I’m having a first world style crisis today because I think I want to go back to Android. Am I crazy? Well yeah, that’s been established before now. But let me back up a bit…
If you’ve been following along at home, you’ll remember that after years of using an Android smartphone, I recently switched to an iPhone 7 Plus. That was back on July 1st and every thing has been running smoothly for the past two and a half months.
Then on Tuesday, I left work early to go home to watch the Apple event and afterward, I was all set to pre-order an iPhone X in October. But that may have changed because yesterday Verizon Wireless sent me a Samsung Galaxy Note8 loaner for review. I reviewed the Samsung Galaxy S8 back in June and liked it quite a bit, but not enough to buy one for myself. So I wasn’t all that excited about the Note8 and didn’t even open the box last night until it was time to go to bed. I plugged it into the charger with plans to take it to work today to set it up.
So I get to work today and finally take the time to power it on and it was like I heard the angel’s sing as soon as I saw that gorgeous white on black display. Wait, what?! That’s right, what made my gadget trigger flip was seeing the always-on display showing the time of day. I forgot just how much I missed that feature.
Of course, when I unlocked the phone and saw the vivid home screen with the weather widget and icons that can be moved around where ever I want with spaces in between. That’s when I started feeling a little unsure about my switch to iOS. Then I set up face unlock. No, Apple did not invent this feature.
Then I set up face unlock. No, Apple did not invent this feature… I don’t remember testing this on the S8, but after Tuesday’s event, I wanted to see how well it worked. Let me tell you, that it works flawlessly. Fingerprint scanner unlocker, you’re dead to me now. Yes, folks, it’s always the little things that make a difference with me.
So now what do I do? I’m feeling a very strong tug to go back to Android. Must…resist… at least until I get a chance to check out iOS 11 next week. But having said that, I currently making goo goo eyes at the Note8.
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“plugged it into the charger?” Surely you have a bunch of Qi pads lying around by now….
Believe it or not, I only have one in the house right now. I had 2 TYLN chargers and gave one to a friend at work thinking I didn’t need two… The other one is on my night stand. I use it as a stand for the iPhone 7 Plus at night. I unplugged it since it doesn’t do anything for the iPhone. I was too tired to crawl around last night to plug it back in, so I just went old school to charge the Note8.
Whaaaaa!?!? Julie’s phone choice: the best drama not televised!
Ha! That would be as interesting to watch as a ping pong match because I’m so back and forth 😉
Words cannot express how much self-loathing we Xperia fanatics have for ourselves. All four of us are in a tizzy because the Xperia XZ1 costs about the same as an iPhone X but the aesthetics are as old as Methuselah. We haven’t seen any innovation in the screens since iPhone was a sparkle in Steve’s eyes.
When will our period of “Omni-balance” screens end?
I caught myself looking at the iPhone X. It might be my next purchase after the iPhone 4 paper weight I carry around. I just want to see what how revolutionary it is. Does it create a new design paradigm like the “iPhone 4 glass sandwich” did?
You are going to have to give more details about how you feel about the phone as you use it more. I had a Note 5 for a couple of years before I went to the Google Pixel XL. I just got tired of all of the phone provider bloatware and even some of the Samsung apps that I did not want to use staying on the phone. Yes, I know I can disable them, but I want them gone. I actually had an unlocked Note 8 on preorder, but ended up cancelling it when I had an unexpected expense pop up (yay new bicycle!). So now I am waiting to see what the new Google Pixel 2 will look like. I really want to go back to wireless charging. My new Tacoma actually has a built in wireless charging pad!
I have also had a few issues with the Pixel. I am on my second phone because my original just stopped working as an actual phone. I could not hear anyone when I made a call. The bluetooth is actually a bit flakey with it. I do however love having a clean interface and I would miss the ‘OK Google’ interface if I went back to Samsung. You will have to let me know if it is possible to put it back on the phone or if you are stuck with Bixby. Oh the decisions!
I’ll try to cover all your questions as I start using it. I am going to do a daily usage / impression diary type of review this time and hope to start posting later today so stay tuned!
I am curious to see your review, as I have been using mine for about 3 days. I forgot how much I missed the curved edge menus, I broke my Note edge, and went back to a note 4 for the last 2 years. Now, I have the phone I want and it is so far is awesome, as a work phone. It won’t make me go out and buy a second one for my personal, which is a Mate 9, but it is darn good.
I don’t know why everyone hates the fingerprint scanner on the s8 or even the Note 8. Yes being next to the camera was not a good idea on the s8, but I have the s8+ and it works great. I use my left hand index finger so when I picked up the phone my finger hits the sensor perfectly. Its faster than the iris sometimes. I picked the phone while it’s locked, rest my finger on the sensor and instantly it’s unlocked. I would say 1 out of 60 times I don’t get my finger on the sensor just right and it doesn’t pick it up. And you can be slick about it when using Samsung Pay so you don’t look weird staring at your phone (LOL)
You are lucky. I’m jealous. My hate for fingerprint scanners is not focused only on the Note 8. I have trouble with fingerprint scanners on every phone I’ve ever tried. They usually work 50% of the time for me.