I do not think I have anyone around me who loves Samsung galaxy phones better than me. I have been upgrading consistently from the very first flagship(Galaxy S). In April 21st 2017, the galaxy s8 and s8 plus were launched. However, for the first time since I started using Samsung, I am not moved to looking for the money to upgrade to the next flagship. My reasons this time around is not all about money. In fact, if I have the money, I will still not upgrade. Please join as I present to you 8 reasons not to upgrade your galaxy s7 edge to s8/s8 plus.
Specifications & Features Comparison of Both Phones
8 reasons not to upgrade your galaxy s7 edge to s8/s8 plus
Merely looking at the specs sheet above, you will easily give it to galaxy s8. However, in reality, there is little differences and more similarity. As if that is not enough, there is a huge increase in price. Read along as we explore some of the mistakes made the Korean giant
Price
You can buy the Galaxy S7 Edge from all major carriers and a range of retailers. Since it has been available for a year now, the price of the S7 Edge has started to fall. You can pick one up unlocked for around $500 to $700 depending on where you shop. The S8 Plus is available and It’s going to cost you $850 unlocked. If you want the Galaxy S8 in your pocket you’re going to have to pay for it.
More Bloatware in the name of BIXBY
Bixby is Samsung’s virtual personal assistant and is aimed at making your life a bit easier.
Samsung has been making big noises about Bixby and has even included a unique button on the side of the device which springs it into life.
In reality, it’s all a bit of a waste of time with many features, such as voice control, This bixby has a dedicated button that cannot be used for any other features and becomes slightly annoying.
The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge are Bixby free and don’t have this unique button clogging up space on the side of the device.
- No major camera upgrade: still rate the Galaxy S7 as one of the best camera smartphones in the market. And I expected the Galaxy S8 to be even better than its predecessor in the mobile photography department. Surprisingly, Samsung has fitted the same Galaxy S7 camera into the Galaxy S8. Technically speaking, you still get the 12-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture shooter with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and 4K recording. There are some advancements in image processing too. However, the phone will struggle to deliver a better zoom and depth of the field, unlike the iPhone 7 Plus. The latter features two cameras on the rear, each with 12MP sensors: one standard wide-angle 12MP lens alongside a telephoto lens with an optical 2X zoom.
No Major Battery Upgrade
On the contrary, the battery capacity of the galaxy s7 edge is more than that of s8 plus(3500: 3600mah) As far as battery life is concerned, it’s too soon to tell. The Galaxy S8+’s 3,500mAh battery is slightly smaller than the 3,600mAh cell inside the Galaxy S7 Edge. Despite the increase in processor and GPU of the s8, the battery endurance proves that they have the same battery life and the s7 edge has a better standby time life.
THE RAM IS STILL THE SAME
They both have 4gb ram each while cheaper alternatives out there already comes with 6gb of ram Note 7 gory experience still haunts many Galaxy S8 and S8+ are the first smartphones released since the Note 7 recall, and they’re the ones to go through the company’s eight-step testing and inspection procedure. Of course, Samsung would like you to forget about Note 7. Still, as a user, I might want to wait for a few more months to make sure the Galaxy S8 is actually as safe as Samsung claims it is.
RUN ON THE SAME ANDROID VERSION
Samsung’s new phones run on Google’s latest Android 7.0 Nougat operating system, which is the same as the software we’ve seen on the Galaxy S7. However, there have been a few tweaks, the most notable of which is the addition of Samsung’s custom Bixby digital assistant – think Siri, but by Samsung.
THE CURVE DISPLAY ON S8 / S8 PLUS IF FLAWED
The S8’s new Infinity display is incredible and, if you want the best viewing experience on a smartphone, this is it.
Content looks incredibly sharp and refined on this new screen and you’ll struggle to find anything in the same league.
Samsung is also boasting that the S8 is the world’s first smartphone certified to play Ultra HD content.
This 5.8-inch display is a joy but sadly it’s not faultless.
We have noticed that when accessing some websites the words appear to curve around the sides of the display making them tricky to read.
There’s also an annoying blue glow which sometimes runs down the side of the display which is an irritating quirk of the curve.
Samsung had a similar issue with last year’s Galaxy S7 Edge with the company saying that due to the curved display, light can spread around to the curved areas of the screen.
This usually appears when using the device in dark places.
Luckily, the S7 also comes without a curved display which means owners of this older phone get a choice.
Samsung has now ditched the flat screen concept on the S8, so, if you don’t fancy this new type of display, the standard Galaxy S7 could be the phone to choose.
- Awkwardly positioned fingerprint scannerSamsung’s vision to go for a for a bezel-less phone in s8 is good, but the Galaxy S8 isn’t perfect. To me, the placement of the fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S8 is its biggest design flaw. The fingerprint scanner has been moved to the rear, right next to the camera. Well, that means the fingerprint is practically useless until you pick up the phone. Also, I can’t unlock the device anymore while it’s charging. More importantly, there’s always a chance of you end up smudging the Galaxy S8’s camera lens more often. To me, it all seems to be a major design flaw though the rear fingerprint scanner is finding popularity among many Android manufacturers.
MORE COLOUR CHOICES
When Samsung announced the S8 they revealed it would come in three colours.
If you opt for the S7 or S7 Edge you get the choice of six colours including a funky Pink Gold and Blue Coral.
WE HAVE Much CHEAPER AND STRONGER ALTERNATIVES OUT THERE
- If Samsung didn’t manage to win over with the bezel-less Galaxy S8, there is a wide range of alternatives out there that might suit your needs. The iPhone 7 Plus is one such example. Not actually a bezel-less smartphone, but this Apple flagship is a very capable phone at the end of the day. The Google Pixel XL sports what claims to be the most advanced camera smartphone in the market. And yes, I don’t think there is a better smartphone than the Pixel XL to experience stock Android. And a device such as OnePlus 3T is equally good – at half the cost of the Galaxy S8. If you already have a Galaxy S7 edge, I don’t see a reason to switch to the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ unless you really belong to the fanboy club.
MUST READ: 8 ALTERNATIVE & CHEAPER CHINESE PHONES THAT CAN DISPLACE SAMSUNG, HTC AND SONY
CONCLUSION
This article was written not to spite s8 but to enlighten the readers about what they are likely to get if the upgrade. To someone like me with a tight budget, there is no compelling reason to upgrade. However, this new phone has what no other smartphone can boast about before it. This is the bezel-less display. For the pride and prestige, you can still upgrade of course. But for actual performance differences, please keep your money to go for cheaper alternatives. With every new redesign by Samsung, they always make mistakes. I remember the mistakes made with s6 that was corrected in the s7. We may need to wait for s9 / s10 for a near perfect bezel-less phone
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