Anyone get their ship notification yet? I got an email from Samsung on 9/3 that they shipped, but their shitty website brings me to a broken "Track Package" page and the UPS tracking number provided says, "UPS could not locate the shipment details for your request. Please verify your information and try again later."
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Samsung Note 8
- Thread starter Nebell
- Start date
My Samsung Note 8 shipped unfortunately. Was hoping for the LG V30 pricing and availability to be released so I could decide if I wanted to keep my preorder. Oh well guess the phone is just going to have to sit here unopened until the V30 info comes out.
Waiting for the official announcement before making any final decision. The current price "leaks" are based on the retail value outlined in the fine print of their Twitter giveaway.
If it's $800 or more then that's too close to the Note 8 price for me to go with it instead.
Costco is giving a $150 card with their pre-orders, you seem to get the extras that Samsung gives out as well.
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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No shipment confirmation from Samsung yet, and my pre-order was on the 24th, first day.
Then again, the official line on the order receipt was that it wouldn't ship until the 11th, so I really shouldn't expect it to go out any earlier than that.
Then again, the official line on the order receipt was that it wouldn't ship until the 11th, so I really shouldn't expect it to go out any earlier than that.
This may sound stupid, but I can't uninstall apps from my Note 8.
When i just got it before it restored my settings i could just hold down on an app to remove it from the home screen or delete it. Now i'm only able to place apps. cant remove, cant delete.
im thinking its because it restored settings from my note5, but i dont really know.
When i just got it before it restored my settings i could just hold down on an app to remove it from the home screen or delete it. Now i'm only able to place apps. cant remove, cant delete.
im thinking its because it restored settings from my note5, but i dont really know.
Mad Maxx
Supreme [H]ardness
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Work placed the order for our Note 8 phones on Monday. No idea when we'll get them, of course.
Well I figured out why I couldn't uninstall apps. If you turn on developer mode and then set animator duration scale to 0 you don't see uninstall options. Weird.
How are we getting the pre order rewards?
Also is it worth to set up a brand new Samsung account for new rewards, or invite yourself as a friend? Or just use the old one
How are we getting the pre order rewards?
Also is it worth to set up a brand new Samsung account for new rewards, or invite yourself as a friend? Or just use the old one
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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If it's like what my mom had to do for her Gear Fit2 promo on the S7, buying from a carrier store requires filling out some stuff on the Samsung Promotions site and waiting a few weeks for them to mail you your stuff, since Samsung's fulfilling that independently.
However, if one's pre-ordering *through* Samsung's site, I would reasonably expect them to pack the extras right in the box alongside the phone since they're providing both. I'll know for sure come next week, I suppose; no shipping confirmation e-mail or anything, but the "cancel order" button has been replaced with some CONFIRMED text.
And hey, if that's a 256 GB card instead of a 128 GB one (which I thought was just for press/reviewer packages), then BONUS! Rest assured, I'd find a way to use up that much space in short order, even without the possibility of Nandroid backups cluttering it all up.
EDIT: Got a tracking number today, estimated delivery on Tuesday. I hope it comes in before I have to leave for work then!
However, if one's pre-ordering *through* Samsung's site, I would reasonably expect them to pack the extras right in the box alongside the phone since they're providing both. I'll know for sure come next week, I suppose; no shipping confirmation e-mail or anything, but the "cancel order" button has been replaced with some CONFIRMED text.
And hey, if that's a 256 GB card instead of a 128 GB one (which I thought was just for press/reviewer packages), then BONUS! Rest assured, I'd find a way to use up that much space in short order, even without the possibility of Nandroid backups cluttering it all up.
EDIT: Got a tracking number today, estimated delivery on Tuesday. I hope it comes in before I have to leave for work then!
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Nebell
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So Xiaomi Mi Miix 2 was shown today and I am disappointed. It's smaller than Miix 1 and has thicker bezel.
Note 8 it is.
Note 8 it is.
auntjemima
[H]ard DCOTM x2
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I have been seeing a lot of complaints about the fingerprint location and kinda shrugged it off as complaining, because people complained about the near perfect location my Nexus 6P has. After this I decided to do a bit of reading to see WHERE they put it to warrant all these complaints... Yeah, that location is ridiculous, it's up in no man's land and would be pretty annoying to try and use.
I don't trust these nearby devices thing. Like I certainly don't want my "new roommate" to be access to my phone because of my watch or fit band proximity.
NamelessPFG
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I just got mine today!
Indeed, the talks of Samsung giving out double the microSD storage they promised are true. Hey, I'm not complaining! Makes the massive price tag much easier to stomach.
First impressions:
-Pop in my T-Mobile SIM, let it do its thing and reboot, done. No unsightly branding after the fact, either - just as an unlocked phone should be.
-Wow, I didn't realize how much thinner it was width-wise compared to the old Note 4 'til now. Makes one-handed use a bit easier, even though it is noticeably taller.
-Likewise, I didn't think of the Note 4 as that slow of a phone, but the Note 8 is the first one I've tried that didn't have immediate brush lag in Clover Paint, for starters.
-Samsung's still going through all the usual "notice this!" crap you have to deal with when setting up a new device. Sometimes I just want them to stop with the hand-holding 'til I've got everything moved over, you know?
-Those rounded corners look like crap in Clover Paint, but oh well, I'll manage.
-I wasn't expecting to like the iris unlock method as much as I did, but the Note 8 near-instantly unlocks just by me looking at it. I think this is going to be my fave unlock method, given the crappy fingerprint scanner placement in addition to the fact that I generally work with gloves on.
-I'll still have to think about where to put that wireless charger, but it'll make a nice addition to the living room. My mom's S7 can utilize it just as well.
Of course, the real test comes after the usual "new toy syndrome" wears off...
Indeed, the talks of Samsung giving out double the microSD storage they promised are true. Hey, I'm not complaining! Makes the massive price tag much easier to stomach.
First impressions:
-Pop in my T-Mobile SIM, let it do its thing and reboot, done. No unsightly branding after the fact, either - just as an unlocked phone should be.
-Wow, I didn't realize how much thinner it was width-wise compared to the old Note 4 'til now. Makes one-handed use a bit easier, even though it is noticeably taller.
-Likewise, I didn't think of the Note 4 as that slow of a phone, but the Note 8 is the first one I've tried that didn't have immediate brush lag in Clover Paint, for starters.
-Samsung's still going through all the usual "notice this!" crap you have to deal with when setting up a new device. Sometimes I just want them to stop with the hand-holding 'til I've got everything moved over, you know?
-Those rounded corners look like crap in Clover Paint, but oh well, I'll manage.
-I wasn't expecting to like the iris unlock method as much as I did, but the Note 8 near-instantly unlocks just by me looking at it. I think this is going to be my fave unlock method, given the crappy fingerprint scanner placement in addition to the fact that I generally work with gloves on.
-I'll still have to think about where to put that wireless charger, but it'll make a nice addition to the living room. My mom's S7 can utilize it just as well.
Of course, the real test comes after the usual "new toy syndrome" wears off...
Nebell
2[H]4U
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I played with Note 8 in a shop nearby. The screen on that thing!
I mean everyone knows it's 6.3" and I'm not a huge guy (5'9/175cm) but all those reviewers on YouTube must have huge hands! When I held the phone I was thinking "do I really need this big screen?" haha. But I've sold my computer and gave away my S7 Edge to my sis, and honesty I miss my phone a lot more than my computer.
I mean everyone knows it's 6.3" and I'm not a huge guy (5'9/175cm) but all those reviewers on YouTube must have huge hands! When I held the phone I was thinking "do I really need this big screen?" haha. But I've sold my computer and gave away my S7 Edge to my sis, and honesty I miss my phone a lot more than my computer.
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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My phone could never replace my main desktop computer, but hey, a big screen in my pocket helps me stay comfortable away from home - particularly at work, where bringing a tablet just isn't an option.
In other news, I looked a bit more into the Wacom pen functionality of my Note 8 compared to the ol' Note 4, since that's why we buy Galaxy Notes for the most part.
-The Note 8 (and Note 7's) pen nib feels more like rubber, compared to the hard plastic nib of the Note 4's pen. FWIW, typical Wacom pens on Tablet PCs and Cintiq monitors tend to be the hard plastic variety, with felt and "flex"/rubber nib options available.
-Samsung thankfully fixed the pen jitter that would begin at every stroke on a stock Note 4 kernel. Anything that feels off about my strokes on the Note 8 feels like it was purely my fault, rather than software vectoring.
-I did have some moments where what I thought would be a single stroke would break up in two on the Note 8, but I think half of that is because I'm spoiled by the really light inertial activation force of my Cintiq Companion Hybrid's pen. Between that and the more rubbery nib, I'll just have to retrain myself a bit on pen pressure control on the small screen, so to speak.
-Yes, the pen works out to the very edges of the screen, so the digitizer layer's full-coverage despite the edge curves. I still think edge curves are pretty dumb for a pen-based device, but oh well, no stopping Samsung at this point.
-Of course, the pen tilt sensitivity they quietly introduced with the Note 4 is still perfectly functional on the Note 8.
-Clover Paint still lags a bit when you really crank up the brush size into the hundreds. I don't know how much is a matter of optimization, or just how much is a matter of apps like Paint Tool SAI and CLIP STUDIO PAINT having the luxury of running on far more powerful x86 CPUs, but the higher brush sizes are more likely to be a factor on a Note-size screen when you're working at 100% zoom.
The short version: first impressions of the pen experience are pretty good, and I didn't realize just how far Samsung has come since the Note 4 until now. For something that tech journalists everywhere just write off without much consideration, it really is kinda like having a Cintiq in your pocket.
UPDATE: More general use impressions:
-The iris scanner can be a little finicky here and there, but as long as I'm basically looking at the top edge of the phone when I hit the power button, it's a near-instant unlock. Hell of a lot less finicky than that pesky fingerprint scanner placement, at any rate; I can see people buying cases just to make said scanner easier to find by feel.
-I know, every tech reviewer points out how crappy that fingerprint scanner placement is, but seriously now, I find the SWIPE scanner on my Note 4's home button easier to use because of its placement! I've had to constantly readjust my finger's placement on the rear scanner every time it was too far off to read properly.
-Too bad that the fingerprint scanner is still the only biometric option most Android apps can use for authentication anyway; I'm pretty sure that a large part of that is because Marshmallow introduced a standard fingerprint reader API for them to use. Before then, I distinctly recall S5 and Note 4 owners having to put up with lack of fingerprint scanner support for anything beyond phone unlock.
-I scrutinized the Note 4 and Note 8 pens more carefully; turns out that the Note 4's nib is rubber-tipped too like a Wacom flex nib, but it feels a lot cheaper because there's this looseness you can feel before the nib solidly contacts the load cell behind it. The Note 8's (and Note 7's by extension) pen lacks this looseness and feels much more solid, resulting in a better-feeling pen. I haven't tried pulling the nib and reinserting it to see if that changes the feel due to lack of need, though.
-It took a bit of digging around in the settings to find out Samsung's new button shortcut for pulling up the camera quickly; since the physical home button's gone and a double-force-press would feel awkward, you have to double-tap the POWER button. I guess that negates the main reason I would want to remap that Bixby button already.
-Because my Note 4 has its headphone jack at the top like most of the portables I've owned in the past, I tend to put the phone in my pocket bottom-first... but I have to reacquaint myself with the Note 8 because it's on the bottom now. On the flip side, this makes unlocking with the fingerprint scanner as I pull it out a bit more practical, except for the whole "fingerprint reader doesn't authenticate on the first or second try most of the time due to placement" thing.
-Samsung was smart enough to make bottom swipes for Samsung Pay come up on alternative launchers like Nova Launcher. Good on them! But it'll remain to be seen whether I find it more convenient than the old-fashioned method of pulling out plastic cards that don't bring concerns like dead batteries or software-related issues with them.
-That bottom-mounted speaker is distressingly easy to muffle by accident just by holding the phone - especially when trying to play games on it.
-Speaking of gaming, performance on this is night and day coming from the old Note 4, though a large part of that is the massive disparity between the old Snapdragon 805 and the newer Snapdragon 835. Hey, at least it doesn't run GTA III like crap now! But I'm gonna have to do something about the lousy gamepad support on certain titles when I can't root to use Sixaxis Controller just yet and not all of them support USB gamepads with the standard HID joystick protocol.
UPDATE 2: The impressions keep rolling in, and I try to avoid double-posting, so another edit it is!
-I started to lament the inability to force-press the back and recents buttons, only the home button, but it turns out that you can slide your thumb/finger off to the side of either button to trigger it that way. Kinda makes me think back to the Palm Pre's gesture area, but on-screen.
-Force press obviously doesn't work with the pen to prevent conflicts with the pen's own native pressure sensitivity. Smart move there, Samsung.
-This phone still feels wicked fast in a way no Samsung device on a stock ROM has before; let's hope it stays that way over the years. I'd like to see them prove the naysayers wrong for once. There's no frame drops on scrolling that I've observed, even ramping up the resolution to 1440p native.
-No S Beam? Dammit, I actually liked that on the S3 and Note 4! It took the kludge out of using Wi-Fi Direct while being loads faster than Android Beam's Bluetooth-only file transfers.
-I've found that I actually don't miss root as much as I used to, due to general UI improvements I no longer need Xposed tweaks for, as well as rootless ad-block. The Note 4's flavor of TouchWiz needed it pretty damn badly, if you could even stand to use it.
I hope my ramblings aren't putting off anyone here; I'm just trying to convey my general real-world use experience of the sort you never see in tech reviews, one bullet point at a time.
In other news, I looked a bit more into the Wacom pen functionality of my Note 8 compared to the ol' Note 4, since that's why we buy Galaxy Notes for the most part.
-The Note 8 (and Note 7's) pen nib feels more like rubber, compared to the hard plastic nib of the Note 4's pen. FWIW, typical Wacom pens on Tablet PCs and Cintiq monitors tend to be the hard plastic variety, with felt and "flex"/rubber nib options available.
-Samsung thankfully fixed the pen jitter that would begin at every stroke on a stock Note 4 kernel. Anything that feels off about my strokes on the Note 8 feels like it was purely my fault, rather than software vectoring.
-I did have some moments where what I thought would be a single stroke would break up in two on the Note 8, but I think half of that is because I'm spoiled by the really light inertial activation force of my Cintiq Companion Hybrid's pen. Between that and the more rubbery nib, I'll just have to retrain myself a bit on pen pressure control on the small screen, so to speak.
-Yes, the pen works out to the very edges of the screen, so the digitizer layer's full-coverage despite the edge curves. I still think edge curves are pretty dumb for a pen-based device, but oh well, no stopping Samsung at this point.
-Of course, the pen tilt sensitivity they quietly introduced with the Note 4 is still perfectly functional on the Note 8.
-Clover Paint still lags a bit when you really crank up the brush size into the hundreds. I don't know how much is a matter of optimization, or just how much is a matter of apps like Paint Tool SAI and CLIP STUDIO PAINT having the luxury of running on far more powerful x86 CPUs, but the higher brush sizes are more likely to be a factor on a Note-size screen when you're working at 100% zoom.
The short version: first impressions of the pen experience are pretty good, and I didn't realize just how far Samsung has come since the Note 4 until now. For something that tech journalists everywhere just write off without much consideration, it really is kinda like having a Cintiq in your pocket.
UPDATE: More general use impressions:
-The iris scanner can be a little finicky here and there, but as long as I'm basically looking at the top edge of the phone when I hit the power button, it's a near-instant unlock. Hell of a lot less finicky than that pesky fingerprint scanner placement, at any rate; I can see people buying cases just to make said scanner easier to find by feel.
-I know, every tech reviewer points out how crappy that fingerprint scanner placement is, but seriously now, I find the SWIPE scanner on my Note 4's home button easier to use because of its placement! I've had to constantly readjust my finger's placement on the rear scanner every time it was too far off to read properly.
-Too bad that the fingerprint scanner is still the only biometric option most Android apps can use for authentication anyway; I'm pretty sure that a large part of that is because Marshmallow introduced a standard fingerprint reader API for them to use. Before then, I distinctly recall S5 and Note 4 owners having to put up with lack of fingerprint scanner support for anything beyond phone unlock.
-I scrutinized the Note 4 and Note 8 pens more carefully; turns out that the Note 4's nib is rubber-tipped too like a Wacom flex nib, but it feels a lot cheaper because there's this looseness you can feel before the nib solidly contacts the load cell behind it. The Note 8's (and Note 7's by extension) pen lacks this looseness and feels much more solid, resulting in a better-feeling pen. I haven't tried pulling the nib and reinserting it to see if that changes the feel due to lack of need, though.
-It took a bit of digging around in the settings to find out Samsung's new button shortcut for pulling up the camera quickly; since the physical home button's gone and a double-force-press would feel awkward, you have to double-tap the POWER button. I guess that negates the main reason I would want to remap that Bixby button already.
-Because my Note 4 has its headphone jack at the top like most of the portables I've owned in the past, I tend to put the phone in my pocket bottom-first... but I have to reacquaint myself with the Note 8 because it's on the bottom now. On the flip side, this makes unlocking with the fingerprint scanner as I pull it out a bit more practical, except for the whole "fingerprint reader doesn't authenticate on the first or second try most of the time due to placement" thing.
-Samsung was smart enough to make bottom swipes for Samsung Pay come up on alternative launchers like Nova Launcher. Good on them! But it'll remain to be seen whether I find it more convenient than the old-fashioned method of pulling out plastic cards that don't bring concerns like dead batteries or software-related issues with them.
-That bottom-mounted speaker is distressingly easy to muffle by accident just by holding the phone - especially when trying to play games on it.
-Speaking of gaming, performance on this is night and day coming from the old Note 4, though a large part of that is the massive disparity between the old Snapdragon 805 and the newer Snapdragon 835. Hey, at least it doesn't run GTA III like crap now! But I'm gonna have to do something about the lousy gamepad support on certain titles when I can't root to use Sixaxis Controller just yet and not all of them support USB gamepads with the standard HID joystick protocol.
UPDATE 2: The impressions keep rolling in, and I try to avoid double-posting, so another edit it is!
-I started to lament the inability to force-press the back and recents buttons, only the home button, but it turns out that you can slide your thumb/finger off to the side of either button to trigger it that way. Kinda makes me think back to the Palm Pre's gesture area, but on-screen.
-Force press obviously doesn't work with the pen to prevent conflicts with the pen's own native pressure sensitivity. Smart move there, Samsung.
-This phone still feels wicked fast in a way no Samsung device on a stock ROM has before; let's hope it stays that way over the years. I'd like to see them prove the naysayers wrong for once. There's no frame drops on scrolling that I've observed, even ramping up the resolution to 1440p native.
-No S Beam? Dammit, I actually liked that on the S3 and Note 4! It took the kludge out of using Wi-Fi Direct while being loads faster than Android Beam's Bluetooth-only file transfers.
-I've found that I actually don't miss root as much as I used to, due to general UI improvements I no longer need Xposed tweaks for, as well as rootless ad-block. The Note 4's flavor of TouchWiz needed it pretty damn badly, if you could even stand to use it.
I hope my ramblings aren't putting off anyone here; I'm just trying to convey my general real-world use experience of the sort you never see in tech reviews, one bullet point at a time.
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illram
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2011
- Messages
- 1,473
In keeping with the random observations, a few of mine over the past 2 days with the phone:
1. Yes the new fingerprint scanner placement is annoying. Very awkward placement for a right handed phone user.
2. Face recognition is cool when it works but ultimately gimmicky and too finicky for the basic purpose of unlocking the phone. I think with this phone I will eventually see myself going back to a pattern unlock.
3. I had a chance this weekend to play with a friend's iPhone 7+ "portrait mode" vs. the Note 8's equivalent live focus. Out of the box portrait mode seemed a little easier to use and less "aggressive" with its effect but after playing with the live focus features a little bit (unsurprisingly, there is a lot more customization available on the Note vs. the iPhone depth of field functions) live focus looks superior to me.
4. Bixby sucks and is annoying and is seemingly everywhere.
5. Not sure how I feel about the always on clock/notification display. I'll probably disable it.
6. Damn this thing looks and feels sexy. Screen is beautiful.
7. IEMs that come with it are actually pretty good.
8. Also comes with several connectors for various USB cable options that will make all your old cables still usable, including what seems to be a handy dandy USB-C OTG adapter which is pretty awesome. Take that Apple! I suppose that's what we get when the previous phones all exploded....
I took advantage of T-Mobile's BOGO offer here as well as Samsung's promotions (worked for both phones). Basically if you finance (0%) both phones, and register for a second line, 2nd phone is free. They gave me 20% off the total monthly phone line bill which meant the second line cost 10$/month. The "free" phone is in the form of a rebate for the full MSRP which comes back to you in a prepaid Visa card in 6-8 weeks, which you can use like any other card (e.g. pay off the phone). Once you do that, you can cancel the 2nd line and additionally pay off the first phone in full, if you don't want to continue financing it. So, if/when I cancel the 2nd line, and assuming I do get the card in 8 weeks max, I basically paid $20 for the 2nd phone. Not bad. (But I did have to pay a down payment of $210 per phone, one of which I get "refunded" later.)
1. Yes the new fingerprint scanner placement is annoying. Very awkward placement for a right handed phone user.
2. Face recognition is cool when it works but ultimately gimmicky and too finicky for the basic purpose of unlocking the phone. I think with this phone I will eventually see myself going back to a pattern unlock.
3. I had a chance this weekend to play with a friend's iPhone 7+ "portrait mode" vs. the Note 8's equivalent live focus. Out of the box portrait mode seemed a little easier to use and less "aggressive" with its effect but after playing with the live focus features a little bit (unsurprisingly, there is a lot more customization available on the Note vs. the iPhone depth of field functions) live focus looks superior to me.
4. Bixby sucks and is annoying and is seemingly everywhere.
5. Not sure how I feel about the always on clock/notification display. I'll probably disable it.
6. Damn this thing looks and feels sexy. Screen is beautiful.
7. IEMs that come with it are actually pretty good.
8. Also comes with several connectors for various USB cable options that will make all your old cables still usable, including what seems to be a handy dandy USB-C OTG adapter which is pretty awesome. Take that Apple! I suppose that's what we get when the previous phones all exploded....
I took advantage of T-Mobile's BOGO offer here as well as Samsung's promotions (worked for both phones). Basically if you finance (0%) both phones, and register for a second line, 2nd phone is free. They gave me 20% off the total monthly phone line bill which meant the second line cost 10$/month. The "free" phone is in the form of a rebate for the full MSRP which comes back to you in a prepaid Visa card in 6-8 weeks, which you can use like any other card (e.g. pay off the phone). Once you do that, you can cancel the 2nd line and additionally pay off the first phone in full, if you don't want to continue financing it. So, if/when I cancel the 2nd line, and assuming I do get the card in 8 weeks max, I basically paid $20 for the 2nd phone. Not bad. (But I did have to pay a down payment of $210 per phone, one of which I get "refunded" later.)
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I like your off-the-beaten-path observations. Some of this comes from having gone without a new Note for a while (the pen is largely what you got with the Note 7, it's the software that has changed). Just wanted to touch on the two points above.
It's unfortunate that Android authentication is so specifically tied to fingerprints, rather than just "did you clear a biometric check?" Apple has revealed that any app that asks for Touch ID automatically works with Face ID on the iPhone X, so you can look at your phone for any secure sign-in. Part of this is because of implementation (Apple's system can't be fooled by photos or even masks), but it's really nice to know that you don't need to wait for developers to hop aboard to use it.
On payments: I think you'll get used to it. Unless you're regularly visiting the store with a near-dead battery, it's great to not have to pull out your wallet when your phone is already in your hand. That and it's always fun when you find that one cashier who has never seen someone use their phone for a purchase.
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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- 893
Yeah, you'd think that Android would have more general biometric authentication, but I guess not. The problem there is that Samsung generally lags behind half a month or more on core Android versions with newer API versions that developers can target - the tradeoff being that they also include a lot of improvements to core AOSP (multi-windowing, fingerprint scanning prior to Lollipop, lots of other stuff) that presumably takes a considerable amount of time to graft onto AOSP source, if Google ever thinks to do so in the first place. I mean, it took until Nougat for split-screen to make it to AOSP!
Samsung Pay actually has proved to be surprisingly convenient in most cases, with the notable exception of any instance where you're expected to hand your card over so the cashier can use it on their end. I regularly eat at a place that doesn't have a proper NFC mobile payment scanner, and making a payment through MST requires awkwardly reaching near their POS terminal. Then there's the usual restaurant receipts in a binder that you're expected to just slip your card in... no way I'm doing that with an expensive smartphone!
Also, about the fingerprint scanner, I figured out what irked me more than its placement - its reject rate. Yeah, sure, tell me I'm not fully covering the reader with my finger; my feeling of the reader's edges call BS on that, you're just not picking it up! It seems to be more of a problem with my left index finger than my right for whatever reason, but it makes the odd placement even more annoying when it can't make a good read that it should be perfectly able to.
Needless to say, if you have to try two or three times before the phone wakes, iris scanning becomes a hell of a lot more convenient, but even that's not entirely flawless. I've had times when the phone is aligned more or less when it should be, but it won't get a read on my eyes... then I tap it again for another go and it picks up my irises immediately. It's weird like that, but I'm hoping it's something that might be fixable in firmware updates down the road.
Oh, and speaking of firmware updates, it took a few days to come in compared to the first reports, but unlocked N950U1 variants like mine got a small patch to the QI5 firmware recently. Security patch is oddly still on August rather than September, but I'm guessing it's largely a hotfix for that major Bluetooth exploit that made waves recently. No 4K60 recording on the camera like some were hoping for, either, but it's said that the Snapdragon 835 can't handle that much raw camera data.
One other big software change: you can disable the Bixby button functions now. It's actually a two-step process; you can disable the Bixby Home on short press action in the recent update, but long presses will still engage Bixby Voice unless that's disabled separately. It's a step in the right direction for Samsung to finally give their users choice, though it still should be remappable to the extent of the "Active" button on those Galaxy S Active/Sport variants they stupidly kept exclusive to AT&T (save for the S5 Sport being on Sprint), if not moreso.
All in all, I've only had the Note 8 for a week as of today, but it's still holding up pretty well... and in the meantime, I also found out part of why it feels so much more responsive. I think Samsung got their RAM management act together, and the extra 2 GB of RAM may really count for more than most people would think for multitasking.
Samsung Pay actually has proved to be surprisingly convenient in most cases, with the notable exception of any instance where you're expected to hand your card over so the cashier can use it on their end. I regularly eat at a place that doesn't have a proper NFC mobile payment scanner, and making a payment through MST requires awkwardly reaching near their POS terminal. Then there's the usual restaurant receipts in a binder that you're expected to just slip your card in... no way I'm doing that with an expensive smartphone!
Also, about the fingerprint scanner, I figured out what irked me more than its placement - its reject rate. Yeah, sure, tell me I'm not fully covering the reader with my finger; my feeling of the reader's edges call BS on that, you're just not picking it up! It seems to be more of a problem with my left index finger than my right for whatever reason, but it makes the odd placement even more annoying when it can't make a good read that it should be perfectly able to.
Needless to say, if you have to try two or three times before the phone wakes, iris scanning becomes a hell of a lot more convenient, but even that's not entirely flawless. I've had times when the phone is aligned more or less when it should be, but it won't get a read on my eyes... then I tap it again for another go and it picks up my irises immediately. It's weird like that, but I'm hoping it's something that might be fixable in firmware updates down the road.
Oh, and speaking of firmware updates, it took a few days to come in compared to the first reports, but unlocked N950U1 variants like mine got a small patch to the QI5 firmware recently. Security patch is oddly still on August rather than September, but I'm guessing it's largely a hotfix for that major Bluetooth exploit that made waves recently. No 4K60 recording on the camera like some were hoping for, either, but it's said that the Snapdragon 835 can't handle that much raw camera data.
One other big software change: you can disable the Bixby button functions now. It's actually a two-step process; you can disable the Bixby Home on short press action in the recent update, but long presses will still engage Bixby Voice unless that's disabled separately. It's a step in the right direction for Samsung to finally give their users choice, though it still should be remappable to the extent of the "Active" button on those Galaxy S Active/Sport variants they stupidly kept exclusive to AT&T (save for the S5 Sport being on Sprint), if not moreso.
All in all, I've only had the Note 8 for a week as of today, but it's still holding up pretty well... and in the meantime, I also found out part of why it feels so much more responsive. I think Samsung got their RAM management act together, and the extra 2 GB of RAM may really count for more than most people would think for multitasking.
Nebell
2[H]4U
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- Jul 20, 2015
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How do you guys like your Note 8?
I've had mine for a week now and I LOVE IT.
It's the best phone I've owned and I've had many, from Android to Iphone to Windows Phone.
I have no issues with it. Even the face scanner is working great. Unless it's dark but those few times I just use my 4 pin code and no problem. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. I've had my colleagues who use iPhone 7 comment how beautiful the screen is
I've had mine for a week now and I LOVE IT.
It's the best phone I've owned and I've had many, from Android to Iphone to Windows Phone.
I have no issues with it. Even the face scanner is working great. Unless it's dark but those few times I just use my 4 pin code and no problem. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. I've had my colleagues who use iPhone 7 comment how beautiful the screen is
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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- Oct 16, 2016
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- 893
I'm loving mine even more, now that I finally have that Whitestone Dome Glass and Caseology Vault I ordered!
Whitestone has shattered my expectations for tempered glass screen protectors; I no longer consider "tempered glass compatibility" an advantage of flat-screened phones because of the Dome Glass' use of UV-cured LOCA glue. It takes some time to install, but when you get it right, it's perfectly clear and solid - just the way tempered glass should be. No problems with touch sensitivity or force-pressing the Home button that I can discern, and of course, the pen works fine because the hover range far exceeds the glass thickness. Yes, it's expensive, but so is the Note 8 you're putting it on!
Caseology did good with the Vault. It's solid and sturdy, but it's also flexible enough to easily install on the Note 8 - or remove it, if you need to plop it into a Gear VR or get to the microSD/SIM tray. The texture is also nice and grippy, which solves one of the biggest gripes about smooth, polished glass-and-metal phone designs like this and makes one-handed use much easier. And just as GravX promised, it doesn't interfere with the Whitestone Dome Glass in any way, particularly if you don't accidentally shove the glass up a bit during installation like he did.
But the most important part about having a case like the Vault is that it makes using the fingerprint scanner SO MUCH EASIER! You just run your finger along the edge on the back, find the slope leading to the fingerprint sensor/camera cutout, slide your finger inward, and there you go - perfect placement and usually a quick activation on the first try!
I should emphasize, the seemingly high reject rate on the Note 8's scanner usually stems from getting the finger just a little off of the sensor's area, and my left index finger seems to be much more difficult to read than my right for reasons I still haven't figured out. Between that and its placement, it really feels like they had right-handed grips in mind when they placed that fingerprint sensor, which is fine in some cases and really annoying in others since I often use my phone in either hand despite being right-handed (which also means I hold it in my left if I'm using the Wacom pen).
All in all, there's only one other annoyance I can really think of for the time being that doesn't involve removable batteries or IR blasters, and it's the fact that Nougat likes to jerk the app window carousel all of a sudden, unlike Marshmallow. I prefer the old carousel behavior, but I can adapt.
Also, after hearing that Oreo has a dedicated auto-fill API for password managers, I'm hoping Samsung doesn't drag their heels too much given how much I use Keepass2Android. The only workaround requires root, and it's either that or Samsung Pay, which I've found myself using far more than I ever expected to, if for no other reason than those rewards points.
Whitestone has shattered my expectations for tempered glass screen protectors; I no longer consider "tempered glass compatibility" an advantage of flat-screened phones because of the Dome Glass' use of UV-cured LOCA glue. It takes some time to install, but when you get it right, it's perfectly clear and solid - just the way tempered glass should be. No problems with touch sensitivity or force-pressing the Home button that I can discern, and of course, the pen works fine because the hover range far exceeds the glass thickness. Yes, it's expensive, but so is the Note 8 you're putting it on!
Caseology did good with the Vault. It's solid and sturdy, but it's also flexible enough to easily install on the Note 8 - or remove it, if you need to plop it into a Gear VR or get to the microSD/SIM tray. The texture is also nice and grippy, which solves one of the biggest gripes about smooth, polished glass-and-metal phone designs like this and makes one-handed use much easier. And just as GravX promised, it doesn't interfere with the Whitestone Dome Glass in any way, particularly if you don't accidentally shove the glass up a bit during installation like he did.
But the most important part about having a case like the Vault is that it makes using the fingerprint scanner SO MUCH EASIER! You just run your finger along the edge on the back, find the slope leading to the fingerprint sensor/camera cutout, slide your finger inward, and there you go - perfect placement and usually a quick activation on the first try!
I should emphasize, the seemingly high reject rate on the Note 8's scanner usually stems from getting the finger just a little off of the sensor's area, and my left index finger seems to be much more difficult to read than my right for reasons I still haven't figured out. Between that and its placement, it really feels like they had right-handed grips in mind when they placed that fingerprint sensor, which is fine in some cases and really annoying in others since I often use my phone in either hand despite being right-handed (which also means I hold it in my left if I'm using the Wacom pen).
All in all, there's only one other annoyance I can really think of for the time being that doesn't involve removable batteries or IR blasters, and it's the fact that Nougat likes to jerk the app window carousel all of a sudden, unlike Marshmallow. I prefer the old carousel behavior, but I can adapt.
Also, after hearing that Oreo has a dedicated auto-fill API for password managers, I'm hoping Samsung doesn't drag their heels too much given how much I use Keepass2Android. The only workaround requires root, and it's either that or Samsung Pay, which I've found myself using far more than I ever expected to, if for no other reason than those rewards points.
This is Samsung -- sadly, you'll probably be thankful if you get Oreo in early 2018. It's getting to the point where you already know a lot about the next Android release by the time Samsung is pushing the last one.
I'm glad you're enjoying the phone, though, despite your initial reservations about it. It helps that accessory makers are tackling some of the design quirks.
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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- Oct 16, 2016
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- 893
Believe me, I know all too well from their release cycle with the Note 4. Major version updates were generally in Q1 the following year, Sprint would beat the other carriers out in March, T-Mobile wasn't too far behind, and the poor saps on AT&T and Verizon would have to wait months after. By that point, Google was already pushing out developer previews for the next version!
But yeah, I'm enjoying the Note 8 despite my continued reservations about Samsung's design direction. Just having working LTE and better coverage after so many months feels like a godsend, on top of the generally refined hardware - and even software, in a few key respects.
Automatic brightness, for instance. The Note 4 would have massive brightness jumps, but the Note 8 both does it more gradually and remembers the ambient lighting at the time of adjustment, actually adapting intelligently so it's the same perceived brightness in nearly all ambient lighting conditions. I don't think I've seen any other phone do this despite seeming like the obvious thing to do.
How do you guys like your Note 8?
I've had mine for a week now and I LOVE IT.
It's the best phone I've owned and I've had many, from Android to Iphone to Windows Phone.
I have no issues with it. Even the face scanner is working great. Unless it's dark but those few times I just use my 4 pin code and no problem. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. I've had my colleagues who use iPhone 7 comment how beautiful the screen is
I love everything about my Note 8 except the fingerprint scanner. Its not horrible for me, I have pretty big hands, but the home button fingerprint sensor on my Note 5 was so much more convenient. I dont know exactly what it is about this Note that makes it so much funner to use, but I am having a blast on it. I have a decent gaming rig, but I enjoy using my phone so much more right now, and I have never been that way with any of my other phones. For me the Note series has mostly been about productivity, communication, and information- not about games and fun much. But everything is so easy to use on this Note 8 for me. And the camera... I wont ever have another point and click camera, the note 8 plenty good enough for almost all my camera needs. If I have to get a really good shot I can pull out the big camera, but I find myself not using it at all lately. There are enough manual controls and the 2x lens is just enough for nearly all my needs. The screen is just outstanding. The secure folder is pretty handy for keeping some pen-written passwords, etc. The sound is bleh, my Nexus 6 was the last phone that actually had usable speakers for music (when I'm not being to picky). The SPen doesn't come out as easily as my other Notes, but could be the case I am using. All in all, this thing is awesome.
The phone is definitely really good. The keyboard typing could be better still on Android. Typing on my wife's iPhone is so much easier and accurate.
The note 8 compared to my note 5 is amazing due to the fact we get more screen real estate. Hiding the buttons when browsing is fantastic.
The note 8 compared to my note 5 is amazing due to the fact we get more screen real estate. Hiding the buttons when browsing is fantastic.
Nebell
2[H]4U
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- Jul 20, 2015
- Messages
- 2,382
I agree with all your points. Fingerprint scanner is in a bad place that I prefer to use 4-pin code to unlock my phone in a dark place where face recognizion is not working. I only use fingerprint scanner when I have to log in and pay for stuff. Doesn't happen that often and it's easier to log in that way.
Really? I find it completely opposite. I hated typing on my work iPhone. And especially targeting a single letter in a word if I want to change it. I think it's pain in the ass. Also I love Swiftkey, it works amazingly and learns from my typing. And it also can learn from my messages on social media to make predictions better. I type in 3 different languages and I don't even have to swap between them. I just type in one language and swiftkey automatically predicts and corrects the right word. Words can't describe how amazing that keyboard is.
Unfortuantely it doesn't work well on iPhone. It often crashes and lags and sometimes reverts to old iPhone keyboard.
My biggest complaint is that the autocorrect never seems to "learn" like iPhone does. It's pretty awful tbh.
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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- Oct 16, 2016
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- 893
Am I the only one around here who does not use auto-correct? I'm not keen on becoming the next http://damnyouautocorrect.com example.
I don't use swipe typing, either. I actually prefer using such gestures to reposition the cursor, which is why I stuck to the stock Samsung keyboard over any alternatives I could find. (That and the clipboard button.)
I'd actually prefer a physical keyboard case that turns the Note 8 into a glorified BlackBerry Priv, but that'll never happen with a mainstream manufacturer.
Also, as for iPhone comparisons, typing on my bro's iPhone SE is pain. Screen's too small, no number row, can't press-and-hold for even common punctuation and have to shift the keyboard over. I'd have to see if there's any custom iOS keyboards that aren't crap to use.
I don't use swipe typing, either. I actually prefer using such gestures to reposition the cursor, which is why I stuck to the stock Samsung keyboard over any alternatives I could find. (That and the clipboard button.)
I'd actually prefer a physical keyboard case that turns the Note 8 into a glorified BlackBerry Priv, but that'll never happen with a mainstream manufacturer.
Also, as for iPhone comparisons, typing on my bro's iPhone SE is pain. Screen's too small, no number row, can't press-and-hold for even common punctuation and have to shift the keyboard over. I'd have to see if there's any custom iOS keyboards that aren't crap to use.
Your problem is that the iPhone SE is what? Their smallest one? The iPhone 6/7/8 Plus size is a good size to type with. The newer iPhones also have force touch which allows you to easily move around your text to correct by holding down on the keyboard. Much easier than android and more intuitive.
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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I actually wondered if Apple put Force Touch to good use by not setting off keys unless I press a bit harder, kinda BlackBerry Storm-esque if you remember that thing.
Note that I don't have access to a larger iPhone to evaluate the keyboard, but the larger screen alone would be an immense improvement. Still wouldn't do much about the hold-for-symbols thing, though.
I think you meant Haptic Feedback. Force Touch is the technology that allows pressure measurements on the display. What the Force Touch on the keyboard does in the standard and some third party keyboard now is it allows you to move the text cursor. Correct me if I'm misunderstanding you. I think it's Apple that doesn't give keyboards access to the Haptic Feedback on key presses.
It's not for everyone but I have used Swiftkey since I came to Android with my Galaxy S4. It does a decent job of learning but I do not ever have it auto correct, I hate that as well. It will suggest words and it WILL learn what you typically would use and then make that suggestion that you can select or ignore and keep typing away. It will also learn how you use the screen and where you type so it can try to suggest the word you actually intended vs what you fat fingered.
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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The two go hand in hand, actually; it's how the more recent MacBooks can deliver a convincing "click" sensation on their trackpads without actually physically clicking down a microswitch, and the force-pressed home button on the S8/Note 8 this year behaves similarly. Note the difference in the vibration feedback when you press and release, and also when it occurs; it's carefully tuned to the amount of force you're applying such that it really does feel like clicking down a tac switch.
What the BlackBerry Storm did all those years ago was highlight on-screen what key you were touching (which would go great with the key pop-up on touch that Apple pioneered), but not actually send it unless you pressed down harder. The first one actually did this by way of making the entire screen assembly click down on a microswitch; word is that the second one actually used force transducers/strain gages like the current Force Touch implementation, but I don't recall seeing one of those in the wild.
Word suggestions that don't automatically trigger and can simply be ignored if the situation calls for it? That I can get behind, especially if it really does have that Fleksy-esque feature of intelligent typo correction based on what you're tapping. It's too damn easy to fat-finger touchscreen keyboards, even the bigger ones.
Truth be told, there's a lot of interesting keyboards/input panels I could dive into out there that I never really bothered to look into, and one of the ones I'd use more regularly that isn't a keyboard is actually Graffiti (I'm a Palm OS veteran, even before I moved to Windows Mobile), if not for a few shortcomings over its old Palm OS implementation:
-Cut/copy/paste commands don't work.
-I actually used TealScript back in the day to tweak the available strokes and find a good middle ground between the original Graffiti (what ACCESS has on the Play Store) and Graffiti 2 (which later Palm OS 5 devices had due to some IP-related issues regarding the original, which Windows Mobile devices still boasted with a different name). ACCESS didn't add that for the Android version.
Because it's gesture recognition at its core, I don't have to worry about fat-fingering anything and can input without even looking if it came down to that. But I'm clearly going to have to learn Android keyboard/input panel APIs and program my own if I'm gonna end up with something that fulfills my requirements, since no one else to my knowledge has even attempted anything else like it on Android.
Any suggestions for screen protectors?
I got some Skinomi case compatible crap from Amazon and it is pretty bad. The worst part is that using the S Pen with any pressure leaves divots and lines that fade but never fully disappear.
It doesn't have to be tempered glass. Something that actually covers the edge screens would be nice. I'm using the Spigen Thin Fit case which shouldn't interfere much.
I got some Skinomi case compatible crap from Amazon and it is pretty bad. The worst part is that using the S Pen with any pressure leaves divots and lines that fade but never fully disappear.
It doesn't have to be tempered glass. Something that actually covers the edge screens would be nice. I'm using the Spigen Thin Fit case which shouldn't interfere much.
ScottHerman
n00b
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2017
- Messages
- 32
My girlfriend has the Samsung Galaxy S8+ and like many have already said - the screen quality is freaking NUTS on it... I would like to have one myself but I am not paying anywhere near 800 for a phone. I currently have the Moto G5+ and a Iphone 6S+ and both of those keep me content... Maybe once the S9 or whatever replaced the S8 comes out I will scoop up a nice used one... or maybe my GF will just give me hers when she upgrades
NamelessPFG
Gawd
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I don't know of any decent hard plastic ones that won't have that crappy orange peel feeling and hold up to pen pressure, but I did plunk down the dosh for the Whitestone Dome Glass, which does cover the edges when viewed head-on without any unsightly "halo" (a real problem on the S3, Note 4 and later Samsung devices with very subtle curves on the front glass edges that flat tempered glass never adheres to correctly).
Just take your time installing it if you go that route, since you have to deal with tilting a blob of adhesive into position, and be sure to tape off the ports, buttons and front earpiece speaker first so the LOCA glue doesn't seep in where it shouldn't.
Dome Glass + Caseology Vault = hardly any gap between the protector (which does follow the curve) and the case's edges. Feels quite nice, actually.
Alas, GravX hasn't tested the Spigen Thin Fit with the Dome Glass yet, according to this spreadsheet. We'll probably see down the road, though if it covers the corners like the Slim Armor, you have pretty much no room for error with a screen protector. (I know, you said it doesn't have to be tempered glass, but I figure it's a good litmus test for protector compatibility in general. Even plastic protectors can get pushed up at the corners, annoyingly so.)
(spreadsheet in video description, I'm having to fight the forum software with bloating up my post with blank space here if I link that spreadsheet directly)
https://www.xda-developers.com/note-8-real-world-performance-analysis/
But do not be mistaken — it is still not perfect. It is still below the bar put forth by devices like the Pixel XL, and its biggest weak points remain precisely in those areas of the phone where Samsung is most involved, namely the system UI and some stock applications. It’s also nowhere near as snappy as the OnePlus 5, which combines an aggressive approach to performance with zippy animations to deliver an extremely responsive UX. It’s much harder for us to accurately measure the time it takes for actions within applications to be carried out, but I am confident that the OnePlus 5 would be a clear winner in this area.
But do not be mistaken — it is still not perfect. It is still below the bar put forth by devices like the Pixel XL, and its biggest weak points remain precisely in those areas of the phone where Samsung is most involved, namely the system UI and some stock applications. It’s also nowhere near as snappy as the OnePlus 5, which combines an aggressive approach to performance with zippy animations to deliver an extremely responsive UX. It’s much harder for us to accurately measure the time it takes for actions within applications to be carried out, but I am confident that the OnePlus 5 would be a clear winner in this area.
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