Note 8 or wait for Pixel 2

[Newfie-John]

Hey everyone, new here so my official Hello.

 

I was curious some opinions on if I should get the Note 8 (I will get about $300 bonus gear for pre-ordering) or wait and see what the Pixel 2 offers. I was basically set on the Note 8 (pen is a big selling point for Me), until I watched the linustechtips review posted today. 

 

Any input is appreciated. 

 

Regards,

John

[GER_T4IGA]

I was never really a pen guy so I don't see the appeal of it. Moreover I didn't even like the S8 because I think functionality>design which it clearly doesn't fall into.

The question about the free gear is: Would you have bought it anyway or will it be stupid gimmicks that you use never/once and never again/resell. Also what are local prices for the S8/S8 Plus? Over here it is about S8=500€ S7=400€ so 900-1000€ is ridiculous to ask for a Note 8 but then again I am a student. Money matters more to me than it might to a business man who has 'virtually infinite' money to spend on the best possible device.

[LienusLateTips]

I like pens but would take the S8+ over the Note 8, any day. Wait for Pixel.

[8uhbbhu8]

I'd say wait to see what else comes out

 

I would love the note 8 but spending $550 cad on top of a plan is a nope for me unless I have way more money then I currently do  Not sure what phone I should get since not may have come out this year yet. My contract ends in December.....

[EPENEX]

Get a Note 4.

[r3loAded]

If you have the money I would recommend going for NOTE 8/S8+. Though I'm a little bit disappointed by the battery life I have in my S8. Not sure for the larger counterparts.

 

Pixel 2 - not sure about the design - if anywhere close to original Pixel = fail - don't jump on my head, personal preference/opinion

 

Camera and display on S7/S8/S8+/Note 8 are simply phenomenal - again personal view.

 

hate the fingerprint sensor on S8 line-up, just hate to the guts.

[Newfie-John]

I am in Canada so the Note 8 is $550 on a plan, id get a 128gb SD and wireless charger dock as a preorder bonus. I did have a Note 4, and was going to get a Pixel when it came out. But it had far too many cons, was hoping the Pixel 2 would have learned from its mistakes. But hard pressed to find any details yet. I am currently in dire need of a new phone as my note 4 died I am using an old Xperia that cant even play music. I like the specs of the Note althoush the finger print scannwler and Samsung bloat kinda get to me.

[Drak3]

Note 8, hands down. The odds of the Pixel 2 fixing much of what the Pixel was, is not likely IMO, if looking at the Nexus line as an example.

 

Plus, between the leaner TouchWiz rebrand, custom ROMs, alternative launchers (Arrow, Evie, and Nova), and alternative lock screens (Next Lock Screen), you can have your Note 8 as close or as far from stock as you like without losing the SPen or dealing with stock.

[Guest]

Pixel 2, it will have a significantly more fluid software experience which is "essential" nowadays. Unless you really need the S-Pen and the "bling" features, Pixel 2 hands down.

[Drak3]

Just now, Goku-sama said:

Pixel 2, it will have a significantly more fluid software experience which is "essential" nowadays.

Not over an unlocked Note 8. And even with a helping of bloatware below what Verizon pushed on the Note 4, it's not going to be significantly more fluid, maybe slightly.

[kevin cox]

i say get a note 8 

the google pixel 2 doesnt have a head phone jack

 

[NinJake]

I'd wait for the Pixel 2.

[Radioactive Snowman]

You're getting a lot more for your money with the note 8. Pixel phones always feel like they're missing features which for almost a thousand dollars/euro is unacceptable

[Newfie-John]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I ended up going for the Note 8, I recall some big commonly standard features that were missing from the Pixel XL. Plus the no headphone jack is a huge con. I listen to music at work, I doubt their bluetooth headset will last 6 - 8 hours on a single charge.

[Sniperfox47]

50 minutes ago, Newfie-John said:

Thanks for all the input everyone. I ended up going for the Note 8, I recall some big commonly standard features that were missing from the Pixel XL. Plus the no headphone jack is a huge con. I listen to music at work, I doubt their bluetooth headset will last 6 - 8 hours on a single charge.

The Pixel 2 XL is rumored to have a headphone jack. It's just the Smaller Pixel 2 which is rumored to trade the headphone jack for front-facing speakers.

 

Do you mind if I ask what features you felt were missing from the Pixel XL other than pen support and front facing speakers?

[Newfie-John]

11 hours ago, Sniperfox47 said:

Do you mind if I ask what features you felt were missing from the Pixel XL other than pen support and front facing speakers?

Sorry for the delay, long day at work. It was a while ago I was looking at it. But 1) I recall reviews on the camera being sub par. 2) The lack of an IP rating for water/dust resistance was a big con. No desire to go back to a waterproof container while hiking, using a Xperia currently for water resistance.

The Pixel XL had several reviews at the time for it being poorly constructed/not very durable. Basically i got the impression it was not a solid construction, and being an expensive 'premium' phone was discouraging.

 

Also myself, for convenience I was hoping for a phone with wireless charging. I have held out for far too long waiting for the 'right' phone, perhaps i am just settling with the Note 8 although i do not have much hope for a phone in the near future hitting as many of the features i would like in a phone.

Sorry if that was incoherent, long day at work.

-Jon

[Sniperfox47]

1 hour ago, Newfie-John said:

Sorry for the delay, long day at work. It was a while ago I was looking at it. But 1) I recall reviews on the camera being sub par. 2) The lack of an IP rating for water/dust resistance was a big con. No desire to go back to a waterproof container while hiking, using a Xperia currently for water resistance.

The Pixel XL had several reviews at the time for it being poorly constructed/not very durable. Basically i got the impression it was not a solid construction, and being an expensive 'premium' phone was discouraging.

 

Also myself, for convenience I was hoping for a phone with wireless charging. I have held out for far too long waiting for the 'right' phone, perhaps i am just settling with the Note 8 although i do not have much hope for a phone in the near future hitting as many of the features i would like in a phone.

Sorry if that was incoherent, long day at work.

-Jon

No worries, that clears things up. Perfectly coherent!

 

The following isn't to question your decision, I'm sure you made the right choice for your needs. I just wanna clarify some stuff for my own curiosity. Feel free to ignore me if you don't want the bother  

 

As far as the camera, yeah it's a little weird. It takes some getting used to to get good results if you're not using Google's camera app, since it was heavily optomized for their image processing. And the lens flare thing -while blown way out of proportion- is a thing. Honestly I've gotten so used to the camera that I kind of forgot about the lens flare issue 

 

The Pixel XL was IP53 certified, and pretty much everyone I saw testing it said that was probably pretty conservative. That being said though, if you plan to take your phone hiking and have the chance of dropping it in a lake, I can kind of see the worry for higher ratings. I'm hoping and praying for a full IP67+X8 rating on the Pixel 2 XL, but I somehow doubt we'll see it considering who's manufacturing it.

 

Durability wise, I'm not sure what complaints you heard about it. Other than the back glass being Gorilla Glass 5 (so easy to scratch), the thing is a pretty freaking solid. Not saying there aren't issues with durability, just saying I haven't encountered or heard of them.

 

I never really understood how Qi charging was any more convenient than using a cable. Maybe you can help me on that. By the time I set the phone on the charger and wriggled it just right to get optimum efficiency, I could have just plugged a cable into my N5. And I get that there are 10W Qi chargers now which will charge it about as fast as a more tradition 1.5A USB Battery Charging charger, but I don't get how avoiding having a cable plugged in is better than having to orient it just right on the pad, and then deal with the heat and slow charging speed.

 

And yeah, I get what you mean. Every year there seem to be phones that have features I want but none of them have all the features. Like, I really like Zenphone AR for tango, and was really disappointed to see that the Pixel 2 XL likely won't have tango in it. Eve looks to be shaping up into that ideal chromebook for me, but there doesn't seem to have a phone with "all the stuff" yet :\

[Newfie-John]

7 hours ago, Sniperfox47 said:

The Pixel XL was IP53 certified, and pretty much everyone I saw testing it said that was probably pretty conservative. That being said though, if you plan to take your phone hiking and have the chance of dropping it in a lake, I can kind of see the worry for higher ratings. I'm hoping and praying for a full IP67+X8 rating on the Pixel 2 XL, but I somehow doubt we'll see it considering who's manufacturing it.

This was my concern, traveling with a wetsac and having to place my phone in a watertight container in fear of water damage was not appealing. If it was not for this i most likely would have purchased this phone before i wore my old phone to dust.

 

7 hours ago, Sniperfox47 said:

I never really understood how Qi charging was any more convenient than using a cable. Maybe you can help me on that. By the time I set the phone on the charger and wriggled it just right to get optimum efficiency, I could have just plugged a cable into my N5. And I get that there are 10W Qi chargers now which will charge it about as fast as a more tradition 1.5A USB Battery Charging charger, but I don't get how avoiding having a cable plugged in is better than having to orient it just right on the pad, and then deal with the heat and slow charging speed.

This for me was something i have been wanting for a while, probably as i still use my original Xperia which has a cap over the power port which is just frustrating. I have not used a wireless charger yet although the one in the Note 8 does seem to be receiving better reviews then the old ones. Plus with the pre-order i get the dock for free so do not need to purchase it separably.

 

The Note 8 seems to be the closest to having "all the stuff" i want. But who knows, with my luck the perfect phone will get announced after i purchase. Such is my luck.

 

-Jon