Superior video quality over cardboard derivatives than gearvr ! - Samsung Gear VR

today i managed to buy a VRBox 2 (a cheap cardboard derivative) as a gift to a friend who liked my GearVR but didn't have a samsung phone for a start . so i slipped my phone for a try out of curiosity ... when i fired the AAA Player and put on a random 3D video to my surprise it wasn't pixelated any like i am used to on GearVR , i seriously got used to GearVR pixelation thinking this is how the screen is and its because its too near and blahs , however this turned out not to be the case at all , so somehow its either occulus deliberately dithering videos (maybe to save on processing power or minimize heat) or something is wrong with its design so bad that a cheap 17$ set had it figured with ease .
the image was clear that i couldn't even tell it was made of pixels , 3D stereoscope had more depth and with prolonged use it didn't even came to heat half it did on SamsungVR , the only draw back was control (google is still at stone age in that aspect where often you need to dig out the phone to switch things) but yet it is still worth it.
so why am i saying this ? is a hint that we aren't really on the best out there .
by google and their market developers investing a little more onto user interfaces and adopting maybe Bluetooth game pads as a valid input device to control the apps the carpet could be pulled so hard on Samsung that people wont even remember there is a particular VR set for which

I've noticed that the actual images that are projected into the gear VR lenses only use a very small part of the screen. That would explain the pixles, no idea why they do it. My LG G2 looked better in a $5 Google cardboard as it uses the entire screen. It must be for a reason but not really sure why.
Sent from my SM-N920C using XDA-Developers mobile app

I like trying different cardboard apps(Gear Service disabled) and video apps with the gearVR to see how they deal differently.
Sent from my SM-G920W8 using XDA-Developers mobile app

Related

Going Back

I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand it's your opinion, but in my opinion it's a watch (there's thousands of watches for more money than ours) that works in futuristic ways that will only get better with time and upgrades. I'm not slamming you taking it back by any means, but this is a pretty new concept and to me, it blows my mind what we can do from a simple watch now. If I can talk into my wrist like James Bond and take pictures without anyone knowing (obviously for the creepiest of reasons) on top of the fact that it is a cool looking watch, I will deal with the few bugs that will get worked out soon enough. But just my opinion!
Sent from my SM-N900V using xda app-developers app
Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See ya!
You are welcome back in a month when the custom ROMs, apps that handle more notifications and other cool stuff are out.
I've experienced none of the issues you are having, and think the watch has a fabulous design.
That's fine... ...
I was lucky enough to get in on the 30% off deal, and at that price, totally worth the money. At the normal price of 299, I can understand why it might be hard to justify owning the Gear and expecting zero bugs out of the box. That being said, any decent traditional watch will cost at least 300 minimum - and in most cases, all it does is show time & date.
As for the charging cradle, don't understand why it's an issue... it was either a cradle or sticking an ugly USB port on the device. I think they made the right choice, although wireless charging would've been cool, lol. The only problem I can see is, when traveling, you have to remember to take the cradle, then there's the risk of losing it. Anyone who travels regularly, I'd recommend buying a spare cradle if and when they're available.
And not sure about the Sony v2 watch, but I had the v1 for about a week (terrible) and recall that it had a PITA proprietary connector and charging cable. I'd take the cradle over that any day.
Lastly, even traditional watches can be a hassle to keep powered. Some have to be wound on a daily basis, solars need to be kept exposed to light, kinetic motion ones need to be kept moving frequently, etc. Watches with button cell batteries are probably the easiest to deal with, but when the battery dies, can be a major hassle to hunt down the correct battery and sometimes require a repairman to to open the watch and replace it.
My point is, the cradle is not a big deal, lol. Don't let that deter anyone from getting this otherwise awesome watch.
Hi,had mine a few weeks now absolutely love it.You do seem to echo some of the reviews did you read them before you purchased yours
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
To each his own.
At the end of the day, I love my gear. No way I am taking this thing back.
Is this perfect, no, but either is anything else on the market.
Im excited to see the development of this watch, both now and in the future. Im glad to be apart of it.
JG
Earthdog said:
I regret to say mine is going back. IMHO this is a BETA device.
Flaky Notifications
Camera Issues fuzzy
Svoice connection unacceptably slow
Lack of customizations
Constant Bluetooth dropping with other paired devices nearby
Screen not visible in direct sunlight
Band is a few notches to small
Lack of other applications notification support
Failure to have public SDK
Dump the camera and and alternative band support
Charge without special cradle
Good luck guys great concept.
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love this thing, and even with the current state of software it is more than useable for me. My only issue is the lack of water proofing, but I have been careful so far.
i finally managed to find a demo unit in bahrain, loved it! although a tad expensive, 120 BD, for sure this will be cheaper in saudi
It's not consumer ready, by any stretch of the imagination, but for the hackers / enthusiasts amongst us it's far and away the best out there.
I think in that respect, Samsung hit it out of the park and deserve accolades from all of us. It's very exciting to play with it and see and investigate the potential.
Apple will probably wait until they have something that is consumer ready. They don't really care about hackers/enthusiasts.
I think most people buying this watch knew it was not ready for prime time. However most of the issues can and will be improved with software updates and programmers from this forum. People expecting perfection out of the box are dissapointed... Especially if they paid the 300 when you could have got it for 209. I love my watch for 209 and can't wait for the gn2 to update so I can get full use. Even with my current limited use, it's still a cool techy watch. It will only improve going forward.
Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk
I would disagree,I don't understand why you think it's not consumer ready.Maybe it's because I am older and don't want facebook or other social media.I can remember the first iphone pixilated screen,a worse camera than the gear has now but I don't remember people saying it wasn't consumer ready.The gear I have does everything I expect it to do very well,it's very well made,and I can call my wife on my watch hands free driving how can you think that's not ready.Its bloody fantastic i can do a phone call on my watch.Thinking about it did the first iphone even have a camera not sure.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
iankellogg said:
I love this thing, and even with the current state of software it is more than useable for me. My only issue is the lack of water proofing, but I have been careful so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using xda app-developers app
Present software is the least of my concerns as that be fixed with updates etc.
There are several rather serious practical issues with the present rendition.
That lovely ;large crystal (watch jargon for watch glass) is going to scratch like hell.
The camera has a hole at the back and many owners are reporting the camera lens misting up through condensation.
The strap has the most notorious type of clasp used in the watch trade.
Water resistance is a pre requisite for any wrist worn device. The IP55 is simply totally inadequate for a wrist watch.
Those terminals on the back are not going to take kind to water nor perspiration.
The watch band itself is made from a material that may not wear well, only time will tell with that BUT either way a replacement will make it a return to a Samsung agent and that's not going to be cheap.
I do agree its very much a BETA device. Not sure how I feel about that. I would imagine those that are paying 350.00€ may not be well pleased?
It appears an awful lot of owners are returning the gear for one reason or another. I collect watches so will keep it, not to mention I paid very little for it.
The software will improve and those who expect a brand new device to have tons of apps etc are being unrealistic. The true concerns lie in the hardware and unfortunately there is zero we can do about that.
Water and perspiration are going to be the big issues and already are.
The concept is great and the next gear will, no doubt, have addressed all or most of these points.
Regards
I think lack of water proofing is a big downside. However, I'd expect that to be addressed in v2
I'm impartial to the watchband. I'd rather the traditional hole style, but can't complain with current setup (other than the speaker part being bulky when resting arm on table etc.
Now that we have root and side loading, there is lot of potential in this 'first generation' device (first gen is something to keep in mind when using/buying)
I don't have notifications/svoice working as still on 4.2.2 (ebay notifications work fine, just no detail)
Bluetooth seems fine, but would like it to autoconnect (no user interaction required) like my pebble does
When used in conjunction with supported devices, I disagree with it being called a beta device. It does everything it says it does with no issues. The only real thing lacking is developer support; something which will come soon enough
I'm impressed with quality of camera/mic/speaker for what it is
Wish it was easier to find a charging cradle. Sucks having to remember to bring my only one
Wish it was easier to make screen turn on. I find that 'moving up' hardly works, wrist twist doesn't work and I just end up having to use my other hand to press the button - hopefully new firmware will change this (screen always on, just dull; more movement triggers; etc)
My gear is 3 weeks old ,I have played 5 rounds of golf,chopped wood,sleep in it every night (my precious).Played golf in the rain,the screen is every bit as good as new not even a tiny mark
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app
Love mine to bits
No way is it going back. Bring on the software improvements.
Ryland Johnson said:
Present software is the least of my concerns as that be fixed with updates etc.
There are several rather serious practical issues with the present rendition.
That lovely ;large crystal (watch jargon for watch glass) is going to scratch like hell.
The camera has a hole at the back and many owners are reporting the camera lens misting up through condensation.
The strap has the most notorious type of clasp used in the watch trade.
Water resistance is a pre requisite for any wrist worn device. The IP55 is simply totally inadequate for a wrist watch.
Those terminals on the back are not going to take kind to water nor perspiration.
The watch band itself is made from a material that may not wear well, only time will tell with that BUT either way a replacement will make it a return to a Samsung agent and that's not going to be cheap.
I do agree its very much a BETA device. Not sure how I feel about that. I would imagine those that are paying 350.00€ may not be well pleased?
It appears an awful lot of owners are returning the gear for one reason or another. I collect watches so will keep it, not to mention I paid very little for it.
The software will improve and those who expect a brand new device to have tons of apps etc are being unrealistic. The true concerns lie in the hardware and unfortunately there is zero we can do about that.
Water and perspiration are going to be the big issues and already are.
The concept is great and the next gear will, no doubt, have addressed all or most of these points.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good gosh give it a rest about the crystal. It's a screen, big deal. All you do is post he same negative things over and over.
mhoepfin said:
Good gosh give it a rest about the crystal. It's a screen, big deal. All you do is post he same negative things over and over.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strongly suggest you take an English course in comprehension. I was writing on the gear section when there where only two threads. I was the first customer to receive the gear in this country. I am not negative regarding the Gear. I write balanced posts. I have even written IN THIS THREAD that to expect software to be 100% is unrealistic.
Now, as you are so bothered about my quest to find out what the crystal is made from there is one simple way to shut me up....Simply give me the answer. Done and dusted.:good:
The screen, as you call it, IS important to those who work in areas where the 'screen' may come into contact with other objects and either scratch or break.
Have you anything constructive to write? No? Then please allow a forum to be used as it should be with questions, debate and answers.
---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:34 PM ----------
mintie said:
Love mine to bits
No way is it going back. Bring on the software improvements.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software will come. New device so time is the only factor regarding software. :good:
Regards
I have to concur I am nervous as hell about the screen.

My 0,02$ about Gear

My first smartwatch ever was the original Sony Smartwatch 1. First of it's kind widely available, it was a pretty good product (if you compare the features to it's price). I bought Galaxy Gear few weeks ago shortly after startup for it's original price of 300 euros. I had it for few days and decided to return it, as this is a beta product with no support at all (at that time). So I returned the Gear and got Smartwatch 2 from Sony.. and that watch is really cool. It's waterproof to some point, it's very VERY light, super comfortable and you can even change the wrist stripe if you don't like the original one. It costs 150 EUR for silicon version, and 200 EUR for metal version here in Netherlands. So it's up to 50% cheaper than the Gear. Out of the box, you only have to install few applications to get messages, and notification to work. Installation is super easy and it works with nearly all devices running android 4.0 or higher. It's a nice device, but lack any kind of customization - and so far there haven't been any tools to change anything in the watch at all. Lately I got a chance to get a Gear for less than 200 EUR so I decided to give it another try, and here it is..
1. After using Smartwatch 2 for a while Gear feels more solid, but it's way more bulky. It doesn't rest nicely on my wrist, and I'm not a huge guy. I could survive uncomfortable top, but the metal bottom (where speaker and mic are located) is catastrophic. I can't stand having the watch on my wrist if I'm working on my desk, as it's touching the desk all the time and leaves scratches. Very annoying.
2. Installation. I had to change my custom ROM to original TouchWiz on my S3 to get Gear to work. Maybe it can work on custom - but there would be more troubles with it than stock so.. To get the full functionality, and don't run into endless troubles, you have to be stock, where SW2 works on custom roms without a single issue.
3. Out of the box experience.. it's a tragedy. The 'main menu' is really slow to operate, and even switching between apps can take few precious seconds. Notifications do not work properly. I have to use 3rd party app to get more notifications. No SMS forwarding to your watch. No replying to messages. No Gmail support. No keyboard. Simply nothing! Out of the box this is just a bluetooth headset with a clock. I don't know anyone who is really using S Voice on a daily basis. Samsung promised us making calls straight from our wrists, and Samsung did deliver that but..
4. Speaker quality - if you are using more than 50% of volume level, you can clearly hear a lot of buzzing. Sound is far from being clear. Not a huge issue though, it's a watch after all.
5. Hardware. Builtin camera that takes decent pictures and videos (as for a watch). Big plus! Loudspeaker so you don't have to hold your wrist to your ear - nice, although sometimes I would prefer to be the only one who can hear the other side (and look like an idiot, I don't care). AMOLED display with 320x320 resolution. Looks really sharp and vivid. Love it! Smartwatch is running a real Android 4.2.2, and that's great. You can root it, sideload apps and so.. but...
6. Usability - but it's pretty useless. There is no bluetooth tethering so you can't use any internet on your wrist (smartwatch 2 has a working internet browser!). You can install app like Tablet Talk to have messaging ability but it's really cumbersome, doesn't display your contact list, only the numbers are visible and generally, you can clearly see that it just wasn't designed for a wrist. I guess runninng Tablet Talk on Gear AND phone uses more battery which results in shorter battery life...
7. Typing. I can easily imagine typing short sentences/messages using Swype-like keyboard, or T9 styled. Display is big enough to send few words within seconds. Unfortunately that is not possible at the moment.
8. Future? There is definitely a future in smartwatches. This device is great, but Samsung tottaly ****ed up the software side. Nothing is working as it should, and if it does - it's cumbersome, and far from being user friendly. You can't get apps from Play Store, you have to use Samsung App Store which is really poor. There are very few apps that are actually somewhat usefull, but they do suck. I tried app like speedometer, that takes ages to start and catch a signal, and if it finally does - it's really ugly. SW2 to compare was displaying current GPS speed within seconds. When I was done with it, all I had to is just go back to home screen, or turn on the clock face, then GPS was stopped. On Gear? You have to open notifications, click on Speedometer, and FORCE STOP it in order to be closed. WHAAAAT?
I love the idea, I like the features (AMOLED, speaker, mic, touchscreen) but there way more wrong things with it than positive.. Media Controller doesn't always work properly, so you can't really shuffle songs etc. There is no SDK available to the publicity, so there won't be any dedicated apps from community anytime soon. Samsung didn't say anything that they will release it anyway so... if you buy the Gear, don't buy it cause it's gonna be "great in the future once XDA devs hack it". It didn't happen, noone knows if it's going to happen and what will come out of it...
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...
I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)
skyline23 said:
I don't think you would any of these problems if you use a samsung supported phone (N3, or S4 with latest update.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.
hurdlejade said:
I'm using official Android 4.3 firmware provided by Samsung. S3 is officially supported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.
mhoepfin said:
To each his own. I'm sure the camera, mic and speaker and ability to use S Voice to respond to messages all work wonderfully on the SW2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
out of the box, SW2 beats Gear in every aspect, if you forget the camera/mic/speaker. S Voice? i guess it's only widely used in USA. i see a lot of people on the internet asking how to actually turn this thing off. it's one of the first things i did when i installed official 4.3 rom.
this is not a hate post. i just tried both products, they are both far from being perfect, and although gear seems to be superior, it lacks the software. and we shouldn't wait months for basic functionality that hardware is fully capable of.
It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
ardsar said:
It's all personal choice. I have both Sony s2 and the gear and in my opinion the gear is far better.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
may i know why is it better? besides the camera/speaker/mic/svoice thingy.
It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
ardsar said:
It's my opinion and personal taste. .. It looks more like a watch rather than a big Square thing on your wrist. The Sony is only a second screen and is like a dumb terminal in that it can't run anything ( the Internet app you mention runs on the phone and relays the image to the watch) and you can't ignore the fact that it has a camera speaker Mike and svoice.
It's best to drop this thread like I said it's all personal opinion.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i just wanted to find out why you prefer gear over SW2, that's it.
i do realise that the internet browser on SW2 works more or less on screenshots.. but it works! and there is no possibility to do so on Gear, although it's capable of real rendering.
Owning 2 Galaxy Gear I guess you can tell I like it. With more and more things being added to the ability of the Gear such as ATN and launchers, etc it is growing leaps and bound sans Samsung. There are 2 versions of Sony out there and this has been out weeks. I say write this after February when it has been thru a few updates. I don't need my watch to do everything the phones does or i wouldn't have bought a 5.7 inch phone. The great things is competition is great and I'm sure Apple is gearing up for theirs and then someone will come and beat theirs and so on and so on. Consumerism at it's best.
Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.
There are already enough of these threads here...
The watch des exactly what it says. It is a companion to phone, not a replacement (Why does a watch actually need software?)
it also has mic/speaker/cam which all work surprising well. Didn't take long to adjust to bulky speaker when resting palm on flat surface (mind I wear it a little loose)
There are several default notifications that are sent that everyone has - sms, email, etc. Granted they could do with more detail (html emails, all text in notification), however that will have to come when apps start supporting it - 4.3 helps a lot here
it is waterproof enough - that whole thing seems to be a scare campaign. All the watches available can survive water, just not to the extent of swimming/diving
Gear looks the best out of the watches available and once you use it for a few weeks, then the chance of wanting to return is much lower. I'd say my Pebble does more currently (especially tasker integration!), however, I've not touched it since getting gear a month ago
It only supports 4.3 and Touchwiz, but if you look at the percentage of s3, note2, s4, note3, and future phones, there is no need to support others. Will people complain when apple come out with a watch and it only supports two devices like pretty much everything else they do? (latest and previous model)
Samsung really need to get a move on with releasing sdk though
Plus it is first gen, so it can't have everything. Just be thankful you aren't with Apple and have to wait years for stuff everyone already has
Still going to try out Neptune Pine when it is released, but it is a replacement not companion
blazespinnaker said:
Oh yeah, it's not consumer ready at all. But for the hacker/maker crowd out there, it's by far and away the best.
Phone calls.. you can make phone calls from your wrist!!! Come ON that's so cool. You can hack out the click sounds and take super secret spy photos from your wrist....
I have a freakin' game boy emulator .. I can play pokemon on my watch!
HELLO this is like the dream
YES .. the speaker scratching is a problem on my mac book pro, I have to pull up my long sleeve shirt over the bottom to keep it from scraping across the laptop which annoys me as well.
Not sure how they're going to fix that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room
Awesome
Sent from my GT-I9500 using Tapatalk
hurdlejade said:
I would really suggest waiting for next generation. But if you have spare cash, and can get the Gear cheaper than original price - go for it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Snipped For Space!
At 73, I cannot play the waiting game. With smartwatches, women, and fastazz motorcycles..
I want and need it NOW!!
About you comments, they seemed to be like the case of one man's terrorist is another man's freedom-fighter..
BTW, can you answer and call from the SW2?? :fingers-crossed:
I also have a Sony Smartwatch 2. It's a great watch and the SDK support is superb. I recently bought the Gear and my first impression was
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
2. Much better resolution and much clearer display
3. Touch response is so much better than the SW2
4. Awful charging method..
5. Miss the always on mode that the Sony has. The magical movement thing to wake up the Gear does work in say 75% of the time for me. The other 25% makes it a bad experience as a watch. Maybe I still have to get the hang of it and learn to make the movement work.. or maybe I have to adapt myself. Have the watch for 2 days now, I'm still learning and not ready to give an overall conclusion.
6 Apps.... yep the Sony has a lot more apps and yes there's a browser out there. But it also has a lot of weird amateuristic apps in the Play store (not made by Sony). I somehow am appreciating Samsung's approach now after a couple of days of using the Gear. They've teamed up with some good third party developers (a few not so good also) and seem to be very careful about what they release on the market right now. Seems like a good thing to me. I bet you can trash a potential goood product that still has to prove itself as a thing that could work by opening it for badly written and designed apps. Good thing to go easy on this. Nevertheless as a developer I love to jump on the bandwagon... But I understand that somehow one needs to direct the experience of a new product. Too many apps that do just half of what you can do can ruin the experience totally. (That said, they might have released the watch too early. On the other side, by releasing it early they now can work on a lot of feedback. It's a decision they've made and it is a decision that comes with a trade off (bad reviews), but in the end it might be the best decision. Nobody knows and nobody will know)
mike208 said:
I'm enjoying my Gear paired with Note 3. Still completely stock, and I can see how some might think the price is steep for what it currently does. But again, I am ok with what I paid for it, knowing what it does so far and knowing what lays in store for it in the future.
I need to read up on rooting and side loading. How effective is a gameboy emulator on the small screen? Seems like there wouldn't be enough room
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you kidding me! It's AWESOME ... well I have long thin fingers though. I use gameboid.
They could probably optimize the control setup on gameboid for the watch a bit more.
Sideloading is easy to do, don't need to root. I highly recommend it.
1. Wow, smaller than I thought. Because of the design less bulkier than the SW2. Way more stylish (up to a point even my gf thought that i didn't look like a total nerd)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. People have commented that the watch looks great. Sony with it's geeky logo and buttons... come ON.
That being said, there are pros/cons to them all. I'd *love* the battery life of the pebble on the Gear, but I can't go without having Android on my watch. That's just a non starter (for me), but I'm a developer so my opinion is entirely unreflective of the market at large .. but I love it, so who cares.
The one huge problem with the gear, in my opinion, is the lack of compatibility. That's what is really pissing 99% of the world out there that doesn't have a Note 3, frankly. This bundling nonsense is so deeply arrogant. It's monopolistic and completely unnecessary.
It's what makes you root against a company and pray they fail as an enterprise. It's the same sort of arrogance that makes me despise Apple and why I take every opportunity I can to root against them even though my career is tied up with their technology.
I agree with you on the speaker buckle being annoying, but otherwise, it's not THAT bad.

Anyone have the S7 Edge and Gear VR yet?

I would love to hear an in depth review of the S7 Edge with the consumer Gear VR. I currently have Note 4 and had the innovator edition last year but sold it on after a few months. I've the S7 Edge on pre-order and was excited about getting the consumer version bundled with it. I was in a Samsung store today and tried the consumer version they had on display with an S6 attached and I was left a little underwhelmed. It's going back almost a year since I had the Note 4 innovator and despite my delight at being able to wear my glasses with the new version the FOV certainly seemed reduced and I could detect the edge on the periphery. But it was nothing major though, especially as I'm essentially getting it free of charge.
What I would really like to know though is there much of a trade off with the S7 Edge. I was so torn between getting the standard S7 or the Edge and decided to go with the Edge for the larger screen/battery but if it is significantly inferior to the standard S7 I can change my order. I was reading that John Cormack mentioned on Twitter that the standard S7 would be sharper with less FOV but that the Edge would also possibly bleed light and make it uncomfortable. He later apparently retracted the statement and stated he was thinking of the S6 and not the S7 however other forums don't take him at his word and believe the retraction may have been to do with bolstering the S7 sales. Personally I would rather just hear an honest review from someone that has it in their hands, I've been scouring Youtube and Google but all I ever find are mind numbing unboxing videos and no testing commentary.
If anyone on here has it I would be so grateful for an opinion.
I got my s7 edge, I filled the claim form and get my free vr set in 4-6 weeks.
I have the S7 Edge and the GearVR. I don't notice any light bleed and find it to be a great combo. The image/FOV are larger of course with the larger screen which is great for some stuff but when scale really matters (VR Porn) things getting close to the camera can start to look overly large lol.
I wouldn't base your choice of phone around VR use. I personally chose the S7 edge for the 5.5" screen in one-hand able form factor but more importantly for the larger battery as that is the critical point for all phones without removable battery - MOWAH POWAH!!
Yeah I'm coming from the Note 4 so bigger screen and battery are near the top of my list. Thanks for the reply.
VRPorn? , I must live a sheltered life ?.
Lol link for future use?
Thanks griffindodd, I've also ordered an s7 edge and was curious and after the dude at oculus's comments on twitter I was thinking about switching to the s7 standard, my worries have been somewhat addressed
king3opobn said:
I got my s7 edge, I filled the claim form and get my free vr set in 4-6 weeks.
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Claim form?? I am expecting it to arrive with it, tomorrow. I hope I don't have to fill in some form. That would be a serious let down.
Can we use our current gear with the new s7 edge? I have the one for the s6 edge plus (from best buy). I'll be taking advantage of the free vr offer, but I'd like to avoid needing two different versions. Too many. I don't understand why they don't just make them adjustable and call it day.
Yeah, I have it. Been playing with it. My S7 edge over heats too quickly. Currently looking into cooling methods.
There is no light bleed at all. I'm currently testing out movies. I wanted to test games, but i dont have a controller thats compatible.
So far i love it. But i hate best buy. HATE best buy.
If you want me to test anything out for you. PM me.
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Soured Lie said:
Can we use our current gear with the new s7 edge? I have the one for the s6 edge plus (from best buy). I'll be taking advantage of the free vr offer, but I'd like to avoid needing two different versions. Too many. I don't understand why they don't just make them adjustable and call it day.
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From what i hear the old one is better. I'd stick with it. My face keeps touches the lens, putting smudges on it. I thought u could use the S6 on the new one. But i dont know.
I got mine last Monday thanks to best buy, so far everything has been great! I haven't experienced any major heat issues. The the free vr bundle they give you is a joke tho.
Fixed my overheat problem. Installed a centrifugal fan. Runs off batteries or any usb charger...
Some things I noticed
1. If you don't want to wait for your VR Headset go to a local Best Buy. Get the deal they have running and walk out the door with a headset. If you go to Verizon (or other carrier) you have to send in your receipt and it will take 3-6 weeks to process.
2. I am running the S7 Edge so this may be just me...Movies work great in VR but I am unable to use the SD Card with Oculus at this time to access movie content. All movies must be copied into the local drive. Since I have a 32 Gig phone this is an issue. Apparently S7 will support SD Card Oculus movie access, but just not right now.
3. Get a Bluetooth controller. The headset functions are on the side of the unit and if you want to play games this can become tedious quickly.
4. Overheating - So I haven't officially overheated but the unit does run hot. I recommend a fan for the DIY fix, and keep the included cover off the unit to help let heat escape. It isn't needed and doesn't impact immersion. Because the S7 does not have a removable back a heat sump is out of the question unless you want to butcher your phone.
5. Battery Life on Oculus is fun. It will suck down 25-30% during a 2 hour period easily. Because you will have a tendency to move your head around I suggest a long micro USB cord (longer than average) so you can leave it plugged in while you play.
These are not negatives at all, I actually LOVE the experience. I have already decided I can put on the headset , watch movies all day forget to eat and pretty much die like that Asian kid did from playing WOW too much.
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SAShady said:
Fixed my overheat problem. Installed a centrifugal fan. Runs off batteries or any usb charger...
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With the inability o add the heat sump to the S7 back I was thinking of doing this very same thing.
I noticed you are using a BFG Fan, could it survive with a smaller unit?
Also, are you plugging the fan into the microUSB on the VR unit and using the phone battery to run this or using an external power source? Because I like to keep the VR unit plugged in to keep battery life up I was thinking of getting a USB port extender and plugging the fan unit and the VR unit into the port extender and have that plugged into a power source.
Excellent DIY!!
I have also bought both S7 Edge and Gear VR.
Love the experience, mainly Gunjack which is really superb. Seen also several 3d films in the Oculus Theatre. It's nice.
For the SD Card problem, you can use adoptive storage. It seems to work on both S7 and S7 Edge.
A problem however (at least with my Gear VR) is the tunnel effect and the Field of View (FOV).
I find it quite limited. When the Gear VR is pressed against my face I can clearly see the limits (mostly the right one) of the Gear. It's like a reflecting wall and it is annoying.
Anyone else has this problem?
Best,
I have the edge and VR gear. Seems awesome so far! I have played it almost 4 hours straight without any over heating. Just freeze the bloat wear, close all apps before entering, and leave the outer shield of the VR out so the phone is open to the air. It hasn't been anything more than warm for me.
I wish they would have given an actual 50 gift card for the games so we could choose instead of just a bundle. I only like two of the games; the star ship game (forget the name) is incredible with a controller and a swivel chair!
My Moga power controller works great in mode B but doesn't work in mode A yet. A controller is a must for some of the games.
I do have to keep a micro fiber clothe because the lenses do get smudged.
Since today I didn`t had time to try VR after rooting... and now I can`t get it to install... I get a ”network error” message when trying to install it!! I even tried SOLUTION BY kikanx: "You have to enable the two applications which maybe disabled for some reason.
com.facebook.appmanager (App Manager)
com.facebook.system (Installer)"
Any advice?
any solution for insane big scale on videos at s7 edge?
I love the VR with my edge. The lenses do get smudged as mentioned above and I n3ed a micro fiber. I think they should of packaged it with one but oh well. The experience is amazing especially being so early on. I have to ge a controller as well. Only downside is see is the Scamsung always using proprietary accessories which in this case only pisses me off because of Google Cardboard. Why do I have to use a different headset in order to use cardboard. Why would Scamsung not make their stuff compatible with both so then we get the best of both virtual worlds. I'm done ranting in the end it's still awesome for games and media consumption.
chiikko561 said:
I love the VR with my edge. The lenses do get smudged as mentioned above and I n3ed a micro fiber. I think they should of packaged it with one but oh well. The experience is amazing especially being so early on. I have to ge a controller as well. Only downside is see is the Scamsung always using proprietary accessories which in this case only pisses me off because of Google Cardboard. Why do I have to use a different headset in order to use cardboard. Why would Scamsung not make their stuff compatible with both so then we get the best of both virtual worlds. I'm done ranting in the end it's still awesome for games and media consumption.
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You can use the gear vr for cardboard apps, and most workarounds are very easy to do.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Naemion said:
You can use the gear vr for cardboard apps, and most workarounds are very easy to do.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
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Thanks actually right after I made the post I found CB for Gear VR.

What are your thoughts, drawbacks, feedback and usage of the G VR

I have been toying with the idea for a few months now.
Am just wondering how you guys have been using it.
Have you enjoyed your experience, Any changes you would make?
What is the clarify of the screen like, being so close to the device.
(I used TV Glasses some years ago, and one thing that annoyed me, was it was like putting your face to the TV and seeing the Colors / Pixels)
Whats the experience watching videos, strained eyes or anything like that?
does the device feel heavy on the head after a long period.
What about app compatibility, is it one of these manufactured devices that are locked down to OEM software only?
How have you been navigating through the menus when wearing the device, is the controller provided easy to use and responsive.
(Easy to use in the fact you cannot see the control Obviously)
And last but not least, what about Games?
I still get the feeling / impression its still a bit gimmicky and don't know if to hold off on the device till someone like Sony make the PS4 VR.
I would appreciate your words and feedback.
I know the value of the device is a steal is comparison to others
My Device is the S7 Edge.
Two words : Ultra Porn
Buy a used one from craigslist, don't like it, put it back up for sale. You could probably get one for $50 if you really look, dont pay more than $70.
I'm glad I bought one (used), but I have a note 5. Theres another thread detailing the lower quality picture while using the S7.
I played around with my buddies oculus and that's what motivated me to get the gear.
The 3d doesn't need to be high resolution to feel immersed. If you are focusing on the pixels or imperfections in your screen protector, you've either got it setup wrong or you' re going out of your way to focus on them.
I dont feel that it's cumbersome to wear, I will probably get a different foam piece like from motorcycle or ski goggles.
Theres any and everything as far as media. People are making their own games, applications and 360* videos left and right. You can make your own 360 picture with your phone, basically taking like 40 pictures or whatever it is, ala panorama style.
There's also Google cardboard, where you can download plans and make one from cardboard, or buy one complete. You can also use the Google Cardboard application with the gear VR, you just wont have the smoother head tracking when using it.
I really enjoy using my Playstation 3 controller and the sixxaxis app hooked to my phone to play games. Theres a go kart racing game, which is "okay" but the proof of concept is great. You can look around when you need to and it's 3d.
The downside is that on Marshmallow there seems to be a lot of problems, I first did everything on Lollipop and didn't really have any issues. I just did a custom MM rom and I've had all kinds of issues and searching reveals others have too.
MAybe wait a little bit until issues are sorted and prices are even cheaper? I like it, you can't beat it's functionality for the price I think.

Question Should i buy the Tab S8?

Dear XDA community I am very tempted to buy the tab s8 but i may need your help to understand whether this device is for me.
I bought a Tab S 8.4 waaaaay back in 2014 and I have been using it happily ever since. Before buying a tablet i thought that tablets were mostly productive devices rather than glorified phones with a bad camera. The tab s was an amazing device for what it was (especially at 350€) but i quickly found out that it couldn't do most things that I wanted it to do.
It couldn't be truly used to write documents due to the castrated mobile office apps
It couldn't be used for true multitasking (multi window worked only for selected special apps which most of the time where not the one I used)
External monitors could go only up to 1080p 30Hz and had way worse colors and i couldn't charge my device while displaying something on a TV
There is no concept of "running apps" infact every app except for the one i was using was just closed after a while, it has happened to me to actually loose edits on documents or comments.
Laggy alt tab and more in general laggy UI (yes even when it was new. In fact I'm quite sure it's more responsive now without all the Samsung bloats)
Instant throttling due to extremely poor thermal solution
Updated only twice and each update gave me worse and worse performance.
Now the reason why I didn't upgrade so far is because tablets just didn't inspire fun anymore. I tried iPads but they were not even capable of coping some files in background without errors. Windows tablets unfortunately have just eighter bad performance or impossible prices (really you could spend 3000+€ on a flimsy quad-core just to have as little as 16gb of ram, which truly i the minimum for windows). Chrome os tablets just don't exist, most have 4gb of ram and the ones with a decent build qualty like the HP x2 have massively under-powered internals. This is a shame because they are now supported for 8 years and i really value long term support. Then i took a look back at android and saw a graveyard of devices built to be trashed after one year and never updated.... except for one that suffered from chronic underfuned development: the tab S. Even that though was not as impressive as the original version. It had barely more ram, extremely inflated price, still no decent apps.
Now i wonder has all of this changed for the Tab S8?
I write less documents so may be able to withstand a crappy office suite.
8gb of ram finally a decent size although the phone i have in my pocket already has 8gb of ram and i bought it 6 years ago so i wonder if that little amount of ram will doom the tab S8 to be trashed in a couple of years.
External monitors seems to be decently handled by dex but I've read that it supports only 1440p60....... which seems strange because 4k monitors are very cheap..... like I litterally bought mine for 250€ to replace an old 1280x1024p75 and the difference is amazing. That alone if it is true is a reason to not buy the tab. I don't pretend to do video editing on it but device that costs as much as a semi decent laptop and cannot fulfill basic computer tasks like browsing on a big screen would be a no go. Also it is not clear whether dex supports window snapping, fast alt tab, and persistent applications that don't close without my permission.
Is the UI still bloated? I've read some reviews that when switching from one app to the other the animation can drop a lot of frames and the alt tab stutters. I was really hoping that after so many years that would not be even thought to be possible anymore.
Also about throttling: i've read that samsung gave up on not making it throttle so they under-clocked it to keep the thermals within a controlled range.
For what concerns the 4 years of support i wonder: does that mean true support and updates or i will receive updates 9-10 months later than google devices with a final bloated update that cripples the device?
NO HEADPHONE JACK? really? on a device that is supposed to be productive?
16/9 aspect ratio..... so they put a screen to watch cat videos on a 700-1200€ product....it makes me wonder why not a more normal 3/2 or 4/3.
Also it seems that if i want a screen that is not worse than the one i already have in my very old tablet I need to pay 200€ more and have a bigger device that is heavier and less confortable to hold. Also i've seen online that when you activate the night mode on the TFT display the colors become way worse.
One thing that really interests me is the S pen.
The idea of properly taking notes and drawing on a device like this puts me in a position where I am very willing to try and see how the experience of using it is.
Are there some decent drawing apps? Paid ones as well as long as it is a one time payment and not a lifelong rental.
Do you know if there are some programs that recognize hand writing to transform it to computer words?
Guys sorry if I am criticizing a bit. I really don't want to offend anyone. I was just looking for some help to select a decent device. Thank you, i hope you understand.
Hello! use S8 ultra.Everybody think is the best tablet.
Well s8 ultra is really good, I own one and I can even run desktop mode of dex straight onto my s8 ultra. Without needing tv or so.
Also screen is biggest one ever as a OLED one. Next I like is that it's smooth and hardly lags for me at all.
I use the Tab S8+ as an upgrade over my Tab S4 from a few years ago and I'm just saying that I'm never looking back. The bigger screen is amazing for media consumption, drawing, editing (whether it's photo or video), multitasking, etc. I don't output to a monitor or TV very often, but if I do, the experience is pretty good. Dex has come a long way over the past couple of generations and device revisions and is almost good enough to be a laptop replacement (for some, not for all though). I'd only recommend the Ultra if you SERIOUSLY need double the ram, a bigger screen ( 2.2" bigger than the S8+, 3.6" bigger than the S8), and the second forward-facing camera. The performance is practically the same for all three Tab S8s, the only difference being the size, cameras, and ram. 8GB is enough for most people, but if you genuinely need more, then I'd spring for the S8U, but if not, then either the S8 or S8+ is perfectly fine. I chose the S8+ for the bigger, more vibrant, super AMOLED screen. After daily driving a device with an OLED screen, I can't go back to LCD, but I've heard the TFT LCD on the S8 is pretty good for being an LCD. You do miss those deeper blacks and some color fidelity though.
Edit: I thought I should answer a few of your questions and address some of your concerns.
- The UI is still pretty bloated (especially if you have an S8 with 5G capabilities like Verizon), but it's a lot more manageable than before. You can disable a lot of apps that you don't plan on using, as well as uninstalling their updates, not allowing them to change system permission or have any permissions at that, or even straight-up hide them from the app drawer if you're using the OneUI Home launcher. You can even remove them via ADB commands if you hook your tablet to a PC as long as you input the right commands.
- The aspect ratio of all Tab S8s is 16:10, not 16:9. The tablets are a little wider to account for that. As a result, it's not going to cover the entire screen when outputting to an external display, and yes, it'll only be at 60hz.
- The Tab S8 line will continue to receive software updates for the next five years (until 2027), so we will probably get the next two or maybe three next versions of Android, as well as semi-frequent security updates and patches. We'll be up to date for quite a while, at least until the next Tab line comes out.
- Not having a headphone jack is one of the main reasons why I didn't spring for the Tab S6 line back in 2020, but times have changed and now I've found pretty reliable alternatives to continue using wired headphones, use the mic attached to those headphones for calls and audio recordings, and to charge at the same time. I'll use the ANKER USB-C Hub mainly for displaying to an external display, but I did use it for simultaneous wired headphones and charging until I got the Stouchi USB-C 3.5mm Headphone and Charging Adapter. This dongle has served me well for some months now and while it can give me some occasional charging issues (mainly due to my poor positioning), it's a quite durable and serviceable dongle. Not to mention that if you ever have issues with it, customer support responds via email very quickly, and has a quite friendly staff team that'll help you out.
- The tablets really aren't as large and unwieldy as many people try and make them out to be. Maybe it's just because I have big hands or have no problem carrying reasonably heavy things, but it's genuinely not that bad. With the specs that are in these newer tablets, I'm surprised that they're not heavier. The S8+ is 1.25 lbs (around 0.6 kg) and is quite thin and quite lighter than it should be given what's inside and how well they perform. Adding the cover case included with the official keyboard for these tablets (not the slim one, as those are one piece as opposed to being made of a magnetic back cover with an S-Pen cover and a keyboard attachment) does add a bit of weight to it, but not enough to cause any sort of strain.
- I use Sketchbook for drawing, but I've been recommended Medibang quite a few times since it has a lot more creative tools that you can use. Both are free as far as I know.
- Samsung Notes has a feature where it can turn words you've written down with the S-Pen into regular text. I believe there's also an S-Pen related app that you can use in its little sub-menu (when you press the button on the S-Pen close to the screen), but if there is, I don't use it very often. I just stick to Samsung Notes since it seems like a dedicated app for exactly this purpose. You can even backup notes you've made to the cloud if you log in to your Samsung account. Quite the handy application if I do say so myself.
It may be a lot to read, but I hope I helped you in your decision a little bit. These are some pretty great (if a little pricy) devices, and any of them would be a great upgrade over your previous (or I suppose current) Samsung tablet.
Also another thing I want to add is that s8 ultra is durable. Since jerryrigeverything did a durability test and even he failed to snap the s8 ultra in half. Like he could with first Ipad pro gen 1 when it was first biggest tablet on the marked.
The Ipad pro broke in half like paper, but when he tried to do same with s8 ultra 14.6 inch he couldn't bend it at all, even if he took all his strength. Yet it wouldn't bend and he was impressed on samsung on managing to build a 14.6 inch tablet that is impossible to bend. He was expecting some bend or breaks on first tablet that big.
Ops double posted my bad.
Was trying to edit post above and for some reason it went double post.
SavXL said:
I'll use the ANKER USB-C Hub mainly for displaying to an external display, but I did use it for simultaneous wired headphones and charging until I got the Stouchi USB-C 3.5mm Headphone and Charging Adapter.
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FYI, I think both your links are borked somehow. Thanks for all the info, though!
Massive thanks to all of you for your replies, especially to @SavXL for the detailed reply.
In the end I decided to give it a try and see what happens.
I choose the 10.4'' size because it is definetly a bump in dimensions and weight compared to the 8.4 i was using. The main bummer is that the screen is a literal downgrade from the one i was using before. Still as you said for an LCD is not bad at all and the colors are decent. It is however true what it was told online in a couple of other places: "turning on the blue light filter totally destroys the screen"... such thing would not happen with an oled.
I went with more storage and with the keyboard cover because there was a 50% discount on both the upgrade and the keyboard. What can I say, the device feels solid however I was worried to scratch the lens without the cover as it is literally rubbing on every surface without a cover. The keyboard is surprisingly nice to type on for what it is, keep in mind that still if used as a desktop attached to a monitor it makes sense to have a 20€ membrane or 60€ mechanical keyboard at least. The difference with the official tablet keyboard is massive. The track-pad is just trash. unfortunately there is no better way to put it. A thinkpad or dell from 2007 will have a better track-pad. With a bluetooth mouse and the touchscreen thankfully the trackpad can be ignored. The software keyboard improved a lot to the point where for now I'm not replacing it with my normal "Swiftkey".
The pen is surprisingly natural to use and surprisingly.... small. It is strange to say because it seems massive from the pictures. But I've noticed it slips while writing a bit more than a normal pen. Maybe i find a "case" for it that increases the diameter and grip but still fits in the space dedicated in the cover. Pen gestures in the air are just a meme so I will not talk about them. Still it is a joy to use.
I didn't try dex in a real way so maybe I write an additional message in the next weeks after I thoroughly try it. For that I will source an adapter and try it on a 4k monitor, I really hope the tab S8 has improved resolution handling..... being limited to HDMI1.4 bandwith in 2022 will not be funny. For what concerns the multi window the limit went from 4 of the original tab S to 3 of the S8 ...... now I get that we have a small screen and it may be stupid to use more than a couple of applications in parallel... but I would like to be the one deciding that on my device. One major annoyance with the split screen support is that when resizing windows the content blurs... hopefully I can find a way to disable that crap because it truly slows down the interaction with the device. In general the multi window behaviour improved a lot, but the way i interact with windows is still strange as if we were still in the windows 3.1 days where we hadn't figured out a way to properly grab windows, resize them, move them, snap them. This awkwardness is a lot reduced by enabling the multiwindow line even on full screeen windows. That helps to feel the environment less forced.
Speaking of slowdowns: I was shocked that after 8 freaking years Samsung didn't manage to have a fluent interface. Don't get me wrong it is mostly fluent but full of small hiccups that I may accept on a cheap underpowered device but not at this price range. There is a lot of preinstalled bloarware, most of it can be removed or disabled so for now I'm accepting it.... after I get more confident with the device I will definetly debloat it.
Alt tab between the last 2 applications takes ages. It takes literally seconds. By disabling all the animations in the developer options the situation becomes a lot better but still the point is that the alt tab works correctly when you want to alt tab between several applications but not when you want to alternate between the last 2. Try on your normal computer. You shouldn't see the list of applications when quickly alt tabbing. If you see that, it then becomes distracting and slows the workflow because then you need a couple seconds more to focus on what you were doing in that app. Continuing with the alt tab I have to find a way to make the recents smaller and/or vertical and/or fit all in the screen. I have no use for big previews that show the content of the app. I opened that app, I am already aware of what I am doing with it. Another problem with the alt tab is that there is no text. If i have 2 documents that look very similar to one another you can bet that they have a different name so I'd rather be able to identify them at a glance rather than squeeze my eyes and play "spot the differences".
The sidebar to quickly open applications in split or floating mode is very handy. I have to use it more to get used to it but for now i can say that i wished the icons were smaller, that there was more compact content, and less "pages". If it takes me more than a couple of seconds to scroll through the pages then I might just as well go to the home screen and do there what I wanted to do. Maybe there is a way to customize it more than what I noticed so far. This seems very much a phone app ported to a tablet rather than a proper tablet app.
I was almost forgetting the fingerpint. It's fast. I'm glad I chose the smaller device for that as well. Under-screen sensors in the past have been slow, though I don't know how much they improved in the past couple of years.
Video calls are great. The front facing camera has a decent contrast and dynamic range, obviously better than windows devices that cost twice as much. It is also positioned as close to my eyelevel as it can be on a small device. I have yet to try the microphone in a proper way but considering I didn't have to raise my voice too much to be heard on the other side it seems good.
On the software side I'm happy. I had a couple of issues with skype where i cannot move the automatic floating window that appears when I go home during a call, dropbox decided to limit me to 3 devices all of a sudden so I will just use google drive from now on. I've downloaded a bunch of drawing apps including the ones suggested by SavXL. so far so good.
In conclusions: Is this device worth it? Yes if you use the pen. Everything else on this device is excellent but not unique. Otherwise If you have a decent phone you could just grab a cheap lapdock or tabdock and you will have an amazing experience. If you want more proper windows or a more proper browsing experience you can grab a chromebook. It will still have the same hikkups in the interface but at least is because you saved some money. What makes this tablet unique is the pen, which is amazing.
Just as a comparison: A modern wacom pen on the left vs the S-Pen on the right. I can assure you that the diameter difference makes it slip more.
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knosso said:
Just as a comparison: A modern wacom pen on the left vs the S-Pen on the right. I can assure you that the diameter difference makes it slip more.
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It's ironic since I only had one S-Pen before - from the Note 10+, so when I bought the Tab S8 Ultra as my first Samsung tablet, I was surprised it was that big, but what you say definitely makes sense. I would be afraid that putting anything around it semi-permanently would interfere with either the magnetic sticking to the back of the Tab and/or the wireless charging of the S-Pen.
Also with at least the Ultra's Keyboard Cover, it might not allow fully closing the top-hinged portion of the back cover where the S-Pen is.
Of course, an easily removable solution would beat these concerns.
knosso said:
In conclusions: Is this device worth it? Yes if you use the pen.
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I've been meaning to ask this question: What do people use the pen for? No real guidance in the manual. All I've done with it is keep it charged.
lloydsw said:
I've been meaning to ask this question: What do people use the pen for? No real guidance in the manual. All I've done with it is keep it charged.
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I haven't fooled with the Tab S8 Ultra's S-Pen much yet, just experimented with both Samsung's and Google's implementation of handwriting to text conversion. On my Note 10+ which got rid of, I would occasionally sketch out rough ideas for building things or rearranging furniture, etc. I rarely play games but with some games, the S-Pen came in handy as well.
My wife plans on using handwriting to text conversion.
Edit: I'd like to add that from research I've done in the past, Samsung owns patents on several aspects of their styluses which prevent other styluses from being quite as good.
lloydsw said:
I've been meaning to ask this question: What do people use the pen for? No real guidance in the manual. All I've done with it is keep it charged.
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Personally I think that literally any function other than the pen can be done by another device better than an android tablet (chromebooks have a real browser, phones are always in your pocket and have good cameras, computers have real applications to do real work) but if you want to paint, sketch, and take notes you don't really have any other option aside from the tab S line and the iPads.
The Remakable is wonderful to take notes but you cannot paint on it. Wacom tablets are amazing to paint but are to do creative work at home with a computer, it would be cumbersome to use them in a park.
If you are in classes or in a meeting and want to take notes but then also be able to sketch something on your free time in a park or cafè then a tablet is a must have.
Personally im not an artist but I'm having tons of fun with medibang paint, ibis paint, sketchbook, and other apps. When i become a bit better at drawing I will invest in Clip Studio Paint.
I wish there was something like premiere rush but for davinci resolve available for our tab s8. Starting my video editing on the tablet with dex to then finish it on a real computer would be amazing. I would hands down pay for that app instead if being forced to rent the adobe suite. If it existed I would be forced to use my pc 10 times less.

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