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My comparison betwen the S4 and Nexus 5

This is just my opinion, with a couple hours of hands on with the Nexus 5, compared to my S4. I am not starting a flame war, or saying one is way better than the other, just my thoughts between these two great phone.
I have had my ATT S4 for a couple months now. And my brother just got his Nexus 5 this past week.
I dropped and broke my Nexus 4 back in September, and couldn't wait for the Nexus 5 release, so I find a killer deal at Best Buy for new S4's @ $49ea. Was bummed at first, I wouldn't be getting the new Nexus, and had to settle with just a plain Galaxy phone, but I am so happy now that I did.
Quick opinions;
- Screen; Maybe I am used to the Plasma deep blacks of my HDTV at home, but call me crazy, I actually like AMOLED, and love my S4 screen, the reds and blues just pop, and blacks are deep, and viewing angles are great. Where as the Nexus 5 looks washed out, with terrible viewing angles, just like my Nexus 4. I guess the bright whites on the N5 look better, that's about it.
- Performance; I know the benchmarks tell the story, the Snapdragon 800 blows the S4 out of the water. But in real world performance, using both phones side by side for two hours, I could barely tell a difference in speed, just messing around with the phone. But we both have Nova launcher installed, with same settings. I guess the N5 was a hair snappier, but honestly so hard to tell much of a real world difference.
- Battery life; My brother had the phone for maybe 5 days at that point, and he said battery life was ok. He said heavy use would drain the battery down pretty quick, but that standby time was excellent. He said on average was getting like 3.5h to 4h On Screen time. On my S4 I get 5.5h to 6h On Screen time, and my phone with extreme heavy nonstop use lasts 14 to 16 hours, and on light days goes 24+ hours easily. My S4 I know gets better battery life.
- Haptic Feedback; For some reason, I never really like the haptic feel on my Nexus 4, it felt strange compared to other phones I owned. Same feel with the N5, just a weird vibration or cheep rattle feel. My S4 feels more solid when vibrating or using haptic feedback.
- Build Quality; I know the Galaxy S4 is no Lexus, it's still all plastic, but even my Brother commented that the feel of my S4 felt more premium than his N5. He said the volume and power button on my S4 felt solid, and more machined accurately, with a better pressing feel. He said his N5 buttons felt very cheap.
- Bottom line; My Brother is coming from a Galaxy Nexus, and he said to quote "Going from the EVO 4G to Galaxy Nexus felt like a night and day massive upgrade, but going from the Galaxy Nexus to the Nexus 5 now, doesn't feel nearly as a big an upgrade" He likes the Nexus 5, but said it just doesn't totally wow him, or blow him away. He said the N5 is cool, he'll keep it, mainly due to the price, and he would never spend over $350 for an off contract phone anyways, so no way would he spend $650 on a flagship phone out of contract. He's on Straight Talk ATT with the N5 by the way.
- Vanilla Android vs TW; I am a big stock Nexus fan, I like pure Android the best. But on my S4, I am running Nova + Kit Kat icon pack, plus Wanam Xposed Framework, and several other rooted tweaks, so my phone doesn't even really like a TW device anymore. I really couldn't tell a massive difference OS wise between both phones.
IMO, I am happy with my Galaxy S4, and I am a big Nexus guy. After playing with my brother's N5, I wouldn't even do an even-Stephen trade for a brand new Nexus 5 over my two month old S4. I like my screen better, I have better battery life, plus i have gotten pretty used to the bottom middle button to press and turn the screen on, I really like that.
Oh well, this is just my opinion. I think the phone for me in 2014, will be a Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition, if they make one.

Zorachus said:
This is just my opinion, with a couple hours of hands on with the Nexus 5, compared to my S4. I am not starting a flame war, or saying one is way better than the other, just my thoughts between these two great phone.
I have had my ATT S4 for a couple months now. And my brother just got his Nexus 5 this past week.
I dropped and broke my Nexus 4 back in September, and couldn't wait for the Nexus 5 release, so I find a killer deal at Best Buy for new S4's @ $49ea. Was bummed at first, I wouldn't be getting the new Nexus, and had to settle with just a plain Galaxy phone, but I am so happy now that I did.
Quick opinions;
- Screen; Maybe I am used to the Plasma deep blacks of my HDTV at home, but call me crazy, I actually like AMOLED, and love my S4 screen, the reds and blues just pop, and blacks are deep, and viewing angles are great. Where as the Nexus 5 looks washed out, with terrible viewing angles, just like my Nexus 4. I guess the bright whites on the N5 look better, that's about it.
- Performance; I know the benchmarks tell the story, the Snapdragon 800 blows the S4 out of the water. But in real world performance, using both phones side by side for two hours, I could barely tell a difference in speed, just messing around with the phone. But we both have Nova launcher installed, with same settings. I guess the N5 was a hair snappier, but honestly so hard to tell much of a real world difference.
- Battery life; My brother had the phone for maybe 5 days at that point, and he said battery life was ok. He said heavy use would drain the battery down pretty quick, but that standby time was excellent. He said on average was getting like 3.5h to 4h On Screen time. On my S4 I get 5.5h to 6h On Screen time, and my phone with extreme heavy nonstop use lasts 14 to 16 hours, and on light days goes 24+ hours easily. My S4 I know gets better battery life.
- Haptic Feedback; For some reason, I never really like the haptic feel on my Nexus 4, it felt strange compared to other phones I owned. Same feel with the N5, just a weird vibration or cheep rattle feel. My S4 feels more solid when vibrating or using haptic feedback.
- Build Quality; I know the Galaxy S4 is no Lexus, it's still all plastic, but even my Brother commented that the feel of my S4 felt more premium than his N5. He said the volume and power button on my S4 felt solid, and more machined accurately, with a better pressing feel. He said his N5 buttons felt very cheap.
- Bottom line; My Brother is coming from a Galaxy Nexus, and he said to quote "Going from the EVO 4G to Galaxy Nexus felt like a night and day massive upgrade, but going from the Galaxy Nexus to the Nexus 5 now, doesn't feel nearly as a big an upgrade" He likes the Nexus 5, but said it just doesn't totally wow him, or blow him away. He said the N5 is cool, he'll keep it, mainly due to the price, and he would never spend over $350 for an off contract phone anyways, so no way would he spend $650 on a flagship phone out of contract. He's on Straight Talk ATT with the N5 by the way.
- Vanilla Android vs TW; I am a big stock Nexus fan, I like pure Android the best. But on my S4, I am running Nova + Kit Kat icon pack, plus Wanam Xposed Framework, and several other rooted tweaks, so my phone doesn't even really like a TW device anymore. I really couldn't tell a massive difference OS wise between both phones.
IMO, I am happy with my Galaxy S4, and I am a big Nexus guy. After playing with my brother's N5, I wouldn't even do an even-Stephen trade for a brand new Nexus 5 over my two month old S4. I like my screen better, I have better battery life, plus i have gotten pretty used to the bottom middle button to press and turn the screen on, I really like that.
Oh well, this is just my opinion. I think the phone for me in 2014, will be a Galaxy S5 Google Play Edition, if they make one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange
I hate touchwiz. I have had this phone 3 days and still tweaking to make it feel stock like my Nexus devices. I LOVE stock android. I have a MF3 GS4 so I cant ROM it and it annoys me a device that is as powerful as the N5 is still on 4.2 (ATT).
I honestly held both phones in the store and me and my GF both said the GS4 felt like flimsy paper next to the Nexus 5. The 5 just feels sturdier and like it has some sort of heft. Im worried having the GS4 in my pocket because bending my leg the wrong way puts pressure on it. Most Nexus devices feel strudy though. My Nexus7 is great and my Nexus S was a TANK!. My brother has gone through 3 GS4 screen and almost anyone else I know who has one has had their screen crack. I swear the image of the dandilion they use just LOOKS like a cracked screen so maybe its an omen.
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My S4 has decent battery now but I literally had to turn EVERYTHING off on it.
The bloatware on the S4 is CRAZY! Why do I need like 3 different movie and music players just because Samsung and ATT want to try and earn money from me using their store. Rooted the phone and froze all those apps out with Titanium.
Holding them side by side I liked the N5 screen better. Both being 5" I actually thought the N5 was smaller in hand until the rep corrected me. I personally prefer a smaller phone. Why have a phone 2/3 the size of my tablet? In the way of image, they seem the same to me.
I personally prefer a smaller phone.
I got the G4 because it was free and it would make a good backup device to have. My GF told me already she was getting me my N5 on Xmas.... Im just a nexus guy.

Thanks for your impressions between the two phones. Really helps my decision on considering getting rid of my S4 and switching to the N5.

The S4 and N5 weight the exact same at 130 grams. And size wise too, they are nearly identical. But I have a Spigen Neo Hybrid case on mine, adding more bulk and weight. I agree, without a case the S4 feels very light and wimpy.
Try Nova launcher with Kit Kat icon pack, and also install Wanam Xposed framework, both those will really allow some good tweaks, and make it look a lot different than stock TW.
Of course you need to be rooted. And with root, you can debloat this phone. I got rid of every ATT .apk, and a lot of Samsung crap I never use. By doing that, my battery life went up big time

Theoriginalgiga said:
Thanks for your impressions between the two phones. Really helps my decision on considering getting rid of my S4 and switching to the N5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not worth it IMO. The N5 is a side grade to the S4, not a massive upgrade by any means. I think the N5 has a lesser quality screen, and worse battery life than the S4.

Screenshot of my home screen;
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app

Zorachus said:
Not worth it IMO. The N5 is a side grade to the S4, not a massive upgrade by any means. I think the N5 has a lesser quality screen, and worse battery life than the S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What gets me is the locked bl of the S4. Back when I was able to run task650's rom I was getting .3% battery drop an hour in standby running 4 emails constantly pushing along with bunch of texting and a little game play. I'd average 20hrs with 3 to 4 hrs screen time which IMO wasn't bad at all. After I blew out the chip on that one (from it being on my dashboard from a 700 mile drive using it as GPS) I got a replacement with Mf3. Now I'm getting anywhere between 2.2% to 9% battery drain an hour with less than 2 hours screen time with the EXACT same setup and usage. By lunchtime I put the thing on the charger. Oh I've used TiBu and frozen 99% of all the bloatware, and it helped getting it down from 13% drain an hour. I want the ability to use custom ROMS as I feel the devs on XDA are miles ahead of any of the devs with sammy or any other company. I'm not a stickler for screens, so long as I can see it outside and I can read messages I'm fine. Now my brother on the other hand... he's special when it comes to what is screen looks like :laugh:. I'll check out the battery life on the N5, maybe find a custom ROM that'll get better battery life. Worst comes to it and I don't like the N5 I'll hang onto it for a few months and trade for the next latest gadget phone.
Thanks for your feedback!

I agree 100% on the locked bootlaoder. That really pisses me off, and almost made me sell my S4. But with Root, and Wanam Xposed framework + Nova Launcher, and other.apk's, I am very happy with my S4 now.
Yes The Nexus 5 is great with the freedom, and all the custom ROM's and Kernels, etc... To me that is a big selling point to a Nexus device.
But end of the day, I care about battery life #1, and a beautiful screen #2. My S4 is gets sick battery life, somewhat close to what my old Note 2 got, and from what I read here about the N5's battery life, my S4 blows it out of the water. And screen preference is subjective, but I like the 1080p AMOLED, compared to LG's IPS displays.
I also got a S4 for my Wife, and her battery life is great too, of course her phone is rooted, with ATT and Samsung .apk's deleted. She comes home after work with 14 hours of usage, and still has 70% battery life left, but with only like an hour or little more of On Screen time. Her phone sits on her desk at work, on the ATT network, no WiFi ever for her at her workplace, and she only loses like 30% over 12+ hours with light use.

yeah the MF3 lock screws the potential of this phone. Why is it still on 4.2 (mine) when its capable of running much more.... my guess is their bloatware isnt compatible with anything higher.
I use APEX launcher myself I just find it more stable in my past experiances.
I Think for the modding, updates, and sturdiness alone the N5 is actually a better phone and more of an upgrade IF you didnt pay for your GS4 and are stuck on MF3, if you paid money then off it and get teh N5

tevil said:
yeah the MF3 lock screws the potential of this phone. Why is it still on 4.2 (mine) when its capable of running much more.... my guess is their bloatware isnt compatible with anything higher.
I use APEX launcher myself I just find it more stable in my past experiances.
I Think for the modding, updates, and sturdiness alone the N5 is actually a better phone and more of an upgrade IF you didnt pay for your GS4 and are stuck on MF3, if you paid money then off it and get teh N5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well you can jump to 4.3 if you wanted to, but again the phone is locked down so you can't root or SS which makes it kinda useless IMO. As for launchers I use Nova Prime. I really like it and it isn't heavy at all.
Agreed, it's a fantastic device, with an unlocked BL this phone would still smoke the N5 hands down. Heck if I could trade my phone over to an MDL or MDM phone so I could reload a custom rom I'd do it and never think twice about the N5. But with the phone the way it is, it's only a little better than the Iphone. Heck that's where the button came from. If apple wouldn't have fought so hard about the button, the S4 wouldn't have one. I buy android to do what I want, how I want and if I can't do it, I want the ability to make it happen. With an android phone locked and bloated that just doesn't happen and IMO detracts from what Android stands for.
/rant

Theoriginalgiga said:
well you can jump to 4.3 if you wanted to, but again the phone is locked down so you can't root or SS which makes it kinda useless IMO. As for launchers I use Nova Prime. I really like it and it isn't heavy at all.
Agreed, it's a fantastic device, with an unlocked BL this phone would still smoke the N5 hands down. Heck if I could trade my phone over to an MDL or MDM phone so I could reload a custom rom I'd do it and never think twice about the N5. But with the phone the way it is, it's only a little better than the Iphone. Heck that's where the button came from. If apple wouldn't have fought so hard about the button, the S4 wouldn't have one. I buy android to do what I want, how I want and if I can't do it, I want the ability to make it happen. With an android phone locked and bloated that just doesn't happen and IMO detracts from what Android stands for.
/rant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hear you. The locked bootloader on the S4, and now the ATT Note 3 too, really sucks. Every Android phone I have owned, has been rooted, with customer Recovery on it, and ROM's flashed on it all day long. Now this S4 being locked down, is so alien to me, not being able to flash anything on it, I feel stuck, or like an iPhone without a Jailbreak.
Thank God for Root + Wanam Xposed Framework + Nova at least :good:
I blame ATT mainly for this BS. Samsung doesn't lock down other S4's or Note 3's. The International versions, and T-Mobile, and Sprint versions can all be unlocked easily. It's ATT pulling this crap.

The KitKat theme you're running - is it KitKat (Apex Nova Adw theme) by BLADEXDESIGNS?

Zorachus said:
I hear you. The locked bootloader on the S4, and now the ATT Note 3 too, really sucks. Every Android phone I have owned, has been rooted, with customer Recovery on it, and ROM's flashed on it all day long. Now this S4 being locked down, is so alien to me, not being able to flash anything on it, I feel stuck, or like an iPhone without a Jailbreak.
Thank God for Root + Wanam Xposed Framework + Nova at least :good:
I blame ATT mainly for this BS. Samsung doesn't lock down other S4's or Note 3's. The International versions, and T-Mobile, and Sprint versions can all be unlocked easily. It's ATT pulling this crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you're right that the AT&T phones have been the hardest to crack but rest assured that Samsung will pass these locked bootloader techniques to the rest of them. Samsung has been in so many patent wars with Apple, they're really starting to follow suit with them.
I do mainly blame AT&T as well. their whole fear of network insecurity and "wanting to ensure user's experience" is just bull. They don't know how to manage their network which causes these issues. But I don't lift any responsibility from Sammy either. If Samsung wanted to embrace the true vision of Android they'd follow HTC's model. HTC offers (at least they used to) a "developer" unlock for theirs device from their own website. Sure it would void the warranty, but so does any rooting (which is another rant for another day). I'm voting with my wallet from here on out, no more locked phones and no more Samsung phones until they offer them unlocked as well. And seriously the person who invented the Qfuse needs to be taken out back and beaten with a rubber hose lol.

Theoriginalgiga said:
you're right that the AT&T phones have been the hardest to crack but rest assured that Samsung will pass these locked bootloader techniques to the rest of them. Samsung has been in so many patent wars with Apple, they're really starting to follow suit with them.
I do mainly blame AT&T as well. their whole fear of network insecurity and "wanting to ensure user's experience" is just bull. They don't know how to manage their network which causes these issues. But I don't lift any responsibility from Sammy either. If Samsung wanted to embrace the true vision of Android they'd follow HTC's model. HTC offers (at least they used to) a "developer" unlock for theirs device from their own website. Sure it would void the warranty, but so does any rooting (which is another rant for another day). I'm voting with my wallet from here on out, no more locked phones and no more Samsung phones until they offer them unlocked as well. And seriously the person who invented the Qfuse needs to be taken out back and beaten with a rubber hose lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Next phone I buy sometime in 2014, I will really investigate first, to make sure it can be unlocked easily. But unfortunately, that means paying full price for a 'developer edition' or getting a Nexus phone. I don't see any contract phones being rootable out of the box in the future.
For sure the Galaxy S5 and Note 4, on ATT, will be locked down tight like a submarine, no custom recoveries on those phones. Maybe the upcoming HTC 1 will be unlocked ?
There are only three phones I am interested in 2014;
- Galaxy S5 = Feb / March release, but will be locked down
- HTC 1 = March release, maybe open bootloader ?
- Asus Nexus 6 = October release.

Please take this discussion here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2433789

Perplexed S8+/S7E

So a little background...I currently own a LG G4 and my Wife has a G5. Against better judgment my wife decided to ignore my suggestion to put her case back on her phone and of course she dropped it and shattered the screen. I am due for an upgrade and plan on giving her my G4 and I want to upgrade to either the S7 Edge or the new S8+. I was leaning for the S8+ because of the VR that you get for free but was wondering if the S7E would be a better option. I mostly play basic games, FB, and web surf on my phones, and my phone is usually my go to camera and with a baby on the way I want to make sure I have as good of one as I can get. I will use the VR quite a bit I think as long as there are some cool apps out there for it. So basically S8+ or S7E or is the S8 a better option?

Latest is greatest. Go for S8+ or S8. Better screen, bluetooth 5.0, better video card, 2 versions of android from 7 to 9, 64 gb internal etc.

You will most definitely enjoy the amazing S8+ screen if you consume a lot of media and surf the web, and of course VR is improved once again. The S8/S8+ camera is currently the best that there is in any phone, very good at low light, and takes detailed shots with excellent colors.
But you should definitely first try the S8 and S8+ in real life, especially when you have owned a smaller phone like the LG G4 before. I bought the plus version because I have the Galaxy S6 Edge+, and the width of the S8 plus version is almost the same, only a bit taller. The normal S8 is roughly the same size as your previous phone (the LG G4), but still packs a huge display, making it great for media consumption. Buying the normal S8 will only decrease the battery size by 15%, but will cost $100 less (at least where I live, buying the phone unlocked) and you can handle the phone with one hand, while having a huge display for media. Camera and performance are the exact same on both devices.
So, I suggest you to try the phones in real life to see if you like the S8 or the S8+ better, they are the very best that there are right now, and the best that there will be until August. :good:

You would quickly regret getting the s7e IMO. The note 7 spoiled me and the s7e isn't even comparable to it IMO. I'm hoping the s8+ has the same tech (minus exploding batteries) as the note 7.
If you want a s7e bad enough, I will sell you mine on the 21st.

I have never even seen a note 7. To me a stylus would be annoying and slow down using the phone. What were the best things about the note 7? Everyone raves about them hopefully the note 8 is cool

The S7 Edge is a great phone, have it now. May also be the last phone Samsung makes that comes with an unlockable bootloader, root and xposed. I have an S8+ coming but it will be swiftly exchanged for an S7 Edge if it arrives locked down to such an extent that I deem it not to be fundimentally android anymore...

Thanks for the replies. I also agree that if the S8 is locked down to that extent I don't see myself wanting to keep it. It's like buying a house and not being able to decorate it the way you want.

S8 sd835 will for sure be locked down, if I were you I would get the exynos s8. I currently have the s7e so the s8 isn't enticing to me, but if I had anything else I would definitely jump to s8, cameras between the two r basically identical

Shuthefrontdoor said:
S8 sd835 will for sure be locked down, if I were you I would get the exynos s8. I currently have the s7e so the s8 isn't enticing to me, but if I had anything else I would definitely jump to s8, cameras between the two r basically identical
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some are saying exynos to will be equally locked down if thats the case i will return it for the exynos S7 edge; which i have now and i must say, it is awesome! Xposed and root is pretty sweet!

johnwayne27 said:
I have never even seen a note 7. To me a stylus would be annoying and slow down using the phone. What were the best things about the note 7? Everyone raves about them hopefully the note 8 is cool
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The note 7 was just on a different level as far as smoothness/quickness. I'm not sure if it was the processor or just UI differences, but I never had any lag at all on it. I've now had 2 s7e's and they both lag or hesitate when doing simple stuff like pulling up samsung pay. With the note, all I did was swipe up and pay, and with the s7e I have to swipe up and wait for 1 or 2 seconds before the screen becomes responsive again. Its small things like that.

dumpyloser said:
The note 7 was just on a different level as far as smoothness/quickness. I'm not sure if it was the processor or just UI differences, but I never had any lag at all on it. I've now had 2 s7e's and they both lag or hesitate when doing simple stuff like pulling up samsung pay. With the note, all I did was swipe up and pay, and with the s7e I have to swipe up and wait for 1 or 2 seconds before the screen becomes responsive again. Its small things like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The note was on another level. The design was pretty much perfect. Synergies now in the s8 but the height might piss us all off more than we think. Time will tell.
But the note smoothness was real and I fear that we have fond memories of a phone we didn't have long enough for it to "SammySlow" like all their products do. It kills me but I'm gonna take another leap of faith again.
I love my pixel but it's also supremely boring. Had the note never failed I wouldn't have owned the pixel. It teaches you that Google is far superior in software and that pizzazz means a ton more than that to me I guess.
Sent from my Pixel XL using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I am actually considering canceling my S8+ pre-order and getting the S7 Edge mainly because I do NOT want Buzby, the text doesn't go all the way to the Edge on the S8 like it does on the 7 and of course, cheaper.

cantenna said:
Some are saying exynos to will be equally locked down ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Source?
I haven't heard that..
Edit:
This?
Quote:
Finally, the Exynos 8895 also includes what Samsung is calling an “enhanced security sub-system with a separate security processing unit” for use with user authentication, mobile payments, and the like. Based on Samsung’s description this sounds a heck of a lot like Apple’s Secure Enclave, which would be a very welcome development, as in Apple’s case it has made their phones a lot harder to break into.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11149/...-8895-soc-10nm

spent a couple years in iOS land wanting something different, came back to android for the Note 7. I have had every single note series phone except the note 5, lack of expandable storage ruined it for me (iphone at least had 128gb options)
Note 7 would survive me normal using it, from about 7am to 8-9pm at night and still have 20-25% battery left.
The S7E has been a real POS. Battery life sucks, the curved edge is steeper than the note 7 was and I get phantom touches out the ass that make using the phone a pain sometimes. Phones halffway dead for me by 11am, completely done in by 2pm. Have to then get it to a charger. I feel like I have to baby the phone.
I thought it was the fact the note 7 was on 7.0 and the S7E was on 6.X at the time. We have had 7.0 for a bit and surprise, phone still blows monkey chunks. Even after a factory reset.
I've seen some people luck out, but I've also seen a heavy mass of people have battery life issues. Even after a reset and installing 0 apps.
another thing, while I think about it, the Note 7 was just smooth, no matter how much you threw at it, it felt smooth. The S7E is laggy all the time. If I go in and clear out the ram it's alright for a short bit, then next thing I know it's back to total suck fest.
While I've been told the S7E works as intended, the ram for me is always 75-80% used even after being cleared and no apps running in the background. The note 7 when I had it was often at 40-45% and I don't think I ever saw it past 60%. To me, this is a real confusion and a problem and I assume a massive fault from Samsung in software between the S7E and Note 7.
All said, I cannot WAIT to get my S8+. Even if it just fixes some of the downfalls of the S7E, I'll be so much happier.

dumpyloser said:
You would quickly regret getting the s7e IMO. The note 7 spoiled me and the s7e isn't even comparable to it IMO. I'm hoping the s8+ has the same tech (minus exploding batteries) as the note 7.
If you want a s7e bad enough, I will sell you mine on the 21st.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't agree with you more. I went from the S7E to the Note 7... I then went to the iPhone 7+ just for the resale value this month.
johnwayne27 said:
I have never even seen a note 7. To me a stylus would be annoying and slow down using the phone. What were the best things about the note 7? Everyone raves about them hopefully the note 8 is cool
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Stylus really enhances how the phone is used. I loved it!!!

Eddiemc said:
Source?
I haven't heard that..
Edit:
This?
Quote:
Finally, the Exynos 8895 also includes what Samsung is calling an “enhanced security sub-system with a separate security processing unit” for use with user authentication, mobile payments, and the like. Based on Samsung’s description this sounds a heck of a lot like Apple’s Secure Enclave, which would be a very welcome development, as in Apple’s case it has made their phones a lot harder to break into.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/11149/...-8895-soc-10nm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup! Thats what some folks are saying. Google xda s8 bootloader unlock, you'll see i have exhausted myself advocqting for Samsung to keep android, android (lol)
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

nosympathy said:
spent a couple years in iOS land wanting something different, came back to android for the Note 7. I have had every single note series phone except the note 5, lack of expandable storage ruined it for me (iphone at least had 128gb options)
Note 7 would survive me normal using it, from about 7am to 8-9pm at night and still have 20-25% battery left.
The S7E has been a real POS. Battery life sucks, the curved edge is steeper than the note 7 was and I get phantom touches out the ass that make using the phone a pain sometimes. Phones halffway dead for me by 11am, completely done in by 2pm. Have to then get it to a charger. I feel like I have to baby the phone.
I thought it was the fact the note 7 was on 7.0 and the S7E was on 6.X at the time. We have had 7.0 for a bit and surprise, phone still blows monkey chunks. Even after a factory reset.
I've seen some people luck out, but I've also seen a heavy mass of people have battery life issues. Even after a reset and installing 0 apps.
another thing, while I think about it, the Note 7 was just smooth, no matter how much you threw at it, it felt smooth. The S7E is laggy all the time. If I go in and clear out the ram it's alright for a short bit, then next thing I know it's back to total suck fest.
While I've been told the S7E works as intended, the ram for me is always 75-80% used even after being cleared and no apps running in the background. The note 7 when I had it was often at 40-45% and I don't think I ever saw it past 60%. To me, this is a real confusion and a problem and I assume a massive fault from Samsung in software between the S7E and Note 7.
All said, I cannot WAIT to get my S8+. Even if it just fixes some of the downfalls of the S7E, I'll be so much happier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get occasional ram button lag which is frustrating but battery life has been great! Mind you i have been using a custom rom and kernel since i got it. Anyways, a good example why an unlocked bootloader is a good thing!
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Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

dumpyloser said:
The note 7 was just on a different level as far as smoothness/quickness. I'm not sure if it was the processor or just UI differences, but I never had any lag at all on it. I've now had 2 s7e's and they both lag or hesitate when doing simple stuff like pulling up samsung pay. With the note, all I did was swipe up and pay, and with the s7e I have to swipe up and wait for 1 or 2 seconds before the screen becomes responsive again. Its small things like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do realize that the note 7 has the same processor and memory as the s7e right? And now they have the same UI since s7e is now running 7.0. only real difference between the 2 is a slight ergonomics, screen size by .2" and a spen. Of course with the spen was specific software to run the spen.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

cantenna said:
I get occasional ram button lag which is frustrating but battery life has been great! Mind you i have been using a custom rom and kernel since i got it. Anyways, a good example why an unlocked bootloader is a good thing!View attachment 4110962View attachment 4110963
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Think you might be one of the lucky few. Many many people post of the same issues I have. Seems to be a real hit or miss phone. Reminds me of when HTC would sell phones with 3 different grades of processors. You could check which you had. If you lost the lottery and got a low grade one, you had lag and bad battery life. You wouldn't know until you turned it on and checked though.

nosympathy said:
Think you might be one of the lucky few. Many many people post of the same issues I have. Seems to be a real hit or miss phone. Reminds me of when HTC would sell phones with 3 different grades of processors. You could check which you had. If you lost the lottery and got a low grade one, you had lag and bad battery life. You wouldn't know until you turned it on and checked though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ive actualy checked my cpu grade, it is the second best one availble, but this battery life is mainly due to having an unlocked bootloader which lets me run xposed tweaks such as Greenify Beta and Amplify, with amplify I have overide system wakelocks. Additionaly, im also running a custom kernel with governor "smartassv2" and for the little core on the cpu i have reduced it to below what is allowed by stock.
This is the advantave of having an unlocked bootloader phone, if you put the time into it, its worth it!
And if my S8 international exynos arrive with an
Un-lockable bootloader, i will simply pack it back up and send it back to Samsung with reason of return:
"this is poopoo"
Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

Swtiched to S8+ from S7E, and I am not sure it is worth the upgrade, you?

Hello,
I got the S8+ a few days ago, and it definitely feels better in the hand, but to me the overall experience is about the same. Certainly, some things are improved but not feeling it is worth $850 upgrade- the S7E is really good and still is working well for me. What are your thoughts? what do you think are the killer features that are that much better than the S7e?
thanks,

aaronc_98 said:
Hello,
I got the S8+ a few days ago, and it definitely feels better in the hand, but to me the overall experience is about the same. Certainly, some things are improved but not feeling it is worth $850 upgrade- the S7E is really good and still is working well for me. What are your thoughts? what do you think are the killer features that are that much better than the S7e?
thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To early to tell but I am getting double the battery life without having to disable anything. That in itself is worth it to me. Also, my S7edge would get real slow and I would have to do a hard reset to fix it. Even now it takes forever for my S7e to boot up and work smoothly. I just feel that the S8 plus beats it hands down. I am not to excited about the screen real estate though. Most apps are not optimized for the new screen ratio so with the exception of the OS most apps make it seem like you have bezels and if you run it in full screen it cuts part of the screen off.
Reminds me when wide screen TVs were coming in. The tech is there but software will need to catch up and not sure if the new aspect ratio will catch on.
But the battery and performance are enough of a difference for me to justify it. The S7e was a solid phone but this one beats it out so far for me.

I'm on the Sprint Galaxy Forever plan and since I didn't root the S7e I had nothing to lose but some time.

My S7 Edge lagged so much. Going to the S8+, its so smooth! I'm loving this phone!!

Thanks, my S7E is still performing rather well except for battery. My S8+ battery has not been performing as well as some of you but that may because of my app choice and only a few cycles.
Appreciate the opinions...
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Sirdragonx said:
To early to tell but I am getting double the battery life without having to disable anything. That in itself is worth it to me. Also, my S7edge would get real slow and I would have to do a hard reset to fix it. Even now it takes forever for my S7e to boot up and work smoothly. I just feel that the S8 plus beats it hands down. I am not to excited about the screen real estate though. Most apps are not optimized for the new screen ratio so with the exception of the OS most apps make it seem like you have bezels and if you run it in full screen it cuts part of the screen off.
Reminds me when wide screen TVs were coming in. The tech is there but software will need to catch up and not sure if the new aspect ratio will catch on.
But the battery and performance are enough of a difference for me to justify it. The S7e was a solid phone but this one beats it out so far for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with Sirdragonx, my S8+ gets better battery life, the camera is better than the S7 and the screen real estate is well worth the upgrade?
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Same here, i thinks its worth the upgrade. Im not a fan of the s7e's home button which scratches easily.

dmbfan13 said:
My S7 Edge lagged so much. Going to the S8+, its so smooth! I'm loving this phone!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah. my s7 edge is really slow and lagging after I updated to nugget. just like those people with iphone said after the update on their phone, phone gets really slow and lagging. maybe they do this on purpose to make people upgrade to a newer phone.

I agree that the S8+ is not a "big" of an upgrade over the S7Edge as maybe I've been used to in upgrading phones in the past. There are a a few little things and the upgraded hardware should make for a better overall experience, but this is not a huge upgrade really plus I've had some issues like half of my fast wireless chargers that worked just find with the S7 Edge won't work with the S8+ for some reason. But I have noticed that so far the S8+ seems to be a little snappier and the battery life seems somewhat improved. The "bigger" screen though doesn't really seem to be much of an upgrade - it's not really that much bigger at all, just a little longer which actually sometimes gets in the way or looks worst than on the S7Edge due to a lot of apps not really built to take advantage of it.

IMO it is an upgrade. I'm very happy! Looking forward to Dex thanks to the USB C. I love the longer screen, it makes reading stuff much more enjoyable. The speaker sounds much better too I think.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I too went from S7e to S8+. It wouldn't have been worth it for the full $850, but after AT&T's $360 for the Next trade-in, Best Buy's $100 pre-order refund, the $50 gift card Best Buy gave me for having me come in two days early because of their erroneous "Ready for pickup" announcement, and the $25 AT&T promotion I'm getting, I do think it's worth the $315 it's costing me to upgrade my phone along with my Gear VR.

Definately worth it to me.
S7e:
-Scratches easy gorilla 4
Rarely had keys in so i assumed it scratched from pocket carrying.
-Got dead pixels (twice)
-Battery drained
-Got too hot
I could keep going but im sure you all know. Loving the S8+.

I'm coming from an S7 Edge on Sprint to an S8+ on Verizon. I wouldn't say it's "worth" the upgrade but we can all agree it's a better spec phone. Software wise it's not that much different, I guess you get bixby with a dedicated hardware key.
Things I don't care
- Bixby, let alone a dedicated hardware button for it.
- Finger print sensor location
- Losing of physical home button
The big screen is great, it's a nice looking device. Those of us that always want the latest flagship, yea it's an upgrade.

I upgraded from the S7, which was my first Samsung/Android smartphone, having been using iPhones since their initial launch.
I switched to the S7 from the iPhone 6 Plus. I loved the big screen but hated the way the phone felt in my hand. That coupled with the fact the device was only 16gb made the thing useless.
I went for the smaller of the S7 devices has I hadn't had the best experience with the 6 Plus. But as soon as I saw the S8+ I knew that I'd be getting a larger screen in a device that wasn't uncomfortable to use.
That's worth the upgrade alone to me. Just wish the borders of the screen didn't have this red tinge on white!

The number one reason for me is that I no longer feel like throwing the phone against a wall due to touch sensitivity. I would always have to reset the phone in my hand to use the keyboard or hit buttons. Not an issue on the S8+. Also, everything is more responsive - even on the Day 1 installing stuff. The S7E would basically die when installing and would be utter tar after a few days without a reboot.
There are a lot of little things that are better. I'll go 36 hours on a charge where I barely got 24 on the S7E (my use case is different - I mostly use push email, Spotify, Listen Audiobooks playing constantly throughout the day. Maybe a hour of phone calls a day. I have no friends who are social, so no texts)

My S7E was lagging despite my efforts to keep it clean and performing well. Battery life was probably the biggest advantage the S8+ has over the S7E. I'm pretty impressed with how far TW has come along also - I would be using it if they offered vertical scrolling in the app drawer. So far I think the S8+ is a worthwhile upgrade - and it costs me $5/mo less at AT&T than I was paying for my S7E.

I have come to only upgrade my Samsung devices every other generation. And then I upgrade my other Sony / Nexus whatever device every other year from that again, so I have a new toy every year. That's pretty much all I can afford of these not too cheap flagship phone models, hehe.
That is, I've always been a Note-guy, and I had Note II and Note 4, and had the Note 7(6) ordered last fall, but we all know what happened then, and when they came with a 6.2 inch screen on the S8+ now, it wasn't really a question, I had to have it.
But I won't get S9 when that comes, and I will certainly see to Note again, since I have to say that I think that 6.2 inch screen is way to narrow and small. My old Note 4 screen appears bigger when they lay besides each other, and that was somewhat disappointing.

aaronc_98 said:
Hello,
I got the S8+ a few days ago, and it definitely feels better in the hand, but to me the overall experience is about the same. Certainly, some things are improved but not feeling it is worth $850 upgrade- the S7E is really good and still is working well for me. What are your thoughts? what do you think are the killer features that are that much better than the S7e?
thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With respect and zero confrontation I think only you can answer your own question. :good:
I made the change. The S8+ is no Note 7 so in my case I am not excited about the change BUT I do like the S8+ it certainly has its + points. Now when the Note 8 is released................
Ryland

Ryland Johnson said:
With respect and zero confrontation I think only you can answer your own question. :good:
I made the change. The S8+ is no Note 7 so in my case I am not excited about the change BUT I do like the S8+ it certainly has its + points. Now when the Note 8 is released................
Ryland
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I just was wondering what you guys were thinking where the killer features over the S7 Edge... As I'm not completely feeling it...
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

dmarco said:
I have to agree with Sirdragonx, my S8+ gets better battery life, the camera is better than the S7 and the screen real estate is well worth the upgrade?
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same camera as the s7 edge. Just worked on the wide aperture.
Also the aspect ratio is different and most apps and videos will show black bars and when changing its too big. Eventually the software will catch up, but why release a half finished product. Heck even the Bixby assistant don't work fully...
That's the reason I didn't upgrade. It's nice to look at, about it.
Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

My thoughts after upgrading from S7 edge to S9+

I received my unlocked S9+ about a week ago after taking advantage of Samsung's trade-in offer. I'm coming from an S7 Edge and figured I'd share some thoughts, if anyone was considering the same. Hit me up if you're curious about something specific.
Size-wise, this phone isn't that much larger than the S7 edge, just maybe a couple mm wider and several more taller. However, there is a very noticeable weight increase that makes a big difference during extended sessions. The weight also makes the all-glass exterior difficult to keep a grip on and you'll have a thick disgusting smear of fingerprints to prove it -- I think a case is a must. I went with one of the alcantara cases and love it.
I haven't messed much with the iris/facial scanning, mostly because it wouldn't work anyway with most of my banking/security apps that only support a fingerprint. I love the location of the new fingerprint scanner and it is very, very fast.
Speaking of fast, this phone SMOKES. I install a crap-ton of apps and it's just as speedy as when I took it out of the box. 6 GB of RAM means apps get suspended less often, making the overall experience very, very fluid. The screen is also drop-dead gorgeous.
The camera hasn't disappointed me yet, even in fairly low light situations or with significant zoom, and all the widgets in Pro mode give full control over it all. I intend to give it a good workout during tomorrow's blizzard and see if the super slo-mo does a good job of catching the snow. The new AR emoji stuff is useless and ridiculous, I don't see it appealing to much of anyone over the age of 11 -- and even then only if they don't notice how awful it looks. It's just a half-baked attempt to emulate the nonsense on an iFruit.
Things I miss/wish were better:
*Night clock -- RIP, my bedside table friend. You will be missed.
*Edge lighting -- feels like a missed opportunity, it's just "not enough" to be really useful. It feels to me like a step back from the S7e's implementation somehow but I can't really put my finger on why.
*Bixby -- just give up already and take the button away. Awful.
*Samsung's customizations -- the Settings menus are still an exercise in frustration and patience to plow through, even without all the carrier bloat in this unlocked version.

Which version do you have? 64, 128 or 256? I will be upgrading from S5 next month, a huge upgrade for me. Can you tell me if 64 GB will be enough, keeping in view all the bloatware pre-installed. I am not a heavy user, don't keep music in my phone, just the camera and whatsapp stuff and a few bubble witch type games.
I have ordered a few cases and a tempered glass, will definitely keep the device protected. I tested it in the store and it is slippery plus finger print magnet.

ila420 said:
Which version do you have? 64, 128 or 256? I will be upgrading from S5 next month, a huge upgrade for me. Can you tell me if 64 GB will be enough, keeping in view all the bloatware pre-installed. I am not a heavy user, don't keep music in my phone, just the camera and whatsapp stuff and a few bubble witch type games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 64 GB version. Even with my huge pile of apps, I've still got 42 GB free. Ultra fast SD cards are so cheap these days, onboard storage is a non-event in my opinion. Store pics, vids, and music on the SD and it should never be a concern.
Plus, remember that unlocked devices don't have any of the carrier bloat!

I also came from an S7 Edge (with a couple of months on an S7 after the Edge was lost at sea. Literally.)
Anyway, I'm mostly thrilled with the upgrade. I don't find the weight an issue, but have small hands and do find the extra width just a bit uncomfortable. I could happily live with the shorter screen on the Edge, too. The extra height doesn't really buy me that much most of the time, but it isn't an issue, either. I agree a case is necessary, if for no reason other than to protect the glass if you drop it. But that's another area where the width is a problem--I used a more protective case on the Edge, but can't handle the extra width on the Plus so I'm using a thinner case.
Can't get the Iris scanning to work at all. It gets to about 50% and says my Irises couldn't be scanned. Guess I have weird eyes?
Agree Bixby is pretty much useless at this point, but (1) it should improve over time, and (2) it's Samsung's future UI for all their smart devices, phones, washers, stoves, you name it, so it's not going away. Would be nice if they'd let us remap the button, but at least there are 3rd party tools for that.
There are 3rd party edge lighting tools that are far better than Samsung's, btw. My biggest grip is the loss of per-contact text message sounds. I had to go to the 3rd party text app to get that back.
And yes, it's fast and smooth. No complaints there, even though I'm sure the Pixel cult will claim it's laggy and stutters. I'm also getting the best battery life I've gotten out of any phone, by far.

meyerweb said:
There are 3rd party edge lighting tools that are far better than Samsung's, btw. My biggest grip is the loss of per-contact text message sounds. I had to go to the 3rd party text app to get that back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you recommend something that does a better job with edge lighting?
I also didn't realize per-user alerts were missing, I didn't use Samsung's built-in on the S7e because of the wonky sharing intent support. Nice catch.

Wallcrawler77 said:
Could you recommend something that does a better job with edge lighting?
I also didn't realize per-user alerts were missing, I didn't use Samsung's built-in on the S7e because of the wonky sharing intent support. Nice catch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lighting.edge.edgelighting
I was a beta tester for it and got it free. It meets my needs, so I haven't compared any of the other ones in the Play Store to see if they might be better.

Wallcrawler77 said:
I received my unlocked S9+ about a week ago after taking advantage of Samsung's trade-in offer. I'm coming from an S7 Edge and figured I'd share some thoughts, if anyone was considering the same. Hit me up if you're curious about something specific.
Size-wise, this phone isn't that much larger than the S7 edge, just maybe a couple mm wider and several more taller. However, there is a very noticeable weight increase that makes a big difference during extended sessions. The weight also makes the all-glass exterior difficult to keep a grip on and you'll have a thick disgusting smear of fingerprints to prove it -- I think a case is a must. I went with one of the alcantara cases and love it.
I haven't messed much with the iris/facial scanning, mostly because it wouldn't work anyway with most of my banking/security apps that only support a fingerprint. I love the location of the new fingerprint scanner and it is very, very fast.
Speaking of fast, this phone SMOKES. I install a crap-ton of apps and it's just as speedy as when I took it out of the box. 6 GB of RAM means apps get suspended less often, making the overall experience very, very fluid. The screen is also drop-dead gorgeous.
The camera hasn't disappointed me yet, even in fairly low light situations or with significant zoom, and all the widgets in Pro mode give full control over it all. I intend to give it a good workout during tomorrow's blizzard and see if the super slo-mo does a good job of catching the snow. The new AR emoji stuff is useless and ridiculous, I don't see it appealing to much of anyone over the age of 11 -- and even then only if they don't notice how awful it looks. It's just a half-baked attempt to emulate the nonsense on an iFruit.
Things I miss/wish were better:
*Night clock -- RIP, my bedside table friend. You will be missed.
*Edge lighting -- feels like a missed opportunity, it's just "not enough" to be really useful. It feels to me like a step back from the S7e's implementation somehow but I can't really put my finger on why.
*Bixby -- just give up already and take the button away. Awful.
*Samsung's customizations -- the Settings menus are still an exercise in frustration and patience to plow through, even without all the carrier bloat in this unlocked version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry after investing millions of dollars on development they're not gonna "just give up" on bixby because some people don't like it, HOWEVER, we can disable the button on bixby home, little gear icon on top and you can set the button to do nothing with a single press unless you press and hold

i like the Bixby button.... so that I can use "BxActions" to program it as my quick Sound/Vibrate button, or turn on flashlight, or take screenshot, or wifi on/off, etc...

Wallcrawler77 said:
I have the 64 GB version. Even with my huge pile of apps, I've still got 42 GB free. Ultra fast SD cards are so cheap these days, onboard storage is a non-event in my opinion. Store pics, vids, and music on the SD and it should never be a concern.
Plus, remember that unlocked devices don't have any of the carrier bloat!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to upgrade to a 9+ from a s6 edge+ sometime in the summer. I'm assuming I would have a harder time adjusting to it since the 7 edge is heavier than the 6 edge+. On the other hand, the 6 edge+ is slightly wider than the 7 edge.

Just my 2 cents as well....Also came from the S7 Edge. Had the S4,S5 and S6 before that. Didn't want to fork out the huge amount of money with my provider for the S8. Van honestly say that this S9+ is damn quick. When looking at the speed comparison tests on youtube I sometimes think my phone in hand is quicker then that... Physically it's nor much bigger then the S7 Edge, but it feels nicer in hand and is easy to operate with one hand...I have biggish hands... Camera in general is a bit better, didn't yet get time to really compare to my S& Edge. Low light is definitely nicer and less noise. Bixby is a first for me...Not to bad....Bixby doesn't always understand our South African english accent. Haven't used google assistant for 2 weeks now...Bixby does what I want and some more when it comes to the phone settings etc. Overall very happy with the phone. Battery life with my use is a bit better then the S7 Edge. I get at least 18-28 hours of battery life, with sot of 3-4.5 hours. The S7 edge got 12-16 hours with sot 2-3. UI is good and no lag detected at all, especially how I use the phone, not a heavy user, but I'm busy on the phone

Same here. I had an S7edge for two years and loved it. I now upgraded to S9+.
I want to be honest. After the first hype you get about a new phone etc. I cannot say that I am extremely amazed by this upgrade.
Don't get me wrong. S9+ is fantastic. It is a phone that has everything. I cannot find a fault. The smoothness is amazing, the screen is amazing, the speed is amazing. But if you used to have an S7 edge, you are also used to most of what samsung offers. Excellent camera, edge screen, samsung apps etc etc.
To be honest I am a power user, so I had installed most of the updated touchwiz apps through APKs (including the new touchwiz launcher) in my s7edge so my daily experience and use of the phone remain the same.
I don't know if I should have waited for oreo to come to S7edge and then decide to upgrade or not, but there were a few areas in s9+ that made me bite the bullet and proceed in ordering it.
- The looks. S7 edge is a very good looking phone but S9+... oh my... I think I am in love with the way it looks.
- 6gb of ram. S7 edge was lacking in this sector. The ram management was not so good. The ram management in s9+ is just extraordinary. There are times that I close an app at night, fall asleep, and the next morning I reopen the app and is in the exact same page that I left it.
- Battery seems better than S7 edge. Maybe power management is better in s9+ due to processor or Oreo android.
- Cameras of both phones take excellent pictures. So nothing too special about S9.
- Speakers is a big upgrade. S7 edge speaker was very low volume. S9+ rocks the place.
- S9 supports project treble. So hopefully S9 will be getting updates sooner. Timely android updates is the only sector that Samsung is falling behind.
Bottom line is that s9+ surely worths the upgrade, but if you come from an s7 edge don't expect the changes and your daily usage and feel to be extremely different and rock your world. Especially if you just update to the s9 and not the s9+.
If you come from another phone (not a recent samsung one), for sure you will be amazed.
I could live easily with s7edge for at least another year, especially if it gets the oreo update. Or I could easily root it and install an s9 rom.
I am just saying all this so an s7edge owner to take everything into account before rushing getting the s9+.

I reluctantly upgraded from an S7 Edge. Didn't want to lose FoxFi but the S7 was so slow and charging was becoming an issue. Got an unlocked S9+ direct from Samsung. This thing is lightening fast. Love the Intelligent Scan. There are times I want to unlock but have sterile gloves on and I don't feel like dealing with a PIN.
That being said...the battery life when I got it was AMAZING. I have long days where it's a pain to charge and it last(ed). Until the update. Now battery is not so stellar. Anyone else experiencing this?

I'm surprised at how many are in the same boat upgrading from the S7 Edge!
My Tmo S7E was so SLOW after all the updates, I resisted throwing it out the window. Their trade in program giving $360 for it was a steal so I jumped on it immediately. Loving the S9+ all the way! Phone is an absolute beast and I love the 6GB of ram. It keeps prompting me to update but I AM NOT UPDATING! don't fix what isn't broken right?
xxlikquidxx said:
i like the Bixby button.... so that I can use "BxActions" to program it as my quick Sound/Vibrate button, or turn on flashlight, or take screenshot, or wifi on/off, etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh man, I didn't know that! I'll have to look into this...! Really wish Samsung had a physical button to set to Loud/Vibrate/Mute

S7edge to S9+ here as well, I'll comment on the VR. I ordered the new GearVR headset before I got the phone in, and using it is like night and day.
-S7edge would overheat in 10-20 minutes, show error and lock up sometimes until it cooled. Unplugged, I'd get from 100-25% in less than 1 3d movie (avg 1:30 in battery only vr usage, 50% screen brightness) When plugged into the Samsung power supply would only drop battery from 100%-70% in 2 hours.
-S9+ has yet to overheat in VR, screendoor is a little more pronounced, but can watch 2:20 movie in 3D (50% screen brightness as usual) battery only 100%-55% and when plugged in would not charge unless headset is off (sleep mode) but would not discharge any battery, start at 100% end at 100%.
S9+ VR headset: SM-R325NZVAXAR is what I ordered. I use this along with Riftcat to simulate a Vive headset and play Elite dangerous for hours, no overheat and no battery drain when plugged in. Smooth as silk.

Another person going from S7 Edge to S9+. Overall I agree with the prior comments, the phone really isn't much bigger but the performance difference is HUGE. I setup many apps and the S7E was bogging down. For example: running Google Play Music and Waze in my car would make the audio choppy at times and Waze would lag. On the S9+ it runs smooth.
A few other comments:
- I used a UAG case ( specifically the Plasma ) for my S7 Edge and now my S9+, I think it is great
- I use BxActions and have it mapped to Google Assistant. I wish there was a way officially disable Bixby and map things to Google Assistant but the BxActions app works.

S20 FE thoughts coming from a S9+

Thought this might be useful for my S9 brothers considering an upgrade.
Bottom Line: Not worth the upgrade unless your battery life is bad..
I absolutely loved my S9+, by far the best Android phone I ever had but the battery was bad from the beginning and had gotten extremely bad lately. In the beginning I could get 3.5-4 hours SOT and now its under 3 and had to recharge multiple times a day.
I got a great deal on trading in my S9+ for the S20 FE , and while I like the phone, I miss the S9+.
Battery Life: Much better, getting about 5-6 hours SOT which is a big plus for me compared to <3 on the S9+. Stand by seems to be better too.
Display: Similar but you can tell the display is inferior. Bigger bezels and I miss the curved screen of the S9+, easier to use the gestures. There is also a red tint on the phones when looking at it on an angle (especially on a white screen) which I find annoying and I might exchange for another.
120hz screen is nicer scrolling but not as life changing as I thought.
Design: Plastic back is not as premium but not that big of a deal. The phone is a tad bigger which is a bit harder to use.
Performance: Feels a bit faster but the 6 GB of Ram sucks. You can see it reload apps and chug when switching apps sometimes.
Other things: Vibration motor is a bit worse, Speakers are similar or better on the S20 FE. No notification Light. Fingerprint sensor is decent.
Ultimately not as a big of an upgrade as I was hoping, next time I will get the S21 Flagship as I miss the curved screen, nicer display, and better vibration a lot of the top of the line Galaxy. Its small improvements but definitely noticeable
Hope this helps and let me know if you have questions.

Thanks for sharing with us! I was wondering this exactly.

Moving to S20+ from my S9+.. it did serve me well..

Saggy said:
Moving to S20+ from my S9+.. it did serve me well..
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Click to collapse
Wow, this would be my upgrade. Could you talk us what are your feelings like @spacemanvt did in the OP?
Thanks in avance!

Actually the lack of vibration on fe is bothering me
Sent from my SM-G781U1 using Tapatalk

Here's my version.. Have kept some things same from @spacemanvt version.. Thanks for that
I absolutely loved my S9+, by far the best Android phone I ever had but the battery was bad from the beginning and had gotten extremely bad lately. In the beginning I could get 3.5-4 hours SOT and now it’s under 3 and had to recharge multiple times a day, 3-4 times to be precise.
I could get my S20+ at approx. 450 USD here in India, post trading my S9+.
Battery Life: Much better, getting about 5-6 hours SOT which is a big plus for me compared to <3 on the S9+. Stand by is way better.
Display: Bigger Display with 120hz screen is nicer scrolling but not as life changing as I agree with op here only on the 120hz part ?. However, with the help of mods here @xda I’ve limited the display to 90Hz, must see how much the difference is on 120 vs 90..
Design: No Plastic or Glasstic ? pun intended, bigger than my S9+ and getting used to it.
Performance: Feels way faster but gets hot sometimes due to the Exynos version we get.. btw I did postpone my purchase till today only coz I wanted an SD Version from anywhere else and I ended up taking the same.. that’s me being me… ?
Other things: Speakers are way better than S9+. No notification Light & Fingerprint sensor is decent.
I don’t know yet whether this is an upgrade I needed at the most, but the offer price actually pushed me to take the decision to go for S20+ instead FE and also I didn’t wanted to switch to any other suppliers..
Bottom Line: Worth the upgrade and should definitely go for it unless you need an Ultra version..
Hope this helps and let me know if you have questions.

I think I wrote too much.. sorry for the lenghty post... hahah

spacemanvt said:
Thought this might be useful for my S9 brothers considering an upgrade.
Bottom Line: Not worth the upgrade unless your battery life is bad..
I absolutely loved my S9+, by far the best Android phone I ever had but the battery was bad from the beginning and had gotten extremely bad lately. In the beginning I could get 3.5-4 hours SOT and now its under 3 and had to recharge multiple times a day.
I got a great deal on trading in my S9+ for the S20 FE , and while I like the phone, I miss the S9+.
Battery Life: Much better, getting about 5-6 hours SOT which is a big plus for me compared to <3 on the S9+. Stand by seems to be better too.
Display: Similar but you can tell the display is inferior. Bigger bezels and I miss the curved screen of the S9+, easier to use the gestures. There is also a red tint on the phones when looking at it on an angle (especially on a white screen) which I find annoying and I might exchange for another.
120hz screen is nicer scrolling but not as life changing as I thought.
Design: Plastic back is not as premium but not that big of a deal. The phone is a tad bigger which is a bit harder to use.
Performance: Feels a bit faster but the 6 GB of Ram sucks. You can see it reload apps and chug when switching apps sometimes.
Other things: Vibration motor is a bit worse, Speakers are similar or better on the S20 FE. No notification Light. Fingerprint sensor is decent.
Ultimately not as a big of an upgrade as I was hoping, next time I will get the S21 Flagship as I miss the curved screen, nicer display, and better vibration a lot of the top of the line Galaxy. Its small improvements but definitely noticeable
Hope this helps and let me know if you have questions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you're definitely correct that the s9+ battery is really sucks and I'm charging almost 3 times a day which is my only issue so far. I'm currently buying the FE because it was sale right now, from $700 to $550

Replaced the battery in my S9+ yesterday. Not willing to lose the headphone jack and my phone does everything I need it to. I've been able to get great battery the entire phones life but I have always been on really debloated roms with root/adblock/etc and minimal google apps installed.
I'll be trying to get another 2 years out of this phone.

noahthedominator said:
Replaced the battery in my S9+ yesterday. Not willing to lose the headphone jack and my phone does everything I need it to. I've been able to get great battery the entire phones life but I have always been on really debloated roms with root/adblock/etc and minimal google apps installed.
I'll be trying to get another 2 years out of this phone.
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Click to collapse
Did you replace it yourself or had it professionally done? I imagine it's not a straightforward process..