the main difference between the s8 and the s8 military grade phone is that the military grade phone is built to be much tougher and take more abuse than the s8. Other than that they’re specs are supposed to be basically the same. I am interested in this phone because of the price, but I would like to hear feedback from others regarding woot scratch and dent phones like this. Thanks.
Additional thoughts: is this Samsung s8 active an unlocked phone, or is it locked to a specific carrier, like AT&t?
Would you still need to put it in a protective case?
The S8 vs the S8 Active, select the active if you are rough on your phones. Select the S8 if you are not and want the slightly slimmer look. I rarely damage phones. So I can go with the normal phone and a minimal case. My GF on the other hand is very rough on phones. She drops them constantly. She drops them in water. I have given her normal phones with the toughest otter box covers and in no time she has destroyed the phone. A little over a year a go I gave her an active and put an otter box cover and a tempered glass overlay on the screen. She has broken the overlay 2 times. She broke the otter box case in a few months. However the active is still going strong. However, I am going to pick one up here just in case ;-). The 8+ is just a slightly larger phone. Get the 8+ if you want a bigger screen but don’t care it is a bit bigger in over all size and weight. I know some women think they are too big to hold. I get the 8 because it fits in a pocket more easily. I would like the 8+ for the bigger screen and it fits my hand fine. Since I am a guy I don’t carry my phone in a purse. If I did, I would likely pick the 8+.
One other item. The model number for this ends in an A. That means it is an AT&T version. Even unlocked I find they work a bit better if you use them for the same carrier unless you really strip all the old software out.
The biggest difference between this and the similar models is that the S8A does not have the curved screen. I have the TMO varient as daily driver and this was the determining factor for me. I love the battery life also.
Well, I ordered the s8 active, figuring that if there is a major malfunction with it I can certainly return it to it within 90 days according to their policy. I am hoping for a very nice phone. my concern about it being the AT&t version, is how to strip the AT&t software out of the phone, as I am on MetroPCS. I did call woot and confirmed that this is an unlocked phone, however someone mentioned that the AT&t bloatware will likely be on the phone. Is it possible to manually uninstall all of the AT&t crapware when I get the phone?
You may want to, it has a funky metal case and I prefer a TPU case.
I can’t comment on woot s&d phones, but I do have an S8 active and have been happy with it. I don’t have it in a case and since it is metal it gets dinged up and doesn’t look so pretty. It’s a bit bigger so adding a case may not fit in some pockets. Also, in order to make it drop resistant they use a softer plastic screen, the downside to this is that they scratch easy so a screen protector is a must. Another benefit of this phone over the s8 is that it has a larger battery.