Alternatives to the Galaxy S8

The new release of the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus shows that Samsung hasn't given up since their mistake with the notorious Note 7 Edge. The S8 has a 10nm octa-core processor, 3,000mAh or 3,500mAh battery if you get the Plus, expandable storage which to me was a surprise considering the phone already comes with 64gb of on-board storage, and the very large screen with almost no bezels.

But what if you don't want to get a Samsung? I can agree with you. My parents have a S6 and S7 and I'm not a fan of Samsung's skin or all of the additional bloatware apps they put on their phones. They're great phones nonetheless, I just have different tastes. I'm currently using an LG G4 after upgrading from the LG G2. Yes, I've dealt with the bootloop issue with the G4 twice now. I'm on my third G4 but LG didn't charge me for a new phone. I'll most likely be upgrading to the Pixel just because I've never had a stock Android phone before and I like the stock material theme Google puts on their phones. The S8 is all over the news right now, but it's not the only choice. Here are a few top pics that have surprised me and others.

OnePlus 3T

OnePlus has come out with some outstanding phones recently and being that they're very cost effective, makes them a top choice. I feel bad for the owners who just bought a 3 and then a few months later, the 3T was released without notice. But regardless, they're both nice phones. The OnePlus 3T starts at $439 which is about half the price of the S8. The reason why they can charge half the price is because you aren't getting the latest hardware and screen resolution. That's not necessarily a bad thing. The 3T comes with a Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor, 6gb of RAM, and a 3,400 mAh battery. Keeping the processor at an 821 allows it to not hog the battery. With dash charging and a USB-C port mixed in, you'll get all day battery life and when you need to charge, "A days power in half an hour." The next selling point is Oxygen OS. It's their take on stock Android without adding a very colorful overlay to the OS. It reminds me of the former Cyanogenmod ROM. Also included is a front finger print sensor which is very quick. You can reprogram it to add gestures such as sliding down on it to open the notification panel or open other menus. I'd buy this phone instantly except for one minor setback. Verizon doesn't support it. It is missing one of the three LTE bands on Verizon's network.

Google Pixel/Pixel XL

With Google taking charge and removing the entire Nexus line and replacing it with Pixel, they've come out with a phone that is "Made by Google" compared to the Nexus line which was manufactured by other brands such as LG and HTC. The Pixel is sadly on the pricier side compared to the Nexus line which was more affordable, but I guess there's always a markup when buying directly from the manufacturer. The Pixel starts at $649 and the XL starts at $769. So it's pricier than the OnePlus 3T, cheaper than the S8, and the Pixel is on Verizon making it a selling point for me. The phone comes in two different sizes. A 5.0" FHD AMOLED and a QHD AMOLED 5.5" display respectively. With battery sizes, you either get a 2,770mAh battery or a 3,450mAh battery. Just like the OnePlus, the Pixel comes with a Snapdragon 821, making it a great processor for it's value. Unlike the OnePlus, the Pixel only has 4gb of RAM. Still plenty of space, but you don't get bragging rights. Google is also claiming that their fingerprint sensor is the quickest in the market right now. The location is right behind the phone where your hand rests so it's easily accessible. Since this phone is directly from Google, you are always the first with instant updates and of course if you don't like stock Google and you like to tinker around, rooting is always an option. Unfortunately with the demise of Cyanogenmod, I don't have an alternative to other ROMs that come close, but if you have any suggestions, let me know! Right now I'm SOL with custom ROMs because LG doesn't like rooting. If I'm patient enough, I'll wait for the Pixel 2 to come out and get that instead.

LG G6

The LG G6 caught me by surprise. I was expecting a replacement for the G5 after all the issues they've had recently, but instead they redesigned everything to make it stand out from the others. LG has always been well known for making phones with a lot of features. I loved the G2 and G4 for their knock-on feature where you double tap the screen to wake it up. Not having buttons on the side of the phone also make it very comfortable to hold. But the G6 is something different and not in a bad way. LG has also gone for a much larger screen with less bezels just like the S8. It comes with a 5.7" display with an aspect ratio of 18:9. It's not a standard format so some games and movies may not fit the entire screen, but updates later on should resolve that. With the camera, LG has done it again. I love the G4 camera and if you've read any of my other posts, all of my photos were shot with it. The G6 comes with a 13 MP rear dual-lens camera which allows for normal shots of 71 degrees or 125 degrees. When taking videos, you have the option to shoot in 4k. The front camera is a 5 MP wide-angle lens which can take pictures up to 100 degrees for those group selfies. 5 MP doesn't sound like a lot, but it takes pictures at 2560x2160 resolution. Like the other phones, the G6 comes with a Snapdragon 821 and 4GB of RAM, making the OnePlus the only phone with 6GB of RAM on this list. You get a whopping 3,300mAh battery which puts it against the Pixel XL. It looks like LG has gone away with the modular aspect of their phones after the attempt with the G6. But they make up for it with great built-in hardware. I just hope they've resolved all issues from their former phones so we don't see bootloop threads plaguing the forums this time. I've been with LG for four years now and it has definitely been a roller coaster, but I think it's time to see what the Pixel is about.

I'll also point out, all of these phones have a headphone jack...