I want to extend a hearty “thank you” in your direction for two specific reasons:

1. Your reply is well-written, thoughtful, and shares your own personal experiences in an enjoyable and honest way. It’s the sort of reply I was hoping this article would encourage.
2. You didn’t accuse me of being an Apple fanboy. Nor did you mistake my personal blog about my own experiences as an authoritarian missive declaring ALL S8 devices to be terrible, get defensive, and blow me off with anger.

I’ve had to hide several weirdly vitriolic responses on this post in spite of generally loving my S8 before the battery failed me. I don’t think the device has an inherent, widespread flaw…though Linus of Linus Tech Tips did discover that some of their battery controllers may have been defective. This video, and the comments below it, are interesting.

Thank you also for bringing up the privacy issue. You’re exactly right that “Privacy” and “Google” are currently at opposite ends of a graph, and that Apple has been better in that regard. I applaud them for being one of the few large tech companies to take a firm, clear stance on this. It’s something I’d have written about already, but between its excellent handling elsewhere and my own personal backlog of waiting content, I haven’t made it there yet.