How does everyone feel about Samsung phones?
How does everyone feel about Samsung phones?
Hold on tight, we are almost back...
Previously on Lemmy: Sony
Past Discussions:
I thought we should restart the brand discussion with something more popular to give this community relaunch a bit more oomph. So, Samsung it is.
I've never really used a Samsung phone much before, despite them being so popular in the States. Have friends who used them, they usually look nice and high quality, and the Galaxy S Active are the only high-end phones I know that doesn't shatter when you look at them wrong without a case, so, props to Samsung.
There are may reasons I don't like Samsung phones: Hardware fuse disabling Knox on bootloader unlock, Exynos vs Snapdragon models, the mandatory Bixby button, the Galaxy Note 7 that really blew up. To me, Samsung phones are trying so hard to go against what makes Android good, which is the customizability to do whatever you wanted. Android is everything; Samsung is just Samsung.
Personally, I think Samsung is only worth buying at the very high end for the Galaxy S series. I've heard that A series have gotten better, but there always seems to be better choices from Moto/Pixel/Chinese brands on Amazon that it's not worth considering their low tier offering.
What should we do next week? I'm thinking Microsoft, just to make fun of them for the very idea of making a Surface Duo 2.
FAQ:
Hardware great, software garbage. They really want to be like Apple but aren't even half as competent (which is more an insult to Samsung than praise to Apple). It comes bloated with all kind of garbage alot of which you can't uninstall (like Facebook). They have their own app store next to the Google Store which is annoying. It has no reason to be there other than distributing their shitty apps that I don't want in the first place.
I currently have an S21 and can't wait to have the spare income to replace it.
Samsung has great hardware but my OG galaxy S2 was peak Samsung for me. I still love their build quality but I don't like curved screens, lack of sd slots and 3.5mm jack and so on. Neither do I want all the Samsung social etc. apps.
If Samsung made a clean phone like the pixel with their build quality, that would be a game changer.
Samsung phones are the worst android phones you can buy, except for all the others.
As frustrating as Samsung is, I always find myself going back to them. Displays, build quality, cameras, performance, storage capacity, speakers, software features (Dex!), they're just ahead of the curve across the board.
The only legitimate advantage of Chinese phones is the super fast charging, but I'm in the better safe than sorry camp on that one.
I've had the Fold 3 and now Fold 4, and I really don't see myself getting anything other than a Fold 6 down the line, unless something major changes.
As someone who exclusively used Samsung flagships as their daily driver (GS2 > Note 4 > Note 8 > Note 20 Ultra), I was a Samsung absolutist and fanboy. But their decisions since the N20U has been frustrating, and has had me eyeing other brands for the first time.
To start about what I love about them: fantastic hardware with solid software. I don't mind their excessive features, because they become so useful, Android/Google adds them to stock 2-3 years later. So it's like a decent beta test for some awesome utilities, like saying "smile" to take a photo with the camera when you can't reach the shutter button. I think several phones now offer this.
What has me eyeing something else for my next phone: shitting on their hardcore power users and greedily taking away options. The removal of the SD card (critical for my usage), the dilution of their features across different models (base, plus, ultra), removing the magstripe, etc. are all anti-consumer with NO benefit to their customers. Even if your typical customer doesn't use a specific feature, it strips the option away from those who do, and it's not like the savings go towards the consumer. If not for these decisions (among other, smaller infractions), I wouldn't be contemplating other brands.
Mixed opinions.
Things I like about Samsung:
- Feature-rich hardware and software
- 4 years of OS updates compared to 3 by Google
- S Pen in Note/Ultra
- Foldables
- Keeping Android tablets and Android-compatible smartwatches alive when Google abandoned them. Huge props for that.
Things I dislike:
- Making fun of Apple and then doing the exact same things they did: removing the headphone jack, display notch, removing the charger in the box.
- They even got rid of expandable storage in the S series despite being a major manufacturer of micro SDs.
- Samsung's software is notorious for being slow, generally inferior compared to Google's and not the most well-designed out there.
- I tried both the Galaxy A52 and a Pixel 6a at Best Buy. The A52 was lagging. I bought the 6a.
- They're edging towards anti-repair.
- Certain Samsung smartwatch features only work if you have a Samsung phone.
I bought a Samsung because it was the only device with a headphone jack and removable battery. I have zero brand loyality - I just go with whoever makes the best device
Hardware:
They make high-quality hardware and I like that they’re trying to do something new and interesting with foldable tech, but I’ve never been a fan of their Exynos processors and foldables (imo) have proven to be little more than a gimmick that sacrifices far too much on durability for minimal benefit to most people.
Software:
I hate bloatware, and I’m not a fan of their crusade against open bootloaders.
Good photos and the battery lasts quite a while too compared to my other phones I've had.
Overall it's great hardware with good photos and terrible software for me. I'll probably never buy it on a phone again because they're evolving in the way I'd rather not have them evolve.
They have their own unremovable:
- contacts
- calendar
- browser
- phone
- messages
- app store
Makes me feel like they're stealing all my info if I would use it. Besides a Google account they also want you to use a Samsung account which ( honestly ) makes the whole phone more confusing ( especially to older people like my parents ).
But yeah. Good photos and great battery life. I've got no real complaints of the tab s5 tablet which I use when travelling and streaming shows to the tv otherwise. Though I'd have to see if the newer tablets are as much of a dumpster fire software wise like their phones.
Side note: I even had somebody come up to me with their phone "because I work in IT". The default setting of a Samsung phone was to have the lock button activate bigsby rather than lock the phone. There's a setting somewhere to change that. But it definitely felt agressive pushing of bigsby that nobody ( at least around here ) uses/wants to use... Maybe it's different in other countries?
Great hardware, especially as far as the screens. Questionable software environment. Last I had one, there were duplicates of most Google apps in inferior Samsung form, which was really useless, and they couldn’t be deleted (I think). While the display was s beautiful, another thing I didn’t like was I had one of the ones with curved glass on the sides, a Galaxy S9, which looked cool, was useless, and it ended up getting cracked on the side, so it was useless and fragile.
Unpopular opinion, but I love my Samsung phone - upgraded from an S9 to S21 not that long ago. I'm not a brand (or even OS) loyalist by any means, and Samsung has its flaws, but it's the phone that suits my needs the most.
Firstly, I need a "small-ish" phone for one-handed use during my commute in the subway. Of all the flagships, Samsung's is one of the few that has the triple-camera setup in a small form factor. Every other major phone maker puts the regular and ultrawide camera in the smaller flagship, and the zoom only comes in the bigger version.
Secondly, I've absolutely hated the new Android UI since... 12? The quick toggles are ridiculously big, and it makes me feel like i'm using kids' mode on my phone. And who thought it was a good idea to put the Wifi/data toggles behind a second layer of menu options? Samsung's UI fixes this right out of the box without a need for root.
As for the cons... I remember my S4 used to have horrible preinstalled software that came in the root partition and couldn't be uninstalled. But the newest Samsungs aren't that bad. It came with a few extra things, almost all of which could be uninstalled easily. Samsung also installs their own version of Calculator, Notes etc - some of them aren't bad at all, and the only annoying thing about their own utilities are that they force you to update them through Samsung's own app store. Their camera also tends to oversaturate colors, but it's a one-time effort to dial down the default saturation in the camera settings.
So yeah, the software has a few issues, but they're all a one-off fix, whereas my issue with other Android phones (no triple-camera setup in a smaller form factor + horrible quick toggles) are not fixable or require root.
Oh yeah. and Samsung DeX is amazing. I'm surprised Android doesn't have an equivalent feature. I love it when I can plug my phone into a monitor or TV at a hotel or a friend's house and play movies/games off my phone.
Top notch camera, top specs, best software support. It’s usually my first choice when I look for an android phone.
A lot of the issues you listed are bad for people that want to mod their phones but they are pros for anyone that wants a secure phone. As I get older, I just want a phone that works that is actively supported and patched from security vulnerabilities.
I will only purchase a Samsung again when they let me unlock the damn bootloader
Samsung phones have so many quality of life improvements over the default Android experience that I don't think I can get away from them just from software alone (why do you have to scroll down twice to change the brightness on normal Android it's the most important function in the quick menu) Not to mention they're the only phones that I can seemingly drop as many times as I want without breaking screen. I'd love to switch to another company as I don't really like Samsung but every other software experience I've had has been abysmal.
Good hardware due to samsung producing most of its conponents directly, held back by samsungs fabs with exynos.
Other than that, dont use them because of bloat (devices I've used had a fairly light or almost aosp experience)
The only thing I have to say is I couldn't get away from Samsung fast enough. The bloat is just ridiculous (like do I really need two voice assistants that I can't uninstall AND two stores for apps?), the UI is an abomination, and the camera processing always made my eyes bleed. As someone who dabbles in photography I hate that the camera prioritizes being vivid over all else. Probably the only good thing I can say about them is the build quality is great.
I want the pure Android experience, not a phone coming with his package of uninstallable bloatware. Also, a phone is just a phone, I want to take pictures, use GPS, call and text. The Pixel are doing the same thing for half or 3times cheaper.
I also dislike Samsung repairability policy and how they care about their employees.
Fuck Samsung
Hate that you have to even go through the process of removing meta services. Wish it wasn't there.
But, love the OS which is more feature rich than the custom roms of the past I used to use when combined with Good Lock. Love one hand operation+ which lets me not have to bother with gestures anymore and almost everything being available with the side gestures and edge panel. And I don't want to go without a stylus again on a phone, since I use it a lot to do write quick notes without unlocking the phone or selecting text or using it in DS games.
My current phone is a Samsung and it is the first Samsung phone I have owned and maybe the last. I had previously only owned Motorola phones and absolutely loved them. The Samsung is a perfectly capable phone with (when new) top tier components for its class. The build quality is very good and the screen, of course, is gorgeous. But it's a boring device.
I loved all the extra little touches that Motorola gave me. They didn't change the OS too much, but just enough and the phones were better for it. With Samsung, it's the opposite. The changes are all for the worse. But let me be perfectly clear here, it is still a great phone for the masses, it's just boring.
I consider the Galaxy S line of phones is like the Toyota Camry. Good, reliable. Will do exactly what you need it to do, but don't expect to fall in love with it. It's a well engineered appliance aimed at the general public.
S22 ultra here for 18 months now. Great phone, although I'm not into unlocking and Linuxing my phone. As it is, it's durable, camera amazing, speed great, screen great, speakers are awesome. No complaints about hardware at all. In fact, I find them to be the best available hardware right now.
Currently using an A series Samsung phone. For a non power user, it's pretty good since software support is up to 3-5 years. Chinese brand phones are good on paper but, don't expect any software support at all after purchasing.
A Samsung phone's best asset is it's screen. The CPU is a bit of a roulette. If you get a Snapdragon, you're golden. The Exynos ones run hotter and drain battery faster. If someone wants the most polished version of android, I'd recommend a Samsung.
My opinion on them based on my last phone I got from them (S22 Ultra Exynos) is pretty mid just like the phone for its price. I overall think they are right now in a bit of a slump and resting very much on their laurels. Their phones are still for the most part very good, market leading in some points even, but they have slowed down the innovation a lot. Like the last 3 Galaxy Ultra phones are pretty much the same product. And the regular S20, S21, ... line also takes 0 risks and cuts one too many corners for my liking. And the whole Exynos situation is just a shame since usually where I live we pay more for less. If they stuck those Chips in 500 - 700€ ish phones and passed along the saving they would wipe the floor with all the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 wannabe flaghips.
What I think however nobody will take away from them anytime soon is OneUI. I think right now its the best and most feature complete Android skin and its refreshing seeing Samsung stick and refine one design for this long (before they changed the look and feel every 2 - 3 years). I only wish they would bring back Linux on Dex which was in beta for some time. That would be a killer feature for me!
Hardware fuse disabling Knox on bootloader is irrelevant now. You can't unlock bootloader. At least for snapdragon chip.
I had (tbh I still have it somewhere) a Samsung Galaxy (the first model, no S, no number, no anything) as it was the first Android phone available in my country. About a year later Samsung decided they won't support this model anymore and I had to install custom firmware to keep it up to date to the quickly evolving Android landscape back then. I never bought anything from them again.
Too much bloat, no bootloader unlock. International model can be bootloader unlocked but you can't change secure boot keys and relock.
Cant use same email on two phones if you lost old one, because need old phone to verify account.
Over time phone runs slower and slower.
I find Motorola's much better, I generally go with the Pure.
I suffered through 2 years of zero software updates, not even security updates. Google Pay stopped working randomly. I contacted Samsung support who couldn't figure out why on either of these issues. It also kept lighting up on full brightness in the middle of the night due to no reason I could figure out, despite being on do-not-disturb. Never buying a Samsung again.
Really nice hardware, inexcusably bad software.
Had a Galaxy S2 and then a Note 2. By the time that last one was up for replacement, Samsung had gone curved edges, which I disliked. Switched to OnePlus 3, later 7T and that was my last OnePlus as I didn't like where the brand was going.
Luckily Samsung ditched the curved edges, so I currently have an S22+. I'm quite satisfied with this one and I also got a Galaxy watch after having some quality issues with Fitbit devices. Both work together nicely as you'd expect.
I had a note 8.
Ok phone, nice pen.
But the one phone I managed to break the screen of. Tanks to curved screen that make using proper protection impossible.
Went back to nexus / pixel.
I hated Samsung phones when I had them ~2019 because of One UI being so far behind Android as well as me getting constantly badgered to create a Samsung account to use the Samsung store so I can upgrade the built-in photo editor even though I never had any reason to do so.
I didn't see any reason to complain about the hardware One UI ran on, though.
I disagree regarding Android. Google's Android feels to me like it's trying to go against everything that makes Android good such as SafetyNet, Android 12 removing customizability from Android 11 and choosing default apps convoluted, separating gestures and launchers, half assed tablet experience.
One UI has a lot more customization and practical options and generally always implemented features before Google did, like split screen and still can do things no other OEM can.
I like them. Bloat ware is a bit annoying, but not a deal breaker. Just use my launcher to hide it. Timely updates, decent UI, relatively long-term support, some neat features here and there (integration with Windows 10-100 Phone Link is really cool), and having one of the last phones with the trifecta of headphone jack + microSD card slot + OIS means I'll be holding on to this for a long long time!
I use cheap M11 phone. Solid and durable phone but a bit overpriced on my country. It survive my abuse for 2 and half years until now from dropped to gravel repatedly to get washed using tap water (dont try this at home, lol). It also somehow always better at receiving signal than my wife's Xiaomi phone. I love it.
I recently bought an S23 after owning 2 pixels and a nexus. So far, I'm loving the experience much more, funny enough because of the things people call bloatware. Maybe it's because I play lots of games.
The sidebar shortcuts a super useful, the lockscreen customizations remind me of old android before google went all apple, and dex is great for multitasking.
The only thing that's a bit annoying is bixby, but i simply installed google assistant alongside it.
I don't like them for me. I hate all the Samsung software injected into android.
But for regular people they are probably the most recommended ones in the android ecosystem. So I recommend them sometimes if the budget is good.
I might not like the software. But the hardware seems good quality. And software still has some cool functions.
Somebody told me it has a way to hibernate apps that are in the background. And I think that is amazing.
I actively avoid buying exynos based samsungs. Rest is OK. Was lucky enough to buy M51 with 7000mah battery and an efficient snapdragon SOC which lasts minimum 2 days on full charge.
I really like it. All the customisation is enough that I don't miss rooting my phone. And I think I'm kinda stuck with them for a while now, because I can't live without one hand operation, which is even better when combined with one handed mode. I can do everything and reach anywhere on the screen using only one hand, without hand gymnastics.
I haven't had a Samsung phone since Android Gingerbread, but I do have a Samsung TV in my guests room and every time it gets turned on, my pi-hole blocks a lot of traffic under the ads and tracking category, so Samsung's phones are probably similar.
I think their screens are really good and they also have 5 generations of foldable devices, more than any other company.
Still, I wouldn't buy one because I don't like their software and they tend to restrict functionality unless you use other Samsung devices. For instance, a Samsung Galaxy watch, even running Wear OS, will not have all the features enabled unless you pair it with a Samsung phone.
I personally love Samsung. Have a Note20 Ultra still going strong, got a Tab S9 and Galaxy Watch 5 Pro in the last year. They are all so customizable out of the box using Good Lock and other software that it would be painful to switch. I find they all perform really well and the improvements of OneUI are appreciated. I like the Calendar, Browser (on tablet), Reminders and some other apps much more than Google's offerings.
Have an s21, wife has s22, few yrs ago child had A20 (I think) the s series has been great. I could have upgraded to s22 didn't want. The A20 was horrid but for a youngish teen it was "fine" if I had to get another phone I would look around and see whats what but over all I like my phone better than the s22, and while my phone was being repaired I bought a Moto G5, considering the cost I hated the damn thing and was slow as F. Now my other youngish teen has that one, I am just happy to be rid of it. It worked for me, just barely. Admit to having been used to the s21, so may be somewhat biast.
When LG folded their mobile division I chose a Motorola over a Samsung.
The only thing I'd buy from Samsung without a lot of persuasion is Samsung's SSD drives, which are usually the best and most reliable on the market.
The main problem is that Samsung is one of the worst hardware manufacturers in terms of valuing privacy, even their TV's are being geared towards spamming ads at you and spying on you through their cameras.
Also Samsung forces Facebook/Meta bloat ware on you.
They became dead to me the moment they stopped having removable batteries.
No, this is not a Note 7 joke or anything. I just really hate the trend of integrated batteries in electronics because it places a fundamental limit on the product's useful life of about four to five years before the battery degrades so much that it becomes essentially unusable as a mobile device. It's probably the single worst "innovation" in consumer electronics history. Replacing a sealed-in battery out of warranty is often similar in price to getting a new damn phone, and not without risk either since modern phones are sealed so tightly that even professional technicians can accidentally destroy the rest of the device while trying to disassemble it.
You used to boast that your removable batteries were an advantage over the iPhone, Samsung. What happened to that?
The hardware is pretty good. Not a fan of Exynos tho.
The software feels really bloated. I usually have LineageOS on it instead. Compared to One UI, the Pixel-like UI feels very clean, and the OS feels very lightweight.
If it was impossible to have something less-bloated, I'd probably switch phone to a cleaner Android.
Like I want a good android phone designed in the US. What Motorola use to be before Google bought and subsequently sold Motorola or an LG phone that was actually normal and really good.
Google pixels have hardware and software issues, Samsung is very anti consumer with active efforts to mimic apple and reduse repair options, Sony is often too expensive, and the rest are of Chinese origin and potentially carry creepy invasive spyware.
I couldn't buy a screen for my galaxy s20 to fix my self and taking it to an authorized repair shop resulted in a $350 repair that resulted in everything but my motherboard being swapped out without my permission. Waistfull greedy overvalued company that would definitely sell you out for a couple hundred if it could.
I'm honestly quite happy with my Samsungs so far. Had an S9 and currently use an S21.
I honestly prefer the Samsung apps over the Google apps most of the time. They also integrate better with non google stuff. Especially calendar, contacts and mail. The Bixby button has been gone for a while now and most of the bloatware is hidden away well enough to be able to ignore it easily.
The irreversible bootloader unlock is quite the shame really because it will cause most banking apps to refuse to work so I never unlockedy bootloader. I used to do this on my nexus and Sony phones. Tbf though I don't miss my root privileges currently. Android and Samsungs one ui has come a long way.
Edit: formatting
Battery life is seriously impressive and they do offer some customisations over stock that aren't even found in LOS but overall pretty meh and bloated.
I had one about a decade ago after my HTC Magic. Didn't like it, never went back. My mother keeps buying them and is infinitely frustrated. She'll also ask for help and I have no idea what to tell her. They move all the settings around, so it's next to impossible to understand unless you already know it.
I know we're not doing Sony here, but the Xperia Performance X was the most amazing phone I've ever seen. Glass slate phone dropped out of a god damned car on the highway at 120km/h. Chipped a corner and went on the work for another 2 years. Same phone went through a foam and mud obstacle course run in no case. Dirt and water wedger in every square inch of the thing, still worked for another 3 years, although the camera lenses did have some water in it (camera still worked though!). Only phone I've ever been impressed by.
I dislike Samsung phones. Always has. But because they are so popular have I tried them two times (I am a bit of a advocate of try first criticize later)I am on one right now (s21). Bixby is my biggest source of annoyance together with all their other apps I can't uninstall and stuff I am used to be able to customize. Bixby wouldn't have been annoying if it wasn't because they force you to use it. I had to turn off the shortcut by setting it to turn off the phone only so now do I need to use a sidebar to do stuff like taking a screenshot. I got used to it but it annoys me when a standard is removed. It is like when you want to do copy on a computer and ctrl + C is an assistant instead and you need to use the mouse now because you can't bind the keys as you wish (it is either assistant or dead keys). the battery is pretty bad too, I am not a heavy phone user (2-3h per day) but it is still at around 30% in the evening. My other phones has been Sony, Huawei and Motorola. So I am used to a battery that last for almost 2-3 days. Samsung also overheat (and I guess that is why the battery is draining). I have my screen brightness at the lowest possible because that seem to be the reason it gets so hot(it gets extreamly hot in a short time on higher brightness) it will get hot if I use it for 15 min or more(non dark mode). My coworker had the same model and the battery almost completely died on him (it started to bloat up) so I am a bit worried the same will be true for mine.
One good thing is their dule Sim, I don't want to use two phones (work and private) and it is pretty easy to switch in the ui.
When this one is dead will I buy a pixel. I like to try out different models and phones even if I love moto. Some day would I like to try a OS like calcy but I need to do more research first.
I have a Galaxy A13 as a test phone for work. Not great, but great for the price. The UI is fine. Cheap Android phones have gotten a lot better recently.
I have a Galaxy Tab S8 for myself. I like the 120hz screen and the design, it feels solid and pretty. Good speakers. I also have a Galaxy Tab A7 Lite that I got for free from T-mobile. I like the size
Got a couple of Galaxy Tab S5e at work for testing purposes as well. Currently both of them have been hacked up to install Android Automotive and one of them is in my car serving as my infotainment system. Pretty sweet.
I wish Samsung would allow unlockable bootloaders on their US phones/tablets with cellular radios in them. I want to hack up my A7 Lite to install Android Automotive so I don't have to hotspot to the S5e anymore.
Used mid end phone m20. Looks good on paper. Shit phone. Can't repair.
Samsung is just apple with Android phones.
I've had several Samsung phones over the years and do not like how bloated their apps have become like Samsung Notes, Samsung Health, and such. I liked their software experience when S5 was released much better. Remember Milk Music? 🙂
The only reason to buy a Samsung these days is their top shelf hardware but primarily in. their flagships. Also had hardware issue with last Samsung flagship device I owned and then awful tech support from Samsung to boot.
Moto has really upped their game especially in their Moto G 2023 5G models.(U.S. here) I'll be sticking with Moto mid-range going forward.
My opinion on them based on my last phone I got from them (S22 Ultra Exynos) is pretty mid just like the phone for its price. I overall think they are right now in a bit of a slump and resting very much on their laurels. Their phones are still for the most part very good, market leading in some points even, but they have slowed down the innovation a lot. Like the last 3 Galaxy Ultra phones are pretty much the same product. And the regular S20, S21, ... line also takes 0 risks and cuts one too many corners for my liking. And the whole Exynos situation is just a shame since usually where I live we pay more for less. If they stuck those Chips in 500 - 700€ ish phones and passed along the saving they would wipe the floor with all the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 1 wannabe flaghips.
What I think however nobody will take away from them anytime soon is OneUI. I think right now its the best and most feature complete Android skin and its refreshing seeing Samsung stick and refine one design for this long (before they changed the look and feel every 2 - 3 years). I only wish they would bring back Linux on Dex which was in beta for some time. That would be a killer feature for me!
They're the best Android phone, but not the best experience.
When it works, it works really well. I've had many of their Galaxy line up. I've even switched briefly to iPhone and came back to a Galaxy S23 Ultra, and it's so so good.
On the other hand, their budget phones aren't bad. I use one of their really old A lineup phones as a digital dash of OBD2 data for my car. That battery is just amazing, it stays charged for days, takes in the heat, and still operates no problem.
The only issue I have is support. They want to demand similar pricing to Apple, but if something break it's pretty much go fuck yourself attitude.
Permanently Deleted
We need S5 but with modern specs. Galaxy Alpha would be zased phone if it had a MicroSD reader.
I've never had a good experience with Samsung till recently. The s4 overheated an insane amount, the s7 edge dropped wifi left and right, then finally I tried the fold 3 on my 3rd attempt at Samsung.
I enjoyed the phone for the aspect of the fold, the software handled it really well. But, one ui couldn't get out of its own way, it had a lot of nice extra features, but also had a lot of useless (to me) extra features. The bloat like others mentioned was bad. But ok, not super offensive like it was on the old touch wiz.
I kept that phone a little over a year, the battery aged terribly. It started out great, then by the 7 or 8 month mark, it just dove off a cliff. At the 11th month, the factory screen protector, the one that's like essential to the phone, popped a huge bubble right in the middle where the fold happens. Thankfully that was under warranty and I got replaced, but that was when I knew it was time to go.
I picked up a pixel 6 pro and sold the fold 3. I'm now on the pixel 7 pro. I replaced the galaxy buds with pixel buds, but I kept the watch. I will give it to Samsung on that, they have the best wear os watch experience I've ever used.
The experience syncing devices in the ecosystem was very nice, very apple like, and I do miss the quick sync between my phone and tablet. Google messages PWA is nowhere near as nice as the messages app on the Tab S7. Not being able to take phone calls on it anymore kinda sucks too. The earbuds and watch are pretty fluid, but not quite as seamless as when it was all Samsung.
Hardware:
They make high-quality hardware and I like that they’re trying to do something new and interesting with foldable tech, but I’ve never been a fan of their Exynos processors and foldables (imo) have proven to be little more than a gimmick that sacrifices far too much on durability for minimal benefit to most people.
Software:
I hate bloatware, and I’m not a fan of their crusade against open bootloaders.
I've had a few samsun galaxy phones. They have been really fantastic. Lightning fast and very reliable. The only other smart phone i've had was a sony xperia which was equally excellent. My current galaxy is 3 years old with 6GB of ram and it's still lightning fast.
I want to like them, but Exynos has consistently ruined it for me. I live in one of the countries that got the Exynos versions of their flagship phones until very recently. I had a Note 9 which the US-based Android world raved about, but I was unimpressed because the Exynos version was just that much worse and I feel the same way about the Galaxy S21+ I have now.
The processor overheats and throttles after the slightest workload making the system UI a laggy, janky mess and the battery life is mediocre at best. The modem is crap too, it switches between 5G and 4G for no discernible reason far too often.
The camera is infuriatingly slow all around; slow to launch, slow shutter, slow processing and slow UI. I miss so many photos of my toddler because of it. I had my phone replaced under warranty for an unrelated issue and the replacement has the exact same problem.
I bought a Samsung A13, but found that there is no Lineage for it, it's dumped in the drawer and I installed the latest Lineage on my Nokia 6.1. Alas the Motorola's (Moto G, G2, G4) had hardware issues to soon.
The hardware is great, software of <censored>. I love the tablets I have, but again, running Lineage.
When going for another device, Lineage support is main requirement, I don't care to much about the rest. As phone Fairphone or google pixel are considered options for now, but the '18 Nokia 6.1 still works perfectly. Alas there are no relative small (< 5") phones anymore. Loved the size of the Moto G.
Not Made In China. My A31 is made in Vietnam. Primary reason I bought it
Yes, there is bloatware, but I have disabled a lot of it, and put Nova Launcher on it to clean up the UI and customise to my liking
I have been happy with it, have had the screen replaced on it when it got broken, was not that expensive
How you read ny comment, I deleted it days ago.
I have an S10, I will stop using Samsung phones after this one. My phone heats up by itself in my pocket and drains my battery by 20% in a matter of minutes no matter how optimised my phone is. The curved screen is a nightmare with screen protectors and they've stopped with headphone jacks and sd cards in later models.
They are also as anti right to repair as Apple is although they don't have the hardware locked in atleast.
The camera resolution even with 12MP is very good but Samsung always oversaturates pictures by a massive amount so that grass looks like vomit. Raw images is the only way around that. And the camera app has weird limitations like no pro mode with the UW and tele lenses and third party apps can only use 1080p60 on exynos chips.
I'm just done with themIf you get the right model they are nice but stock firmware is not the best not the worst
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Honestly, they're horrible I can't believe people still buy them when wanting an Android experience. They come with so much bloat now and it just feels jank constantly.
I'd never recommend them to anyone but then again, Google Pixel devices aren't much better due to how unstable they are and you're essentially beta testing the phones as you go. Big part of the issue with Android phones these days.
Don't mess with the knockoff Chinese phones and tablets. They're shit