2560x1440p screen in a flagship smartphone that I'm aware of, except for the fact that it's still an LCD and obviously has nothing on the black levels of OLED.

I don’t have an LG OLED but they are universally considered the best TVs you can get. Any discussion about plasma TVs have zero relevance to OLED TVs. My only point was I don’t know how you can have “top-shelf” TV panels and completely screw up phone screens. But LG phones generally have lots of problems anyway (bootloops, etc).

The only LG products I own are a washer and dryer bc Consumer Reports at the time said to buy them. They’ve been fine.
 
I don’t have an LG OLED but they are universally considered the best TVs you can get. Any discussion about plasma TVs have zero relevance to OLED TVs. My only point was I don’t know how you can have “top-shelf” TV panels and completely screw up phone screens. But LG phones generally have lots of problems anyway (bootloops, etc).

The only LG products I own are a washer and dryer bc Consumer Reports at the time said to buy them. They’ve been fine.
Oh, I've seen some LG OLED panels at stores before. Those things look top-notch. I just haven't had an opportunity to test their input latency, and LG's already left a bad impression from what's probably decade-old equipment by now. I hope they've improved, because input lag is something that most HDTV manufacturers frankly don't seem to care about when computer monitor usage and gaming seem to be completely secondary to movie/video content.

As for having top-notch TVs and screwing up phone panels, how 'bout we invert this a bit, since Samsung is in the exact opposite situation? Class-leading OLED panels on phones, and yet their HDTVs are basically LCDs with fancier branding now, outclassed by LG's offerings.

I think part of it has to do with their particular implementations of OLED display tech; LG uses white OLEDs with color filters, which isn't very power-efficient from a smartphone standpoint. Samsung uses proper colored subpixels, which results in the blue ones aging much faster and the whole thing being even more prone to burn-in in the long run for HDTV and especially monitor use.
 
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