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:
You must log in or register to comment.
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.
Facebook does not come on their unlocked phones. I’ve set up my S8 and S23, as well as Note 9 and Note 22 for family and none of them came with bloatware aside from Samsung’s apps. However I got a used Galaxy tablet on AT&T and it had so much crap on it. At least it’s removable using ADB.
It does however include meta services, meta app manager, and meta app installer which you have to either disable after enabling view of system apps or use adb to remove it.
Fun fact, the Meta installer is a system app so it can quietly install (also system) stuff without your knowledge.
Also, having seen what extensive spying a regular Facebook app does (when it’s a non-system app!) I wouldn’t touch a Samsung phone without root with a ten foot pole.
Bold of them to assume people who buy expensive Android phones still use Facebook in 2023.
We need S5 but with modern specs. Galaxy Alpha would be zased phone if it had a MicroSD reader.
Because of the bloat and their Knox bullshit making it difficult to impossible to remove said bloat with a custom ROM, I will not touch a Samsung phone.
Typing from a Samsung Galaxy A50 right now, as a long time Samsung user. I’ve always hated TouchWiz from the older days, but I really love One UI. I’d even go as far as to say that One UI is the best Android skin (controversial opinion, lol)!
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.
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.
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.
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’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
Samsung is a shit company and nobody should ever buy anything from them. Phones, TVs, appliances, it doesn’t matter – it’s all either pre-infested with ads and malware or sabotaged with planned obsolescence.
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.
Doesn’t Pixels currently have the longest software support still?
I don’t know about cheap Samsung phones, but their flagships are excellent. I’m pretty happy with mine.
The best samsung phones are the 2 year old used flagship phones. All the power, features and longevity without the high sticker price. S21 Ultra is amazing at a fraction of the cost of new.
I preordered the s21 ultra as I need a new phone.
Only issues I have with it, is the battery starting to get a bit shit, but that’s undoubtedly my own fault leaving it to charge to full every night with super fast charging on. And, the plastic on the back at the top left edge is cracked due to me dropping it more tines than I should have. However, I fixed this by actually getting a rubber case.
I’ve still got the original factory applied screen protector, and it’s only just starting to show signs of scratches on it, and ever so slightly starting to peel on the top left corner.
It’s a beast. I had an S10 5G (same physical size as the 21 ultra) and it was great. Only reason I upgraded was I had to swap carriers. But these classics are so powerful and sharp versus new, economy models.
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 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.
Don’t mess with the knockoff Chinese phones and tablets. They’re shit
