My last Android was an S4 and I had an S8+ a few weeks ago. TouchWiz/Samsung Experience is much improved and feels a lot less intrusive than it did 3-4 years ago. I feel like most brands did the same and tried to cut down over the past few years which has lead to a much more streamlined and smoother experience overall.
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Samsung Note 8
- Thread starter Nebell
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Nebell
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I have an Exynos S7 Edge and owned a S6+ and even older Samsung phones. Rooted them all, never any issue with camera quality. You can root US based phones as there are roms for both Snapdragon and Exynos. And I never lost any functionality by rooting, on the countruary, I gained a lot more functionality and better battery life. Not to mention phone-wide adblock.
Mad Maxx
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Work is buying new phones for all the contractors. Only choices are Samsung and iPhone, however. Wish they'd let me just use my OP5. Trying to convince da boss lady to get me a Pixel 2, instead. Otherwise, I'll go with the Note 8.
At least you get a choice between Android and iPhone. My work only provides us with iPhones and we don't even get the Plus models. Tiny 4.7" screens.
NamelessPFG
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That's only been true starting with the S7, when Samsung started offering a unified North American hardware variant instead of the carrier-specific mess that was their prior flagship generations, without any unlocked phone offerings.
Before, it used to be that Sprint and T-Mobile had the bootloader-unlocked variants, Verizon users had to either pay up for a developer edition or hope they could flash the developer edition firmware on, and AT&T users were just screwed. I was on Sprint, so I could run custom ROMs on my Note 4 to my heart's content, though they've historically been debloated, streamlined versions of the TouchWiz stock ROM with Xposed thrown on for good measure.
However, starting with the S7, Samsung claimed that the carriers (not naming anyone specifically) wanted a bootloader lock. Sprint and T-Mobile users were pissed, to say the least, and I don't think the Note 7 (for the brief time it was on the market, anyway) and S8 changed that at all.
Some even went to the trouble of importing international variants just to have the supposedly superior Exynos SoC (even though I could've sworn those were historically worse for AOSP-derived ROMs due to source code and documentation issues, but things may have changed in recent years), or sometimes even a Snapdragon variant with an unlocked bootloader if they prefer Qualcomm under the hood for some reason.
See above about bootloader lock. Rooting is a somewhat different matter, as it technically doesn't need an unlocked bootloader if you find a sufficient exploit (hence why towelroot was so successful back in the day and how SamPwnd works now), but unlocked bootloaders make it a hell of a lot easier on top of offering more custom ROM options and the ability to hide rooted status from developers who don't think users should be able to administrate their own phones.
I check the XDA-developers subforums for the S8, just for the heck of it. All the custom ROMs are strictly for non-North American variants, with the few Snapdragon variants getting any significant dev work being some obscure Hong Kong models.
I guess I better brace for the lack of custom ROMs next month, unless by some chance someone busts the bootloader wide open...
Yes, I understand that. I've worked in the industry for years, and have beta tested Samsung devices for years as well. Hell, the people who first rooted the S3? They got the system image from me that morning.
HOWEVER, we're not talking about 5 years ago, or 2 years ago. We're talking NOW. And as of NOW, you can't root American devices, outside of a buggy as shit engineering bootloader for the S7, and the S8+ which just got rooted this week. Still have a locked bootloader though, so no rom support whatsoever. Can't do much without a custom recovery.
NamelessPFG
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Don't I know it. After all, before you can worry about custom ROMs, you need a custom recovery to ensure you can get yourself out of a bricked state in case something goes wrong, which it most likely will for the people whipping up custom ROMs in the first place.
Heck, on a tangential note, I still need to figure out how the heck to compile TWRP for my Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid, because nobody else will. It's even more niche of a device than any Galaxy Note product, Wacom didn't provide kernel sources (hello, GPL violation!), NVIDIA dropped Tegra 4 software support starting with Marshmallow, there is no fastboot/download mode, and nobody has any Tegra APX/Nvflash recovery images (which are even lower level than fastboot/Odin download mode) to use in the event of a brick. Can you imagine being one of those people who paid $1,300+ for an Android slate that would ultimately remain forever stuck on 4.2.1 Jelly Bean? (No, I didn't pay anywhere near that much, but the point still stands!)
Still, I'm hoping that the Note 8 gets blown wide open at some point, or that at least Samsung will stop giving American enthusiasts the finger in terms of determining what software we can or can't run on them. Until then, I'll just have to enjoy the Note 8 as it is - and maybe see what happens on the Note 4 side of the dev scene in the meantime, if the Note 8 stuff ever gets backported.
I'm not too concerned with root anymore. The biggest thing I had was ad blocking, and AdGuard, DNS66, and until recently, AdHell does a great job of that. I never rooted my S7, and have no plans on rooting my S8, unless it's 100% reversible and an actual AOSP/Nexus/Pixel-esque rom comes out.
Well with the upcoming TMO BOGO that the phone sites are floating around on this I may be able to sneak a note 8 into my bag for just a couple hindered bucks so I may end up with one after all. I can't see it taking over as my daily driver over my iPhone 7 and I'll probably upgrade it to the iPhone 8 when it drops using T-Mobile jump on demand.
My $2 Note8 case came in today (surprisingly a pretty nice case!). It really doesn't seem any bigger than The S8+ I had.
Also, switched my preorder to Samsung from Best Buy. Samsung is offering $50 off for anyone with a valid .edu email address.
Also, switched my preorder to Samsung from Best Buy. Samsung is offering $50 off for anyone with a valid .edu email address.
NamelessPFG
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I just held a demo unit at a store; unfortunately, it's a non-functional dummy. I gotta say, it turns out to be a lot thinner than I expected, but I'm used to a Note 4 with an OtterBox Commuter case on it, hardly slim.
I would think that they'd at least consider thickening it up a bit if they can pack a bigger battery in there, maybe 4000mAh. See, this is half the reason I like removable batteries; if you want an extended battery at the cost of extra thickness, that choice is yours to make, without the kludginess of having to charge and maintain two separate cells (one in phone, one in a separate battery case). But there's no way Samsung's going back to that now, given their insistence on glued glass backs...
Also, where the heck are you two seeing potential T-Mobile BOGO deals and educational discounts? Damn, could've saved another $50 at the very least, maybe even got it for effectively half-price if the BOGO turns out to be true (though I'm not sure who would get the other one). I normally don't rush into phone orders like this, but the network performance on my Note 4 is driving me nuts!
I would think that they'd at least consider thickening it up a bit if they can pack a bigger battery in there, maybe 4000mAh. See, this is half the reason I like removable batteries; if you want an extended battery at the cost of extra thickness, that choice is yours to make, without the kludginess of having to charge and maintain two separate cells (one in phone, one in a separate battery case). But there's no way Samsung's going back to that now, given their insistence on glued glass backs...
Also, where the heck are you two seeing potential T-Mobile BOGO deals and educational discounts? Damn, could've saved another $50 at the very least, maybe even got it for effectively half-price if the BOGO turns out to be true (though I'm not sure who would get the other one). I normally don't rush into phone orders like this, but the network performance on my Note 4 is driving me nuts!
NamelessPFG
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The "add a line" part complicates it significantly, but the comments mention a loophole with prepaid SIMs for the added line that can be cancelled at minimal cost.
The whole "can't be on EIP already" thing is another catch, but this is where my holding out since the beginning of the year pays off; my line is the only one without an EIP already.
Oh well, I'll find out soon enough come Friday. TWO Note 8s for the price of one makes the price tag much, MUCH more palateable, and the second can either be a spare phone or simply resold second-hand. I just hope they don't dawdle on delivering the prepaid MasterCard to pay off the second one.
wait really? are you buying it unlocked? because i thought that the bestbuy pre-order deal has samsung beat in every single way.
I was buying unlocked from Best Buy, but switched to the T-Mobile variant from Samsung. Getting the same preorder bonuses that I got from Best Buy with the unlocked as I'm getting with the T-Mobile variant from Samsung. But I'm also getting $50 off by going through Samsung with their student discount.
NamelessPFG
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Trade in an S5, and ordering from Samsung beats Best Buy's $150 credit by another $50. That's why I went through Samsung initially.
However, now that the T-Mobile BOGO deal is confirmed, I might end up taking that route... if I can get past all these caveats.
However, now that the T-Mobile BOGO deal is confirmed, I might end up taking that route... if I can get past all these caveats.
- You have to pay the $210 deposit + tax on both phones, up front. Keep in mind that sales tax on a $930 phone easily drives it up to around $1,000, at least down here in Georgia. This might not be doable without $500 in hand.
- The second phone indeed needs to be on a new line, you can't have cancelled a line within the month of September 2017, and of course, you can't cancel the extra line without paying off the phone entirely due to the usual "If you cancel wireless service, remaining balance becomes due up front." clause.
- It's actually more of a rebate: $930 MasterCard in 6 to 8 weeks. That's at least two months of having to pay for an extra line and down payments on both phones, probably three due to billing cycles.
Yes it does. I had a V20 that had the issue. I was on the forums and many had it happen. It doesn't happen as often as the V10 did, but it did have the issue.
Again, no iPhones or Samsungs have had this issue or you would know about it like we all do with LG.
ALL SMART PHONES CAN AND WILL BOOT LOOP. It's a failure mechanisation just like saying "my car won't start, it just keeps turning over but never actually starts".
While the g4/v10 had a known defect that causes this in mass all other phones have the potential to have similar symptoms cause by similar or very deferent failures.
In the case of the g5 & v20 they get associated with the g4/v10 because they are the same brand and series. It however doesn't mean it is a manufacturing issue like with the g4/v10. I replace Samsung and iPhones just as often for boot looping as I do lg's (excluding the aforementioned g4/v10 which are certainly replaced for it more often).
If you don't believe what I'm saying you can definitely Google iPhone boot loop or Samsung boot loop and you will find many cases reported of each.
You can also search for phone exploding and almost every result will be the note 7, but if you search for lg exploding or iPhone exploding you will also find results for them because like a boot loop is a failure like saying "the engine in my car exploded" which can have lots of different causes, not all the well known defect from the note 7 that causes it.
Since you're talking about forums and that iPhones/Samsungs don't bootloop. This is what a simple Google search has revealed:
iPhone Bootloops
Samsung Bootloops
Bingo. The G4/V10 had a known manufacturing issue that was causing increased instances of the bootlooping. LG recognized and mitigated/resolved the issue. They even went as far as repairing G4/V10s out of warranty for free for many people. V20 had far less boot loops reported than the previous generation, probably as frequent as most other smartphones. G6 has been rock solid from what I've seen so far.
Denial shows in your posts. If you can't have an intelligent conversation instead of being blinded thinking the V20 doesn't have these issues and you trying to say all these other phones do it, then I am done. I have been around Android since it was released and owned more phones than you I am sure, and can say without a doubt, Samsung, and iPHones do not have the boot loop issues that LG have period. A rare occurance of a bootloop on a Samsung or even an iPhone does not make them have it. LG has it OFTEN and is the reason why they have had lawsuits because of it.
Lmao... OK buddy.. I must just be a fanboy and not someone who gets paid to work with and fix smartphones.. guess I better update my business card then..
Oh and my G1 still works fine as well..
Really because a quick search for "lg v20 bootloop" on Android Central has members there shooting down everyone who claims to have a boot loop on it..
I don't know what's so hard for you to understand.. it was a defect in the boards being used with the g4 and then with the v10.. Even the lg made Nexus 5x with the same SD808 did not have this issue (it did have it's own boot loop which was caused by a software update and also effected the hauwei made Nexus 6p, and also since corrected with software).
I actually played with one at Best Buy today while picking up a S8 for my mother. Felt very similar to my previous S8+, but I enjoyed the more distinct square corners opposed to the rounded corners of the S8 line. Other than that it just feels like a S8+ with a pen (not saying that's a bad thing). Fingerprint scanner location still sucks.
The fingerprint sensor on the side by the camera doesnt look bad, but it being so far up at the top of the phone looks odd and like it would be annoying, especially if your dominant hand puts your finger on the other side of the phone.
I never played with the S8's but plan to go check out the Note8. Probably will wait for the S9 or Pixel 2
Thanks
I never played with the S8's but plan to go check out the Note8. Probably will wait for the S9 or Pixel 2
Thanks
The fingerprint placement is downright awful, and even worse, the performance of it blows as compared to the S7 (which was near perfect).
Depending on the promos involved, I'll probably pick up a V30 for my work phone to replace my S8, and get the iPhone X/7s/8/Whateverthefuckthey'recallingit as my personal phone.
Depending on the promos involved, I'll probably pick up a V30 for my work phone to replace my S8, and get the iPhone X/7s/8/Whateverthefuckthey'recallingit as my personal phone.
NamelessPFG
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It's not like I can enjoy a phone that hasn't been officially released yet, you know. Give me two weeks!
Also, the last store I checked only had a dummy unit, not an actual functional demo unit that I can test.
The main thing I'm hoping for is that they fine-tuned the pen behavior a bit; the cursor would "jump" a bit on initial contact, something that I had installed the Plasma kernel on my Note 4 to work around until Marshmallow was pushed out and said Plasma kernel was never updated for Marshmallow. It's a bit annoying when I'm trying to draw something and every stroke looks a bit off at the beginning, and if I knew the slightest thing about modifying Linux kernels for Android devices, recompiling and flashing them, I'd have done it myself.
Also, the last store I checked only had a dummy unit, not an actual functional demo unit that I can test.
The main thing I'm hoping for is that they fine-tuned the pen behavior a bit; the cursor would "jump" a bit on initial contact, something that I had installed the Plasma kernel on my Note 4 to work around until Marshmallow was pushed out and said Plasma kernel was never updated for Marshmallow. It's a bit annoying when I'm trying to draw something and every stroke looks a bit off at the beginning, and if I knew the slightest thing about modifying Linux kernels for Android devices, recompiling and flashing them, I'd have done it myself.
If those didn't have a problem why on earth would that be included in the Class Action Lawsuit? LOL!
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...expands-to-cover-g5-v20-and-nexus-5x-devices/
Educate yourself for once.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_smartphone_bootloop_issues
LG G4, G5, Nexus 5X, V10, and V20 were all included in the bootloop issues.
Why is it so hard for you to understand the facts? Stop your denial. You have been proven wrong.
Can we make this tread about the Galaxy Note 8 again?
I recently tried it at the store. Personally, I wouldn't see any benefit from it over an S8 Plus outside of the dual camera... and I don't think that's worth the price premium. In Canada, Rogers has the S8+ for $99 on a two-year term (with a high-end plan) versus $549 for the Note 8 -- that's ridiculous. Unless you just have to get that pen or dual camera, pocket the money and use it toward an S9 or S10 down the line.
I recently tried it at the store. Personally, I wouldn't see any benefit from it over an S8 Plus outside of the dual camera... and I don't think that's worth the price premium. In Canada, Rogers has the S8+ for $99 on a two-year term (with a high-end plan) versus $549 for the Note 8 -- that's ridiculous. Unless you just have to get that pen or dual camera, pocket the money and use it toward an S9 or S10 down the line.
Seriously, I had a V20 that boot looped.I was on the forums and many had the issue. It is a big issue and not just ONE PERSON. There is a class action lawsuit for not just one owner but many.
So now it's Android Central or forums that is the issue? Wow, talking about ignoring the facts. And telling me to talk like adults, but you are the one name calling and throwing insults. I'm done here.
So now it's Android Central or forums that is the issue? Wow, talking about ignoring the facts. And telling me to talk like adults, but you are the one name calling and throwing insults. I'm done here.
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NamelessPFG
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That's two-year subsidized contract pricing, and carriers here in the US stopped doing that a long time ago now that T-Mobile made cheaper plans with more obvious financing on the devices popular amongst the rest.
Yes, the Note 8 is insanely expensive. We all know that. Every damn tech blogger and YouTuber has gone "get the S8+ instead, it's a lot cheaper and you're not missing much!" Honestly, for the average person, they're probably right.
But this doesn't take into account a few things:
-Prior Note 7 owners get, what, a whopping $425 off any eligible phone they can trade in, even if it's an old Galaxy S5 or iPhone 5? That makes the price much more palateable.
-Even if you don't have the massive Note 7 discount, $200 off by trading in an old S5 brings the Note 8 within a much more reasonable price to the S8+, and let me tell you, the S5 isn't worth much on the second-hand market nowadays.
-T-Mobile US customers can go for the aforementioned BOGO rebate deal if they don't mind jumping through all the hoops. That's effectively two Note 8s at half price, and reselling one can pay off the other quite easily.
-Let's not forget the Gear 360 camera or 128 GB microSD + fast wireless charging pedestal promo that Samsung has going on right now, which can be another $100-200 saved if you plan on using those things.
-You buy a Galaxy Note for the Wacom pen, end of story. There's a crapton of viable large-screened phones to buy instead nowadays, but none have the pen functionality - and it's not something to be dismissed if you know how to use it, which most tech journalists frankly don't.
It saves me from having to carry pen and paper separately, I can keep everything synced in OneNote (which has long been a Tablet PC killer app for over a decade), I can mark up photos for reference purposes (handy for taking note of pinouts and electrical continuity while working on hardware, among other things), and if I'm feeling artistically inclined enough, I can sketch and doodle on it - and then there's the mouseover functionality if you need it.
Long story short, if you need that pen, you need it, dammit. Fat fingering your way through everything doesn't always cut it, and you can't just use the S Pen on any other phone because it needs a Wacom EMR digitizer layer behind the screen to work, which most smartphones obviously don't have.
No, it's not cheap, but Wacom hardware was never cheap to begin with, to the lament of digital artists everywhere. On top of that, Samsung has this niche all to themselves, know we've been itching for our pen back since the Note 7 backfired last year, and are trying to squeeze us for all our money's worth.
It's why I've been yearning for a Galaxy Note competitor these last few years, but not even LG can get that right. How many times have I asked for a V10 or V20 with active pen support (not the capacitive stylus crap they push on the Stylo devices) to get the ideal Note 4 successor? (V30 lost my interest when they moved to sealed batteries, making them no better than Samsung and everyone else.)
Why would they be included.. simple.. because our legal system is bunk and the lawyers will do whatever they can in hopes of squeezing an extra dime out..
I get the emails from the firm handling the class action and they are literally trying to solicit failures and hardship where there wasn't one before..
read the wiki page.. look at what's actually said for the other phones..
5x happens while doing a specific software update. If it was a hardware defect it wouldn't only happen when there was a specific software sequence taking place and this same thing happened to the 6p which lg had nothing to do with.
G5 specifically says it hasn't happened to any real extent.
V20 only mentions one actual case and that device was found to of been caused by a shitty USB c cable.
Please find these posts of so many other users experiencing the same failure..
Nebell
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Gah can't this phone release already. I gave away my S7 Edge to my sister and am using company iPhone 6. I can't stand that phone. It's ugly and the software is terrible. I'd rather use Windows Phone over iPhone.
Note 8 videos and articles all over the net are just teasing. Hopefully there's no recall on Note 8
Note 8 videos and articles all over the net are just teasing. Hopefully there's no recall on Note 8
Gah can't this phone release already. I gave away my S7 Edge to my sister and am using company iPhone 6. I can't stand that phone. It's ugly and the software is terrible. I'd rather use Windows Phone over iPhone.
Note 8 videos and articles all over the net are just teasing. Hopefully there's no recall on Note 8
There shouldnt be a recall... Samsung learned its lesson & if it didnt then the s8 would already be recalled..
Off-contract the difference is closer to $200, but still... you do have to ask whether or not you're going to get that extra value. You're right about the Note 7 (this applies in Canada) and trade-ins, though.
The Note 8's challenge is that the purchasing decision is much more about the pen than it used to be. The dirty truth is that many past Note buyers didn't care about the pen at all -- they were buying it because it had the biggest screen. Now that the S8+ has a screen that's very nearly as large as that on the Note, you now have to ask how much you want the Note's features, not just its dimensions. Do you actually intend to make hand-written notes or mark up documents? Is a dual camera or 6GB of RAM that important? And there's a real chance that the answer to both those questions is "no."
Like you said, the Note 8 appeals intensely to those who really need it. I just think it's important to understand that it's now more of a niche device, and that many people don't want to (and probably shouldn't) pay that premium.
NamelessPFG
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Even before the S8+, though, there were plenty of alternatives simply for big screens, and not just from Samsung with the S7 edge or S6 edge+.
To name a few: Nexus 6/6P/Pixel XL, LG V10/V20, and if you're willing to put up with iOS, the iPhone 6+/6S+/7+. Then there's the Dell Streak 5, for anyone who remembers those early days of Android before the Galaxy Note itself.
Much of that can likely be attributed to the Galaxy Note's unexpected success, though they often forget the most notable feature for one reason or another - and hey, if you didn't actually need that pen, there's no shortage of options. That's a pretty sizeable list of flagships I just rattled off, and several of them are noticeably cheaper than the contemporary Galaxy Note model, albeit less so in prior years when a Note was $700-something tops. Prices are really shooting through the roof across the board, no matter which manufacturer you're looking at.
For those that don't know how to search. Sorry, it is NOT JUST ONE CASE. It's all over the internet and youtube of people having issues. Like I said, I had it happen too.
https://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-v20/787974-v20-bootloop-today.html#post5752424
https://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-v20/720602-bootloop-2.html Multiple posts in this thread of members having bootloop days after out of the box.
https://forums.androidcentral.com/lg-v20/783948-bootloop-lg-v20.html#post5734699 Being discussed
Netflix officially add support for HDR for Note 8, it's the only Samsung device to have it so far... one up on the S8+
http://www.theverge.com/2017/9/4/16251992/netflix-hdr-video-streaming-galaxy-note-8
http://www.theverge.com/2017/9/4/16251992/netflix-hdr-video-streaming-galaxy-note-8
Nebell
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Nice. Reports earlier said that Note 8 only support mobile HDR which mean Netflix HDR won't play on it, but it seems things have changed. Doesn't matter to me though as I don't Watch Netflix but it's nice for those who do.