Just became eligible for device upgrade.. Love my A7, but the S8 is so tempting!

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tele_jas

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Aug 18, 2006
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Just got notice Friday night, that I'm eligible for a device upgrade on my At&t plan.....Since then, all's I've thought about was a Galaxy S8! It also doesn't help that 3 people at work and my brother-in-law all recently picked up the S8 and I've help them get them set up... These are seriously some nice looking phones!

There's several reason's I'm thinking of switching....But I'm seriously considering it?!?!

Am I crazy?
 
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TPMJB

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Jun 28, 2010
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Just got notice Friday night, that I'm eligible for a device upgrade on my At&t plan.....Since then, all's I've thought about was a Galaxy S8! It also doesn't help that 3 people at work and my brother-in-law all recently picked up the S8 and I've help them get them set up... These are seriously some nice looking phones!

There's several reason's I'm thinking of switching....But I'm seriously considering it?!?!

Am I crazy?

http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8161&idPhone2=8067

Dude it's barely any different. Unless you have a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket, it's a stupid move.

I'll never understand people who pay an absurd amount per month on a phone plan when you could just outright buy a phone and it pays for itself in less than six months by paying for a reasonable plan. I pay $30 a month. I have 5gb of 4gLTE data.
 

awsomjgp

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Apr 13, 2016
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http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8161&idPhone2=8067

Dude it's barely any different. Unless you have a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket, it's a stupid move.

I'll never understand people who pay an absurd amount per month on a phone plan when you could just outright buy a phone and it pays for itself in less than six months by paying for a reasonable plan. I pay $30 a month. I have 5gb of 4gLTE data.

I just looked at that link, and discovered that the s8 only has quick charge 2.0 and not 3.0. And the s8 has a worse battery so if you don't go with the larger one you'll have worse battery life.
 

TPMJB

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I just looked at that link, and discovered that the s8 only has quick charge 2.0 and not 3.0. And the s8 has a worse battery so if you don't go with the larger one you'll have worse battery life.

What?! Surely that must be a typo? Why would it only have QC 2.0?

Benefits I can see
-Snapdragon 835 vs 820
-Newer Adreno for GPU
-Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2
-Slightly more pixels.

That's about it.
 

awsomjgp

Senior Member
Apr 13, 2016
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What?! Surely that must be a typo? Why would it only have QC 2.0?

Benefits I can see
-Snapdragon 835 vs 820
-Newer Adreno for GPU
-Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2
-Slightly more pixels.

That's about it.
Plus your losing speakers and a fully paid off phone.
Edit: And custom rom support (that isn't stock-based) so you're stuck with "samsung experience"
Edit 2: wait it's going to be at&t so no custom roms at all AND you pay double the money
 
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awsomjgp

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Apr 13, 2016
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What?! Surely that must be a typo? Why would it only have QC 2.0?

Benefits I can see
-Snapdragon 835 vs 820
-Newer Adreno for GPU
-Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2
-Slightly more pixels.

That's about it.

Here is what it says on the samsung website: (see attachment)

Also you get McAfee
 

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Knight-Rider

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Feb 28, 2013
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http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8161&idPhone2=8067

Dude it's barely any different. Unless you have a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket, it's a stupid move.

I'll never understand people who pay an absurd amount per month on a phone plan when you could just outright buy a phone and it pays for itself in less than six months by paying for a reasonable plan. I pay $30 a month. I have 5gb of 4gLTE data.
I pay $50 a month for unlimited 4G LTE data. I average anywhere between 25-30GB of data usage every month.

Sent from my XT1575 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
 

LeKeiser

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Oct 23, 2016
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I have to agree with TPMJB, I think it would be a bad move. There was a nice offer to get a S8 on Amazon, but the differences are against the S8. The A7 has such a greater sound, greater battery, already a great screen, its CPU and GPU are more than enough for any game (but I don't play), 4GB RAM is also more than enough, ...
Why spending more to get less or something that's not yet needed?
 
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ChazzMatt

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Nov 30, 2010
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Benefits I can see
-Snapdragon 835 vs 820
-Newer Adreno for GPU
-Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2
-Slightly more pixels.

That's about it.

Plus your losing speakers and a fully paid off phone.
Edit: And custom rom support (that isn't stock-based) so you're stuck with "samsung experience"
Edit 2: wait it's going to be at&t so no custom roms at all AND you pay double the money

ZTE AXON 8 will be released in 2-3 months and will address any Snapdragon gap, plus keep lower price and stereo speakers.

Plus with a paid off phone you can go pre-paid on major carriers. I pay $38.25 total monthly with no taxes/fees on AT&T (GoPhone, AT&T's in-house prepaid brand) for 6GB high speed data/unlimited calls/unlimited texts.

a28ceb6a08a820918800d0290da751f0.jpg

You can tell that's "pure" AT&T by the low ping speeds. MVNOs have higher ping speeds (higher lag).

But I bring my own phone, so I can get the pre-paid prices. I will never be "post paid" customer" where they rip you off.

I also make sure any phone I own can be rooted and have custom ROMs.

________

The only thing the S8 has the ZTE Axon 7 lacks is the Qi wireless charging. Other than that, the 1-year old ZTE Axon 7 still beats the Samsung Galaxy 8 in every significant way (award winning DAC, front facing stereo speakers), etc.

If I were to get an S8, I would make sure it was the Exynos variant that could be rooted, surely NOT the AT&T branded model! :rolleyes:
 
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ChazzMatt

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but is there really a snapdragon gap? I mean, is our snappy already a has been? Serious question, not trying to start a flame war or anything :)

I said "any" gap. I was just addressing the points listed. Where the Snapdragon 835 is different is allowing much faster carrier speeds (eventually), like 1GB LTE. Not that you'll see that any time soon. ;) So, there's no rush to buy Snapdragon 835 phones until your carriers can deliver the speeds... But yes, the Snapdragon 835 and comparable (like Exynos) are an evolutionary step forward.

My point was, don't jump for the Galaxy S8 when there's LOTS more phones coming out in the next few months that will also have Snapdragon 835 and will be better than the S8, and probably less expensive. Including, but not least the ZTE Axon 8.

I still have a 2014 Snapdragon 805 phone. I'm not buying another phone until a manufacturer released a phone that has all the features I want, or very close to it. The ZTE Axon 7 came very close -- only the lack of Qi wireless charging kept me from buying it.
 
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Galaxo60

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May 25, 2012
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Just got notice Friday night, that I'm eligible for a device upgrade on my At&t plan.....Since then, all's I've thought about was a Galaxy S8! It also doesn't help that 3 people at work and my brother-in-law all recently picked up the S8 and I've help them get them set up... These are seriously some nice looking phones!

There's several reason's I'm thinking of switching....But I'm seriously considering it?!?!

Am I crazy?

I was on the same boat until I had it physically on my and hand, and the design is sexy af, but honestly, that's all. I have always been away from Samsung devices because I hate capacitive buttons, and when Huawei (favorite brand) started to put them, I started to look for something else, and Samsung made the contrary move by remove them and improve the design.

Screen is more less the same, and you have to know that battery is noticeable worse when using the device in full resolution, because they come with FHD as default and most of the tests about battery were done with this resolution.

Speaker is average, but is mono. Is a big dealbreaker for me, because no point in having that nice display when you have a mono speaker, is just ruins the multimedia experience.

And the final thing for me to make me pass for the S8 was the fingerprint scanner, next to the camera is the most retarded place to put it, so pretty much is unusable for me.

Price is not important for me, fortunately I can buy any device I want, and I was going to buy the S8 until I had it on my hand. Also I was considering the P10 Plus, mostly because of the camera, but that capacitive button is just not that nice and gestures don't work correctly. I was playing like 10 minutes with it, and gestures were all buggy and not intuitive. Before that, I also had the Mate 9, but I returned it and came back to the Axon 7 because of the screen and sound, even when camera was slightly better.

In conclusion, I won't be changing the Axon 7 until I see a real contender to it. Real stereo speakers, nice battery, good display and decent camera are enough for me, which none of the devices released in 2107 have. In my opinion, exchanging the multimedia experience for a "better" design is not the best move to do.

:good:
 
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LeKeiser

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Oct 23, 2016
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I said "any" gap. I was just addressing the points listed. Where the Snapdragon 835 is different is allowing much faster carrier speeds (eventually), like 1GB LTE. Not that you'll see that any time soon. ;) So, there's no rush to buy Snapdragon 835 phones until your carriers can deliver the speeds... But yes, the Snapdragon 835 and comparable (like Exynos) are an evolutionary step forward.

My point was, don't jump for the Galaxy S8 when there's LOTS more phones coming out in the next few months that will also have Snapdragon 835 and will be better than the S8, and probably less expensive. Including, but not least the ZTE Axon 8.

I still have a 2014 Snapdragon 805 phone. I'm not buying another phone until a manufacturer released a phone that has all the features I want, or very close to it. The ZTE Axon 7 came very close -- only the lack of Qi wireless charging kept me from buying it.

what I meant is that there is not really a gap, it's not like the 820 is so slow already that one NEEDS a 835. A real gap is something like a a notebook with an Atom and a real laptop with a Pentium or a Core.
So the S8 has a faster processor but not needed by any application around.
Beside, I've read so many times that the S8 screen is very fragile. One drop and...
 
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freeza

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May 28, 2006
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What are you tempted by? The stupid price? Locked bootloader? No root? Red tinted display? Random reboots? Subpar battery life? Fast charging not working while the display is on? Bloat? Lag? Lack of updates? Lower Android version than what the Axon is currently on? help me understand this temptation.
 
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SaintZ93

Senior Member
What are you tempted by? The stupid price? Locked bootloader? No root? Red tinted display? Random reboots? Subpar battery life? Fast charging not working while the display is on? Bloat? Lag? Lack of updates? Lower android version than what the Axon is currently on? help me understand this temptation.

Must be a good friend of Mase thats why, so unfortunate...
 

warBeard_actual

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Mar 27, 2016
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What are you tempted by? The stupid price? Locked bootloader? No root? Red tinted display? Random reboots? Subpar battery life? Fast charging not working while the display is on? Bloat? Lag? Lack of updates? Lower Android version than what the Axon is currently on? help me understand this temptation.

My boy chrih steps into the ring and immediately delivers a knockout blow early into the first round.
 
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pro_granade

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Jan 22, 2013
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LG V20 here, Samsung sucks. Don't buy any of their phones unless you want a bloated piece of **** that'll run like ass after a few weeks of usage and break more than iPhones.
 

TPMJB

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Jun 28, 2010
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ZTE AXON 8 will be released in 2-3 months and will address any Snapdragon gap, plus keep lower price and stereo speakers.

Plus with a paid off phone you can go pre-paid on major carriers. I pay $38.25 total monthly with no taxes/fees on AT&T (GoPhone, AT&T's in-house prepaid brand) for 6GB high speed data/unlimited calls/unlimited texts.

a28ceb6a08a820918800d0290da751f0.jpg

You can tell that's "pure" AT&T by the low ping speeds. MVNOs have higher ping speeds (higher lag).

But I bring my own phone, so I can get the pre-paid prices. I will never be "post paid" customer" where they rip you off.

I also make sure any phone I own can be rooted and have custom ROMs.

________

The only thing the S8 has the ZTE Axon 7 lacks is the Qi wireless charging. Other than that, the 1-year old ZTE Axon 7 still beats the Samsung Galaxy 8 in every significant way (award winning DAC, front facing stereo speakers), etc.

If I were to get an S8, I would make sure it was the Exynos variant that could be rooted, surely NOT the AT&T branded model! :rolleyes:

Will the Axon 8 be released soon? I thought they were going to release an Axon 7S or something like that. Slightly upgraded Axon 7 (more ram, I think and slightly better snapdragon)

Edit: It's the Axon 7S, not the 8. There's not much difference between the 7 and the 7s
 
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ChazzMatt

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Nov 30, 2010
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Will the Axon 8 be released soon? I thought they were going to release an Axon 7S or something like that. Slightly upgraded Axon 7 (more ram, I think and slightly better snapdragon)

Edit: It's the Axon 7S, not the 8. There's not much difference between the 7 and the 7s
There will be an Axon 8. The 7S is just an update for China, with Snadragon 821. It probably won't be released to other countries.

The AXON 7 was announced end of May last year, released in June. The previous flagship (2015) was middle of summer (announced July, released August). With the Snapdragon 835 situation could be June/July.
 
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Galaxo60

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May 25, 2012
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Will the Axon 8 be released soon? I thought they were going to release an Axon 7S or something like that. Slightly upgraded Axon 7 (more ram, I think and slightly better snapdragon)

Edit: It's the Axon 7S, not the 8. There's not much difference between the 7 and the 7s

There will be an Axon 8. The 7S is just an update for China, with Snadragon 821. It probably won't be released to other countries.

The AXON 7 was announced end of May last year, released in June. The previous flagship (2015) was middle of summer (announced July, released August). With the Snapdragon 835 situation could be June/July.

As far as I know, the Axon 8 will be the same device as the Axon 7S, and they will just change the name for international market.

It seems the real change maybe will come next year when they released the Gigabyte phone the showed earlier this year.

:confused:
 

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  • 5
    What are you tempted by? The stupid price? Locked bootloader? No root? Red tinted display? Random reboots? Subpar battery life? Fast charging not working while the display is on? Bloat? Lag? Lack of updates? Lower Android version than what the Axon is currently on? help me understand this temptation.
    2
    Just got notice Friday night, that I'm eligible for a device upgrade on my At&t plan.....Since then, all's I've thought about was a Galaxy S8! It also doesn't help that 3 people at work and my brother-in-law all recently picked up the S8 and I've help them get them set up... These are seriously some nice looking phones!

    There's several reason's I'm thinking of switching....But I'm seriously considering it?!?!

    Am I crazy?

    http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=8161&idPhone2=8067

    Dude it's barely any different. Unless you have a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket, it's a stupid move.

    I'll never understand people who pay an absurd amount per month on a phone plan when you could just outright buy a phone and it pays for itself in less than six months by paying for a reasonable plan. I pay $30 a month. I have 5gb of 4gLTE data.
    1
    What?! Surely that must be a typo? Why would it only have QC 2.0?

    Benefits I can see
    -Snapdragon 835 vs 820
    -Newer Adreno for GPU
    -Bluetooth 5.0 vs 4.2
    -Slightly more pixels.

    That's about it.
    Plus your losing speakers and a fully paid off phone.
    Edit: And custom rom support (that isn't stock-based) so you're stuck with "samsung experience"
    Edit 2: wait it's going to be at&t so no custom roms at all AND you pay double the money
    1
    I have to agree with TPMJB, I think it would be a bad move. There was a nice offer to get a S8 on Amazon, but the differences are against the S8. The A7 has such a greater sound, greater battery, already a great screen, its CPU and GPU are more than enough for any game (but I don't play), 4GB RAM is also more than enough, ...
    Why spending more to get less or something that's not yet needed?
    1
    As far as I know, the Axon 8 will be the same device as the Axon 7S, and they will just change the name for international market.

    It seems the real change maybe will come next year when they released the Gigabyte phone the showed earlier this year.

    :confused:


    ZTE is already announcing Snapdragon 835 phones (Gigabyte LTE) for this year.

    ZTE Nubia Z17 has Snapdragon 835
    http://www.gsmarena.com/antutu_finds_6gb_of_ram_in_zte_nubia_z17-news-24953.php

    And that's only a 1080p phone. ;)

    So, why do you think they would shaft their buzz-worthy 1440p AMOLED Axon flagship and only give it Snapdragon 821 as the AXON 8?

    I'm more inclined to believe the 7S is like the OnePlus 3T to the OnePlus 3 -- an update during the model year -- not a new model.

    You are saying ZTE is going to go two full years between new models.

    I really don't believe that. I think the Snapdragon 835 shortage situation will cause a new model (Axon 8) to be introduced later than last year's Axon 7, but still within the parameters of the 2015 flagship announcement/release (July/August).

    ------

    Also ZTE promoted their U.S. Division leader to be in charge of worldwide devices. He UNDERSTANDS consumer desire for the best specs and dev work. He got the Axon 7 bootloader unlocked first, here in North America.

    ZTE Appoints the Head of Their NA Division to Lead the Entire Mobile Business
    https://www.xda-developers.com/zte-...-division-to-lead-the-entire-mobile-business/