Samsung S9

Lazy8s said:
Did you get the 9 or the 9+? The temptation is killing me because of that $450 price cut I can get - that puts it into PH1 pricing territory and therefore sexy as all heck to me :bleh:
Click to expand...

9+ :)

Gotta say, so far I like it a lot
 
Lazy8s said:
I think I may have to go test drive one today....
Click to expand...

Here are my impressions so far.

Pros:
Android has come a long way since whatever version was on the Note 3. It's much snappier and more stable.
The ability to configure/customize just about everything has always been Android's strongest suit. iOS is severely lacking in that area. It's refreshing to go back to Android after all these years.
The S9+'s screen is sweet and sexy. The curved screen is a nice touch.
It's fast, but I don't do benchmarks so I can't say if it's any faster than the iPhone 8+.
The camera is incrementally better than the iPhone. The dual aperture is nice.
The fingerprint button is perfectly placed on the back. I don't miss the front-facing home/fingerprint button at all.
The two front-firing speakers (one at the top of the screen, one at the bottom) give a nice stereo feel vs the iPhones two bottom-firing ones. The sound is clear and strong.
Samsung's Android launcher is much improved, with fewer useless bloatware apps.
Face recognition to unlock the phone is sweet. Yes, I know the iPhone X has that, but not the 8/8+.
The 8mm headphone jack! Oh how I've missed thee...

Cons
Bixby is as dumb as a box of rocks. Siri is far from perfect, but she trounces Bixby.
Out of the box, the screen is set to FHD+ (2220x1080) to save battery life. You can up it to WQHD+ (2960x1440) but it's a pretty big battery hit. Either way it's crisp and clear. I went back to FHD+ because of the battery drain.
The jury is still out on the overall battery life compared to the iPhone 8+. Neither lasts more than a few hours if you do a lot of surfing on game playing.
The earbuds that come with the S9+ are subpar. I ended up buying different ones.

Overall my impression is that the S9+ hardware isn't much faster than the iPhone 8+. If it hadn't been free, I wouldn't have crossgraded. But I'm glad I did. I missed Android.
 
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Munkus said:
Here are my impressions so far.

Pros:
Android has come a long way since whatever version was on the Note 3. It's much snappier and more stable.
The ability to configure/customize just about everything has always been Android's strongest suit. iOS is severely lacking in that area. It's refreshing to go back to Android after all these years.
The S9+'s screen is sweet and sexy. The curved screen is a nice touch.
It's fast, but I don't do benchmarks so I can't say if it's any faster than the iPhone 8+.
The camera is incrementally better than the iPhone. The dual aperture is nice.
The fingerprint button is perfectly placed on the back. I don't miss the front-facing home/fingerprint button at all.
The two front-firing speakers (one at the top of the screen, one at the bottom) give a nice stereo feel vs the iPhones two bottom-firing ones. The sound is clear and strong.
Samsung's Android launcher is much improved, with fewer useless bloatware apps.
Face recognition to unlock the phone is sweet. Yes, I know the iPhone X has that, but not the 8/8+.
The 8mm headphone jack! Oh how I've missed thee...

Cons
Bixby is as dumb as a box of rocks. Siri is far from perfect, but she trounces Bixby.
Out of the box, the screen is set to FHD+ (2220x1080) to save battery life. You can up it to WQHD+ (2960x1440) but it's a pretty big battery hit. Either way it's crisp and clear. I went back to FHD+ because of the battery drain.
The jury is still out on the overall battery life compared to the iPhone 8+. Neither lasts more than a few hours if you do a lot of surfing on game playing.
The earbuds that come with the S9+ are subpar. I ended up buying different ones.

Overall my impression is that the S9+ hardware isn't much faster than the iPhone 8+. If it hadn't been free, I wouldn't have crossgraded. But I'm glad I did. I missed Android.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the feedback! Android has come leaps and bounds for sure. I don't think I could go back to Apple after having Oreo on my PH1.

I'd use google instead of Bixby, mainly because I've heard all about lol, but I'll post if I up/side grade myself. It just looks too sweet not to, and I'm weak :p
 
Munkus said:
Here are my impressions so far.

Pros:
Android has come a long way since whatever version was on the Note 3. It's much snappier and more stable.
The ability to configure/customize just about everything has always been Android's strongest suit. iOS is severely lacking in that area. It's refreshing to go back to Android after all these years.
The S9+'s screen is sweet and sexy. The curved screen is a nice touch.
It's fast, but I don't do benchmarks so I can't say if it's any faster than the iPhone 8+.
The camera is incrementally better than the iPhone. The dual aperture is nice.
The fingerprint button is perfectly placed on the back. I don't miss the front-facing home/fingerprint button at all.
The two front-firing speakers (one at the top of the screen, one at the bottom) give a nice stereo feel vs the iPhones two bottom-firing ones. The sound is clear and strong.
Samsung's Android launcher is much improved, with fewer useless bloatware apps.
Face recognition to unlock the phone is sweet. Yes, I know the iPhone X has that, but not the 8/8+.
The 8mm headphone jack! Oh how I've missed thee...

Cons
Bixby is as dumb as a box of rocks. Siri is far from perfect, but she trounces Bixby.
Out of the box, the screen is set to FHD+ (2220x1080) to save battery life. You can up it to WQHD+ (2960x1440) but it's a pretty big battery hit. Either way it's crisp and clear. I went back to FHD+ because of the battery drain.
The jury is still out on the overall battery life compared to the iPhone 8+. Neither lasts more than a few hours if you do a lot of surfing on game playing.
The earbuds that come with the S9+ are subpar. I ended up buying different ones.

Overall my impression is that the S9+ hardware isn't much faster than the iPhone 8+. If it hadn't been free, I wouldn't have crossgraded. But I'm glad I did. I missed Android.
Click to expand...

Bixby isn't dumb, it excels at doing tasks related to your phone. Use Bixby to control your phone. The best thing about Bixby is you can make voice command macros. Say for example "good night" you can make Bixby turn on do not disturb, set rotation to portrait, turn on blue light filter, switch to the internet app and say "manches" at end of the macro.

Bixby understands context for Samsung and Google Apps. You tell it to search for an app in the play store and install it; it'll do just that.

Bixby isn't good for things requiring internet search. if You ask bixby to convert currency for an example, it'll open calculator and choose a category or pull up a search for the currency. Use google assistant for all things internet.
 
0091/2 said:
Bixby isn't dumb, it excels at doing tasks related to your phone. Use Bixby to control your phone. The best thing about Bixby is you can make voice command macros. Say for example "good night" you can make Bixby turn on do not disturb, set rotation to portrait, turn on blue light filter, switch to the internet app and say "manches" at end of the macro.

Bixby understands context for Samsung and Google Apps. You tell it to search for an app in the play store and install it; it'll do just that.

Bixby isn't good for things requiring internet search. if You ask bixby to convert currency for an example, it'll open calculator and choose a category or pull up a search for the currency. Use google assistant for all things internet.
Click to expand...

That's good info. All I've seen are complaints so far about Bixby, but I've never heard anyone cover these functions. Thanks for filling in some blanks. :up:
 
0091/2 said:
Bixby isn't dumb, it excels at doing tasks related to your phone. Use Bixby to control your phone. The best thing about Bixby is you can make voice command macros. Say for example "good night" you can make Bixby turn on do not disturb, set rotation to portrait, turn on blue light filter, switch to the internet app and say "manches" at end of the macro.

Bixby understands context for Samsung and Google Apps. You tell it to search for an app in the play store and install it; it'll do just that.

Bixby isn't good for things requiring internet search. if You ask bixby to convert currency for an example, it'll open calculator and choose a category or pull up a search for the currency. Use google assistant for all things internet.
Click to expand...

That's pretty cool. Apparently I have a lot to learn about this phone. :up:
 
Lazy8s said:
I need to get my grubby paws on one :p
Click to expand...

Remind me what phone you have? If I had a fairly recent Android phone, instead of an iPhone, I would've probably skipped the 9+. It's an incremental upgrade for most recent 'droid phones, IMO. Unless it's free...then DO IT NAO!!!
 
Munkus said:
Remind me what phone you have? If I had a fairly recent Android phone, instead of an iPhone, I would've probably skipped the 9+. It's an incremental upgrade for most recent 'droid phones, IMO. Unless it's free...then DO IT NAO!!!
Click to expand...

I have the PH1 and am really enjoying it with Oreo 8.1. I was just talking to the better half about this and I'm skipping for now. Xfinity Mobile would save us a few $$, but their bring your own phone policy doesn't accept a fully unlocked, work on any network in the US phone like the PH1. So yeah, no go for now.

Gorgeous device for sure, but not worth getting BSd into it by a garbage policy.
 
Lazy8s said:
I have the PH1 and am really enjoying it with Oreo 8.1. I was just talking to the better half about this and I'm skipping for now. Xfinity Mobile would save us a few $$, but their bring your own phone policy doesn't accept a fully unlocked, work on any network in the US phone like the PH1. So yeah, no go for now.

Gorgeous device for sure, but not worth getting BSd into it by a garbage policy.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it wouldn't be it worthwhile upgrade for you. The PH1 is a sweet phone.
 
Interesting to see the Snapdragon variant is faster this time than the Exynos. Guess I won't have to worry about trying to get one from overseas when the Note 9 comes out.
 
ice said:
Interesting to see the Snapdragon variant is faster this time than the Exynos. Guess I won't have to worry about trying to get one from overseas when the Note 9 comes out.
Click to expand...

How do feel about the in-display fingerprint rumor? Would you miss the back FP sensor?
 
0091/2 said:
How do feel about the in-display fingerprint rumor? Would you miss the back FP sensor?
Click to expand...

I never used one with a back sensor, but I've always hated the idea of them. I reach over and unlock my S7 Edge all the time while it's sitting on the wireless charger, I don't want to have to pick the damn phone up to do that. Under the screen is a welcome feature for me. I also find it odd that Samsung and Apple can't get this working well but some no name Chinese company did.
 
Pixel 2 XL, probably one of the best phones I've had, battery for 2 days. The only downside is app related. Facebook makes the bottom buttons not work sometimes, have to reboot the phone, but that's crappy FB.

Reallllly like Goog phones!
 
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