Current Events > iPhone X or Galaxy S9+

(+) Yeah! (+)

iPhone X
+ Amazing display. Giant or tiny low res lcd was a top reason I never liked iPhones.
+ really would like consistent quality snapchat and other apps. iMessage!
+ Best form factor ever.
+ I walk by an Apple store every day.

- I really hate that stupid notch
- I hate the walled garden of iOS and no real file management
- Sketchy battery life
- Having to use first gen Face ID and no fp scanner feels disastrous

- I would be buying used because I'm not dropping a grand on a phone that's been out for a while.

Galaxy S9+
+ Familiarity. I've had Android for life.
+ I have no desire to own any other Apple products, so Android plays nicer with my comp, cords, etc.
+ An actual file system
+ Pretty samsung hardware

- I never liked the curved edges and form factor feels meh.
- Inconsistent app polish (snapchat!)
- AR emoji looks embarrassing.
- Carrier, snapdragon, samsung, android, etc bloat and lag.

+ I'd obviously be getting it new.

Other opinions most welcome. Feels 50/50 atm
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ive gone back & forth between iphones and android phones and i think that overall the iphone is the better product. the short version is that i think it handles the essential functions of the smartphone far better than any android phone
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get a pixel 2
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Generally I would say iPhone X but IIRC Apple is stopping support for it this year. So probably S9+
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foreverzero212 posted...

+ Best form factor ever.

The phone has the ridiculous notch and was shown to be the most fragile phone ever made in drop tests.
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The notch literally does not matter. You forget its there within two minutes of owning the phone. As for battery life I get two full days of use out of mine with 12 hours of screen on time. Face scan is fantastic. The only time its an issue is when you are lying in bed trying to unlock the screen with half your face obscured.
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It might come down to what kind of deal you're getting on that used X.
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Romulox28 posted...

it handles the essential functions of the smartphone far better than any android phone

They just really need a file system.

Kombucha posted...

get a pixel 2

Not until Google stops using LG/HTC factory reject scraps to make their phones.
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S9 has the 3.5mm jack

foreverzero212 posted...

They just really need a file system.

how important is a file system to you, honestly? like what do you use your phone for mainly
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Romulox28 posted...

foreverzero212 posted...

They just really need a file system.

how important is a file system to you, honestly? like what do you use your phone for mainly

Not to mention the fact that the iPhone does have a file system now. There is literally an app preinstalled called "files" that congregates everything from dropbox icloud and the like into one location and allows you to download them to the device.

You can select things and move them around to different folders, create new folders all on the iphone and download things natively to the device. You can long press and open in an app of your choice. And access this file system from your mac or windows browser.

You can download a PDF from the internet and save it to your iCloud. It will show up in the file app to whichever folder you chose to download to. You can then open it in any app that supports pdf you have on your phone. Same thing with audio files and pretty much everything else.

Fuck else do you want on a phone?
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Trying to figure out how "amazing display" is a positive for iPhone X but not the 9+.

Honestly the best phone for your money right now would be the S8. Larger screen than the iPhone X with smaller form factor at less than half the price.
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Imagine going for a galaxy phone when there are pixel phones available.
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foreverzero212 posted...

- I really hate that stupid notch

It doesn't take away much content, when you think about it. Videos can be zoomed in and out freely to fill the notch or not and horizontal text is perfectly centered.

foreverzero212 posted...

- I hate the walled garden of iOS and no real file management

They have a Files app that lets you link Dropbox/Google Drive/iCloud Drive all in one. They're making MB sizes and other stuff more transparent in the next update too. Overall though there's still jailbreaking available for other little inconveniences too

foreverzero212 posted...

- Sketchy battery life

It's somewhere in between the regular 8 and the 8 Plus. Personally I've only had to worry about battery once, but I was out since 7 AM and it was close to midnight and I was playing a lot of games that day. Plus there's also fast charging (with a MacBook charger), wireless charging, and wireless fast charging. Took Samsung 3 Galaxy generations to get all three on one.

foreverzero212 posted...

- Having to use first gen Face ID and no fp scanner feels disastrous

Here's the important thing, Face ID works, just about every time I've used it. If it fails it studies your face so it'll get it right next time. Logging into an app and having it just login thanks to your face looking at it feels great. You're not moving your thumb or doing anything extra There's an option for locking your notifications from being seen unless you're looking directly at it.

Fingerprint scanner would be nice, but tbh even if it was there it would feel like an afterthought compared to Face ID.

The Note 7 is still one of my favorite phones ever, but the iPhone X hits just about all the high points. "Hurr the price", nobody's buying this full price if they're on a major carrier.

Coffeebeanz posted...

Trying to figure out how "amazing display" is a positive for iPhone X but not the 9+.

It has all the Samsung screen quality without the oversaturation, brightness inconsistency, and temperature issues that Galaxy phones have. No stupid edge that just exists for design purposes. True Tone to match the environment. HDR video.

How many Galaxies did it take for Samsung to get all of those right?
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rabbi_baby posted...

Imagine going for a galaxy phone when there are pixel phones available.

Some people don't want a shitty LG plastic OLED screen. And may want an SD card slot and a headphone jack.
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The biggest problem with the iPhone X is one only a few reviewers mention - the new gestures that replace the home button are totally unintuitive.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

rabbi_baby posted...

Imagine going for a galaxy phone when there are pixel phones available.

Some people don't want a shitty LG plastic OLED screen. And may want an SD card slot and a headphone jack.

That's fair. I've always found the way samsung cranks the contrast up to 11 on their displays to be obnoxious.

As we've been over before, using the usbc to mini adapter for wired headphones is a non issue.

I'm not sure about you, but using slow ass throttled to class 4 speeds SD cards isn't the ideal setup.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

The biggest problem with the iPhone X is one only a few reviewers mention - the new gestures that replace the home button are totally unintuitive.

wtf

the gestures are one of the best things about the X

I cant wait til every phone copies them tbh
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Coffeebeanz posted...

The biggest problem with the iPhone X is one only a few reviewers mention - the new gestures that replace the home button are totally unintuitive.

I bought an iPhone X and I'm actually really, really enjoying it. After having it for about a week and an iPhone 6S as my work phone, I get annoyed at having to use the home button on my 6S for work related stuff. The gestures make navigating very nice, so I'm not too sure which ones you're referencing specifically.
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As we've been over before, using the usbc to mini adapter for wired headphones is a non issue.

I'm not sure about you, but using slow ass throttled to class 4 speeds SD cards isn't the ideal setup

Having options is better than not having them. In any case, the S8 is nearly the same screen size as the Pixel 2 XL but feels much smaller, and is actually much cheaper as long as you're not literally going to a Samsung booth and buying it with no discounts.

The Pixel 2 XL is typically around $850
The S8 is around $520
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The Admiral posted...

foreverzero212 posted...

+ Best form factor ever.

The phone has the ridiculous notch and was shown to be the most fragile phone ever made in drop tests.

I was speaking more to how it fits my hand and pocket better than any phone I've ever felt.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

As we've been over before, using the usbc to mini adapter for wired headphones is a non issue.

I'm not sure about you, but using slow ass throttled to class 4 speeds SD cards isn't the ideal setup

Having options is better than not having them. In any case, the S8 is nearly the same screen size as the Pixel 2 XL but feels much smaller, and is actually much cheaper.

We're talking the S9+ which is priced at P2XL prices.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

The biggest problem with the iPhone X is one only a few reviewers mention - the new gestures that replace the home button are totally unintuitive.

Bruh what

You swipe to unlock. Same shit since 2007, just vertical swipe. You swipe up to go back to the home menu.. Swipe the bar left or right to instantly swap between apps. The only change is that you can't swipe up to close apps by default because they didn't want you to accidentally close something; you have to long press first.
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rabbi_baby posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

As we've been over before, using the usbc to mini adapter for wired headphones is a non issue.

I'm not sure about you, but using slow ass throttled to class 4 speeds SD cards isn't the ideal setup

Having options is better than not having them. In any case, the S8 is nearly the same screen size as the Pixel 2 XL but feels much smaller, and is actually much cheaper.

We're talking the S9+ which is priced at P2XL prices.

But the P2XL is a 2017 generation phone with a Snapdragon 835, making the S8 its actual competition.

The P2XL is the same price as a phone a generation ahead of it, and $300 more than the phone it directly competed with.

It's not a good deal, especially with its poor screen quality and lack of SD card support.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

rabbi_baby posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

As we've been over before, using the usbc to mini adapter for wired headphones is a non issue.

I'm not sure about you, but using slow ass throttled to class 4 speeds SD cards isn't the ideal setup

Having options is better than not having them. In any case, the S8 is nearly the same screen size as the Pixel 2 XL but feels much smaller, and is actually much cheaper.

We're talking the S9+ which is priced at P2XL prices.

But the P2XL is a 2017 generation phone with a Snapdragon 835, making the S8 its actual competition.

It's an Android 8.1 generation phone.
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rabbi_baby posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

rabbi_baby posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

As we've been over before, using the usbc to mini adapter for wired headphones is a non issue.

I'm not sure about you, but using slow ass throttled to class 4 speeds SD cards isn't the ideal setup

Having options is better than not having them. In any case, the S8 is nearly the same screen size as the Pixel 2 XL but feels much smaller, and is actually much cheaper.

We're talking the S9+ which is priced at P2XL prices.

But the P2XL is a 2017 generation phone with a Snapdragon 835, making the S8 its actual competition.

It's an Android 8.1 generation phone.

You realize Oreo is already out on the S8 right

At least, if you bought it unlocked

Look man, the P2XL is last year tech. The S9 has better everything, from camera to screen to processors to features. It's not a fair fight.

If you want to compare 835 phones, then the P2XL is up against the S8, the iPhone X and the OnePlus 5.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

rabbi_baby posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

rabbi_baby posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

As we've been over before, using the usbc to mini adapter for wired headphones is a non issue.

I'm not sure about you, but using slow ass throttled to class 4 speeds SD cards isn't the ideal setup

Having options is better than not having them. In any case, the S8 is nearly the same screen size as the Pixel 2 XL but feels much smaller, and is actually much cheaper.

We're talking the S9+ which is priced at P2XL prices.

But the P2XL is a 2017 generation phone with a Snapdragon 835, making the S8 its actual competition.

It's an Android 8.1 generation phone.

You realize Oreo is already out on the S8 right

At least, if you bought it unlocked

Lol

Some S8s still haven't gotten Oreo to this day

If you have to buy an unlocked one to get it that says a lot about the hardware/software integration
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If you have to buy an unlocked one to get it that says a lot about the hardware/software integration

Considering we're comparing unlocked prices, I have to question why anyone would but a carrier version at full price. That's absurd.
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Anyway, topics at hand - iPhone X is better than S8 if you don't mind spending twice as much. The S9 is probably better than the iPhone X because it's 2018 and tech moves forward. The camera got a 99 on DxOMark, which is absurd.
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_Marka_Ragnos_ posted...

Romulox28 posted...

foreverzero212 posted...

They just really need a file system.

how important is a file system to you, honestly? like what do you use your phone for mainly

Not to mention the fact that the iPhone does have a file system now. There is literally an app preinstalled called "files" that congregates everything from dropbox icloud and the like into one location and allows you to download them to the device.

You can select things and move them around to different folders, create new folders all on the iphone and download things natively to the device. You can long press and open in an app of your choice. And access this file system from your mac or windows browser.

You can download a PDF from the internet and save it to your iCloud. It will show up in the file app to whichever folder you chose to download to. You can then open it in any app that supports pdf you have on your phone. Same thing with audio files and pretty much everything else.

Fuck else do you want on a phone?

This is bigly if true. I heard about Apple getting a file system, but that it was still half baked/not really what it sounds like. Here's my use case:

I download music and podcasts from specific web pages. It's posted there first and sometimes exclusively. So I can't just search for them on podcast/music apps. With Android, I tap to download from the web page and it immediately plays using a designated app and is stored logically.

When I tried to do this last summer on an iPhone, I downloaded it from the web page and it was lost to the abyss. I had to use a laptop and fool with itunes for 15+ min every time I wanted new music/podcasts on an iphone. This was unacceptable.

If it works as good as Android now, no more complaints.
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What drew me to my Galaxy S8+ were the design, edge-to-edge display (something like 84% screen-to-body ratio), multiple biometric options, expandable memory, headphone jack, Samsung Pass/Pay, and frankly the Samsung Experience skin over Android. Critics will tell you that this all bogs down the software, but my device is just as speedy as the day I bought it. I also have a Gear S3 Frontier smartwatch, which pairs well.

I had iPhones for the prior 9 years and frankly they were getting stale. My fianc has an iPhone 6S Plus and her brother has a X. Used both extensively and see no reason why I should switch back. Samsung started to gain my attention starting from the S6 generation and they've only improved ever since.

Almost forgot about multitasking. REAL multitasking. I can put a YouTube clip in the top half of the screen and text message in the bottom half.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

The S9 is probably better than the iPhone X because it's 2018 and tech moves forward.

Shot:

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/215902/20171120/samsung-galaxy-s9-benchmark-scores-fail-to-impress-when-compared-to-iphone-x.htm

Chaser:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/03/01/iphone-versus-samsung-benchmarks/
https://9to5google.com/2018/03/01/samsung-galaxy-s9-benchmarks/
https://www.anandtech.com/show/12478/exynos-9810-handson-awkward-first-results
http://www.businessinsider.com/last-years-iphone-destroying-samsung-galaxy-s9-in-benchmarks-2018-3


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foreverzero212 posted...

This is bigly if true. I heard about Apple getting a file system, but that it was still half baked/not really what it sounds like. Here's my use case:

I download music and podcasts from specific web pages. It's posted there first and sometimes exclusively. So I can't just search for them on podcast/music apps. With Android, I tap to download from the web page and it immediately plays using a designated app and is stored logically.

When I tried to do this last summer on an iPhone, I downloaded it from the web page and it was lost to the abyss. I had to use a laptop and fool with itunes for 15+ min every time I wanted new music/podcasts on an iphone. This was unacceptable.

If it works as good as Android now, no more complaints.

It's still the sameon iOS. Many times now, in your particular case, it won't even actually download. It will open a new tab that will play the song in the browser. But it does not give you a true file system like an Android or home computer would. It technically has a file system in name, but it doesn't in function. It's more like a single place to view cloud storage from iCloud, Dropbox and other apps.
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foreverzero212 posted...

I download music and podcasts from specific web pages. It's posted there first and sometimes exclusively. So I can't just search for them on podcast/music apps. With Android, I tap to download from the web page and it immediately plays using a designated app and is stored logically.

When I tried to do this last summer on an iPhone, I downloaded it from the web page and it was lost to the abyss. I had to use a laptop and fool with itunes for 15+ min every time I wanted new music/podcasts on an iphone. This was unacceptable.

If it works as good as Android now, no more complaints.

Yeah, you can share things to your Files app now and it'll be saved there no problem.

And yes, there is an option to view content saved on your phone/iPad only. I'll post it when I can get to my own.

The only thing I can't say for certainty are certain file types like webm, but there are apps for that.
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Just as an aside - the iPhone X is 5.8in. The S9 is 5.8in and the S9+ is 6.2in.

Not sure what you'd go to the S9+ if you're ok with the iPhone X size.
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AvantgardeAClue posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

The S9 is probably better than the iPhone X because it's 2018 and tech moves forward.

Shot:

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/215902/20171120/samsung-galaxy-s9-benchmark-scores-fail-to-impress-when-compared-to-iphone-x.htm

Chaser:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/03/01/iphone-versus-samsung-benchmarks/
https://9to5google.com/2018/03/01/samsung-galaxy-s9-benchmarks/
https://www.anandtech.com/show/12478/exynos-9810-handson-awkward-first-results
http://www.businessinsider.com/last-years-iphone-destroying-samsung-galaxy-s9-in-benchmarks-2018-3

Finisher:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI1YELmjh9g

"The conclusion is that the Note 8 is at least just as fast as the iPhone X, if not faster in real world usage"

The iPhone X OS is incredibly unoptimized, plus the X throttles when not using benchmarks.
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AvantgardeAClue posted...

Coffeebeanz posted...

The S9 is probably better than the iPhone X because it's 2018 and tech moves forward.

Shot:

http://www.techtimes.com/articles/215902/20171120/samsung-galaxy-s9-benchmark-scores-fail-to-impress-when-compared-to-iphone-x.htm

Chaser:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/03/01/iphone-versus-samsung-benchmarks/
https://9to5google.com/2018/03/01/samsung-galaxy-s9-benchmarks/
https://www.anandtech.com/show/12478/exynos-9810-handson-awkward-first-results
http://www.businessinsider.com/last-years-iphone-destroying-samsung-galaxy-s9-in-benchmarks-2018-3

What can I do with those extra benchmarks? Youtube speed tests show the S9 opens apps/loads games slightly faster than the iPhone X. The S9+ also keeps more apps open at once without losing place.
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iPhone X isn't even really 5.8 inches. Due to the narrow aspect ratio, it actually has less screen space than even the iPhone Plus models.
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http://www.iphonehacks.com/2017/10/samsung-galaxy-note-8-beats-iphone-8-plus-real-world-app-loading-speed-test.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanwhitwam/2017/09/29/speed-test-shows-galaxy-note-8-beating-iphone-8/#45938a301389

http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-iphone-8-a11-bionic-samsung-galaxy-note-8-speed-test-2017-9?r=UK&IR=T

"The iPhone 8's A11 Bionic chip couldn't hold up in a speed test against the Samsung Galaxy Note 8"

The fact is that iOS 11 is a buggy, slow, unoptimized mess of an OS. All the synthetic benchmarks in the world are meaningless if it consistently loses real world performance tests.
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Coffeebeanz posted...

"The conclusion is that the Note 8 is at least just as fast as the iPhone X, if not faster in real world usage"

The iPhone X OS is incredibly unoptimized, plus the X throttles when not using benchmarks.

There have been several performance gains in the iOS updates since that came out; he noted as much in his update videos. Here's a more recent video that shows that a little more closely

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOKCZpmHwxw

Software can be improved. 11.3 has a lot of improvements they've been saving just for that. You can't improve (Galaxy 8) what you don't have (Oreo), heh heh.
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Software can be improved. 11.3 has a lot of improvements they've been saving just for that.

Because Apple has a great reputation for speeding up their phones with OS updates, right?

Apple's MO is to force obsolescence in their phones. We even have direct proof of it now. Hell, the 6S was down clocked to 40% of its original benchmarks in iOS 11.
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Now to address many of @Coffeebeanz points:

The S9 has an amazing display too, but the curved screen ruins it in many ways. It glares and slightly warps on the edges. I especially hate it on the new 18.5:9 ratio. Curved screens made sense on big 16:9 phones because it would slim a screen that was getting uncomfortably wide in portrait. Now with the display already feeling too skinny at the new ratio, the curved sides make it feel and look comically skinny with very little usable screen space compared to what it should have.

I'm willing to pay more for the S9 over the S8 because camera, processor, ram, and the fingerprint placement are that important to me. Which brings me to why I'm getting the S9+ over the S9. The dual camera and extra ram. With the skinny ratio and curved edges, you need the +size just to have enough width for thumb room in portrait.
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Well, if you don't like the curved screen I don't blame you. It's definitely style over substance. I wouldn't say the notch is any better, though.
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One thing nobody mentioned is that the iPhone X has a much slower LTE modern

https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/880955/Samsung-Galaxy-Note-8-vs-Apple-iPhone-X

With the iPhone X, Apple decided to eschew a number of the faster LTE technologies available in rival handsets.

The flagship smartphone, which starts at 999 at tops-out at an eye-watering 1,149, is compatible with current 4G technologies but cannot enjoy the same blistering Gigabit LTE speeds as many Android devices.

By contrast, Samsung has wholeheartedly embraced next-generation cellular technologies in its handsets.

YouTube creator BooredAtWork has pitted the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 against the iPhone X to show the difference these new LTE technologies can make.

The video shows the staggering difference in download and upload speeds between the handsets with the Galaxy Note 8 consistently twice as fast as the iPhone



Not sure why Apple did that
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Nah, they talked about that. The slower modem's are only on non-CDMA devices

That's because T-Mobile and other GSM networks took too long to get their towers setup before the design was locked in this year.

And the edge on the Galaxy phones are purely cosmetic, there's no real functionality present. Sure, you have the side menus, but literally nobody I know used them besides me and they obstruct the picture in ways that aren't always ideal.

The notch has reasons to exist, and while I'm sure they'll work on it for the future it's not an obstruction in the same sense as the Galaxy phones; it doesn't take away from any content inherently, and there are workarounds in terms of avoiding the notch.
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No, the curved display doesn't obstruct my view of anything and can be used for a variety of actions if you so choose. The S8 line has been universally praised as the best looking devices for the 2017 flagships.

The notch is an eyesore and has been derided by damn near every review I've read. I understand that some folks dropped the grand to get it, but let's not be delusional.
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Super Saiyan 3 Goku posted...

No, the curved display doesn't obstruct my view of anything

So you don't have any video that creeps over the edge, just out of eyeshot?

Super Saiyan 3 Goku posted...

can be used for a variety of actions if you so choose.

Of course it can, but it's not intuitive to do so. It was the original Bixby button in terms of functionality, just not with a physical element to it.

Super Saiyan 3 Goku posted...

The notch is an eyesore and has been derided by damn near every review I've read.

And most of those complaints are superficial things, "aesthetic", "symmetry", "functionality". The notch will only bother you if you let it; your content doesn't get ruined by it in the same way as the edge does.
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Let's not understate how bad the notch is. There's no function for it other than to give us worse and less informative icons in the status bar. They could've just had a normal thin top bezel.

The display models in the Apple store have games on them that are locked in full screen mode where many oncoming enemies are obscured by the notch. Apple wants it this way as we've seen in their memo to app devs. Curved screens don't do shit like that.

I can personally ignore the notch better than curved sides changing the entire feel of the phone. The notch is objectively more intrusive tho
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I like how some people try to spin the notch as a positive. As if two tiny bits of screen at the top are in any way useful.
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