Resolved S7 vs iPhone 7+

[mi7chy]

I'll be upfront that Safari is easily my favorite, offering IMO the best experience on mobile (phone and tablet) but unfortunately, in classic Apple fashion, I can't get it outside of Apple devices. I can use any of these on the desktop (though Chrome is damn power hungry on the Mac) but Chrome, Firefox and Opera all have glaring weakness on tablets, smartphones, or both.

I hope you're not being serious. Safari is the worst on mobile and desktop and inertial scrolling is slow as ass. Chrome and Opera, which is now based on Chrome, are on top. I always have issues with mobile Safari not rendering sites properly including MR and the dreaded spinning gear then "a problem occurred with this web page so it was reloaded". Chrome, on the other hand, renders everything properly, is stable and has superfast inertial scrolling even on 4 year old device.

https://html5test.com/results/mobile.html

 

[Shanghaichica]

Oh well I've caved in and ordered the 7 plus. I'm not quite ready to leave Apple's walled garden just yet.

 

[FFR]

Oh well I've caved in and ordered the 7 plus. I'm not quite ready to leave Apple's walled garden just yet.

What color did you get

 

[nviz22]

I've determined that I'm not ready to leave Apple just yet. I'm giving the JB7+ a shot, upgrading from the 6S.

I gave a great deal of consideration to the Note 7 prior to preordering.

Better to get the S7 than a Note 7 imo.

 

[Shanghaichica]

What color did you get

Rose Gold. 128GB

 

[FFR]

Rose Gold. 128GB

Nice. I ordered a rose gold as well, and a black, and a jet black. .

Can't wait to try out the dual cameras.
Rumor has it ari pertinen had a huge part in it.

 

[msavic]

I think one of the biggest things for me is that I find iOS usable on tablets as there simply is no competition from Android devices.

On smartphones, I have typically preferred Android due to the flexibility of the OS and access to the file system. For that reason, I moved from the 3GS and experienced the severe growing pains of Android before it became the complete OS it is today.

I know right now, before even getting the iPhone that I will 100% miss the open nature of Android but I figure it is worth giving the iPhone another chance to see If my opinion has potentially changed.

There also really isn't any other complete android devices beyond the Samsung S7E and Note 7, all the other android manufacturers simply don't compete with these devices as the hardware is not up to par and they are forced to use the pathetic Qualcomm processors. It's really a Samsung vs. Apple marketplace nowadays.

 

[nviz22]

I think one of the biggest things for me is that I find iOS usable on tablets as there simply is no competition from Android devices.

On smartphones, I have typically preferred Android due to the flexibility of the OS and access to the file system. For that reason, I moved from the 3GS and experienced the severe growing pains of Android before it became the complete OS it is today.

I know right now, before even getting the iPhone that I will 100% miss the open nature of Android but I figure it is worth giving the iPhone another chance to see If my opinion has potentially changed.

There also really isn't any other complete android devices beyond the Samsung S7E and Note 7, all the other android manufacturers simply don't compete with these devices as the hardware is not up to par and they are forced to use the pathetic Qualcomm processors. It's really a Samsung vs. Apple marketplace nowadays.

I always say that if you want a workhorse, you go Surface. If you want basic functionality, iPad is the best.

 

[mclld]

There also really isn't any other complete android devices beyond the Samsung S7E and Note 7, all the other android manufacturers simply don't compete with these devices as the hardware is not up to par and they are forced to use the pathetic Qualcomm processors. It's really a Samsung vs. Apple marketplace nowadays.

I would say Apple hasn't been competing either on some aspects of hardware

 

[msavic]

I always say that if you want a workhorse, you go Surface. If you want basic functionality, iPad is the best.

100% agree, the Surface Pro 3 is literally the perfect productivity device for my needs and has been extremely useful for school. The only downside with the Surface is the tablet interface is not 100% intuitive and it isn't the best device for media consumption.

You mentioned having issues reselling your iPhone, if I may ask, what kind of issues did you have? I haven't sold a phone in a while but I don't think it should be a problem as long as I'm careful.

 

[nviz22]

100% agree, the Surface Pro 3 is literally the perfect productivity device for my needs and has been extremely useful for school. The only downside with the Surface is the tablet interface is not 100% intuitive and it isn't the best device for media consumption.

You mentioned having issues reselling your iPhone, if I may ask, what kind of issues did you have? I haven't sold a phone in a while but I don't think it should be a problem as long as I'm careful.

One sec. Long story.

 

[pkginstall]

No one owns an iPhone 7 yet. Unanswerable comparison.

 

[nviz22]

No one owns an iPhone 7 yet. Unanswerable comparison.

Reviewers are looking at them and giving initial thoughts.

 

[pkginstall]

Reviewers are looking at them and giving initial thoughts.

You mean "reviewers", not reviewers. A thorough, detailed and honest review is based upon owning/using a device full time for AT LEAST 2 months, not fondling one at a PR gathering, a head full of buzz and optimism from a just finished keynote. No reviewer can pass any judgement except the superficial and the obvious (which is most of them, basically) until this criteria has been satisfied.

 

[nviz22]

You mean "reviewers", not reviewers. A thorough, detailed and honest review is based upon owning/using a device full time for AT LEAST 2 months, not fondling one at a PR gathering, a head full of buzz and optimism from a just finished keynote. No reviewer can pass any judgement except the superficial and the obvious (which is most of them, basically) until this criteria has been satisfied.

Nobody in the media uses a device for two months to give an opinion for a BGR or Phone Dog. They use it for like a week. A week is more than enough to get an idea about how a phone works.

 

[pkginstall]

Nobody in the media uses a device for two months to give an opinion for a BGR or Phone Dog. They use it for like a week. A week is more than enough to get an idea about how a phone works.

In which case one could only, in absolute honesty, call that a "first impressions" - it is not a true review, which is why there are SO MANY copycat "reviews" and the REAL reviews are sparse.

"A week is more than enough to get an idea about how a phone works."

Clearly you are not a reviewer.

 

[Vegastouch]

I know these sizes aren't equal, but which phone is better for me? I currently have the S7. Here is why I am on the fence right now:

S7: Bigger battery (when it works, it works well as long as software doesn't fubar it), Gear VR (hardly use it, but awesome to have and show off), more software features, cleaner design, faster charging, more future proof LTE hardware with 4x4 MIMO w/ T-Mobile, wireless charging, higher water resistance standard, better camera, SD slot, QHD display, AMOLED tech, android customization, headphone jack, notification LED, Always on Display, and better looking UI.

iPhone 7 Plus: 3D Touch being useful in iOS 10, cleaner software, Apple Customer Service, no frills, fastest processor and benchmarks on the market, ionized Black designed phone, better ram management, no need to waste resources on features I don't need, IP67 is fine enough, comes with the headphone adapter, much improved cameras, new home button, better standby battery life management, dual stereo speakers, iMessage, FaceTime, better app selection, nice app switching, and the iPhone works well with my MBP.

Why I don't think making the move would be right at this time: The S7 is great enough as it is and I just need a software update to patch my battery life issues in addition to get the new 4x4 MIMO tech for faster data speeds. In addition, Samsung and T-Mobile are testing 5G speeds already. $300-$400 extra for "less" doesn't seem too feasible or smart at this time. Even if I go through the Apple Upgrade program, I will still be wasting $ in installments. The AMOLED panels Samsung offer are amazing. The S8 is closer than people think, especially given the absurd spec line of 6GB RAM, 4K HDR screen, etc. I'll get the itch for the S8 anyways.

The iPhone 7 Plus has no headphone jack, meaning trouble with Aux audio in my car. No quick charge means long iPhone charge times still. Music is a bit of a headache to get because of iTunes. Ringtones aren't easily created either. Apple's profile build is quite awkward too. To add, there are too many rumors for the iPhone 8 or 7S, whatever it will be called. There is too much of a tech gap to just go after benchmarks and real world speed usage when it's very negligible between the S7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Less isn't more.

So, right now, I could get up at 3:01 am and make my preorder, or I can just stay with what I have, follow through with my original plan to get the S8 in summer 2017 while my S7 serves as my daily driver. Thoughts?

Why are you asking us? Only YOU know what is right for YOU. You laid it out pretty well. Which makes more sense to you? Looks like you already decided and it sounds sensible to me.

 

[jmauricas]

I hope you're not being serious. Safari is the worst on mobile and desktop and inertial scrolling is slow as ass. Chrome and Opera, which is now based on Chrome, are on top. I always have issues with mobile Safari not rendering sites properly including MR and the dreaded spinning gear then "a problem occurred with this web page so it was reloaded". Chrome, on the other hand, renders everything properly, is stable and has superfast inertial scrolling even on 4 year old device.

https://html5test.com/results/mobile.html

Never had any issues with Safari on iOS. They changed to this tye of scrolling for Safari only. Why i have no idea, it scrolls more fast the faster you swipe down or up. With inertial scrolling you have to scroll slow or stop the page from scrolling too fast, but with this type of scrolling you can actually feel after some time of using it how much you swipe and where the page will end up.

 

[Shanghaichica]

There aren't any proper reviews of the iPhone 7/7+ yet because the embargos/NDAs are still in place. We won't get anything until mid next week. Right now it's just first impressions.

 

[Michael Goff]

I hope you're not being serious. Safari is the worst on mobile and desktop and inertial scrolling is slow as ass. Chrome and Opera, which is now based on Chrome, are on top. I always have issues with mobile Safari not rendering sites properly including MR and the dreaded spinning gear then "a problem occurred with this web page so it was reloaded". Chrome, on the other hand, renders everything properly, is stable and has superfast inertial scrolling even on 4 year old device.

https://html5test.com/results/mobile.html

Chrome on laptops is terrible. I don't see why anyone would use it. And I don't see why anyone would use it on Android and not Firefox. Both Firefox on Android and Safari on iOS have tracking blockers. Chrome has no such thing on mobile.

 

[tbayrgs]

Chrome on laptops is terrible. I don't see why anyone would use it. And I don't see why anyone would use it on Android and not Firefox. Both Firefox on Android and Safari on iOS have tracking blockers. Chrome has no such thing on mobile.

Some of my issues mirror yours--no content blockers from Chrome is a big one. Nothing is more annoying than when you think a page has loaded yet when you go to touch a link the page moves do to a giant banner ad which you've now clicked instead. My bigger problems are actually UI related. Everything in Chrome on Android is done through the hamburger menu. Getting to bookmarks, something I use all the time, take far more taps. Also, navigating forward also has to be done via the menu. The pulldown to refresh is nice but is also a P.I.T.A. if you're at the bottom of a long page and have to manually scroll all the way back up--tapping to return to the top of the page in iOS is a terrifc feature I use all the time.

Swipe navigation forward or back is a far better method of navigation on Safari. Additionally, so many more functions/features are available right on the first screen..forward or back buttons if you don't use swipes, bookmarks, refresh and the share sheet.

Firefox is even worse. While I appreciate being able to use content blockers, the navigation UI is pure garbage because everything has to be done through the hamburger menu--zero navigation options available on the first page.. Getting to my bookmarks takes 4 extra touches, exacerbated by the fact that is doesn't remember your bookmark location the last time you used them. It's even worse on tablets---why the hell can't any of these browsers beside Safari have bookmark toolbars?

 

[DakotaGuy]

Use a 3mm Bluetooth adapter. A little dongle plug into the 3mm jack in the car and connect to it via Bluetooth on the phone. SORTED $10-20 on eBay or Amazon

Use Spotify, Deezer, Google Play Music etc.. instead of iTunes for music. You aren't that restricted at all.

Unless you want to charge it in your car and connect. Then you'll need some other dongle. I really dislike the word dongle. It just sounds messy.

 

[verpeiler]

There also really isn't any other complete android devices beyond the Samsung S7E and Note 7, all the other android manufacturers simply don't compete with these devices as the hardware is not up to par and they are forced to use the pathetic Qualcomm processors. It's really a Samsung vs. Apple marketplace nowadays.

The OPO 3 is a really nice alternative to an iPhone for half the price. Unibody, stock android experience, alert switch, good battery, good camera (not best), dash charge (unbelievable).

 

[msavic]

The OPO 3 is a really nice alternative to an iPhone for half the price. Unibody, stock android experience, alert switch, good battery, good camera (not best), dash charge (unbelievable).

I don't see the One Plus 3 as a viable option partly because I don't like the way the company is run nor how it presents itself. There were also a lot of issues with the One Plus One due to corner cutting and the whole debacle with the One Plus 3 and 6GB ram has left a sour taste.

I also prefer to have a support network nearby in case issues arise and living in a larger metropolitan area, I am lucky to have multiple Samsung Stores/Service Centers and Apple stores less than 20 minutes away. Dealing with One Plus would involve shipping the device away and waiting mindlessly until they fix it, they also don't have a stellar record regarding customer support.

I admire what One Plus has done with there phones and the goal they aim to achieve but ultimately there devices don't really appeal to me.

 

[nviz22]

The OPO 3 is a really nice alternative to an iPhone for half the price. Unibody, stock android experience, alert switch, good battery, good camera (not best), dash charge (unbelievable).

Had it, didn't like it as much after using it for a few days. Mainly because of the screen being not bright enough, no do not disturb mode, and some notification bugs.
[doublepost=1473627857][/doublepost]I am going to wait for iPhone 7+ reviews and then reconsider my options there actually, but S7 likely to stay, especially with a S8 itch happening.