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here's the minireview (after i bought it so late, knowing there's no Note21 coming, and written some summary about rooting):
Looks: who cares, it's hidden in the case, every phone nowadays looks the same. Thou naked, Note10 is the hottest phone, and this one looks similar to it. How does it help? You can enjoy it on the internet, like a window shopper. Your ugly case will decide its fate! For truly unique look,. get a foldable.
Body: heavy as hell, what can I say. Ultraultrathin case on the way to compensate. You have three choices: X-Level case, pitaka case, or give up. I miss the Bixby button to program it in Xposed Edge and there's no Lockdown option anywhere. On 1+ I could use unique wakelock geatures or unique fingerprint menu to trigger some stuff. Here there's no immediate shortcuts unfortunately.
Battery: hesitated for a month reading horror stories about battery. With A11, root, usual wakelocks (AOD, dt2wake, raise2wake), bluetooth & location tracking & VPN running nonstop and 1:1 data and 200 apps as on all past phones, and even without 1+ aggressive RAM cleanup, i must claim the battery is fantastic on Exynos. 3 days easy with my relaxed usage, which is just like OnePlus 6-7-8 I used to have.
Charging: pretty fast for a single battery. You saw the results on gsmarena. Not bad for an emergency topup. Highly compatible with many chargers (unlike 1+). Of course it can't match 8T or 1+9 speed, but very close to 8Pro. But you have tons of chargers around the world at your disposal. Shame on 1+ for this "Apple" type of strategy. In my huge collection of cables and USB testers I have just one of each which supports "Warp". I charged each 1+ at 8W thanks to this as I refuse proprietary methods. Still I did have their Qi charger to celebrate the addition of Qi, and interestingly Note20 won't charge from it.
Fingerprint: better than S10, potentially faster than Oneplus, however it's killed by a massive sluggish response to unlocking. Simply put, finger is recognized very fast but then there's a huge delay til screen is unlocked or app accepts it!
Camera: took an hour to carefully analyze few pics made in the same place, under 2x zoom I couldn't fault it and only found issues on 1+ side. The 1+ 8Pro, which is my reference flagship of 2020, featured issues: yellow tint, massive hair artifacts which look like compression, massive transition artifacts (like a botched Bokeh on a picture which is not even portrait mode!), less detail in each pic, lot of extra noise, highlight clipping. On the other side, this Note didn't have any issue. I'm bit shocked, i expected more balanced battle. Not like 10:0 for Samsung. It's just one mode tested: AUTO on main camera. Nothing else matters because thats how pics are made by people (that's what Xperia owners don't get: "but but you need to use the Pro mode" ). I don't make pics, but i can see the phone will be inheritable within family very easily as they love cameras.
Software: bloated into oblivion, had a lot of work with the guide so expect some serious time burnt on debloating this monster as 1+ owners laugh into your face. Rooting and updating will be only with cable and via Odin, as you can't even enter recovery and DL mode without PC anymore. So the sd card will not save your arse when abroad. However unlocking bootloader is without "agreement", so the warranty is still valid in EU. As bragged earlier, lot of functionality forces you to login and the account demands even your phone number aaaaand I couldn't even fake email and phone! They're so dedicated to capture your real identity so it's best to stay logged out. Even the frikking wallpapers which are ugly this season cannot be changed. But on the other side, the OneUI OS gives you way more than bland 1+ or Xperias, there's always some extra for you. Like the hints in Settings, one hand use, the SmartStay, the cool magnifier, the Spen actions, voice control of camera, camera minivideos, the kid mode, the notif reminder, e-z split screen, the conversation bubbles, richer AOD, rotating wallpaper, Bixby routines, Edge panel etc. Notifbar is full of shortcuts which usually indicates how rich OS is. There are even apps, like video or song browser, something that no longer exists in many OS. Notably the firewall is missing. So overall, after debloating it's stronger perhaps more productive than those vanilla OSes. I love the split screen can be done with dragging from Edge panel.
Speed: massive improvement vs s10 generation i'd say. For the first time, i see Samsung device can be snappy. But don't expect 1+ speed, it's not THAT fast. It's still just Exynos. I even noticed lagging animations here and there, but it's not nonstop like on gen10.
Display: 8Pro and Note20 were rated as the best displays by several ranking agencies and im not paranoid enough to claim their rankings are bogus. Just like i don't hate Dxomark or even positives boasting DisplayMate. Having quite many flagships in past I can see Samsung is always more readable than any other brand. I appreciate the brightness during the day and night. It doesn't force you to increase brightness manually every single night. Now the dark environment use: the backbleeding isn't obtrusive like on Tab S* or OLED TVs, it doesn't have status bar burnt like 8Pro, and it's pretty uniform. With gray color and low brightness I could see the screen blink once which was scary but couldn't replicate it anymore. Well in any case, we do NEED new display technology to replace this pulsating OLED nonsense. No problem with swiping like on Xperia5ii or ZFlip, not many mistouches, the curve is gentle. The resolution is limited at 120Hz but I will say it again: i cannot see more pixels or any detail better under physical magnifier. FullHD is better than Xperia1ii [email protected] any time that's why I couldn't buy that Sony. I do lower resolution on every phone, incl 8Pro which can run 2K @120Hz.
Network: another improvement since S10 is improved network, just like notebookcheck reports, it's in back to top league with 8Pro. WAN speed averages for me: 482/290 on Note20U, 440/234 on 1+8Pro, 481/147 on S10. Pure WiFi AC speed averages were 600/709, 648/706, 610/696 respectively. Making S10 quite good for LAN despite initial horrible S10,S10+,Note10,Note10+ results on notebookcheck, well i'm testing them in same exact position at the same time, so my results are more real at this point.
SD card: nothing exciting here happened over a decide except when they remove this feature. No advancements were made to utilize UHS2 or UHS1+ speed of Extreme cards. Benchmark is 61MBs, so it's not capped like Xperia to 30MBs. Again, can't use sd card to recover your ROM, but rather to store encrypted backups (from OAndbackup currently as 3C can't encrypt and TitaniumBackup is dead).
Overall gen.10 Samsung owners (S10,S10+,Note10,Note10+) have every reason to update their midrangers. Others will buy S21 as it's finally got a decent Exynos. I personally won't buy 227 frikking gram brick without sd card. For 1+ owners it's a preference of freedom to root, (insert "irrational" in EU) fear of losing warranty, "i'm tired with Samsung", properietary charging (1+), sd card, too much bloat, lot of extras vs vanilla etc. Both are strong flagships, didn't expect such good battery and camera result here. After disappointing Z Flip and Xperia5ii, and a decent pause in Samsung ownership (I didn't keep Note9 and S10 for myself so my last longterm device was S8) i'm keeping this as a main driver. I can clean it up very well, there's no snitching, there's zero Samsung connections active and battery clearly proves it. So for rooted users this device is a gem. Nema problema.
Thanks for sharing.
Keep in mind that it's just your personal opinion, and other users might have different opinions.
There is a note 21 coming. Not sure where you got that from but they said it some timr ago when rumors started circulating that a new note IS comimg
And how the hell are you getting 3 days of use?! When i use my phone super light for two days i barley make it to thr second night and even somethimes i need to give it few mins of juice in thr car or somwhere just so i can make it. And that id with very light use.
What bloat are you reffering too, do tou have a contract pgone or sim free? I have sim free and the only bloat i have is the odd sammy software that i occasionally rven use.
Ps. OneUI is not an OS but skin.
Re speed i am an owner od s10, note21 and s21 and i see verry little differrnce between thr s10 and note21, although i do not play games but i use photoshop, lightroom, drawing software and some other similar there is not much difference to say it is massive. There is, it is normal but not massive for sure and all 3 phones feel snappy as hell. Started using sammy with the s7 again and from that point on one from each generation and all felth at their time spanny and very goos.
The only bad thing i have expirianced with my s10 is wifi connectivity, it was poor compared even to my older phones, and with the note 20 ultra 4G is very VERY poor. Or the regular pgone signal. I constantly loose wifi or 4G in places where my other friends do not on all 3 of my phones since the s10 including my note 20 ultra.
As a previous one plus owner i can tell you that the only difference in quality for comparing Oneplus and samsung is thr camera. Nothing else. Onepkus makes solid phones, and they are getting expensive to a point where you comoare them with the top hitters of samsung but the camera is light years behind, there are not even in the same ballpark to compare there.
It_ler said:
Thanks for sharing.
Keep in mind that it's just your personal opinion, and other users might have different opinions.
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Click to collapse
No harm in having different opinions we are all different people after all.
tixooo said:
There is a note 21 coming. Not sure where you got that from but they said it some timr ago when rumors started circulating that a new note IS comimg
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well..that's a rumor agains rumor
tixooo said:
And how the hell are you getting 3 days of use?! When i use my phone super light for two days i barley make it to thr second night and even somethimes i need to give it few mins of juice in thr car or somwhere just so i can make it. And that id with very light use.
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yeah im also lightly using the phone.. but it's nonstop connected to PC and watches, VPN, location tracking, all typical wakelocks on. After time, I'd say it's the same as you describe, 3rd day so so. But it's way better than as people described on the forums "horrible Exynos battery". It scared me away from buying for a good month.
tixooo said:
What bloat are you reffering too, do tou have a contract pgone or sim free? I have sim free and the only bloat i have is the odd sammy software that i occasionally rven use.
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well there was a link to debloat. Of course, Samsung is still the leader in bloatware. Heavily bloated like always.
tixooo said:
Ps. OneUI is not an OS but skin.
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let's not nitpick. We could say the same about Linux distros etc. The whole user facing solution is the OS.
tixooo said:
Re speed i am an owner od s10, note21 and s21 and i see verry little differrnce between thr s10 and note21, although i do not play games but i use photoshop, lightroom, drawing software and some other similar there is not much difference to say it is massive. There is, it is normal but not massive for sure and all 3 phones feel snappy as hell. Started using sammy with the s7 again and from that point on one from each generation and all felth at their time spanny and very goos.
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Click to collapse
Had S7 to S10, but it wasn't snappy at all. This is first time it feels that way, thou vanilla OSes like Oxygen are snappier and stutterless. Sure enough i will like newer CPU on newer models, but I just did a sanity check - it is quite snappy.
tixooo said:
The only bad thing i have expirianced with my s10 is wifi connectivity, it was poor compared even to my older phones, and with the note 20 ultra 4G is very VERY poor. Or the regular pgone signal. I constantly loose wifi or 4G in places where my other friends do not on all 3 of my phones since the s10 including my note 20 ultra.
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Click to collapse
Hmm, that was one problem fixed with Note20. No more moaning from my family about Wifi once upgraded S10->Note20. Connectivity good overall.
tixooo said:
As a previous one plus owner i can tell you that the only difference in quality for comparing Oneplus and samsung is thr camera. Nothing else. Onepkus makes solid phones, and they are getting expensive to a point where you comoare them with the top hitters of samsung but the camera is light years behind, there are not even in the same ballpark to compare there.
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Click to collapse
Well, that's only one difference. The main difference for me is the software. This is where OnePlus saves money, by not inveting a penny to enrich the experience and add some productivity gains. This is where OneUI OS shines.
You made a good choice.
The only other one I would consider is the N10+.
I use the SD card as a data drive. You need a V30 rated card for top transfer speeds.
Sorry Sammy, no SD card, no sale
blackhawk said:
You made a good choice.
The only other one I would consider is the N10+.
I use the SD card as a data drive. You need a V30 rated card for top transfer speeds.
Sorry Sammy, no SD card, no sale
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Click to collapse
i have an SD card, in one of Note20 and Ultra, and it's slow just like in every other mobile (apparently there's no device/appliance with higher speed than 90MBs UHS1 cap other than PC/DSLR - e.g. Sandisk Extreme a.k.a. UHS1+ or UHS2). I mean V30 is very slow to me, both sequential and random access. Given the terrible latency a.k.a. 4K speed, i wouldn't use the SD card for anything but backups and static dead files like music/videos. SD cards are a complete joke versus UFS. Also 60Hz screen, not for me, but OK for the person who received Note20 after S10 and never experienced the 120Hz heaven))
doggydog2 said:
i have an SD card, in one of Note20 and Ultra, and it's slow just like in every other mobile (apparently there's no device/appliance with higher speed than 90MBs UHS1 cap other than PC/DSLR - e.g. Sandisk Extreme a.k.a. UHS1+ or UHS2). I mean V30 is very slow to me, both sequential and random access. Given the terrible latency a.k.a. 4K speed, i wouldn't use the SD card for anything but backups and static dead files like music/videos. SD cards are a complete joke versus UFS. Also 60Hz screen, not for me, but OK for the person who received Note20 after S10 and never experienced the 120Hz heaven))
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For the N10+ the V30 is around it's top transfer speeds, the N20 is probably good for more.
The N10+ comes with Pie so no scope storage or the other Q nasties.
Lol, 60hz is 30hz faster than I was raised on being a 60's TV child... I'm not greedy
doggydog2 said:
well..that's a rumor agains rumor
yeah im also lightly using the phone.. but it's nonstop connected to PC and watches, VPN, location tracking, all typical wakelocks on. After time, I'd say it's the same as you describe, 3rd day so so. But it's way better than as people described on the forums "horrible Exynos battery". It scared me away from buying for a good month.
well there was a link to debloat. Of course, Samsung is still the leader in bloatware. Heavily bloated like always.
let's not nitpick. We could say the same about Linux distros etc. The whole user facing solution is the OS.
Had S7 to S10, but it wasn't snappy at all. This is first time it feels that way, thou vanilla OSes like Oxygen are snappier and stutterless. Sure enough i will like newer CPU on newer models, but I just did a sanity check - it is quite snappy.
Hmm, that was one problem fixed with Note20. No more moaning from my family about Wifi once upgraded S10->Note20. Connectivity good overall.
Well, that's only one difference. The main difference for me is the software. This is where OnePlus saves money, by not inveting a penny to enrich the experience and add some productivity gains. This is where OneUI OS shines.
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Where are you from, and is your phonr sim free or not?because my pgone is sim free and i have close to zero bloat (except the odd sammy rmail, web browser etc. That i do not consider bloat). For me personally everything google is bloat that you cant remove (i do not like google as you can see )
Unless you are not sim free the phone it self was pretty clean when i purchased it no adds, no usless software (except 1-2 samsung things that i do not use and cant remove) but that is their pgone... It is to be expected to see their software on it.
Re the battery... To be fair i stopped listening to reviewers and people on the net lomg time ago, turns out many are biased towards this or that and tou cant really get the true story. I am extreamly happy with my battery and my camera, two points that are heavily criticized on the forums anywhere and by reviewers.
I still own s7, s8 and s10... And even now if they are not packed with software they hry are not that bad, but during their prime time they were as snappy as ever dor me. Might be a sim free vs not i do not know. All my phomes are sim free.
tixooo said:
Where are you from, and is your phonr sim free or not?because my pgone is sim free and i have close to zero bloat (except the odd sammy rmail, web browser etc. That i do not consider bloat). For me personally everything google is bloat that you cant remove (i do not like google as you can see )
Unless you are not sim free the phone it self was pretty clean when i purchased it no adds, no usless software (except 1-2 samsung things that i do not use and cant remove) but that is their pgone... It is to be expected to see their software on it.
Re the battery... To be fair i stopped listening to reviewers and people on the net lomg time ago, turns out many are biased towards this or that and tou cant really get the true story. I am extreamly happy with my battery and my camera, two points that are heavily criticized on the forums anywhere and by reviewers.
I still own s7, s8 and s10... And even now if they are not packed with software they hry are not that bad, but during their prime time they were as snappy as ever dor me. Might be a sim free vs not i do not know. All my phomes are sim free.
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From EU, we don't have any locks by law. Still even such Samsungs are full of processes that waste memory, batter, keep connection, and kill privacy. It's not just what you see as icons. It's Bixby, Samsung Cloud, Find, Galaxy Friends, Pay, push service, logging, debugging, location tracking, knoxx, wifi snitching, Phone assistance, and finally sponsored vendor crap with boosted battery priorities. Can't believe you didn't notice until now There must be tons of threads about this.
doggydog2 said:
From EU, we don't have any locks by law. Still even such Samsungs are full of processes that waste memory, batter, keep connection, and kill privacy. It's not just what you see as icons. It's Bixby, Samsung Cloud, Find, Galaxy Friends, Pay, push service, logging, debugging, location tracking, knoxx, wifi snitching, Phone assistance, and finally sponsored vendor crap with boosted battery priorities. Can't believe you didn't notice until now There must be tons of threads about this.
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Click to collapse
Half of those i use, if not more. So do my friends. As i said define bloat. To me bloat is google everything and thr inability to get rid if it easily. To me bloat is not something you buy and you get the brand services, but other services you do not want likr carier services or others like microsoft/google etc.
It_ler said:
Thanks for sharing.
Keep in mind that it's just your personal opinion, and other users might have different opinions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That response,
doggydog2 said:
From EU, we don't have any locks by law. Still even such Samsungs are full of processes that waste memory, batter, keep connection, and kill privacy. It's not just what you see as icons. It's Bixby, Samsung Cloud, Find, Galaxy Friends, Pay, push service, logging, debugging, location tracking, knoxx, wifi snitching, Phone assistance, and finally sponsored vendor crap with boosted battery priorities. Can't believe you didn't notice until now There must be tons of threads about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, that's why a Samsung 4500mAh battery will never be as comparable as lets say a OnePlus' 4500mAh.
First thing one must do, ADB uninstall the hell out of all the Samsung garbage apps and such. For every Google spyware on ONE UI there is also an equivalent Samsung process running.
I was considering getting this phone but Samsung screwed up with the CPU heatsink big time on some of the same variant and it's random, unpredictable. Only observation of abnormal poor heat dissipation or a tear down can reveal which heat sink is used.
Russian heat sink roulette, perfect
I don't have the patience for this kind of poor quality control. It's getting to be a hallmark of Samsung. Why the hell didn't Samsung use only the copper vapor cooling solution on all of it's models? A sick, expensive joke that can't be easily retrofitted or cure by firmware.
Really?
If yours is running hot this may be why.
Here’s Why Some Galaxy Note 20 Phones Have Overheating Problems & There’s Nothing One Can Do
This is unacceptable.
www.mensxp.com
After spending just over a week with the FX3 pro think it's time to return it can't say I am blown away with it and don't feel it's a worthy successor to the FX2 pro
Battery life not that good having to quick charge at least twice to make it through the day ,
Camera has decent detail but colours are over saturated and not natural at all
Microscope lense is just pointless gimmicky lense and pretty useless in day to day use and hard to get a good in focus shot most of the time , detail quality reduces significantly when using zoom , again 10 bit photos is gimmicky when only the phone can display them at 10bit and when uploading to social media the quality is reduced to 8 bit anyway , performance for a SD 888 is disappointing this could be down to software optimization but stuttery web pages Facebook etc isn't grate and as mentioned Google feed is horrid considering its practically exact spec as the OnePlus 9 pro the bench marks are a lot less , maybe adaptive 120hz is to blame and not optimized correctly and even certain sites and apps just ain't optimized for high refresh rates , my 12 pro max with 60hz is smoother than 120hz on most social media and websites probably why apple have not jumped on the high refresh ban waggon admittedly swiping around the OS is a breeze but sadly that's were it ends , the chrome finish on the glossy black is just a step backward when most 2021 flagships are going for Matt finishes as the fingerprint and smudges are ridiculous on this device , sadly it's to many cons and that's just the major ones so will be retuning the device under my 28 day change of mind policy with the network , not being negative I'm sure most will be satisfied with the device but those things just make me think it's not worth the price tag that goes with it , and if you already have the X2 pro it's definitely not worth the upgrade yet
Wow what a shame that your journey with the FX3 turned out to be such a bad one.
I can't relate to most of your issues since my device is spot on from day 1
No lag or stutter and flawless benchmark scores, guess I am lucky and you got a Monday morning device.
Yes definitely or a Friday phone Lol should of known better than go with Chinese device , oh well on ward and upward
DoobyDroid said:
Yes definitely or a Friday phone Lol should of known better than go with Chinese device , oh well on ward and upward
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Only reason for me was the SD888 since I've had it with the Exynos issues by Samsung.
I did get the S21 Ultra 512Gb version first but that was a disappointment as well. It was a step back for me after the FX2Pro
Now I'm thinking about importing a SD version of the S21 Ultra, just not sure if that could give other issues on the Dutch networks
Yr I was looking at 21 ultra but a Friend had it for couple weeks and sent back due to camera not that grate although it's had a few updates since release and looking over on the forum camera updates so possibly better now and although previous exynos chips have been a let down against SD I think this time around it's slightly better not on par quiet but nearly but now you have said that I'm having second thoughts lol it's that or the dark side 12 pro Max , or stick with the x3 pro and see what updates address
DoobyDroid said:
Yr I was looking at 21 ultra but a Friend had it for couple weeks and sent back due to camera not that grate although it's had a few updates since release and looking over on the forum camera updates so possibly better now and although previous exynos chips have been a let down against SD I think this time around it's slightly better not on par quiet but nearly but now you have said that I'm having second thoughts lol it's that or the dark side 12 pro Max , or stick with the x3 pro and see what updates address
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Click to collapse
Exynos 2100 is definitely not on oat with SD888 at least not with the S21 ultra. Had it for about a week and gladly returned it. My SD865 powered FX2Pro was performing much better compared to the Exynos powered S21U
I have no doubt" I'm just going on what bench comparison reviews I've seen yes still not as good but better than the S20 ultra's 990 was Vs 865 , Samsung slowly improving there chips , the one thing putting me of the 12 pro max is 60z going back from 120hz is horrid although I had the standard 12 prior to the x3 pro briefly after a few days you generally re adjust to 60hz as iOS is fairly buttery Smooth you do notice the odd stutter but what you loose in fluidnis you gain in battery so it's a question of trade offs and personal preference suppose camera samples do look better on the 12 pro max than s21 ultra more natural but does loose out to the s21 ultras video recording again it's what your willing to trade in one area to gain in another I personally very rarely even record video so not a big deal id rather have a better quick point and shoot cam, yes 21 ultra can do more and has multiple lenses and zooms but anything over 15x just starts to loose detail anyway so 108mp is pretty useless past that , decisions decisions one thing thought I'm really enjoying the 65w charging on X3 pro blazing fast and plugging in for 10 mins I'm good again for hrs I would definitely miss that if decide to exchange just wish the Sony 1 MK 3 was already out and I wouldn't have such hard time deciding as O2 have limited options to go for and nothing really new on the horizon for some time yet ,
patensas said:
Only reason for me was the SD888 since I've had it with the Exynos issues by Samsung.
I did get the S21 Ultra 512Gb version first but that was a disappointment as well. It was a step back for me after the FX2Pro
Now I'm thinking about importing a SD version of the S21 Ultra, just not sure if that could give other issues on the Dutch networks
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Why don't you just keep the x3 for another year? What do you not like about it?
latino147 said:
Why don't you just keep the x3 for another year? What do you not like about it?
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I miss the OneUI from Samsung devices and only reason I switched was the bad Exynos chip.
I miss the feeling I've got from the FX2Pro and the fact it did feel a bit more polished compared tot the FX3Pro
However I'll stick with the FX3Pro for a while to see what Oppo can do for us with firmware updates. As mentioned the latest firmware crippled my device when it comes to battery and performance, hoping they will fix this.
With previous firmware my device scored over 800000 point running Antutu 9, the latest firmware somewhere between 650 and 700000
Now I know benchmarks don't mean **** and real-life performance matters but also in real-life the performance dropped with latest firmware.
So if Oppo finds a way to fix the performance and battery drain with next update I'm cool.
Other small glitches on software side I can live with ( or solutions can be found )
Yeah, OneUI is almost perfect. Very customizable, especially with good lock.
Performance (s10+) wasn't that great though. My wife's s20 is still very choppy with 120hz activated.
And the fingerprint scanner on the s10 and s20 are terrible.
Oh, they should also start improving charge speeds! I can never go back to a 25W charger!
Seems a lot of mixed scores hear are my results Antutu 9.0.5
patensas said:
I miss the OneUI from Samsung devices and only reason I switched was the bad Exynos chip.
I miss the feeling I've got from the FX2Pro and the fact it did feel a bit more polished compared tot the FX3Pro
However I'll stick with the FX3Pro for a while to see what Oppo can do for us with firmware updates. As mentioned the latest firmware crippled my device when it comes to battery and performance, hoping they will fix this.
With previous firmware my device scored over 800000 point running Antutu 9, the latest firmware somewhere between 650 and 700000
Now I know benchmarks don't mean **** and real-life performance matters but also in real-life the performance dropped with latest firmware.
So if Oppo finds a way to fix the performance and battery drain with next update I'm cool.
Other small glitches on software side I can live with ( or solutions can be found )
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Click to collapse
Hey, may I know how the FX3 pro fares currently?
Planning to buy one or wait for the reno7pro/s21fe. Wanna move away from Xiaomi now. The 1+ 9pro does not have certain 5g bands i need
I am going to return it too in the end..battery life isn't that great and no root etc. Zoom pics not so sharp. But the other alternative is s21exynos but I doubt with fine tuning will go worse than my actual immortal s10 For the high temp I usually downcloak from kernel ..so i think it will be ok.
Chooo
I currently have and use a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. I love the phone but it feel it's time to upgrade and I'll add this S20 to my pile of phones to play with. So far I like the S21 Ultra better because of the build quality over the S20 Ultra. I like the metal around the camera lens over the glass of the S20 Ultra. I also like the bigger fingerprint scanner behind the screen. Mine bugs out occasionally and can be irritating. The screen is phenomenal on the S20 Ultra and even better on the S21 Ultra. So should I upgrade or wait for an S22 Ultra? Or should I branch away from Samsung? I was a long time HTC user and switched fully to Samsung back at the release of the Galaxy Note 5. I've used and played with many Nexus, Motorola, OnePlus, LG and other phones and I'm stuck on Samsung. Hell I even went back to an iPhone XS Max because my family all has them, and let me tell you, that didn't last long. So I'm just wanting your guys opinions, worth the upgrade now? Wait? Branch away?
Not sure I'd upgrade but my upgrade span is normally two years. But the facts are that the camera is far better, the chipset is far better (regardless of region), it has S-pen support, the screen is better and it looks better.
If you think that's worth the price then go for it.
Check the video below for a more in depth comparison.
Beefheart said:
Not sure I'd upgrade but my upgrade span is normally two years. But the facts are that the camera is far better, the chipset is far better (regardless of region), it has S-pen support, the screen is better and it looks better.
If you think that's worth the price then go for it.
Check the video below for a more in depth comparison.
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Click to collapse
I do agree that it's a better handset all around. I love my S20, but I hate it at the same time with all of its quirks. I guess I haven't looked yet, but I'm sure they are planning the S22 very soon, and it might be worth me waiting for that. I've just had small minuscule issues with my S20 Ultra, like currently waiting on my replacement since my screen quit entirely as well as all the rear camera sensors. I'm using my spare Galaxy A20 that was brand new in the box until my new S20 Ultra gets here. This A20 is super disappointing in terms of performance so I'm trying to not use it as much as I dont have to.
KaydenMcCurdyTech said:
I currently have and use a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra. I love the phone but it feel it's time to upgrade and I'll add this S20 to my pile of phones to play with. So far I like the S21 Ultra better because of the build quality over the S20 Ultra. I like the metal around the camera lens over the glass of the S20 Ultra. I also like the bigger fingerprint scanner behind the screen. Mine bugs out occasionally and can be irritating. The screen is phenomenal on the S20 Ultra and even better on the S21 Ultra. So should I upgrade or wait for an S22 Ultra? Or should I branch away from Samsung? I was a long time HTC user and switched fully to Samsung back at the release of the Galaxy Note 5. I've used and played with many Nexus, Motorola, OnePlus, LG and other phones and I'm stuck on Samsung. Hell I even went back to an iPhone XS Max because my family all has them, and let me tell you, that didn't last long. So I'm just wanting your guys opinions, worth the upgrade now? Wait? Branch away?
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It's not going to be a night and day differnce. Cameras are definitely better and focus issues are fixed. Screen is only a minor upgrade in terms of quality - unless you want to leverage the new processor to run it a WQHD+ at adaptive refresh rate. Even that is barely discernible against the FHD+ with VRR. At least to my eyes.
Is it worth it monetarily? No. It doesn't make any financial sense dropping that kind of money every year on a handset. THe S21U is definitely better than the S20U, but not $1000 better
Is it worth it as a shiny new toy for playing around (provided money isn't that big a concern for you)? Hell, yeah.
Depends how you define "worth" and what your yearly budget is for gadgets.
enigmaamit said:
It's not going to be a night and day differnce. Cameras are definitely better and focus issues are fixed. Screen is only a minor upgrade in terms of quality - unless you want to leverage the new processor to run it a WQHD+ at adaptive refresh rate. Even that is barely discernible against the FHD+ with VRR. At least to my eyes.
Is it worth it monetarily? No. It doesn't make any financial sense dropping that kind of money every year on a handset. THe S21U is definitely better than the S20U, but not $1000 better
Is it worth it as a shiny new toy for playing around (provided money isn't that big a concern for you)? Hell, yeah.
Depends how you define "worth" and what your yearly budget is for gadgets.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I don't feel its worth dropping $1,000 every year, maybe every 2, sometimes 3 years. I actually paid $1,500 for my S20 Ultra right when it came out. I've just only started to get bored of it or irritated with little issues. But really, I think I'll wait it through and get the next Galaxy that jumps out ahead of competition in relation to specs. They usually wait to see what Apple will do, and try and get a couple steps ahead of them, not just 1 or the same. Sadly enough, Apple is competing side by side now with their new chips and they aren't doing too bad. I'm kind of wanting to try the 12 Pro Max but that would go against my religion.
KaydenMcCurdyTech said:
Personally I don't feel its worth dropping $1,000 every year, maybe every 2, sometimes 3 years. I actually paid $1,500 for my S20 Ultra right when it came out. I've just only started to get bored of it or irritated with little issues. But really, I think I'll wait it through and get the next Galaxy that jumps out ahead of competition in relation to specs. They usually wait to see what Apple will do, and try and get a couple steps ahead of them, not just 1 or the same. Sadly enough, Apple is competing side by side now with their new chips and they aren't doing too bad. I'm kind of wanting to try the 12 Pro Max but that would go against my religion.
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Click to collapse
I think it's a sensible decision to wait for the next galaxy, especially since you have a "relatively" recent device already. Who knows, you may fall for the Z Fold 3 ?
Don't wait for Samsung to copy Apple too much though.... next thing you know, they'll stop including the phone in the box
enigmaamit said:
I think it's a sensible decision to wait for the next galaxy, especially since you have a "relatively" recent device already. Who knows, you may fall for the Z Fold 3 ?
Don't wait for Samsung to copy Apple too much though.... next thing you know, they'll stop including the phone in the box
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Click to collapse
I very well could fall for the Z Fold 3, but who knows, I really am not sure I like the folding or flipping phones. I tried that a few times, even sliders, and they just weren't for me. I had every generation of Motorola Droid with the slider since first introduced, actually still have them lol, but the slider I wasn't a fan of. I had a Palm Pre Plus, and I had a Kyocera Echo. Cool concept and way ahead of it's time in 2013/2014, but was glitchy and cheap. I like a solid build. Probably the only flipping or sliding I liked was the original Motorola Razr V3m/or VE20. The Palm slider was nice though.
And you're not wrong on the Apple part . Thanks for the laugh. I think in terms of new phones, Samsung has had the cat in the bag for a long time.
IMHO the decision to upgrade or not comes down to value. By the time the S22 is released the S21 will be a better value and from rumors online it doesn't look as though the S22 Ultra (or whatever it's labeled) will have enough improvements to justify the additional cost. I'm thinking Samsung released the S21 Ultra earlier than previous devices because the S20 Ultra had some issues and it didn't generate sales volume they anticipated. As far as the Fold goes I see only one advantage, it can fold for a larger display. When one compares features with the S21 Ultra it's nowhere near the value especially if the focus is on features. I kinda feel sorry for users who dropped a bundle of money for the S20 Ultra, it's a bit of a tweener who's features were eclipsed in a significant way by the S21 Ultra.
varcor said:
IMHO the decision to upgrade or not comes down to value. By the time the S22 is released the S21 will be a better value and from rumors online it doesn't look as though the S22 Ultra (or whatever it's labeled) will have enough improvements to justify the additional cost. I'm thinking Samsung released the S21 Ultra earlier than previous devices because the S20 Ultra had some issues and it didn't generate sales volume they anticipated. As far as the Fold goes I see only one advantage, it can fold. When one compares features with the S21 Ultra it's nowhere near the value especially if the focus is on features. I kinda feel sorry for users who dropped a bundle of money for the S20 Ultra, it's a bit of a tweener who's features were eclipsed in a significant way by the S21 Ultra.
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I couldn't agree more. Now the S20 Ultra is a significantly better phone than the iPhone XS Max I used shortly before it, and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge I was using before the iPhone. I had the Galaxy S8+ before going back to the S7 Edge, but that phone the first day I got it, it was dropped not even 3 feet onto a carpeted floor and cracked the screen. I immediately sent in for a replacement and not even 6 months of using it, it died. So I dug the trusty S7 Edge out of my drawer and put it back to use.
I did overspend on the S20 Ultra sitting back and looking at it now because I wanted the newest greatest phone and I was eligible for the upgrade, so I just did it. It's little issues with the fingerprint scanner are definitely annoying and the camera was good, but not what I thought it was shook up to be. I also have issues randomly dropping service, even in full bar areas. It games nicely, and the specs are great. I hate that I spent the money I did to get the lower RAM/storage version. But they didnt have a 256 or 512gb in stock. Next one I get will definitely be a 512gb with the highest RAM option. Granted this phone has never slowed down with a bunch of apps, I just ran out of 128gb faster than I thought I would.
KaydenMcCurdyTech said:
I couldn't agree more. Now the S20 Ultra is a significantly better phone than the iPhone XS Max I used shortly before it, and the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge I was using before the iPhone. I had the Galaxy S8+ before going back to the S7 Edge, but that phone the first day I got it, it was dropped not even 3 feet onto a carpeted floor and cracked the screen. I immediately sent in for a replacement and not even 6 months of using it, it died. So I dug the trusty S7 Edge out of my drawer and put it back to use.
I did overspend on the S20 Ultra sitting back and looking at it now because I wanted the newest greatest phone and I was eligible for the upgrade, so I just did it. It's little issues with the fingerprint scanner are definitely annoying and the camera was good, but not what I thought it was shook up to be. I also have issues randomly dropping service, even in full bar areas. It games nicely, and the specs are great. I hate that I spent the money I did to get the lower RAM/storage version. But they didnt have a 256 or 512gb in stock. Next one I get will definitely be a 512gb with the highest RAM option. Granted this phone has never slowed down with a bunch of apps, I just ran out of 128gb faster than I thought I would.
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Agreed, with no MicroSD available some users like myself understand the 256GB (about 200GB after system use is deducted) isn't enough. Lots of users are comfortable with this available internal storage for their purposes and utilize external storage devices to compensate but I'm not one of them. I have zero faith in Cloud Storage for privacy and security concerns.
Since you're in the US, if you decide on acquiring a 512GB device the Branded Service Provider's have no 512GB units available, not sure if some of them ever did offer it. Then that leaves you with a couple of options, the Snapdragon or Exynos Global variants. Given a choice I prefer the Snapdragon 888 SoC.
I opted for the Hong Kong (CSC - TGY) 512GB device. In addition to the largest internal storage it offers no carrier bloatware, dual sim's, unlocked bootloader and faster OTA's. There are some downsides as well. It's more expensive since there's no trade-in promotion, so you'd need to sell the S20 Ultra private party if you don't want to add it to your other older units. There is a 1 year warranty but that requires it be shipped back to the original retailer. That didn't bother me since I've never had repair issues with any of my previous Galaxy devices. Lastly, certain Branded Carrier Call Features like 5G and Carrier Aggregation may not work. My device does enable 4G LTE, WI-FI Calling which are sufficient for my usage. My S9+, S10 Plus were Hong Kong variants as well and I had no issues other than what I've already shared.
A Carrier Branded device may be the best value for you based on overall costs but the internal storage constraints killed it for me, 200GB just doesn't cut it. With my S10 Plus it made sense to buy the 128GB variant at a lower price and drop in the MicroSD, problem solved! If the S21 Ultra had external memory I would have done the same workaround and saved about $400 USD. I like the S21 Ultra alot, it's the best device available IMHO, if it had MicroSD I'd LOVE IT!
varcor said:
Agreed, with no MicroSD available some users like myself understand the 256GB (about 200GB after system use is deducted) isn't enough. Lots of users are comfortable with this available internal storage for their purposes and utilize external storage devices to compensate but I'm not one of them. I have zero faith in Cloud Storage for privacy and security concerns.
Since you're in the US, if you decide on acquiring a 512GB device the Branded Service Provider's have no 512GB units available, not sure if some of them ever did offer it. Then that leaves you with a couple of options, the Snapdragon or Exynos Global variants. Given a choice I prefer the Snapdragon 888 SoC.
I opted for the Hong Kong (CSC - TGY) 512GB device. In addition to the largest internal storage it offers no carrier bloatware, dual sim's, unlocked bootloader and faster OTA's. There are some downsides as well. It's more expensive since there's no trade-in promotion, so you'd need to sell the S20 Ultra private party if you don't want to add it to your other older units. There is a 1 year warranty but that requires it be shipped back to the original retailer. That didn't bother me since I've never had repair issues with any of my previous Galaxy devices. Lastly, certain Branded Carrier Call Features like 5G and Carrier Aggregation may not work. My device does enable 4G LTE, WI-FI Calling which are sufficient for my usage. My S9+, S10 Plus were Hong Kong variants as well and I had no issues other than what I've already shared.
A Carrier Branded device may be the best value for you based on overall costs but the internal storage constraints killed it for me, 200GB just doesn't cut it. With my S10 Plus it made sense to buy the 128GB variant at a lower price and drop in the MicroSD, problem solved! If the S21 Ultra had external memory I would have done the same workaround and saved about $400 USD. I like the S21 Ultra alot, it's the best device available IMHO, if it had MicroSD I'd LOVE IT!
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Click to collapse
Oh my, I didn't even pay attention to them not including a MicroSD. They did that in the S8 but only the S8, and that's not okay with me. I have a 512gb SD I transfer from phone to phone for photos and file management. That's not going to cut it for me relying strictly on internal storage. Although I seen they make a type C to micro SD adapter that's inexpensive and works well, so I guess if I do upgrade I could do that. But, idk, I'm liking the Note 20 Ultra right now as well.
You should want an SD card.
Samsung's are the most customizable stock Androids on the planet... if you haven't noticed.
The only thing I would consider at this time personally is the Note 20 U or another Note 10+ 512gb Snapdragon variant. I'll wait another year to see if Samsung and Android can get recover from their high G flat spin.
Otherwise I'll default to my former choices. My preferred OS is still Pie and the 10+ is a solid, fast, stable performer. Decisions, decisions...
Samsung's offerings this year so far are weak. Android 11 is looking like another Vista.
That's 2 strikes and the 3rd strike be making the mistake of buying it
blackhawk said:
You should want an SD card.
Samsung's are the most customizable stock Androids on the planet... if you haven't noticed.
The only thing I would consider at this time personally is the Note 20 U or another Note 10+ 512gb Snapdragon variant. I'll wait another year to see if Samsung and Android can get recover from their high G flat spin.
Otherwise I'll default to my former choices. My preferred OS is still Pie and the 10+ is a solid, fast, stable performer. Decisions, decisions...
Samsung's offerings this year so far are weak. Android 11 is looking like another Vista.
That's 2 strikes and the 3rd strike be making the mistake of buying it
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Click to collapse
I haven't had any issues with Android 11 as of yet, there just wasn't much added. Having no SD Card is a downside for me. I do love how customizable Samsungs are right out of the box. I'll probably get a Note 20 Ultra because why not. I'd get the largest variant available to me.
KaydenMcCurdyTech said:
I haven't had any issues with Android 11 as of yet, there just wasn't much added. Having no SD Card is a downside for me. I do love how customizable Samsungs are right out of the box. I'll probably get a Note 20 Ultra because why not. I'd get the largest variant available to me.
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Click to collapse
The 20U is a solid platform. Get a good case before you start using it. They are beautiful slippery fish.
The Notes wuv to corner hit and face plant when dropped. The spen corner seems to be their favorite corner to land on
I use the Zizo Bolt and the Gorilla IQ Sheild screen protector. Zero damage in 1.5+ years in spite of nearly a dozen drops from 2-4 feet onto concrete.
A SD card allows you to have a data drive.
All critical data goes here including everything you need to do a full reload including installable app copies. No Playstore needed. This drive is then redundantly backed up to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other. Use a V30 rated card or higher.
Lexar's work right out of the box.
The internal memory regardless of its size is the OS drive. Loaded apps and the temporary DCIM and download* folders go here.
You now have a dual drive 1+tb computer in your hand
This is how my 10+ is set up. It runs like a bat out of hell. Current load is over a year old, still running fast and stable. A complete reload takes about 2 hours to set it back up, no internet or PC required.
*transferred to data drive once vetted
blackhawk said:
The 20U is a solid platform. Get a good case before you start using it. They are beautiful slippery fish.
The Notes wuv to corner hit and face plant when dropped. The spen corner seems to be their favorite corner to land on
I use the Zizo Bolt and the Gorilla IQ Sheild screen protector. Zero damage in 1.5+ years in spite of nearly a dozen drops from 2-4 feet onto concrete.
A SD card allows you to have a data drive.
All critical data goes here including everything you need to do a full reload including installable app copies. No Playstore needed. This drive is then redundantly backed up to at least 2 hdds that are physically and electronically isolated from each other. Use a V30 rated card or higher.
Lexar's work right out of the box.
The internal memory regardless of its size is the OS drive. Loaded apps and the temporary DCIM and download* folders go here.
You now have a dual drive 1+tb computer in your hand
This is how my 10+ is set up. It runs like a bat out of hell. Current load is over a year old, still running fast and stable. A complete reload takes about 2 hours to set it back up, no internet or PC required.
*transferred to data drive once vetted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How big is your SD Card? I'm considering ordering a 1TB card and transferring everything over. I use my phone for editing video, photos, rendering, office, receipts etc. Which is why I haven't played with its OS and such because it just works. I have a 256gb that's nearly full. I'll get a note 20 U and buy a 1tb card and leave my 256gb in my S20 U.
KaydenMcCurdyTech said:
How big is your SD Card? I'm considering ordering a 1TB card and transferring everything over. I use my phone for editing video, photos, rendering, office, receipts etc. Which is why I haven't played with its OS and such because it just works. I have a 256gb that's nearly full. I'll get a note 20 U and buy a 1tb card and leave my 256gb in my S20 U.
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Click to collapse
I have a 512gb Lexar V30 card ($65) and currently using about 340gb.
Thinking about upgrading to a 1tb V30 card but they aren't cheap ($180-240).
The V30 is fast enough to stream video and wav files from with no issues. The Lexar writes around a [email protected]
The 20U has a faster bus than the 10+ so it may benefit from a faster card. Not sure as it doesn't apply to me and I haven't pursued it; V30 is fast enough for what I need.
If you have a large database you'll chew up one 1tb fast. My current database is about 1.5tb; really I like to see dual SD card slots
blackhawk said:
I have a 512gb Lexar V30 card ($65) and currently using about 340gb.
Thinking about upgrading to a 1tb V30 card but they aren't cheap ($180-240).
The V30 is fast enough to stream video and wav files from with no issues. The Lexar writes around a [email protected]
The 20U has a faster bus than the 10+ so it may benefit from a faster card. Not sure as it doesn't apply to me and I haven't pursued it; V30 is fast enough for what I need.
If you have a large database you'll chew up one 1tb fast. My current database is about 1.5tb; really I like to see dual SD card slots
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now theres an idea I can get behind! I have a large database for sure. I sort everything in folders and label everything etc. My phone is my computer lol. I even run my GoPro through my phone to edit and upload video. I would love to see dual SD Cards someday. Maybe even faster cards as well. Phone already are coming out with 16gb of RAM, there is no reason they couldn't do dual storage cards. Actually I know it's possible because I have my SD card in my s20U and I use a USB c to micro USB to my S7 edge with another SD card in it to transfer data, and I set the S7 edge up as a storage drive on my s20U. So they just need to do it already. I think Nvidia needs to try and develop another mobile GPU that's insane and Samung needs to build a media based work usable phone. Like bring back the Galaxy Mega with some decent specs instead of garbage. Use a 120hz OLED panel, like 5.5-6 inches, with a 500+ pixel density, dual SIM, dual SD card, nvidia GPU, best 8 core Snapdragon, 16-20gb ram, s pen, amazing cameras front and rear and just have it blow away the competition. I'd spend 1500 on that all day. That phone would appeal to a fair amount of people. The galaxy Mega didnt sell well along side the note series because they limited it to a single carrier in the US, the specs were ehh at best, the screen was trash and no SPen support.
The Note held a niche until the battery drama and the S Series increased the size of the display. Samsung axed it knowing sales volume would be limited and it would directly compete with the S Series. It's a good device but shaded compared to the S21 Ultra. SoC, CPU, battery, cameras, bluetooth and display resolution. It's less expensive and still offers MicroSD but other than that it's second fiddle. At least you'll have the last of a dying breed. If I were to weight value for the Note 20 Ultra it would be against the A72 at half the price, not the S21 Ultra.
varcor said:
The Note held a niche until the battery drama and the S Series increased the size of the display. Samsung axed it knowing sales volume would be limited and it would directly compete with the S Series. It's a good device but shaded compared to the S21 Ultra. SoC, CPU, battery, cameras, bluetooth and display resolution. It's less expensive and still offers MicroSD but other than that it's second fiddle. At least you'll have the last of a dying breed.
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Click to collapse
True, I would. But it's pretty comparable with my current S20U except for camera and so forth but still a great device. I've been thinking that's what I'll do instead of the s21U. I'd like to not step away from Samsung. Who knows, if dont like the Note, then I might check out the Z fold. I just know I won't like it though.
varcor said:
The Note held a niche until the battery drama and the S Series increased the size of the display. Samsung axed it knowing sales volume would be limited and it would directly compete with the S Series. It's a good device but shaded compared to the S21 Ultra. SoC, CPU, battery, cameras, bluetooth and display resolution. It's less expensive and still offers MicroSD but other than that it's second fiddle. At least you'll have the last of a dying breed. If I were to weight value for the Note 20 Ultra it would be against the A72 at half the price, not the S21 Ultra.
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Click to collapse
The rounded display corners suck. In pictures they don't seem bad but in person they look horrible compared to the modern Notes. The colors and gamma of the 10+ are spot on. The display is one of a kind and just drop dead gorgeous. I stream vids constantly on mine.
The 12 gb ram variant of the 10+ or 16gb for the 20U are needed for a power user. The Snapdragon variant is the most desirable but difficult to root.
Battery excursions were a one shot deal although any Li can fail at any time especially when degraded.
The intergrated spen can't be replaced and even though I don't use it a lot, when I need it, I need.
As I learned battery and the C port PCB are relatively easy to replace once you know the tricks. Not near as bad as the reviews rate it.
A case is mandatory or it will get destroyed... sooner or latter.
If you can swing it and are tech savvy, get a Note.
As for being dead, doubtful. Sammy loves to play that to the hilt.
Samsung needs to rethink what their customer base wants rather than dictate what they can have. If Sammy fails to do this or fidgets like LG, they will suffer badly... if you can't rock it, somebody will.
But hey, how much can you expect from a rabid box of gerbils anyway?
So, got my phone yesterday and wanted to test the camera out. The s21 ultra will cost me around 60USD per month so I want to be blown away when moving up from s9+. But, so far I have experienced a "meh" situation where of course, the image on the screen is good, the scrolling is fantastic with 120Hz and the stereo speakers are awesome. But the image quality when just firing up the camera app and not doing any setting is just "meh". I am not impressed so far. I took some photos in the house today. Mostly with normal settings auto but the one with the deers are with pro mode and the same settings. I checked all settings and alla iso(plus rest) parameters. Am I missing something? Or why am I not impressed going from s9+ to s21 ultra?
I have not tested 4k/60fps video yet but I am already thinking of returning the phone and waiting for a good second hand version. Uploading some pictures. Let me know if I should test in another way
Forgot to add that the left pictures are always s21 ultra
Started checking the tube for some comparison and I mean videos, the look really good. I think just perhaps shooting neutral and color correct will do a nice job
Return the Phone.
I u are not happy with it.
I am just wondering if it's me, the phone or something else that makes me feel that s9+ to 21 ultra is not a big leap. I am planning to use my gimbal with my phone to capture some nice b-roll movies but what I can see so far not much has happened to the images. I am afraid to use the new s21 to much as I am thinking of returning it but I really want it to be a good buy, but already after 1 day I am thinking of a return. Perhaps I was expecting VHS to bluray difference but cameras are already so good that it's hard to make giant leaps.
It's not a big leap in terms of camera. Personally I regret not returning it in time. Now I am stuck with it and the main problem for me is the weight. I bought it thinking I was going to use this for years but now I can't stand the thought of holding this brick for so long. Also, the photos are not a huge step forward. There are instances where I see more details but also more noise. I find them to be noisy and videos blotchy in low light. I mean, the truth is, it's not worth the money. Also, pay attention to the photos you are taking with it, because the S21 Ultra has the HDR processing on, no matter if you turn it off or not. So, if you see any difference between your S9+ and S21, it's actually the HDR. The biggest problem of them all is the fact that I cannot find a good alternative to it. All of the other flagships are basically the same thing, most of them don't even have the 10x optical zoom. Cameras just cannot be better than they are now as long as they have tiny sensors. So if you do return it, you might want to hold off upgrading for some time.
Randi03 said:
It's not a big leap in terms of camera. Personally I regret not returning it in time. Now I am stuck with it and the main problem for me is the weight. I bought it thinking I was going to use this for years but now I can't stand the thought of holding this brick for so long. Also, the photos are not a huge step forward. There are instances where I see more details but also more noise. I find them to be noisy and videos blotchy in low light. I mean, the truth is, it's not worth the money. Also, pay attention to the photos you are taking with it, because the S21 Ultra has the HDR processing on, no matter if you turn it off or not. So, if you see any difference between your S9+ and S21, it's actually the HDR. The biggest problem of them all is the fact that I cannot find a good alternative to it. All of the other flagships are basically the same thing, most of them don't even have the 10x optical zoom. Cameras just cannot be better than they are now as long as they have tiny sensors. So if you do return it, you might want to hold off upgrading for some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, this is exactly what I was afraid of. I want to create some nice b-roll movies and I have a good gimbal for my phone. It feels like with a stable camera and normal daylight, there will be no difference. It's only if I want to do alot of lowlight or wide angle shots. It's just not worth the 60USD/month when I have an ok phone. I will wait for the s22 and see if it has some new power. According to the new qualcom the nextgen chip will wonders....but that is what every generation of phone says also, but when it comes to daily use I have not seen big leaps.
Tomorrow I will return the phone and sorry for all you s21u lovers, this one wasn't for me.
Thanks again @Randi03 for giving an open and honest view of the phone from a daily user
Glad to be of help. I also hope the next generations will bring something new and worth upgrading to... For me personally I will do my best to test them before buying and ignore all the hype from the manufacturers and the reviews.
A number of users have stated the S9 is Galaxy's best camera. I'm pretty sure you're not operating the S21 camera at optimal settings. Everyone knows the Exynos SoC lags behind the Snapdragon for camera quality but those photos are awful. Somethings not right but I doubt it's just the camera or chipset on your device.
varcor said:
A number of users have stated the S9 is Galaxy's best camera. I'm pretty sure you're not operating the S21 camera at optimal settings. Everyone knows the Exynos SoC lags behind the Snapdragon for camera quality but those photos are awful. Somethings not right but I doubt it's just the camera or chipset on your device.
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Click to collapse
The snapdragon version is better than the Exynos because it gives good performance in all aspects. The camera quality is best compared to the Exynos version.
varcor said:
A number of users have stated the S9 is Galaxy's best camera. I'm pretty sure you're not operating the S21 camera at optimal settings. Everyone knows the Exynos SoC lags behind the Snapdragon for camera quality but those photos are awful. Somethings not right but I doubt it's just the camera or chipset on your device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not set the camera to optimal settings. I wanted to try the s21ultra "out of the box". I tested some pictures on auto mode and when I switched to pro mode I made sure to at least use the same settings. Then of course we can discuss if the settings where optimal but this was not the point. 2 phones with same settings where one is a couple of generations behind should not have almost same quality pictures. And I cannot show you side-by-side the displays in preview mode but in some places I saw better preview of the image in the camera app on the s9+.
There is no doubt that the s21ultra is better, it is, but it's not 60USD/month better with my current phone
Well, I wanted to be wow-ed and really looke forward to the s21 ultra but yesterday I returned it. Waiting for the next generation but will really really check comparison videos before I decide anything
S22 is a note rather than an S
pixellegolas said:
I did not set the camera to optimal settings. I wanted to try the s21ultra "out of the box". I tested some pictures on auto mode and when I switched to pro mode I made sure to at least use the same settings. Then of course we can discuss if the settings where optimal but this was not the point. 2 phones with same settings where one is a couple of generations behind should not have almost same quality pictures. And I cannot show you side-by-side the displays in preview mode but in some places I saw better preview of the image in the camera app on the s9+.
There is no doubt that the s21ultra is better, it is, but it's not 60USD/month better with my current phone
Well, I wanted to be wow-ed and really looke forward to the s21 ultra but yesterday I returned it. Waiting for the next generation but will really really check comparison videos before I decide anything
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This is what I'm afraid of. I'm currently on note 10+, love it but I want better camera, by that I mean better crop ability. Gcam makes things better but I still hope those mpx do the diffrence in crop ability
Dears,
As some of you might already know, most of S23 and S23+ units, besides bad camera software, very bad photo quality because of the software, have also defective main camera lens. I noticed the issue after my testing period of this crap device expired and I am not able to return it anymore. I have taken few dozens of shots recently with GCam and this defect is too prominent to ignore, not mentioning the inability to shot documents, notes, invoices, etc.
The problem is well described here: https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-s23-camera-hardware-issue/
Thing is that in many countries (mine included), Samsung is trying to make people dumb, explaining this issue by a "feature" of big sensors, which is - of course - a bull****.
Samsung in Italy has reportedly acknowledged the issue and is slowly admitting that there is a hardware defect they are willing to repair: https://www.hdblog.it/smartphone/articoli/n568223/galaxy-s23-foto-problema/
Has any of you tried to make Samsung Service replace the faulty sensor? Have the service in your country been trying to tell you the bull**** about the lens characteristics and refuse the repair?
Looks like it's optical; the lense has an odd blur pattern...
All lens have blurring ie lense blur chart. It varies throughout the image. Its preferable the image is the sharpest at the center. More blur tends to happen towards the outer areas and preferably in an even pattern rather than specific spots.
This blur seems excessive though. A lense defect is what it looks like to me.
The sensor needs to be perfectly flat otherwise areas will be out of focus. If this is the case it's a gross QC oversight.
Yes, it is optical, it is a defect.
Thing is that Samsung employees are telling the bull**** and insist that's a natural bokeh caused by sensor size and they refuse repair. This is sick and that's why I wonder if this is country-specific trick to try making customers dumb or Samsung strategy for the problem.
chetszot said:
Yes, it is optical, it is a defect.
Thing is that Samsung employees are telling the bull**** and insist that's a natural bokeh caused by sensor size and they refuse repair. This is sick and that's why I wonder if this is country-specific trick to try making customers dumb or Samsung strategy for the problem.
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Bokeh? Do they even know what that is?
I be ripping them to shreds...
I feel cheated paid more than 900 euro for a device, because I decided to buy of the best flagships. I could as well kept using Poco F3 with Gcam. The other day spend like 10 minutes trying to capture photo of a sick leave document to send to my employer, it was always blurry in the top left corner, so I learned that I should click focus top left corner and worked. Everyone should speak up about this problem.
I have successfully contacted my local Samsung Service.
They "have heard" something about the faulty lens and they offered a repair, but this repair would take over 2 weeks, because local services are not yet allowed to perform any service operations on S23 series. This is about to be changed late May and this is when I will try to contact them again to have my lens replaced. Hopefully for a working one.
Bad news is that the employee I was talking with was not certain if the replacement camera units they have will be free of the issue xD
I just can't believe this crap has ever been released.
Has this been fixed yet? Just bought a 256GB S23, kinda sad to see this in the forum right when I spend 800€ on it
I also bought the S23 256GB version when it got released and I don't have that problem on any pic I take. So it seems that not all units are effected.
It happens when I take picture of pages. But taking normal pictures it doesn't bother me.
Anyway, it is big drawback of this phone. Samsung silent just confirms that the problem exists.
My S23+ is the same, we have to push and show everyone interested in the S23 that they have problems and that Samsung does not admit, it is completely frustrating for a device of this price and to have worse camera performance than my S10e.
xDontStarve said:
Has this been fixed yet? Just bought a 256GB S23, kinda sad to see this in the forum right when I spend 800€ on it
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News?
if i want to buy a new s23 what do i look for to avoid th defective lens?
Samsung addressing this problem!?? Don't know
Samsung finally confirms blurry S23, S23 Plus cameras, says a fix is coming
Samsung has confirmed a so-called banana blur issue affecting Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus cameras, adding that a fix is coming.
www.androidauthority.com
amk316 said:
if i want to buy a new s23 what do i look for to avoid th defective lens?
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Test the camera using the main lens shooting a document, look for a curved blurry path, mine has it
With Samsung claiming it's a software thing, everyone will have it. Some people are just more sensitive to noticing it.
I have it as well, but in all honestly, I never barely ever make a picture of something closer than 50cm away.
All other pictures look perfectly fine.
Me Gusta said:
With Samsung claiming it's a software thing, everyone will have it. Some people are just more sensitive to noticing it.
I have it as well, but in all honestly, I never barely ever make a picture of something closer than 50cm away.
All other pictures look perfectly fine.
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I think it's hardware. Either the sensor or lense.
If so will Sammy try to cover it up with AI?
Time will tell, test revision with a random printed document...
Either way Samsung has gone overboard with their AI enhancement bs.
Another reason this 5002 mAh phone gets poor SOT in spite of its more efficient ram and what should be a more efficient SOC.
That also means a warmer running device that will run hot in ambient 100°F temperatures.
blackhawk said:
I think it's hardware. Either the sensor or lense.
If so will Sammy try to cover it up with AI?
Time will tell, test revision with a random printed document...
Either way Samsung has gone overboard with their AI enhancement bs.
Another reason this 5002 mAh phone gets poor SOT in spite of its more efficient ram and what should be a more efficient SOC.
That also means a warmer running device that will run hot in ambient 100°F temperatures.
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Yeah I do feel like Samsung is trying to play off the camera issues as a software thing. I'm doubtful it is as well.
Furthermore, the battery life of the S23 is great. I'm not sure what you're talking about here. The Snapdragon gen2 performs great, and quite frankly, I barely ever have to charge it before going to bed.
Me Gusta said:
Yeah I do feel like Samsung is trying to play off the camera issues as a software thing. I'm doubtful it is as well.
Furthermore, the battery life of the S23 is great. I'm not sure what you're talking about here. The Snapdragon gen2 performs great, and quite frankly, I barely ever have to charge it before going to bed.
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Specifically if the S23U is optimized what kind of SOT can it get?
My N10+ with a new battery (4100-4300 mAh) will get a 11-13 hrs SOT. Browsing with Brave uses about 6% @hr total with display brightness around 27-30%*.
With the larger 5002 mAh battery I would expect to see 14-16 hrs SOT if running nonstop if optimized similarly with 5G off and display fixed at 60hz.
Most (any?) aren't seeing this. Worse Samsung's removal of expandable storage will force many to use cloud storage which uses a lot of battery. Instead of becoming more efficient Samsung just keeps putting in bigger batteries. 4300 mAh was about as large as you want go otherwise the phone gets thicker and worse heavier. These are already hard hitting devices when dropped, that extra 30gm hurts. Samsung's solution? Give it more bezel The N10+ still has the best display to bezel ratio after almost 4 years. wtf Samsung?
Google Android didn't help any either by fully implementing cpu cycle sucking scoped storage.
Any gains Google made in efficiency elsewhere is wiped out by scoped storage. That also forced Samsung to add dozens of new small system apps to try to preserve UI functionality and appearance. What a mess.
*Optimized: wifi disabled but internet and phone always on.
Tap on AOD. Playstore, Google backup Transport and Framework disabled. Google play Services normally temporarily disabled. All global power management disabled. All carrier, app, Google and Samsung feedback disabled. And little bixby is so disabled.
I used Xperia 5 II before taking a document from main camera (24mm F1.7), the outer words always blur (can say MUST blur). But no problem if use zoom lens (70mm F2.4) but need to pull out my device from object, then the whole page are clear. I think this is the nature of main camera (cannot take an object too close).
Not only documents, when I took pictures of a dish of food, the food at the center was clear, but the edge of dish and out side were blur. So if I want entire picture clear, I usually use 70mm lens. This will look a bit strange when I took picture in restaurant.
This is my experience of using Xperia device. I am not sure about other device except I am currently using S23 coming the same issue. Therefore, I don't think it is len defect, it is how you use a smartphone to take suitable photos.