Thinking about getting a new phone

[Dmeade-]

7 hours ago, abenjami said:

Last time I was considering this, I went and played with the Samsung Edge and the S7 in the store.  I found them to be somewhat similar to the iPhone in the grand scheme of things.

The reason I stayed iPhone was battery life (lol).  Everyone said the battery life was much better on the iPhones than the Andriod models I was considering at the time.

If you are going to play with a phone, go check out the Pixel.  I am pretty confident the Pixel 2 will be my next phone when it comes out.

Id probably get the pixel 2 as well but don't want to wait that long.

http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s8-vs-google-pixel-760668/

[TampaTitan]

I think the Pixel 2 is going to be awesome, but as of right now the S8 is the clear winner amongst Android. The G6 competes but falls short in a number of areas. I just upgraded from the Galaxy S6 to the S8+. This is my 3rd Samsung phone as I had the S4 to begin. The S8+ is the most gorgeous phone I've ever seen in terms of sleekness, build quality, and screen. Battery life is great, I normally won't even need to charge it until the next morning on the way to work and even then I'm still around 60-65% battery life with moderate use before charge. I was going to wait until the iphone 8 came out and possibly make the switch, but I can honestly say that any time I've used someone else's even just briefly, I cannot learn to love iOS. It just isn't for me. I also prefer the endless customization options that Android offers, as well as the ability to download and manage music outside of iTunes/apple music. Someone else mentioned it, but even something as small as having LED notifications is a big deal to me when I get a text or email, etc.

I'm not an Apple hater by any means, I used to be, I just know what I prefer in a phone and Android checks more of those boxes for me personally. You can't lose with either one these days though.

[TampaTitan]

13 hours ago, patsplat said:

Replaced an iPhone 6

- Fewer games, which doesn't matter since my health goal is to commute via bike every day instead of sitting on a train.

- iOS messaging is better.  But at least now I get the point of FB Messenger.

- Better notifications.  iOS notifications stink.  Android notifications are awesome.

- Better unlocking.  The fingerprint sensor belongs on the back of the phone.

- Worse call quality.  This is because Project Fi prefers VOIP over WiFi over cellular.  Am not used to where my access points are yet.

- Far cheaper bill.  By about $50.

The biggest difference is really just gaming, but that's not a priority.  If I want to get fat I'll buy a Switch.

Do you use the stock messaging app? I switched to an app called Textra a couple of years ago and will never go back. I highly recommend checking it out. It's just as fast as iMessage, especially from android to android, and extremely customizable.

[CaliTitan3518]

9 hours ago, abenjami said:

 

If you are going to play with a phone, go check out the Pixel.  I am pretty confident the Pixel 2 will be my next phone when it comes out.

You say this now. Just wait until the iPhone 8 comes out. I prefer iPhones mainly because every electronic I have is Apple (iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and watch). I'm not an apple lover by any means. Every one of them was gifted to me. The compatibility is the main reason I won't be leaving the iPhone. 

[Dmeade-]

@patsplat can you elaborate a little more on how the voice calls are worse on the galaxy? I'm familiar with voip systems for office use, but you went way over my head when talking about it with cellular.

[pat]

Once I started using Spotify all loyalty to Apple went the window.

@TampaTitan thanks for the tip!

[abenjami]

21 minutes ago, CaliTitan3518 said:

You say this now. Just wait until the iPhone 8 comes out. I prefer iPhones mainly because every electronic I have is Apple (iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and watch). I'm not an apple lover by any means. Every one of them was gifted to me. The compatibility is the main reason I won't be leaving the iPhone. 

Dude I hate to break this to you, but if you have an Apple watch, you are an Apple lover.  Come out the closet!

[pat]

9 minutes ago, Dmeade- said:

@patsplat can you elaborate a little more on how the voice calls are worse on the galaxy? I'm familiar with voip systems for office use, but you went way over my head when talking about it with cellular.

I dumped Verizon for Google Project Fi.

Google Project Fi charges ~ $20 for line access then $10 / GB of data per month.  Pay for what you use, no penalty for overage charges.  They lease capacity from Sprint and T-Mobile.

Plus!  The dialer is setup to prefer using VOIP if wifi is available.  Thus you use less data.

My bill went from $135 to $117 / month, and that's straight service charges from Verizon vs service charges and a payment plan for the Pixel XL.  I could have gone for a cheaper Nexus 6 which is also a great device but I use those all the time at work so wanted something different.

Edited May 10, 2017 by patsplat

[Dmeade-]

2 minutes ago, patsplat said:

I dumped Verizon for Google Project Fi.

Google Project Fi charges ~ $30 for line access then $10 / GB per month.  Pay for what you use, no penalty for overage charges.  They lease capacity from Sprint and T-Mobile.

Plus!  The dialer is setup to prefer using VOIP if wifi is available.  Thus you use less data.

My bill went from $135 to $117 / month, and that's straight service charges from Verizon vs service charges and a payment plan for the Pixel XL.  I could have gone for a cheaper Nexus 6 which is also a great device but I use those all the time at work so wanted something different.

Ok gotcha. I'm with att but also considering switching to Verizon, so this doesn't effect me.

[CaliTitan3518]

1 minute ago, abenjami said:

Dude I hate to break this to you, but if you have an Apple watch, you are an Apple lover.  Come out the closet!

Haha it was a gift. I actually hate it and rarely wear it. I always feel like I'm going to hit it on something and break it. My wife's boss has a daughter that worked for Apple and before she quit hooked everyone up with watches. My iPhone is the only Apple product I have paid for. 

Before I got my watch I went into Apple to get my screen replaced on my iPhone. The sales guy was trying to sell me on an Apple Watch while I was waiting. I expressed my concern that it would be easy to break. He said he had the exact same concern so he never got one until he started working there. He then lifted up his sleeve and told me it was his 3rd one because he keeps cracking the screen. So their great floor salesman sold me on not buying one ever. 

[Starkiller]

51 minutes ago, abenjami said:

Dude I hate to break this to you, but if you have an Apple watch, you are an Apple lover.  Come out the closet!

That's dumb. It's no different than saying anyone with any other variety of smart watch is an Android fanboy.

By all accounts, the Apple Watch is the best smart watch on the market. I think the whole product category is silly at this point but you don't need to be a fanboy to own one. I don't care about a fitness tracker or getting notifications on my wrist, but some people want that. And for iPhone owners, the Apple Watch is the only real option.

[abenjami]

2 minutes ago, Starkiller said:

That's dumb. It's no different than saying anyone with any other variety of smart watch is an Android fanboy.

By all accounts, the Apple Watch is the best smart watch on the market. I think the whole product category is silly at this point but you don't need to be a fanboy to own one. I don't care about a fitness tracker or getting notifications on my wrist, but some people want that. And for iPhone owners, the Apple Watch is the only real option.

It was a joke but yeah I agree the whole product category is silly.

[Starkiller]

If Apple can make it into a real medical device (diabetes/heart/whatever monitor) then I think it will be a huge product. 

But for now you just can't do much with a computer accessory on your wrist until it has more battery life.

[CaliTitan3518]

2 hours ago, Starkiller said:

If Apple can make it into a real medical device (diabetes/heart/whatever monitor) then I think it will be a huge product. 

But for now you just can't do much with a computer accessory on your wrist until it has more battery life.

The battery life is terrible. I kept forgetting to charge it at night and I'm not going to wear a watch that doesn't work lol. I go to the gym late at night and it would often die while I was at the gym. My wife got a charging dock for hers which is nice because she just takes it off and puts it on the dock. The normal charging cord is a magnet and if it wasn't positioned the right way it wouldnt charge. 

Back to phones though. I'm waiting for the iPhone 8. It's the 10 year anniversary so reports are that it's suppose to awesome.

http://bgr.com/2017/05/10/iphone-8-design-3d-video-render/

[wiscotitansfan]

18 hours ago, Dmeade- said:

Also anyone one has recently left iPhone, what's it like post Apple?

I always jump back and forth. The only redeeming quality about apple is the OS and the app store imo.

I usually switch every other time or so but I constantly find myself wanting to go back to apple, only to get pissed off at the shitty memory and even worse battery life that comes with them. I then go back to android only to get annoyed with minor OS inconveniences while never utilizing the extra space I have access to.

 

If you are looking for gripes, they are to be had with every single thing about both. IMO it's really about what hardware works best for you and what size phone you are looking to keep in your pocket.