Galaxy S8 Plus VS Pixel 2 XL

I've got a Galaxy Note 8.

It's interesting. I carry it in my shirt pocket (I've carried all my phones in my shirt pocket). This phone seems to be excessively sensitive to bumping into either my shirt or my body through the shirt. It doesn't matter which way the face of the phone faces it seems to always be trying to activate something, which drives me nuts.

This is the only phone I've ever had that does this.

If you require a stylus you'll not find one on either the Galaxy S8 or Plus

Personally, I'm not sure I'd repurchase the Galaxy again.

I just purchased a new S7. I went into the Verizon store intending to get an S8, but at nearly double the cost of the S7, I hesitated. I went home and did my homework consulting several sources which provided side-by-side feature comparisons and decided to save almost $500 bucks and go with the 7. To be sure, the S8 has several advancements including a slightly faster processor, a bit larger and higher resolution screen, a little better battery life and an improved front camera. (The main camera is carried over from the S7.) Other than that, not much different. The S8+ is much larger: too much for me. The S8 and Pixel do have significantly larger on-board storage, but with the low cost of SD cards these days, that wasn't a major consideration for me.

I really looked over and spent a lot of time with the Pixel 2. It's a beautiful phone and what a display! But running it through its paces left me with the feeling that the "learning curve" would have been like switching to an iPhone. The Samsung immediately felt familiar. I have had three Samsung phones over the years, including the one previous to this and wanted to stick with them.

Not an exact comparison to what you're considering, but hope it helps! Good luck!

I considered one once, but was turned off by what I felt was an excessive amount of pre-loaded, useless (to me) apps or bloatware.
I've mostly owned HTC phones and not had issues with any (I still kind of miss my HTC Evo. I loved that phone!).

I currently have a Nexus 5x which is LG. I had an issue with it in September (a little less than 2 years old), it started to constantly reboot. LG sent me a refurbished one and it seems to be fine. It's slightly larger than I would prefer. I have smaller hands and find it slightly awkward to hold. I was able to to hold & navigate my HTC One-s with just one hand. It also fit easily into jean pockets, this one does, sort of, but not easily.

If I were to need to get go out and get a new phone tomorrow, I'd go with the Pixel 2. I like HTC products & I utilize mostly google apps (gmail, google play music, you tube red, photos).

~Angela

Take a look at the Essential PH-1 device before you buy. I have both the 2016 Pixel XL, and the Essential.

It has the 835 Qualcomm processor, 128 gigs storage, 4 gigs of RAM, and every radio band you can want. And, it's unlocked so you can take it to any provider. Oh, and a bezel-less screen to boot.

A great camera, but just use different camera SW than what it supplies. I use Open Camera.

The best part? I paid $460 CDN for it! A hell of a deal for top-tier device specs.

I got the Galaxy S8 Plus almost a year ago and i do like it. One big plus is it has a memory card slot , don't guess apple ever will. I got an excellent magnifier app for tiny fonts that seem to be everywhere now. It is unlocked so it's not tied to one phone company. Apple does not give you enough control over your own phone. If you want to plug in a cable to the Galaxy and a computer to load music or whatever you don't have to learn itunes

I can’t address your phone choice but I take note of your use of the Marine Corps device so thanks for your service. But relative to your phone when you go to Verizon make sure you ask about their Veteran discount program. I’m a former Navy O-4 and I get a substantial discount!

Check https://www.verizon.com/military/ For details of what might be available and take a DD-214 or other supporting document with you, just in case.