The pen, extra ram and better camera are the main differences. If the pen doesn't look like it would be something you'd use much then you may want to just go with the S8+ as it's very similar for a lot less.
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Samsung Galaxy S8 • S8+ • Note 8 | OT | Out Now
- Thread starter Hollywood Duo
- Start date
I was wondering if anyone could help me with this. My unlocked US S8+ is still on the August security update, which is firmware G955U1UEU1AQH3. From what I can tell, this one is old enough that it doesn't even fix that wifi/bluetooth security breach that was exposed a couple of months ago. I believe a new security update has been issued since then, but my phone doesn't seem to recognize it exists.
I've been basically going around without BT or Wifi for the past month, waiting for the phone to become secure again.
I've been basically going around without BT or Wifi for the past month, waiting for the phone to become secure again.
Let's be honest they're both incredible devices. Ultimately it comes down to whether you like the simplicity of iOS, or prefer the features of Android/TouchWiz, with stuff like split-screen multitasking (the Note 8 also has edge swipe auto-paired split screen presets which are incredible, eg one button click to have half your screen Chrome, half your screen YouTube), stylus functionality (Wacom esque drawing, lists, signing documents with your actual signature etc), Bixby system root commands, added screen real estate, VR viewing etc.
Don't think for a minute that the Note 8 is slower than the iPhone X though. In real-world speed tests, it's actually generally quicker and has better ram management multitasking too.
NEW iPhone X vs Note 8 speed test!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKNvQ2OgjGs (Here the Exynos International version is compared.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUeI-9_7hKw&t
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG3W3QGnQos
The Note 8 and iPhone X are tremendously expensive devices though, and probably not very good value for money lol. The S8 and S8+ can be had for amazing prices at the moment, especially like new condition but used, hence represent much better bang for buck.
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Battery life mega drain test.
XEETECHCARE | iPhone X vs Note 8 vs S8+ vs Nokia 8 vs LG V30 vs OnePlus 5 vs 8 Plus vs Mate 10 Battery Drain Test!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H9pAn4Hl50
XEETECHCARE | iPhone X vs Note 8 vs S8+ vs Nokia 8 vs LG V30 vs OnePlus 5 vs 8 Plus vs Mate 10 Battery Drain Test!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H9pAn4Hl50
Got my Note 8. Christ it's a supremely high quality looking and feeling device.
So they accidently charged me for and sent me 3 devices instead of 2, not to worry because I'm returning the third, but I did manage to compare all 3 meticulously.
I used numerous screen testers, Lagom test images, pure colour test images etc, and I must say these devices are exceptionally well calibrated with very very little variation. In fact there's less variation between these, than any other device I've tested multiples of. They're not all from the same batch either as one has a wildly differing IMEI.
That being said, they are not exactly alike. Whilst viewing them from dead on, auto brightness turned off, set to max brightness, Basic display mode selected, they look pretty much identical, however when you tilt them is when you start to see a difference. Two have a slight red tint when viewed at a heavy angle, the other has a slight green tint, both only show up when viewing a pure white image. Not that you'd ever view your phone at such extreme angles mind.
Also when viewing the Lagom colour chart, one device has fractionally darker colours on the farthest (darkest) end of the colour chart. This only shows up in calibration test images under extreme scrutiny. In real world viewing I was not able to discern a difference.
Screen uniformity is also perfect with all three. A completely even spread of white and different colours across the entire screen.
Going to test some more, but so far it seems like a notable upgrade. The screen quality, real estate and vertical height really improve the web browsing experience . Web pages definitely load slightly quicker than on my S7 Edge too.
So they accidently charged me for and sent me 3 devices instead of 2, not to worry because I'm returning the third, but I did manage to compare all 3 meticulously.
I used numerous screen testers, Lagom test images, pure colour test images etc, and I must say these devices are exceptionally well calibrated with very very little variation. In fact there's less variation between these, than any other device I've tested multiples of. They're not all from the same batch either as one has a wildly differing IMEI.
That being said, they are not exactly alike. Whilst viewing them from dead on, auto brightness turned off, set to max brightness, Basic display mode selected, they look pretty much identical, however when you tilt them is when you start to see a difference. Two have a slight red tint when viewed at a heavy angle, the other has a slight green tint, both only show up when viewing a pure white image. Not that you'd ever view your phone at such extreme angles mind.
Also when viewing the Lagom colour chart, one device has fractionally darker colours on the farthest (darkest) end of the colour chart. This only shows up in calibration test images under extreme scrutiny. In real world viewing I was not able to discern a difference.
Screen uniformity is also perfect with all three. A completely even spread of white and different colours across the entire screen.
Going to test some more, but so far it seems like a notable upgrade. The screen quality, real estate and vertical height really improve the web browsing experience . Web pages definitely load slightly quicker than on my S7 Edge too.
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Have had my Note 8 for a day now and I really dig it. I don't give a crap about Bixby though, so I used an app to remap that button to some different functions.
Screen off: 1 click to change to the next song (perfect to just put your hand in the pocket to skip a song). 2 clicks for flashlight, long hold to switch between vibrate and sound.
Screen on: The same, but google assistant on 1 click.
It's great to be able to map so many functions to what otherwise would be a useless button.
I wish the fingerprint reader was placed further down, but it's really no big deal to adjust my grip a bit to use it. Have to say that it seems faster and more accurate than on my old S7 edge. Perhaps because you almost always press on it the same way. Iris scanner feels useless since it has only worked properly like 1 out of 10 times. I enabled face unlock as well and while it might not be as secure as face id, it has been great now that I use gloves in the morning.
Screen off: 1 click to change to the next song (perfect to just put your hand in the pocket to skip a song). 2 clicks for flashlight, long hold to switch between vibrate and sound.
Screen on: The same, but google assistant on 1 click.
It's great to be able to map so many functions to what otherwise would be a useless button.
I wish the fingerprint reader was placed further down, but it's really no big deal to adjust my grip a bit to use it. Have to say that it seems faster and more accurate than on my old S7 edge. Perhaps because you almost always press on it the same way. Iris scanner feels useless since it has only worked properly like 1 out of 10 times. I enabled face unlock as well and while it might not be as secure as face id, it has been great now that I use gloves in the morning.
I thought they patched it so no one can remap the Bixby button?
Btw, I just bought my Note 8 from ebay (seller never-msrp), anyone did the same?
I didn't have any patience to wait for the note 8, regretted it a little bit. Will probably rock my s8 for a couple years and get the note 10.
As a very happy iPhone X user, I have to say that the Note will always call to me.
I'm very much a productivity-first phone user. It's how I do my job - I live in email, text messages, Salesforce, and the internet. The idea of being able to take scratch notes and possibly say goodbye to the literally 100s of post-it notes on my desk would be amazing. But I'm just so damn used to iOS and I love its integration with my other devices and the Apple ecosystem.
Simply, if Apple would just allow true split-screen on iPhone and added Pencil support, it would be a dang near perfect device. But as it stands, I love my iPhone but will always be taking a glance at my colleague who has the Note 8.
I'm very much a productivity-first phone user. It's how I do my job - I live in email, text messages, Salesforce, and the internet. The idea of being able to take scratch notes and possibly say goodbye to the literally 100s of post-it notes on my desk would be amazing. But I'm just so damn used to iOS and I love its integration with my other devices and the Apple ecosystem.
Simply, if Apple would just allow true split-screen on iPhone and added Pencil support, it would be a dang near perfect device. But as it stands, I love my iPhone but will always be taking a glance at my colleague who has the Note 8.
my s8 has been having these small hitches and slowdowns for about a month now.... these updates have made my phone worse -_- ........ whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
or the phone registeres your input a few seconds later like when i push home, back or when im typing....
they do this on purpose huh.
or the phone registeres your input a few seconds later like when i push home, back or when im typing....
they do this on purpose huh.
I wouldn't worry about it unless photography or the stylus is a big deal. That's why I upgraded, other than that, you can wait.
Going to ask here too, is there a good case that protects a Note 8 but doesn't you know...basically lock it into a big plastic brick. See Otter cases which are very protective but it feels like you don't have a phone.
Does this thing have a touch screen home button too:? I kind of want to stay with a phone with a click home button.
The S8/S8+/Note 8 all have the on screen buttons. The J3 and J7 Prime still have the physical button.
I didn't know the camera was better! I'm not good with specs, is it much better or would it be tough to discern between the two in most circumstances? I purchased the S8+ assuming the pen and screen real estate was the big difference
Screen size is very close between the two. The camera is a fair amount different as the note 8 has a dual camera setup, which helps with zoomed photos. The front cameras are the same. For me the pens only rarely used, but the camera and ram make it a nice upgrade.
Using bxActions to change it into an alert slider/sound profile changer on tap and Google assistant on hold makes it 11/10 :D.
It just feels right.
While it does, you can always press harder in the home button location to go back home without swiping up to bring up the buttons. With the vibration you get when you "click" it is like 80% like just having a button.
I have owned the S5 and S7E and can probably count on 2 hands how many times I have used the split-screen function. The screens just wasn't big enough for it to feel good. But on this phone I think YouTube and chrome is a wonderful combination. Even with the video taking up space, you still have pretty much the size of a normal phones screen for the browser.
One slight complaint I have after 2 days with it now is that 2 times my music has started playing randomly on its own when the phone was just lying on my desk. =/
T-Mobile version is coming out this year, AT&T version already out, I believe?
This is a real problem for me, as well. I didn't encounter these slowdowns on my Nexus 6P. Any ideas what could cause this?
My first gen Pixel went for a swim and I ended up being forced to get a new phone and ended up with an S8+. First Samsung phone since I had a first gen Windows Phone a long time ago. But yeah, it's been a happy accident so far. Samsung as Android phones have bothered me for a long time, with all that bloatware, their design sensibility over the history of their Galaxy line, and their forced launchers, but the S8+ seems to have finally reached past all that and I'm pretty happy with it.
Samsung kind of throws everything and the kitchen sink into their options, and a bunch of them I've come to appreciate. How the display works, one-handed mode, the many security options. The bezel-less curved screen design of the phone is honestly top notch. It definitely stands out and looks great.
ASIDE: Please tell me there's a way to turn off that damn volume warning, I've searched the settings high and low and can't find it.
Samsung kind of throws everything and the kitchen sink into their options, and a bunch of them I've come to appreciate. How the display works, one-handed mode, the many security options. The bezel-less curved screen design of the phone is honestly top notch. It definitely stands out and looks great.
ASIDE: Please tell me there's a way to turn off that damn volume warning, I've searched the settings high and low and can't find it.
Nope, but it might be possible if you follow this guide. Seems like a lot of work though.
https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-automatically-disable-the-high-volume-warning-without-root/
is there a way to get spotify to show album art in the lock screen without using a 3rd party app
I have an 8+
only because my LG3 died on me
I have an 8+
only because my LG3 died on me
Bought a midnight black Note 8 after using a Nexus 6P for two years. Holy shit this phone is amazing. HDR vids on YouTube look bananas and the included earphones are also great. One question, why isn't the charger usb c to usb c? Instead it connects to the power brick with a normal usb. Should I use my old Nexus charger which is usb c completely?
The battery does feel good, on an S8+ tho
Playing a few games of clash royale only drained like, 5% of battery instead of 15% like my old phone.
I love my S8. Really nice phone. Super slick and stylish. The S8+ was too outside my budget, but I'm happy I went with this one. Roughly the same size as my previous phone the S6 except with barely any bezel. The only real issue I have with the phone is sometimes vertical oriented typing is a bit shitty, since the keyboard extends to the curved edge now I mistype here and there.
I have a Note 8 and surprisingly the only thing I find a bit disappointing is the camera, weirdly I feel like my iPhone 7+ takes the superior photos and the 8 Plus/X/Pixel 2 take better photos as well.
Anyone else using the android oreo beta?
It seems that my S8 will now keep splitscreened apps as a selectable pair in the open apps list when I switch to a different app.
My LG tone bluetooh headphones also now control the phones volume and vice versa, whereas the phone and headphone volumes needed to be managed separately before.
It also gave me a "your Bluetooth headphone batteries are at 10% please recharge" message. Never seen that before.
There's also an option to make the phones volume buttons now control media volum by default. Which makes sense as I'm sure people adjust the media volume on their phones 1000x more than they adjust to get volume.
If you select YouTube as the top split screen app and press the home button to select another app or just do something else, it will minimise YouTube to a tiny letterbox window at the top of the screen that allows the video audio to continue uninterrupted.
The keyboard also has a button to quick switch between predictive text suggestions and the group of buttons that you used to have to long press a button to access (clipboard/settings/etc).
It seems that my S8 will now keep splitscreened apps as a selectable pair in the open apps list when I switch to a different app.
My LG tone bluetooh headphones also now control the phones volume and vice versa, whereas the phone and headphone volumes needed to be managed separately before.
It also gave me a "your Bluetooth headphone batteries are at 10% please recharge" message. Never seen that before.
There's also an option to make the phones volume buttons now control media volum by default. Which makes sense as I'm sure people adjust the media volume on their phones 1000x more than they adjust to get volume.
If you select YouTube as the top split screen app and press the home button to select another app or just do something else, it will minimise YouTube to a tiny letterbox window at the top of the screen that allows the video audio to continue uninterrupted.
The keyboard also has a button to quick switch between predictive text suggestions and the group of buttons that you used to have to long press a button to access (clipboard/settings/etc).
You can't see HDR on YouTube.
It's just the OLED screen or Video Enchancer. View a real HDR .mp4 and be super blown away.
Wow really? I thought some YouTube vids were proper HDR as they also say it when you select the resolution. I'll try a proper mp4 now.
After several days of use now, I can honestly say the Note 8 was a worthwhile upgrade from the S7 Edge. Just the sheer size and quality of the screen in itself makes media viewing, web browsing etc so much more enjoyable.
I think because of the edge orientated, minimal bezel form factor, this whopping big 6.3" screen comes in a perfectly manageable size, hence the reason even my wife now uses one as her daily driver.
The iPhone 8 Plus and Pixel 2XL are a very similar size but have a much smaller 5.5" display and a 6" display respectively. In that sense, you're getting a tonne of screen real estate for the size of this device. In fact, the screen to body ratio on the Note 8 (83.2%) is even greater than the iPhone X (81.49%), and the latter is basically all screen.
At no point has the phone felt remotely inconvenient to use versus the S7 Edge due to the size. If anything it being slightly wider makes the keyboard ever so slightly easier to use as the keys have a greater width to them now, meaning you don't have to be as precise.
Web browsing and multitasking.
The two tasks the device massively improves is web browsing and multi-tasking. Web browsing because the size of the screen coupled with the longer aspect ratio simply gives you far more legible coverage, so for forums, comments etc, you can just see a lot more on the page at a time. And multitasking because the extra screen size and aspect ratio makes split screen usage so much more pleasant, and the new insta app pair options better facilitate it.
I've been browsing ResetEra whilst binge watching videos a tonne with the Note 8. With the S7 Edge, the screen was never quite big enough to fully realise that feature or make you want to use it all the time. Instead, I'd use it more for specific things (eg to watch press conferences at the same time as browsing forums etc).
Stylus.
Been messing around with the Stylus as well, mostly sending animated GIF's in WhatsApp messages instead of Emoji's, but other than that I've not really gotten a whole lot of use out of it yet. I probably should use it for more creative stuff since it is basically as responsive as my Wacom Cintiq. I see the Stylus as mainly an additive, for copy, cut and pasting, for signing digital documents etc, but it doesn't seem like a necessity.
Camera.
Used the Live View blur feature in a bunch of shots today. It will most probably end up being my defacto couple'y shots or shots of the wife posing mode, especially on holidays and trips etc. The degree of blur and effectiveness of edge handling works a lot better than the S7 Edge's software implementation. Photos are also instant and without fuss (none of the stand here, move further or closer issues I sometimes had with the iPhone 7 Plus, not yet anyway).
Besides sharper and less noisy images in low light, another thing I noticed versus the S7 Edge was that in low light, the Note 8 took shots that had consistently more accurate white balance. Almost perfect with what I was seeing by eye, whereas the S7 Edge had a tendancy to be a bit on the warm or yellow side.
Anyway, thought I'd post some random impressions.
I use one of these. Very slim profile so there's barely any extra heft or size to the phone, but the best thing about it is that unlike my other cases that are either smooth or rubberised matte, this one has this sort of fine sandy or frosty texture that just gives you a little bit of extra confidence and tactility when holding and using the phone outdoors.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B075B6RJXQ/?tag=e100-21
Nah, they updated YT for mobile HDR a couple of months ago.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/8/16273408/galaxy-s8-note-8-hdr-youtube-app-update-first-phones
I think because of the edge orientated, minimal bezel form factor, this whopping big 6.3" screen comes in a perfectly manageable size, hence the reason even my wife now uses one as her daily driver.
The iPhone 8 Plus and Pixel 2XL are a very similar size but have a much smaller 5.5" display and a 6" display respectively. In that sense, you're getting a tonne of screen real estate for the size of this device. In fact, the screen to body ratio on the Note 8 (83.2%) is even greater than the iPhone X (81.49%), and the latter is basically all screen.
At no point has the phone felt remotely inconvenient to use versus the S7 Edge due to the size. If anything it being slightly wider makes the keyboard ever so slightly easier to use as the keys have a greater width to them now, meaning you don't have to be as precise.
Web browsing and multitasking.
The two tasks the device massively improves is web browsing and multi-tasking. Web browsing because the size of the screen coupled with the longer aspect ratio simply gives you far more legible coverage, so for forums, comments etc, you can just see a lot more on the page at a time. And multitasking because the extra screen size and aspect ratio makes split screen usage so much more pleasant, and the new insta app pair options better facilitate it.
I've been browsing ResetEra whilst binge watching videos a tonne with the Note 8. With the S7 Edge, the screen was never quite big enough to fully realise that feature or make you want to use it all the time. Instead, I'd use it more for specific things (eg to watch press conferences at the same time as browsing forums etc).
Stylus.
Been messing around with the Stylus as well, mostly sending animated GIF's in WhatsApp messages instead of Emoji's, but other than that I've not really gotten a whole lot of use out of it yet. I probably should use it for more creative stuff since it is basically as responsive as my Wacom Cintiq. I see the Stylus as mainly an additive, for copy, cut and pasting, for signing digital documents etc, but it doesn't seem like a necessity.
Camera.
Used the Live View blur feature in a bunch of shots today. It will most probably end up being my defacto couple'y shots or shots of the wife posing mode, especially on holidays and trips etc. The degree of blur and effectiveness of edge handling works a lot better than the S7 Edge's software implementation. Photos are also instant and without fuss (none of the stand here, move further or closer issues I sometimes had with the iPhone 7 Plus, not yet anyway).
Besides sharper and less noisy images in low light, another thing I noticed versus the S7 Edge was that in low light, the Note 8 took shots that had consistently more accurate white balance. Almost perfect with what I was seeing by eye, whereas the S7 Edge had a tendancy to be a bit on the warm or yellow side.
Anyway, thought I'd post some random impressions.
I use one of these. Very slim profile so there's barely any extra heft or size to the phone, but the best thing about it is that unlike my other cases that are either smooth or rubberised matte, this one has this sort of fine sandy or frosty texture that just gives you a little bit of extra confidence and tactility when holding and using the phone outdoors.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B075B6RJXQ/?tag=e100-21
Nah, they updated YT for mobile HDR a couple of months ago.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/8/16273408/galaxy-s8-note-8-hdr-youtube-app-update-first-phones
Nope, that update just made it say HDR, break the brightness control and adds a stutter. It never gave you HDR and the whole media is incompetent to realise.
I have tested many S8 and S8+, side by side with real HDR mp4s and YouTube. Of versions of YouTube etc. It doesn't work.
I have a bunch of pictures for proof too.
I have tested many S8 and S8+, side by side with real HDR mp4s and YouTube. Of versions of YouTube etc. It doesn't work.
I have a bunch of pictures for proof too.
Cool.
Tbh your user name is D65 which lends to believe you know what you're talking about when it comes to display tech lol.
That is disappointing to read though. I've personally not tested anything HDR yet.
Audio performance (3.5mm output).
One a side point, audio output from the 3.5mm jack on the Note 8 has definitely been improved compared to the S7 Edge. Not only is the amp power greater by a small margin (louder volume output), but there seems to be ever so slightly less grain or harshness at higher volumes with headphones.
It's still not quite as clean or dynamic as my full Amp/DAC set up, but it's very close. Slightly closer than with the S7 Edge which had a tendency to get quite hot and aggressive in the treble and upper mids when nearing the highest volume output levels. The Note 8 in comparison is ever so slightly cleaner.
It's enough of an improvement that I'm not reaching for or compelled to use my full set up as much, and I'm quite happy to use my headphones direct from the device for the added convenience. Currently I'm only using about 70%-75% of the volume, so volume output is not an issue.
Test headphones are the Sony MDR-Z1R (primary) and Sennheiser HD800S (secondary).
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This is everything about HDR on your new phone https://www.resetera.com/threads/samsung-galaxy-s8-s8-hdr-compatibility.1596/
That's correct, but only in the Edge panel apps. Eg the ones you show by swiping the little bar at the edge of the panel. As far as I have read, this app pair feature is currently only available on the Note 8, but will likely be coming to the S8 and S8+ in the not too distant future.
Mega battery.
On a side note, I've basically just binge watched a tonne of Luke Cage on Netflix in 4K HDR, and I don't know what possessed the phone but suddenly it just pulled out some incredible battery life that has genuinely surprised me.
5 episodes of Luke Cage at around 70-75% brightness using headphones for audio, plus a bit of Marco Polo, some camera shots, selfies, a fair degree of web browsing, calls etc, and I still have battery left.
Here's my screen on time. Nearly 8 hours and a half of screen on time with 5% still left. This phone is like a Netflix streaming beast lol.
Ok, the more I use the Note 8 the more awesome little features I'm discovering.
Aside from the Edge panel split screen combination apps (as discussed above), a few other cool things I've discovered;
1.) You can select to have an Edge optimisation panel, so a quick swipe to the edge of the screen gets you easy access to things like memory or battery clear, instant optimisation etc. Great if you care about battery life and so on.
2. ) Then there's also the screenshot functionality. Like with previous devices, you swipe to screenshot, or now hold down on the volume key + power button at the same time to take one.
Once you take a screenshot you have the option to press this arrow key so it continues to slide down the web page, essentially stitching together a longer screenshot of as much or as little of a page as you want.
But an awesome new addition is that when you view the screen capture in your gallery and click on it, you get a little "Go to Website" icon you can click, that will immediately load that exact webpage in your browser.
Now screen captures essentially act as cool bookmarks too.
3.) The fingerprint scanner is way more effective than face unlock or the iris scanner. It took literally a couple of minutes to acclimatise to it's positioning, and now I unlock the phone before I've even looked at it.
The great thing about it is that it registers 100% of the time, and touching it automatically unlocks the phone even from when the display is off. Because of the positioning, you wouldn't accidentally press it either, so it works out pretty well. Fingerprint unlock essentially saves that one extra click to the lock screen. One touch of the sensor and you're in, no need to go to the lock screen first. Also from the moment you touch the fingerprint sensor, it unlocks in less than a second, so it really is rapid.
I currently have my left and right fingerprint set to unlock, as well as face unlock and pattern unlock, so basically I'm covered on all bases.
4.) Bluetooth 5.0 allows you to connect to multiple bluetooth devices or speakers at the same time. This sounds gimmicky, but it's actually pretty useful.
This weekend I went around to friends and we played poker, games etc. Not only was I able to connect to multiple devices for a surround sound like experience, but it was super useful when playing games like Articulate and Speak Out. I had the timer sound synced to two bluetooth speakers, so despite super loud laughing in a room packed full of people, everyone could hear the timer clearly (essentially one BT speaker right beside each team).
----
Negatives.
1.) I dislike the fact that during Split Screen multitasking, the menu buttons don't hide away like they do in ordinary use. There is no option to make them dynamically invisible like you can normally. It's not the end of the world, but it does mean I'm losing a tiny bit of screen real estate unnecessarily at the bottom of the screen when split-screen multitasking.
2.) I basically don't have any fingernails and have a case on my phone, so sometimes it can be finicky to get the S-Pen out of the notch, as the case thickness occupies some of the gap that usually exists when you click in the end of the pen, to take it out.
3.) Even though the battery life has been solid and is overall better than my S7 Edge, I've found it doesn't charge as quickly, which is strange because the Note 8 actually has a smaller capacity battery. I'm guessing they slowed down the re-charge rate slightly to prevent overheating. Mind you, I haven't tested any other charger beside the one the phone came in, or the built-in wireless charger in my car.
Aside from the Edge panel split screen combination apps (as discussed above), a few other cool things I've discovered;
1.) You can select to have an Edge optimisation panel, so a quick swipe to the edge of the screen gets you easy access to things like memory or battery clear, instant optimisation etc. Great if you care about battery life and so on.
2. ) Then there's also the screenshot functionality. Like with previous devices, you swipe to screenshot, or now hold down on the volume key + power button at the same time to take one.
Once you take a screenshot you have the option to press this arrow key so it continues to slide down the web page, essentially stitching together a longer screenshot of as much or as little of a page as you want.
But an awesome new addition is that when you view the screen capture in your gallery and click on it, you get a little "Go to Website" icon you can click, that will immediately load that exact webpage in your browser.
Now screen captures essentially act as cool bookmarks too.
3.) The fingerprint scanner is way more effective than face unlock or the iris scanner. It took literally a couple of minutes to acclimatise to it's positioning, and now I unlock the phone before I've even looked at it.
The great thing about it is that it registers 100% of the time, and touching it automatically unlocks the phone even from when the display is off. Because of the positioning, you wouldn't accidentally press it either, so it works out pretty well. Fingerprint unlock essentially saves that one extra click to the lock screen. One touch of the sensor and you're in, no need to go to the lock screen first. Also from the moment you touch the fingerprint sensor, it unlocks in less than a second, so it really is rapid.
I currently have my left and right fingerprint set to unlock, as well as face unlock and pattern unlock, so basically I'm covered on all bases.
4.) Bluetooth 5.0 allows you to connect to multiple bluetooth devices or speakers at the same time. This sounds gimmicky, but it's actually pretty useful.
This weekend I went around to friends and we played poker, games etc. Not only was I able to connect to multiple devices for a surround sound like experience, but it was super useful when playing games like Articulate and Speak Out. I had the timer sound synced to two bluetooth speakers, so despite super loud laughing in a room packed full of people, everyone could hear the timer clearly (essentially one BT speaker right beside each team).
----
Negatives.
1.) I dislike the fact that during Split Screen multitasking, the menu buttons don't hide away like they do in ordinary use. There is no option to make them dynamically invisible like you can normally. It's not the end of the world, but it does mean I'm losing a tiny bit of screen real estate unnecessarily at the bottom of the screen when split-screen multitasking.
2.) I basically don't have any fingernails and have a case on my phone, so sometimes it can be finicky to get the S-Pen out of the notch, as the case thickness occupies some of the gap that usually exists when you click in the end of the pen, to take it out.
3.) Even though the battery life has been solid and is overall better than my S7 Edge, I've found it doesn't charge as quickly, which is strange because the Note 8 actually has a smaller capacity battery. I'm guessing they slowed down the re-charge rate slightly to prevent overheating. Mind you, I haven't tested any other charger beside the one the phone came in, or the built-in wireless charger in my car.
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Life long iOS user looking for pointers on switching.
Interested in a Note 8 but wouldn't know where to start if I switched. All my stuff just works and from some of the reading I've done I'm a bit on edge at the thought of having to really dig into this device to get it up and running.
Any pointers or tips? Feel free to DM if this would derail the thread.
Interested in a Note 8 but wouldn't know where to start if I switched. All my stuff just works and from some of the reading I've done I'm a bit on edge at the thought of having to really dig into this device to get it up and running.
Any pointers or tips? Feel free to DM if this would derail the thread.