My next phone: Galaxy S9 versus iPhone X

I'll be replacing my phone within a month when I move from US Cellular to Verizon (for coverage issues in Oregon), and I'm debating between these two phones. I'm not interested in Pixel 2 (QC issues), or any of the "90% as good for 50% of the price" options because their cameras are never nearly as good as these two flagships, and camera performance matters A LOT to me.

I've historically been an Android guy, but never the flash-a-custom-ROM variety, instead using the devices as they come out the box with Nova Launcher. However, I can also use iOS; I have a $329 iPad as my primary media tablet. I primarily use my phone for email, camera (it's my primary camera for family photos), media watching on the go, and mobile gaming.

Biggest advantages of the iPhone as I see them:
* Prompt security and OS updates for several years, without carrier or OEM interference.
* Third-party developers develop for this OS first, and third-party-app quality control tends to be best on this OS. For example, Alto's Odyssey and Thumper are currently iOS-only, and Banner Saga always ran better on iOS than Android.
* Historically, Apple's biometric authentication has been more likely to recognize me on the first try than Samsung's.

Biggest advantages of the S9 Plus as I see them:
* Bigger screen for media consumption and lots of visible text.
* Headphone jack. The dongle life isn't a dealbreaker for iOS, but it is certainly a downside.
* Since I already have a high-speed 256gb microSD card, there's a several-hundred-dollar advantage to getting the S9 over the large-storage iPhone X.
* Totally subjective, but I like the look and form factor better. I like the curved edges (even if they're not functional), and the iPhone notch annoys me in landscape mode.
* I think it has a wider-angle front-facing camera? Most of my full-family photos are selfies, so this actually matters a lot.

I would appreciate any thoughts.

 

S9+ would be wise choice. Easy to backup data than syncing to iTunes to make a backup to PC or iCloud.
Do note you'll get longer battery runtimes on android than on iOS. If you're kind of a guy who rarely uses the phone and needs more battery runtimes then iphone is the best.
The iphone with lightning to 3.5mm audio jack has worse audio quality than my PC or older phones.
S9+ OS updates will be delayed unlike Android One partners or iOS to get super fast OS updates.

 

Out of these two I would go for Sammy.

Coming from BB Q10, gestures is the biggest thing that I miss on Android. The three navigation buttons feel so outdated to me. I even tried the gesture control application from Android Market, but didn't find it working to my satisfaction.

 

If money isn't an issue I'd go with the s9+ personally. Full disclosure, I am definitely an android guy but considering your needs I think the s9+ will both save you money (that 256gb sd card man, my 128 gb one is 80% full, reading your post just reminded me of deleting a few things there) and provide a slightly better performance in the photo area.
For media consumption on a phone, the s9+ is the best there is out there, hands down. It has the best screen ever fit to a phone to date, still got the headphone jack and finally a semi-stereo speaker system for those times you forgot the headphones somewhere.

I have an s7 edge myself and I hear your complaint about biometric authentication, even back then the s7 edge's fingerprint sensor was somehow worse than the honor 7 I'd previously owned but from what I've read (all previews) it's not at all that mediocre on the new samsung line. Then again, I prefer to have a fingerprint on the back than having to put the phone to my face and slide to unlock it. Both options are vastly inferior to a normal front-facing fingerprint sensor but until next year with the under-the-glass solution and considering the current 2:1 screen ratio craze, it is what it is.

Like you I've never really done much modding at all (just a few times with a 120$ xiaomi redmi 3 that really needed it) but I appreciate samsung's themes, there's a boatload of them and they make the phone look radically different (alongside nova pro + a few different icon packs) and it's something I personally need not to get too bored with my phone but again, just personal preference.

Apple has the clear advantage on security and just general snappy updates, alongside with a preferential lane for app development and optimisation. Samsung is certainly not the quickest to release major updates or even security updates even in the android ecosphere, that's for certain.

All in all I'd still pick the s9+ especially since you are not particularly deep into apple's ecosystem. Besides which, I'd never swap my beloved back and multitasking buttons for those laborious gestures of the iphone x. And I'm sorry, the notch is as unsightly as it was at first (but android manifacturers obviously keep copying apple's worst things rather than the good ones, at least samsung didn't fall prey to that).

Whichever one you'll pick one thing is certain, you're going to have a great time taking pics, although I'd still give the advantage to the s9+ here as the super slow-mo is neat-o and the camera has a bevvy of manual adjustments, should you wish to start tinkering with them (careful or you'll end up buying dslrs next!), alongside with a slightly better quality than the x's.

In all honesty, you can't miss here as both are excellent devices. My 2 cents are on the samsung for your specific case but you really can't go wrong with either one.

 

I'm voting S9+.

I don't really buy in to the whole facial recognition of iPhone X. Having the fingerprint sensor on the back is nice because as you are pulling it out of your pocket you can already have it unlocked before you even have eyes on it. That plus the S9's new dual aperture camera is getting great reviews. And maybe the most important part is the S9 comes with fast charging out of the box, where as the X requires you buy the bigger charge adapter. I love the fact my V30+ has fast charge. Getting ready to go out and being able to add 50% more on the battery in just under 30 minutes is great.

 

I didn't realize the iPhone had a disadvantage in battery runtimes. That's a big deal to me. My iPad is such a battery champ (lasts 2-3x as long as my Nexus 9 in typical use) that I'm used to associating iDevices with good battery life.

I forgot the iPhone X doesn't come with a fast charger. Adding a second headphone dongle plus a fast-charger to the price of the large-storage iPhone X pushes its price to $1250, over $300 more than the S9 Plus and $450 more than the S9 Minus (using Verizon pricing; I know better deals on the Galaxy S can be had elsewhere).

I know that there were some swipe gestures on the iPhone X, but I didn't think about whether it would get cumbersome to do a swipe gesture every time I hit the multitasking or back buttons. I guess I should play around with one more in the store.

Thanks everyone for the feedback (especially Kurgo--awesome post for anyone, especially a newbie). I was leaning Samsung before, and definitely leaning that way now, but I'm still open to arguments on either side.

 

Can there be a third option? neither of those appeal to me!

 

But this thread isn't about your next phone, it's about mine. A lot of Asian-market folks may like Xiaomi, and European buyers may like Sony Xperia, but I'm buying a phone from Verizon in the USA.

So if it's not one of these two, then what? As noted in the original post, I don't want a Pixel 2 because if no wireless charging and all the quality control issues. The V30 has a bad display and I am leery of LG's bootlooping issues. And the Moto Z2 Force gets very poor reviews compared to Apple and Samsung's best. The cream of the crop of mid-range devices like the OnePlus 5 and Moto X4 are out for to carrier compatibility and camera performance (a really really big deal to me).

 

As far as I know Pixel 2 (non XL) doesn't have QC issues. However the issue with it is that it's so barebones. It doesn't really have to offer anything special except for good camera and pure Android. I myself was curious about that phone, but then I saw its price. Pixel 2 (non XL) with 128 GB of storage costs 909 Euros!!! Are they mad! And it doesn't even have a headphone jack!

 

The Pixel 2 doesn't have the XL's screen issues, but it still has had issues with coil whine, clicking sounds, audio distortion in recorded videos, Bluetooth issues, GPS issues, heat and short battery life issues (started in February), etc.

And like I said, the lack of wireless charging it a downside for me; I already have wireless chargers at home and at work.

 

That's quite a list!

 

I would rather the iphone 8 variants than the X. Being able to unlock with your fingerprint is a much better solution than the faceID crap. no home button is a time waster as well. I am NOT a fan of Samsung at all, every phone I have owned by them has been junk.

If I was going to look at android it would be blackberry, essential, or sony. I know you want wireless charging so go with the iphone 8. NOTCH the X.

 

It would be interesting to have statistics supporting these seemingly high failure rates claimed by news outlets. Because every time a new issue is reported that no one knew about, you'll see P2 & P2XL owners in the comments section reporting not having those issues. Just to be clear, I do think the new Pixels have more manufacturing inconsistencies than most phones, probably due to Google being inexperienced in the field and LG's lacking QC, but I think this is also an effect of there not being much else to complain about than the occasional lemon, and the two phones having become popular to hate on.

Anyhow, I voted for the S9 Plus because it is the technically most impressive phone of the two. The iPhone X has some surprising lack of adaption to the new screen ratio and notch, considering this is Apple we're talking about. I think the iPhone 8 Plus seems easier to live with, though not as cutting-edge as a novelty anniversary device.

 

I once talked with a Pixel 2 owner. He said the audio recording quality was great, no issues. I had him send me a video clip he took and I thought the audio distortion was obvious and obnoxious. Except for the connectivity issues, these are issues that are "really bad" or "not noticeable" depending on the person. With this phone, the other found issues not noticeable that I found intolerable.

Also, not every handset is affected. Doesn't mean the issue isn't real. My own Note 7 never caught fire, but that didn't mean the Note 7 didn't actually have battery issues.

 

Yes, I agree that both Pixels have issues, some present on a handful (?) of devices, others on every unit out there. Obviously, it's up to a potential customer to make an informed decision based on personal preferences, and I wasn't trying to sway you into considering the Pixels again, nor claim that people who dismiss these phones over QC worries are wrong to do so. I only wish there were statistics that would give insight into how widespread issues which don't affect all units are, as I suspect the phones have received more negative press than they deserve. I'm not trying to defend my own purchase here; I'm merely stating that the impression of how difficult the Pixels are to live with doesn't resonate with me.

The audio recording issue must have slipped under my radar, and unfortunately I don't have a sizeable collection of video samples yet. This sounds similar to the LG Nexus 5, which means it's most likely a hardware issue that should have been picked up by Google during QC. I found some really bad examples on YouTube and will try to record more videos in the future. I've read reports of WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity issues, but have not encountered any before or after the February update.

I don't think the Note 7 analogy is transferable considering every Note 7 had the same defect, and of the potential ticking bomb variety. The only issue I can think of that could manifest itself over time with the Pixels is OLED burn-in, which doesn't lead to instant data loss, fire, toxic fumes, or grounding a commercial flight. Real shame, considering how attractive the Note 7 was at the time of its release, and how its led to Samsung being overly conservative with their battery capacities in fear of another scandal. I still don't doubt Samsung's engineering prowess one bit.

In any case, I didn't mean to clutter up your thread with Pixel 2 discussion. Hopefully your transition to Verizon goes smoothly, and I hope you have a nice weekend!

 

UPDATE

So I'm the worst person in the world to give advice to, because I give you very precise parameters and then ignore them myself. I'm the happy owner of a brand new Pixel 2 XL (black, 128 gb). In the end, it was the incredible camera performance without having to fiddle with manual settings that won me over. And the screen is actually quite good, especially when set to "saturated." I've heard that the screen problems were the worst on the first batches manufactured, and I would believe that. Except for some off-axis blue shift, the screen quality is very comparable to my S7 Edge.

The fact that it was on sale for $650 (for the 128 gb version) certainly didn't hurt.

 

Good choice....MUCH better than the samesong.

 

I've got to admit I was surprised to see the Pixel pop up in your signature. It may not be the most exciting phone from a hardware perspective, but you've just made your life easy. Consistently good camera and no fiddling whatsoever to obtain the latest version of Android. And you already know about its shortcomings, so you're not likely to be left with any unpleasant surprises. One of the biggest, pleasant surprises from real-world usage is how usable the stereo speakers are as a makeshift radio. Make sure you enable "Swipe fingerprint for notifications" if you haven't already, as it makes the phone significantly better for one-handed usage. Adding an extension to your browser which moves the navbar to the bottom is also a neat trick. Google Assistant's inbuilt song recognition has improved a lot since last autumn, but I still find Shazam quicker and more well-versed. Where Google Assistant's recognition seems better is in noisy environments, and I believe Google will keep closing the gap on other fronts.

What I would have liked to see in a future revision is smaller bezels: 6-inch 18:9 is nice and all, but this is not a bezel-less phone in either direction, unlike others making the aspect ratio push. I wouldn't want to sacrifice proper stereo speakers, but if it hadn't been quite as tall, it would have been easier to reach the top of the screen with one hand. Next on the list is the inclusion of a headphone jack, which has already been mentioned a thousand times. Third is HDR10 certification. Google's improved how Android handles different colour gamuts natively, and HDR YouTube videos look great on the Pixel 2 XL's display. That's why I find it unfortunate that HDR is limited to just one app when support is broadening elsewhere. Fourth is a second camera, with either optical zoom or a wide-angle lens. The portrait mode on the Pixels is impressive to be all software, but it can't quite compete with the best dual-camera phones out there, most notably when it comes to strands of hair, or a small area in the photo not being recognised as the background. I say it's good enough not to warrant a dedicated portrait mode camera, but in this price range, why not give us something like Oppo's 5x zoom or LG's wide-angle lens in addition? Another case of can't have it all, perhaps.

 

Ugh, Samsung... great if you like cartoon/clown colors on your display. And that god-awful Android hack they call an OS.

Look at Sony Xperia XZ2 and/or HTC U12+ for your next phone (IMHO)

Or, you could be daring and wait for the Essential Phone 2 - bet it's going to be pretty good.

 

I think I would only buy an android phone from Google directly or essential. All others have lied and falsely installed security updates that were never really installed.

 

iPhone 8 > all other options. Only non-apple phone I would ever consider is the Sony XZ2, but they fell out of favor with me since they also omitted the headphone jack.....

 

going by your logic raidriar, you should pick the iPhone 6s. Still plenty fast, gets 3 more years of OS updates, and has the headphone jack. I am keeping mine until no more updates come in. The incremental updates since the 6s, are not enough to make me move up to a newer model. And the X just SUCKS.

 

I use an iPhone SE and it’s the perfect phone in my opinion. Very sad Apple chose not to refresh it but I probably know why they didn’t: it cannabilized 6S sales

 

Yeah, the SE is awesome too. wish they put forcetouch on it. As far as I know, There is an SE2 coming out soon. I think im going to get one (SE), for s&g. I do love my 6s however.

 

The iPhone SE is in many ways the unsung hero of the iPhone line, but it's not for me. I like phablets with high-res OLED screens.

(In case people missed it, I ended up getting the Pixel 2XL because the screen was much better than at launch and a 128gb model was on sale for $650. I love it)

 

You can only take advantage of so much "high res" on a 5-6 inch screen. My 6s is high res enough for me. OLED is nice, but has it's own set of problems. (watch the burn in). Had it on my wifes 1020. Mine never because I used light theme more than she did. But they do burn, so it's something to take note of with OLED. Size is a personal thing for sure. I like the size of the regular pixel 2 and my iphone. Any larger and I cannot use with one hand.

 

I would get the Xr. The screen is very good, and the colour options are dandy.

 

$750 720p phone...

 

Yep. You don’t use anything higher anyways. Stop getting caught up with specs. What do you use the 4K screen for n your phone.

 

He wants to do Photoshop editing on his phone so every pixel matters /sarcasm

The moment I get a phone I turn down the resolution to the minimum, they all look the same to me on a freakin' 5.8 to 6 inch screen.

1080p vs 1440p: How much does 1440p really affect battery life?

 

First off, when the Xr is getting beaten out by my 6S+ (same screen tech, 1080p) for far less money, that's a problem.

Second, for me personally, I do want/need higher resolutions on a phone (1080p, currently). Specifically, one of my major uses for a phone is to read and watch video in bed when I have my contacts/glasses off. I have horribly nearsighted vision (-4.75, -ish), so to see anything on the phone with any sort of detail, it needs to be pretty close to my face. And when you have such nearsightness and have something that close, you can absolutely tell the difference between 720p and 1080p. I'd love to try out a 4K phone once they get cheap enough and battery life is acceptable.

If I'm going to use a 720p phone, there are far cheaper options out there, even including Apple's older phones (the SE is very close to 720p for far less money than the Xr). The Xr could be okay (sort of) if it was 720p but a better display tech like OLED. Or it could be alright if it was the same old screen tech but 1080p; I can see a justification for a 1080p Xr for $750. But as it stands, there's literally nothing special about the Xr, and there are too many downsides to it, to take the Xr as a serious option for an iPhone other than the subset of customers who absolute must have a new iPhone for the cheapest price point possible.

That Apple has the balls to charge $750+ for such a basic phone (nevermind the display, everything else too) is a farce.

 

I have a 6s, and an 8. The Xr's screen is better than both of mine, and it's quite a bit faster too. So I don't know where your 6s is "beating" the Xr. In costs? maybe. but that's like saying the galaxy s7 beats the s10 because it's cheaper. OLED has it's own set of issues. (see screen burn in).

Furthermore, The Xr is faster, and has better battery life than either of the Xs models. I think it's a great phone. Camera is non essential for me to be "fantastic". I have my Fuji real cameras for that. So stating your 6s is "beating" the Xr, please.

 

The rest of the specs are just fine, the Xr is just incredibly let down by the display (relative to price). Given how pretty much any bargain-bin smartphone can handle video streams, calls, text, and internet just fine, the display is the most important spec for me, hence my disappointment. Sorry that some people have different priorities than you

 

Exactly, Just as some people have different priorities than you. But have you used the Xr? What (besides the specs) do you dislike about it? I have used it for a few hours now (not mine), and went into it with the same mindset as yourself after reading and watching a bunch of videos of people claiming it's the "same" lcd as the 8. I can tell you the display in the Xr is MUCH better than my iPhone 8 display, which is pretty damn good imo. So, I want to hear what you dislike about it. I am not arguing , I am curious and interested in discussions like these.

 

I have an Apple store near me that I frequent (since I’m on the market for a new phone; yay for getting only 32GB on the 6S+...). Aside from the specs, I dislike the price of the Xr; I’m not paying flagship prices for an entry-level phone.

More in detail, while the chipset is the same as the Xs, I personally give zero crap about stuff like that. Unlike desktops/laptops where I care a lot about the performance since I do lots of things on those devices, a phone is *simply* a black box used for phone stuff and internet stuff, so there’s basically no difference (for me) between the A12 and what my current phone has. Therefore, my main priorities in a phone are the display (as previously discussed), the price, and the storage capacity (since Apple doesn’t believe in microSD).

To go further into detail into the display, it *is* the same LCD tech as previous iPhones. Same construction, same propertities; there’s nothing special about it compared to the 8 (hell, it’s even the same PPI, albeit *sightly* more resolution than the 8). If I become okay with the Xr resolution, I might as well save money and buy an 8 ($599 new, less refurb) or get a *higher resolution* 8S for still less money ($699 new). At that point, in the Xr I’d be paying extra for.... the color? Then there’s the X...

Anyway, it seems like sales figures for the Xr (hell, even the Xs/Xs Max) speak loud enough to the lack of value in Apple’s latest iPhone offerings. It seems I’m not the only one who takes issue with it

 

Hell, here’s you own words on the Xr in the China iPhone thread:

Personally I like to buy my phones upfront, but if that’s the situation for a financed phone, that’s insane...

 

Yes. Did I not say that I am a year out on getting a phone. By the time I am ready, the 256gb Xr is going to be reasonable. I think ALL phones are way overpriced. Still nothing against the SPECS on the phone. Just that everyone is overpriced.

Again, you are just stating Specs sheets. Have you used the Xr ? I don't judge by specs, I judge by real world in hand use. I could have had the samesong etc but they were terrible in real world useage. The Xr is not an entry level phone btw. It has all the same internals as the Xs. The screen is a different technology than the Xs, that don't make it "entry level" it makes it less expensive than the Xs. Again, what do you NEED a 4k screen for?

 

1080p display sweetie, not 4K. 4K would be nice, but not something I’m looking for right now . Anyway, I’ve already said why I need a high-red phone display, I’m not going to repeat myself.

And yes, I have used it in the store. It’s an iPhone, it does iPhone things. Not terribly different from my 6S+ other than the size and bezels.

Anyway, it’s certainly entry level in Apple’s current lineup. Hopefully someday they’ll release a SE 2 to become the new entry into their phones, however.

 

I have yet to read what you NEED a higher resolution display for. Seriously. Again I’m not picking fights, etc. I am genuinely curious.

 

Nobody needs anything more than a basic flip phone, if that. But, for a luxury item like a smartphone, I’d want certain characteristics, and you want different characteristics. The display is what I chose the 6S+ over the 6S, for example, and part of the reason why I wasn’t too happy with the Samsung Galaxy Prime Core (a 480p phone I used to own).

I also don’t need a new phone, so if I can save money and/or get the display I want for cheaper, I’ll go for that. The iPhone X has a better resolution than either the Xr or my current phone, for example, and is cheaper than the Xr/Xs/XsMax. Now if I want to spend a lot of money on a new phone, $750 for the base Xr (more really, since I want a huge storage capacity) isn’t that far different than what they’re charging for the Xs, with a much nicer display (not just resolution, but everything else too) and other features.

...Or I finally find a decent Android local music manager with Android Auto support and I jump back to that environment. Sadly haven’t found that yet though.

 

Ok. Thanks. I must have missed that. Cool. I can understand that one then. And yes, Probably the xr screen would not be enough. I am sticking with Apple as well for the music service. I don’t know how well Apple Music works on android.

There are a lot of awesome android phones at various price points though. The Huawei offerings and the stylo 4+ are just a few.