iPhone 8 Plus – Product RED – Beat by Dr. Dre & Samsung Galaxy Note 8

iPhone 8 Plus – Product RED – Beat by Dr. Dre & Samsung Galaxy Note 8

When I “plan” to buy something I normally like to take my time, read reviews, watch youtube videos about the product, ask people for feedback.

On the other hand, If I’m out somewhere, and something catches my eye, I tend to buy it then and there.  While we were picking up some Krispy Kreme donuts the other day, we decided to stop by the T-Mobile store to see if anything new came out.  And there she was, a beautiful red iPhone 8 Plus!

As someone who used to be in the Cellular industry for 15+ years, I tend to always have a iPhone and a Android both.  They both have small features that you get used to, but of course the manufacturers will never make a device that has the best of both worlds.

 

I wasn’t a big fan of the RED iPhone 7, because it didn’t seem to match the white screen.  I’m very thrilled that Apple decided to go with the black screen on the RED iphone 8 and RED iphone 8 Plus instead of white.

Just in case you didn’t know, the RED iPhone is exactly what it says.  Just a RED iPhone.  No special features, or anything different from the current iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus models that are currently out.  However, it does go perfectly with the Product RED Beats that I have.

Aside from the fact that I really like the color red,  a portion of this money actually goes to HIV/AIDS Programs.  I’m not sure exactly how much, but there is a insert in the box.

“In partnership with (RED), Apple will contribute a portion of your iPhone purchase to the Global Fund to support HIV/AIDS programs and help deliver and AIDS-free generation.  Learn more or donate at www.RED.org” 

(RED)

So now I will get in to the question that everyone asks me.  Which is better iPhone or Android? Apple or Samsung?  Or in this case, How is the iPhone 8 Plus compared to your Galaxy Note 8?

I have never been able to give a straight answer to this question.  That’s not going to change today either.  However I can tell you what I do like and dislike about both phones.  I will not post Tech Specs about the 2 phones.  I will go straight into my reviews.

 

Compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note 8

For years and years, when people used to ask me “Should I get a iPhone or a Android”, I use to answer “I like my iPhone when I’m on the road, and I like my Android when I’m on my desk.”  Of course you should “NEVER” use your phone while you are driving, But there was a time when I used to own a few small businesses, my phone used to ring every 5 minutes.  I would pull over and reply to emails and texts with one phone, and be talking on the other.

Although I am writing this review based on the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, most androids will have similar pros and cons.  Of course the number one thing about this phone is more power over your phone than iPhone.  Even something as simple as the ability to insert a SD card to expand memory is a big plus for a lot of people.  Personally I use OTG a l lot.  Sometimes I connect Xbox and/or Playstation control pads through the OTG adapter, or even a keyboard and mouse to get some quick typing done.  The fact that I can connect this phone to any computer, and not worry about itunes sync, is also a big plus sometimes.  As powerful as phones are now, I’m not sure if people still do this or not, but Androids you can “Root” and overclock you devices too.  The camera and AMOLED screen on this device is second to none.

Now for the bad.  For some reason, no other company out there can make a touch screen that compares to iPhones.  Yes, I admit other manufacturers have come a long way from when touch screen phones first started hitting the market.  But till this day, none compare to iPhones.  The responsiveness, the ease of use even when not looking at the device, Apple is the best in that area.  Second, the fingerprint sensor.  Same deal.  Why is that?  Maybe because of Apples patents?  No other devices fingerprint sensor works as well as the iPhones.

An obvious plus for the iPhone is the music.  I think almost everyone has owned or used an iPod before.  My music library is something I have been building since I was in high school, when MP3 files were a new thing, and 50 megabyte WAV files had to be used for music.  I cannot imagine managing the names, playlists, orders, album art etc, without iTunes.  I tried many times to drop iTunes, and try other software, or even just renaming my files to the order I want, and putting them in folders etc….just does not work the same.

Normally I would list iCloud as a plus for the iPhones, but Google and Samsung are getting pretty good with their clouds.  I would normally list wireless charging, and water resistant as a plus for the Galaxy Note 8, but iPhones have that now too.  So as I’ve mentioned before, these newer phones with hefty price tags have minor minor edges on each other, and pretty much comes down to personal preference.  For example, our company switched our mail server from Microsoft to Google not too long ago.  Obviously being google, it works so well on my Note 8.  Does that mean everyone at our company with iPhones went out and bought Androids?  Of course not!  It still works on iPhones too.  Not as well, but good enough.  So in conclusion, both iPhone and Android are advanced enough now to handle pretty much all of your needs.  (The specs on these newer devices are better than a lot of peoples Home PC’s now)

Have you tried Samsung Pay yet?  A lot of people around me still don’t know too much about Samsung Pay.  To put it simply, you save your credit cards information in your Samsung phone (Yes, it is safe), and when you want to use it, you just choose the card you want to use in Samsung Pay, put in your PIN or Fingerprint for safety, and then you put your phone next to the credit card machine.  That’s it.  The phone will send a signal to the magnet reader on pretty much any credit card machine.  I loved Apple Pay, however I got sick of asking the merchants if they accept Apple Pay, and of course some places had Apple Pay, but the employees weren’t trained on how to accept a payment through Apple Pay.  I’m not sure what may happen in the future with chip readers that make you insert your card now, but so far I haven’t had any issues using Samsung Pay wherever I go.

I read somewhere that the newer iPhones that come out (2018-2019) are going to have a built in Sim Card, and an extra slot so that you can add an extra one too.  That is going to be huge plus for business men, and for people like dual sim phones.

I will not comment on the iPhone X, facial recognition, or the folding Samsung phone that is coming out =).  D.I

 

JULY 3, 2018 BY DAVIDIN