Galaxy S7 "Full Factory Reset"

After seeing a number of issues reported post-Oreo install on the Galaxy S7, it seems the usual response is,"it appears something went wrong during the install," and it goes on to suggest a full factory reset and then install the new OS through updates.

ok, I can (begrudgingly) accept that as it was the defining reason why we always had Microsoft Windows back ups... invariably, about every 6mo (as an IT Admin), we'd have to repair/restore the OS, perform updates, then put everything back... I don't like it, but, it happens (now not so common with Win10).

The main question I have is, a full factory reset - is like a full wipe (like a desktop computer reformat/reload of the OS) or does it leave apps and docs/pics/some personal settings?

I generally keep the default storage location for apps, images, downloads on my mem card, but still, it seems like quite a hassle to go back and get all the apps reinstalled.