I still have my note 8 from 2017. But am considering upgrading to the S23 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
- Thread starter Zee09
- Start date
My older sis recently got a Pixel 7 and had 5G connection issues. Often no connection at all. Google it. She returned it and got the smaller screen Samsung S23 version and loves it.
Same, mainly because they don't support security updates anymore after 5 years.
I have a Samsung A32 and I HATE this phone and it's operating system! I've been happy with every other Samsung device that I've owned but after using this phone it is highly unlikely that I will ever buy anything else with their name on it. Certainly nothing that is SW driven or that has any kind of web access. Every piece of software in this phone is loaded with spy ware and they are constantly loading more via their constant "updates", which can not be turned off. When I try to use this phone the software on it is contantly interrupting me wanting to do an update or something else. The on-screen keyboard is pathetic and I can't even answer a call without wading through a long list of various options. Everything on the phone is slow and buggy and cumbersome to use. I've turned off some of the more invasive "services" but everytime that I try to use the phone, it pops up an endless stream of messages about so and so being turned off and demanding that I re-enable them.
Oh and scale of of zero to ten (poor to good), I would rate this phone and the Android OS at a minus ten!
Oh and scale of of zero to ten (poor to good), I would rate this phone and the Android OS at a minus ten!
I'm pissed that they took the headphone jack away from the note series (ultra is basically a note now despite the name change). I'm still hanging onto the lg v60 with micro SD card and headphone jack with quad dac. The s pen is the biggest thing I wish I could have from the note.
I traded in my S20FE 5G for the smaller S23 and am very satisfied with the smaller size, longer battery life and faster performance. Better camera too the three years of updates. Got a good price and trade in from Xfinity Mobile. Downside is no micro-SD card slot but the 128GB memory should be more than ample.
My wife and I upgraded from our Samsung Note 8 to the S23 Ultra a few weeks ago and could not be happier. The new cameras on these phones are truly amazing.
Zee09
$200 Site Donor 2023
I haven't upgraded yet but will soon just to dump my current provider
This used to be a necessity back in the day because the phone's hardware had a hard time overcoming the carrier bloatware, but now the last time I've rooted one has been quite a while ago. I think maybe my Note 4 was the last one that I rooted, and it needed it badly. Super buggy out of the box, was light years better with CyanogenMod (now LineageOS). But it's been a while since I felt it was necessary, the phones have so much better hardware now, 8 cores and 6+ GB RAM are pretty common even on midrange phones.
The cheaper phones that have only 2 years of updates like the Motorola phones, in my opinion those would benefit most from being able to root and keep getting software updates, but they don't have active developer communities.
One of the reasons this time that I stepped up to an S series Samsung vs an A series is the more frequent updates. When I had my A71 5G I was only getting quarterly updates and there were active CVE's out there that weren't patched until the following quarter. Wasn't comfortable with it so I got an S21 FE last summer. I hate it, but at least it gets updates. I gave up screen real estate relative to my A71 5G, the battery life stinks and the reception is not very good compared to my A71 5G. I should have paid the money to get an S22 Ultra, or waited for the S23 Ultra.
Before getting the S21 FE I tried the Pixel 6 Pro that I got $200 off on Prime day, and loved it, but, a lot of the functions on my Samsung watch quit working, or at least, weren't in time with what my phone was doing. The Pixel Watch had not yet been released last summer. So I sent back the Pixel to Amazon. I will probably go that direction next time, Pixel phone and pixel watch. But I've got a while to go still with my S21 FE. These carrier deal plans now are based on monthy credits and if you get rid of the phone early you lose the credits. We'll see if this thing drives me nuts enough down the road to dump it early.
And in case you were wondering, yes, I'm a confirmed, dyed in the wool smartwatch user.
Still on my Note 10 Plus from 2019. Haven't found a reason to get a new phone yet.
The camera capabilities are still amazing to me.
Took this from the back yard full dark, some city sky glow.
The 3 stars are Orion's Belt and the fuzzy just below is Orion's nebula. Venus is far right and a bit blurry, there is only so much the lens can do on a wide angle shot like this.
The camera capabilities are still amazing to me.
Took this from the back yard full dark, some city sky glow.
The 3 stars are Orion's Belt and the fuzzy just below is Orion's nebula. Venus is far right and a bit blurry, there is only so much the lens can do on a wide angle shot like this.
Shows how long I've been out of the game with Android - I ran CyanogenMod on my rooted phones and have heard of Lineage but never knew it was the same thing (now).
I understand that but won't agree with that thinking. Just imagine how much faster the device would be with a lean OS.
Unfortunately my current employer does not issue cell phones except to management, and I'm not in management. I've had a work issued iPhone for the last 10 years or so. This means that I can't root my phone even if I wanted to, I have to use it for business, and the MDM solution we use will not allowed rooted phones.
If the device is work-issued, I wouldn't concern myself with bloat, rooting, etc. If it's slow, crashes frequently, etc, I would just report the issues or file tickets....
For me being able to use my phone for payments and online banking is more important than rooting to get a lean OS. The phones have gotten so good that I don't find it worth it anymore. Rooting seems to have more hiccups these days if you want to use banking apps.
