Lenny Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 Hi all, I'm looking at upgrading my phone as the existing one is starting to fail on me; the back button "↩" no longer works and the whole thing freezes up at times, but it's six years old now and has served me extremely well. I'm now looking at an upgrade and plan on purchasing either the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge or S8 Plus and I'm interested to know is there much difference between them and does anybody have either model; what are they like to use; advantages aswell as disadvantages. I'll take all opinions on board aswell as post my own review when I finally decide on which model aswell. I've recently bought my wife a Galaxy J5 and it' pretty good but I don't want to get identical as there likely to get mixed up. Thanks very much 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke4efc Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 The s8 looks and performs amazingly, just a shame they put the fingerprint sensor on the back. The s7 wasn't that much of an upgrade from the s6 (which is what I've had for the past 3 years). The s6 was actually samsungs biggest jump in a while, but the s4 wasn't much worse than the s5 etc. Thought about the OnePlus 5t? There's a lot of chinese phones flooding the market currently, the Xiaomi Mi Mix2 seems like the next flagship killer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonro2009 Posted November 19, 2017 Share Posted November 19, 2017 I have the S7edge, I got it 2 days before general release and it’s done me proud. It’s a decent size and it’s a sleek phone, it’s pretty intuitive and very customisable and of course has expandable memory. The quality of the picture and colours is excellent and I find the camera as good as any small digital camera. The OS is good and I can’t fault its connectivity. It connects well to the Sync and Sync2 for calls and streaming music via BT using the Spotify app. The quadcore processor is quick enough to handle everyday use and out of the box there is no lag. With a big screen comes a big footprint so it does take up a lot of space in your pocket and on your desk, I don’t use the ‘edge’ panels/menus but I like the smooth fluid look of the screen especially when I’m watching a video. Being sleek is not always an advantage, it feels too light in your hand and there is nothing to get a grip of so to me it always felt like a second away from falling out my hand. It has to have a case IMO and being the Edge there are no decent gorilla glass screen covers so I use a wallet type case from Tech21 which has a lifetime guarantee even for general wear and tear (tried and tested by me lol). I don’t like the touchwiz launcher so I use Nova. The battery is just starting to lose its charge quicker than it used to but I haven’t looked at why, it could be an app draining it. My mum and Dad both have the S8+ and say the launcher is much improved, it’s lightening fast, customisable and is unrivalled by the competition. They share my thoughts about feeling like you can drop it easily and they dislike the scanner where it is as your finger doesn’t come to a natural rest on it. My dad also really likes Bixby and says that feature has many possibilities. As a little experiment I decided to test out the claims regarding it being waterproof, I took a video while holding it under running water and then got brave and took a video while holding it under water for 30sec and it worked perfectly, thank goodness! My S7 is up for change soon and would I go for the S8? Yes! I use it for business and pleasure and it mixes the two seamlessly. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 I was looking at the S7 (not the edge) as the prices have gone low now to buy but the one big thing with me is the battery life,i don't use it a lot at all. No games/music just the open a app a few times a day like news/facebook etc,is the battery good on the S7 or is the S6 just as good. I aint a person who likes a lot bigger than the 5'' screen but the S8 looks an amazing phone and reviews looks spot on. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted November 20, 2017 Share Posted November 20, 2017 I've had an S7 for nearly 2 years and it's served me flawlessly.I used to keep it in protective cases (Otterbox and Griffin) but found them a swine to find pouches for.I just use a silicone case now, easier to fit in pouches and protects the phone just fine.Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 19 hours ago, Stoney871 said: I've had an S7 for nearly 2 years and it's served me flawlessly. I used to keep it in protective cases (Otterbox and Griffin) but found them a swine to find pouches for. I just use a silicone case now, easier to fit in pouches and protects the phone just fine. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk How was you battery like with not a lot of use,say 2 calls a day a few app reading like news/facebook then turn off at 8 on the night. Would i get 2 days,wasyour the normal s7 (not the edge). Lenny i would go for the S8 as some of the reviews on that are amazing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoney871 Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Must admit I use the phone a lot so charged when in bed daily/nightly.Standard S7.Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToXIcG Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 My S7 has served me well too, my only gripe with it is that my battery seems to be terrible these days but I feel thats because I have charged it too much using the fast charger that came with it (as in charged it when I really didnt need to because it wasnt that low but did anyway and ive heard always fast charging doesn't do it any good) I will probably look into upgrading the S8 sometime soon, the screen is amazing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonro2009 Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I have the s7 edge @jace1969 and I am quite a heavy user, I tend to get about 12hours from my battery. A typical day would be; 90m of streaming Spotify via bluetooth to my car, about 1hr using apps - fb, Twitter, bbc news, about 30m writing/reading emails, taking 10m of video and 15pics. bluetooth, Wi-fi and location always running and about 6hrs as a personal hotspot. I also make about 30m of calls, and my phone backs up to one drive after every picture, video and email. So, like I said I’m a heavy user lol. In work I will have the phone sat on my wireless charger which, is truly one of the best features. @Lenny I’m quite into my tech and gadgets etc so if I had the choice, and I’d never had the S7 then I would go for the s8 every time. I just don’t see the point in buying ‘old’ technology when there is an updated version out there. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nath87 Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 I have the S8+ and cannot fault it. The finger print sensor is nothing to worry about if you have it set up so you only have to look at it to unlock it. If you're due an upgrade might aswell go all out with S8+. just be careful not to drop it as with all smartphones the screens are delicate as i've found out. Awesome camera on it too...these smartphones are getting a lot similar to Entry level SLR's it's perfect 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzman600 Posted November 21, 2017 Share Posted November 21, 2017 Why don't you consider the Galaxy note 4? Still available new and has so much that I doubt anyone can use all it can do. battery life on my 2yr old is superb. 8hrs spotify in my truck. 1hr webbing when on break. 1hr playing pool. Lots of texting and phone calls and it lasts all day.Screen 2nd to none as is the camera. It's a proper little computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 Just got me S7 and amazing phone in all ways. I was very tempted to get the S8 but prices a bit high yet,a lot better than my iPhone 6s,i done like a phone much over 5'' screen size. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted November 27, 2017 Author Share Posted November 27, 2017 Thanks for all the response so far guy's I really appreciate it, I have a bit of info now to add myself; On 11/19/2017 at 9:51 PM, Jonro2009 said: I have the S7edge, I got it 2 days before general release and it’s done me proud. It’s a decent size and it’s a sleek phone, it’s pretty intuitive and very customisable and of course has expandable memory. The quality of the picture and colours is excellent and I find the camera as good as any small digital camera. The OS is good and I can’t fault its connectivity. It connects well to the Sync and Sync2 for calls and streaming music via BT using the Spotify app. The quadcore processor is quick enough to handle everyday use and out of the box there is no lag. With a big screen comes a big footprint so it does take up a lot of space in your pocket and on your desk, I don’t use the ‘edge’ panels/menus but I like the smooth fluid look of the screen especially when I’m watching a video. My mum and Dad both have the S8+ and say the launcher is much improved, it’s lightening fast, customisable and is unrivalled by the competition. They share my thoughts about feeling like you can drop it easily and they dislike the scanner where it is as your finger doesn’t come to a natural rest on it. My dad also really likes Bixby and says that feature has many possibilities. As a little experiment I decided to test out the claims regarding it being waterproof, I took a video while holding it under running water and then got brave and took a video while holding it under water for 30sec and it worked perfectly, thank goodness! I went to the local CarPhoneWarehouse to have a look at the disply models for both the S8 and S8+ Before holding the actual models in my hand I was planning to purchase the S8+ but after seeing them in reality I'll be going for the S8 as the plus model is almost as tall as a pint glass 😯 and would be even bigger with a case to protect it, I'm forever in blue jeans kinda fella and would struggle to fit it in my pocket although it may impress some of the mothers during the school run 😁 it's only my phone. I've also looked at reviews and discovered the only differences between the S8 and the S8+ is that the S8+ has a bigger screen and a 500mah more battery, everything else is identical on both models and experts suggest the bigger screen will use that extra bit battery so essentially there both the same just 1" inch bigger. I wasn't aware that there waterproof I won't be intentionally testing that feature 😅 I would like to have a phone with a good camera as we have three kids growing up fast and I've just put an assortment of picture frames around the house which need to be filled, Ideal to have a good quality camera always at the ready. I wasn't aware the edge of the screen had a tab feature I always thought it was just more screen. On 11/20/2017 at 11:47 AM, Stoney871 said: I've had an S7 for nearly 2 years and it's served me flawlessly. I used to keep it in protective cases (Otterbox and Griffin) but found them a swine to find pouches for. I just use a silicone case now, easier to fit in pouches and protects the phone just fine. I've been looking at those OtterBox cases and they look fantastic but the price is a bit high. Yet I think I'll go for one of them as our son likes to watch YouTube "put diggie's on your phone there dad" JCB's and tractors 😅 On 11/21/2017 at 2:45 PM, Jonro2009 said: @Lenny I’m quite into my tech and gadgets etc so if I had the choice, and I’d never had the S7 then I would go for the s8 every time. I just don’t see the point in buying ‘old’ technology when there is an updated version out there. Last Thursday I made my first attempt to purchase the S8, I'm currently with VirginMedia for TV and Internet and it made sence to add the phone to the same contract, The first reason they wouldn't let me purchase was because this month's bill was outstanding although it's setup for direct debit😞 they can take it themselves WTF. So I manually paid the bill, then they say it takes up to 48hrs for payment to display on the account. Friday they took payment for the bill via direct debit 😂 so there paid twice now It was Saturday when payment finally appeared on the account, I then attempted to purchase the S8 for €150 upfront and they then said I need to email them photo ID and proof of address, Done that and Saturday night they came back to say they want €500 upfront for the phone but the monthly payment would be less. The cowboys already charged me twice for November and kept me waiting two days, now they want four times more for the phone, So I scrapped that purchase plan and feeling quite deflated I had a few drinks Saturday night as ive not bought myself anything all year been working 6 days per week since Christmas putting all funds in to living and improving the house. I then logged on to one of there competitors websites and found they had a Black Friday weekend Sale 🙌 Between the alcohol and the excitement I acidently signed up for the S7 for €1 😣 I ment to get the S8 😢 so i logged on again and signed up for the S8 at an initil cost of €120🙌 I've gotta call them today and cancel the S7 under the Terms & Conditions there's a 14 day cooling off period where you can cancel the contract so it should be fine 😥 They didn't give me any hassle like VirginMedia accepted I.D and payment straight away no issues atall. I now plan to purchase an OtterBox case after the phone arrives. I'll update soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted November 27, 2017 Author Share Posted November 27, 2017 On 11/21/2017 at 3:19 PM, tazzman600 said: Why don't you consider the Galaxy note 4? Still available new and has so much that I doubt anyone can use all it can do. Battery life on my 2yr old is superb. 8hrs spotify in my truck. 1hr webbing when on break. 1hr playing pool. Lots of texting and phone calls and it lasts all day. Screen 2nd to none as is the camera. It's a proper little computer. It seems a bit big for me and there €200 more expensive on billpay than the S8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 4 hours ago, Lenny said: Thanks for all the response so far guy's I really appreciate it, I have a bit of info now to add myself; I went to the local CarPhoneWarehouse to have a look at the disply models for both the S8 and S8+ Before holding the actual models in my hand I was planning to purchase the S8+ but after seeing them in reality I'll be going for the S8 as the plus model is almost as tall as a pint glass 😯 and would be even bigger with a case to protect it, I'm forever in blue jeans kinda fella and would struggle to fit it in my pocket although it may impress some of the mothers during the school run 😁 it's only my phone. I've also looked at reviews and discovered the only differences between the S8 and the S8+ is that the S8+ has a bigger screen and a 500mah more battery, everything else is identical on both models and experts suggest the bigger screen will use that extra bit battery so essentially there both the same just 1" inch bigger. I wasn't aware that there waterproof I won't be intentionally testing that feature 😅 I would like to have a phone with a good camera as we have three kids growing up fast and I've just put an assortment of picture frames around the house which need to be filled, Ideal to have a good quality camera always at the ready. I wasn't aware the edge of the screen had a tab feature I always thought it was just more screen. I've been looking at those OtterBox cases and they look fantastic but the price is a bit high. Yet I think I'll go for one of them as our son likes to watch YouTube "put diggie's on your phone there dad" JCB's and tractors 😅 Last Thursday I made my first attempt to purchase the S8, I'm currently with VirginMedia for TV and Internet and it made sence to add the phone to the same contract, The first reason they wouldn't let me purchase was because this month's bill was outstanding although it's setup for direct debit😞 they can take it themselves WTF. So I manually paid the bill, then they say it takes up to 48hrs for payment to display on the account. Friday they took payment for the bill via direct debit 😂 so there paid twice now It was Saturday when payment finally appeared on the account, I then attempted to purchase the S8 for €150 upfront and they then said I need to email them photo ID and proof of address, Done that and Saturday night they came back to say they want €500 upfront for the phone but the monthly payment would be less. The cowboys already charged me twice for November and kept me waiting two days, now they want four times more for the phone, So I scrapped that purchase plan and feeling quite deflated I had a few drinks Saturday night as ive not bought myself anything all year been working 6 days per week since Christmas putting all funds in to living and improving the house. I then logged on to one of there competitors websites and found they had a Black Friday weekend Sale 🙌 Between the alcohol and the excitement I acidently signed up for the S7 for €1 😣 I ment to get the S8 😢 so i logged on again and signed up for the S8 at an initil cost of €120🙌 I've gotta call them today and cancel the S7 under the Terms & Conditions there's a 14 day cooling off period where you can cancel the contract so it should be fine 😥 They didn't give me any hassle like VirginMedia accepted I.D and payment straight away no issues atall. I now plan to purchase an OtterBox case after the phone arrives. I'l update soon Well done mate and the s8 is a great phone,i went mainly for the s7 as new to Android so a starting point and i also read so many reviews. Enjoy and have fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted November 27, 2017 Author Share Posted November 27, 2017 2 minutes ago, jace1969 said: Well done mate and the s8 is a great phone,i went mainly for the s7 as new to Android so a starting point and i also read so many reviews. Enjoy and have fun. Thank mate, My Wife had an iPhone 5s few years ago, she had difficulty when changing back to Android a few years later regarding images of our children from birth to few years older which the iPhone had automatically stored on "the cloud" almost impossible to transfer. Much easier with Android just use a micro SD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 On 11/21/2017 at 8:39 AM, Stoney871 said: Must admit I use the phone a lot so charged when in bed daily/nightly. Standard S7. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk Hi,i have updated the firmware on the s7 but how you set the contact favorites now as no star,i have tried everything. Its the nougat firmware,i have a few in but want to add more. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMissGemx Posted November 27, 2017 Share Posted November 27, 2017 I've got an S8 and whilst it's a great phone.. I'm on my 3rd and only got the contract out in July! The camera on it is mint. The most common problem on them is the camera going blurry. Here's a couple of pics i've taken on mine, the third pic is when it's having a bad day. Literally just shake it and it works again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonro2009 Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 Congrats on getting a great phone! As I said in one of my comments, make sure you look into using Bixby to its full potential. Apparently it’s a little like Tasker but less messy. You can set it up so that you tell Bixby you are at work and it will automatically put the phone on silent, turn off bluetooth and Wi-fi and open your music app (just an example but it can do all that off one command) you can do similar when you say “Bixby, I’m in the car” - it will turn on bluetooth, turn off Wi-fi and start Spotify and Waze. Pretty clever bit of kit. Don’t forget to set the camera to open when you double press the home key, then no matter where you are and what you’re doing (even if the phone is locked) you can access your camera and take a photo in seconds. I don’t know how but the camera takes a photo, plus the 1 second before it so if your subject blinks or stops smiling just as you press the button then all you do is ‘rewind’ the photo and take a screenshot of the smile or pre blink.@jace1969 I have the S7e running the latest updates etc. If you open up the contact you want you should see either the assigned picture or a band of colour covering the top quarter of the screen. On the right hand side of that pic/colour at the bottom there should be a star. It will be a dark colour so you might miss it if you don’t know it’s there, find it and press it. It will turn yellow and that’s the contact now a favourite Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 3 hours ago, Jonro2009 said: Congrats on getting a great phone! As I said in one of my comments, make sure you look into using Bixby to its full potential. Apparently it’s a little like Tasker but less messy. You can set it up so that you tell Bixby you are at work and it will automatically put the phone on silent, turn off Bluetooth and Wi-fi and open your music app (just an example but it can do all that off one command) you can do similar when you say “Bixby, I’m in the car” - it will turn on Bluetooth, turn off Wi-fi and start Spotify and Waze. Pretty clever bit of kit. Don’t forget to set the camera to open when you double press the home key, then no matter where you are and what you’re doing (even if the phone is locked) you can access your camera and take a photo in seconds. I don’t know how but the camera takes a photo, plus the 1 second before it so if your subject blinks or stops smiling just as you press the button then all you do is ‘rewind’ the photo and take a screenshot of the smile or pre blink.@jace1969 I have the S7e running the latest updates etc. If you open up the contact you want you should see either the assigned picture or a band of colour covering the top quarter of the screen. On the right hand side of that pic/colour at the bottom there should be a star. It will be a dark colour so you might miss it if you don’t know it’s there, find it and press it. It will turn yellow and that’s the contact now a favourite Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Hi no i have no star there,if say i press my orange contact folder and go over the name i want to add i have a small drop down (message/phone/details) press on details and get the name and as you said the band of color with name on the left but no star in the band of color,i don't know if i have some setting turned off of something. ....Also the camera on this S7 is amazing so the S8 is better that a lot of top range camera i would of thought,S7 and S8 have 5 star on the camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 9 hours ago, xMissGemx said: I've got an S8 and whilst it's a great phone.. I'm on my 3rd and only got the contract out in July! The camera on it is mint. The most common problem on them is the camera going blurry. Here's a couple of pics i've taken on mine, the third pic is when it's having a bad day. Literally just shake it and it works again. my wifes old Galaxy J3 (2016 model) used to do that aswell. Is that Kes in the photo from BoSelecta? 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenny Posted November 28, 2017 Author Share Posted November 28, 2017 4 hours ago, Jonro2009 said: Congrats on getting a great phone! As I said in one of my comments, make sure you look into using Bixby to its full potential. Apparently it’s a little like Tasker but less messy. You can set it up so that you tell Bixby you are at work and it will automatically put the phone on silent, turn off Bluetooth and Wi-fi and open your music app (just an example but it can do all that off one command) you can do similar when you say “Bixby, I’m in the car” - it will turn on Bluetooth, turn off Wi-fi and start Spotify and Waze. Pretty clever bit of kit. Don’t forget to set the camera to open when you double press the home key, then no matter where you are and what you’re doing (even if the phone is locked) you can access your camera and take a photo in seconds. I don’t know how but the camera takes a photo, plus the 1 second before it so if your subject blinks or stops smiling just as you press the button then all you do is ‘rewind’ the photo and take a screenshot of the smile or pre blink. That Bixby feature sounds excellent, I'm always getting in to the car then turning on bluetooth and spotify then turning bluetooth volume up full and acknowledging the volume warning; prior to driving anywhere 😅 would be ideal if it did all that itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jace1969 Posted November 28, 2017 Share Posted November 28, 2017 The detail in this is amazing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xMissGemx Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 On 28/11/2017 at 5:24 AM, Lenny said: my wifes old Galaxy J3 (2016 model) used to do that aswell. Is that Kes in the photo from BoSelecta? 😅 No idea what BoSelecta is lol, but it's not a Kestrel, I can't remember what it is though hah. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 On 11/27/2017 at 12:37 PM, Lenny said: Thank mate, My Wife had an iPhone 5s few years ago, she had difficulty when changing back to Android a few years later regarding images of our children from birth to few years older which the iPhone had automatically stored on "the cloud" almost impossible to transfer. Much easier with Android just use a micro SD You can set your android phone to back up to Google Drive (photos and videos). It will allow unlimited storage of "High Quality" photos, they are still really good quality but doesn't eat your google drive storage. You can then get these at any computer/internet connected device by going to http://photos.google.com. and logging in with your google account linked to your phone. A life saver, especially when my phone decided to just bootloop - could not access it at all - but all but the last hours photos were safe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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