Question Galaxy S23 - Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra

I'm sure I am not the only one who feels like the S22 Ultra is a Galaxy Note...and replaces the S for this year. I'm worried that this may be a permanent thing, and I really hate the design of the S22 Ultra.
Are we going to see a return to the more curved design of the S21 Ultra in the S23 or am I doomed to abandon Samsung in the future and take a bite out of a manky apple?
Any thoughts?

Last great Note was the 10+. The 20U had some improvements but Samsung didn't do as good a job. Samsung has been wasting too much of its resources on the Fold series.
Worse Android 11 and 12 just suck. Then Samsung decides to pull SD card support and the native spen on its flagships. Almost an iPhone at this point. Less features, better price tag.
Perfect. Except I hate iPhones...
Solution, got a 2nd new N10+ running on Q. It will be at least 2023 until Samsung and Android get their crap together is my guess.
Got a device I wuv in my pocket and don't have to deal with their bs; I'm good for 2+ years.
Not my problem anymore

blackhawk said:
Last great Note was the 10+. The 20U had some improvements but Samsung didn't do as good a job. Samsung has been wasting too much of its resources on the Fold series.
Worse Android 11 and 12 just suck. Then Samsung decides to pull SD card support and the native spen on its flagships. Almost an iPhone at this point. Less features, better price tag.
Perfect. Except I hate iPhones...
Solution, got a 2nd new N10+ running on Q. It will be at least 2023 until Samsung and Android get their crap together is my guess.
Got a device I wuv in my pocket and don't have to deal with their bs; I'm good for 2+ years.
Not my problem anymore
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What do you mean? Samsung has never pulled native s-pen support on its flagships. All note series obviously has it. They added S-Pen support to the S21U and now the S22U will functionally be a Note with the built in S-Pen slot. Android is moving away from SD cards as a whole, Google is making it harder and harder to support it with increase security measures that affect performance.
I disagree with less features. There hasn't been a release where they have only removed features without also adding something new. Shifting focus on features isn't the same as just removing them.
And to the point of the OP, it depends on how sales figures are. It's weird to completely switch ecosystems and phones just because of a square vs rounded corners but I guess everyone has different priorities. The design is fine to me but I am disappointed that there doesn't seem to be any hardware upgrades to the camera system.

For me it's very much like buying a car. I wouldn't buy a car I didn't like the shape of. The great thing in past years is I could choose between a note or an 's' device. Now with the merge Samsung essentially takes the choice away from me, and I really don't find square edges aesthetically pleasing.

beserker15 said:
What do you mean? Samsung has never pulled native s-pen support on its flagships. All note series obviously has it. They added S-Pen support to the S21U and now the S22U will functionally be a Note with the built in S-Pen slot. Android is moving away from SD cards as a whole, Google is making it harder and harder to support it with increase security measures that affect performance.
I disagree with less features. There hasn't been a release where they have only removed features without also adding something new. Shifting focus on features isn't the same as just removing them.
And to the point of the OP, it depends on how sales figures are. It's weird to completely switch ecosystems and phones just because of a square vs rounded corners but I guess everyone has different priorities. The design is fine to me but I am disappointed that there doesn't seem to be any hardware upgrades to the camera system.
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The Fold series never had native a Spen or expandable storage.
Samsung biggest R&D and capital outlay to date has been their Fold series.
It's been their worst flagship seller too, they are still aren't generating a net profit from it, not even close.
Sd Cards are more secure than internal storage. If you used data drives you would know that. Cloud storage wastes money, power and bandwidth especially when you have over a 1tb of data. Memory needs are increasing not decreasing with 8K vids, higher resolution images and higher resolution media
I can do a full reload from my SD card, no internet connection or Playstore needed. No need to reload all my data if forced to reload. Not using a data drive on a PC or smartphone is just plain inept.
It's a lick on you.

blackhawk said:
The Fold series never had native a Spen or expandable storage.
Samsung biggest R&D and capital outlay to date has been their Fold series.
It's been their worst flagship seller too, they are still aren't generating a net profit from it, not even close.
Sd Cards are more secure than internal storage. If you used data drives you would know that. Cloud storage wastes money, power and bandwidth especially when you have over a 1tb of data. Memory needs are increasing not decreasing with 8K vids, higher resolution images and higher resolution media
I can do a full reload from my SD card, no internet connection or Playstore needed. No need to reload all my data if forced to reload. Not using a data drive on a PC or smartphone is just plain inept.
It's a lick on you.
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Click to collapse
The Fold series is more or less still an experiment. The Z Flip 3 was actually a better than expected seller for them but the Fold will never be mainstream until it becomes cheaper and more durable. It's the reason why they canceled the Note 21 and kept the Fold series...because they would not have been able to keep up with demand. Hell, they're still struggling with supply shortages in the S21 series.
I disagree with your view on SD Card security. By default, modern internal storage is encrypted. Most people who put in a passcode and biometrics make it very hard to get access to. The majority of people I know who even still have an SD Card in their phones do not encrypt them (and at that point, you can then just pop out the card and have access to everything without needing to unlock the phone). Even if you do encrypt them, performance would be affected. Google's scope storage and future changes to Android makes it more and more difficult for apps to access SD Cards.
Besides, we can debate cloud vs local storage for days, everyone has differing opinions and usage patterns. What isn't going to change is the fact that those features are being used less and less over time (even if your point about higher data usage and bandwidth is true). I believe that it is important to you. I also totally understand that it and the removal of the headphone jack are deal breakers for some people. However, just to say that all Samsung is doing is removing features is not true at all. To me, the S21u's addition of variable refresh rate to have 120hz when needed but dropping down to save battery when isn't is very important. The addition of the second telephoto camera is the single feature that I value most so far and it would be my own personal deal breaker if their future phones do not have the same reach.

beserker15 said:
The Fold series is more or less still an experiment. The Z Flip 3 was actually a better than expected seller for them but the Fold will never be mainstream until it becomes cheaper and more durable. It's the reason why they canceled the Note 21 and kept the Fold series...because they would not have been able to keep up with demand. Hell, they're still struggling with supply shortages in the S21 series.
I disagree with your view on SD Card security. By default, modern internal storage is encrypted. Most people who put in a passcode and biometrics make it very hard to get access to. The majority of people I know who even still have an SD Card in their phones do not encrypt them (and at that point, you can then just pop out the card and have access to everything without needing to unlock the phone). Even if you do encrypt them, performance would be affected. Google's scope storage and future changes to Android makes it more and more difficult for apps to access SD Cards.
Besides, we can debate cloud vs local storage for days, everyone has differing opinions and usage patterns. What isn't going to change is the fact that those features are being used less and less over time (even if your point about higher data usage and bandwidth is true). I believe that it is important to you. I also totally understand that it and the removal of the headphone jack are deal breakers for some people. However, just to say that all Samsung is doing is removing features is not true at all. To me, the S21u's addition of variable refresh rate to have 120hz when needed but dropping down to save battery when isn't is very important. The addition of the second telephoto camera is the single feature that I value most so far and it would be my own personal deal breaker if their future phones do not have the same reach.
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Unfortunately the Fold3 is an experiment too. Delamination issues have predictably already shown up again. The materials aren't up to the task.
I never encrypt data drives or anything else because you are the most likely one to be locked out. Or lose all your data. In over 17 years I never had any malware breach the data drives. It's not impossible by a long shot but in actual usage it rarely happens. Of course some of that depends on how well you mind the store.
Security is handled best by having redundant time staggered backups that are physically and electronically isolated from each other and the PC.
Accounts/passwords can reset, bank accounts are insured.

beserker15 said:
The Fold series is more or less still an experiment. The Z Flip 3 was actually a better than expected seller for them but the Fold will never be mainstream until it becomes cheaper and more durable. It's the reason why they canceled the Note 21 and kept the Fold series...because they would not have been able to keep up with demand. Hell, they're still struggling with supply shortages in the S21 series.
I disagree with your view on SD Card security. By default, modern internal storage is encrypted. Most people who put in a passcode and biometrics make it very hard to get access to. The majority of people I know who even still have an SD Card in their phones do not encrypt them (and at that point, you can then just pop out the card and have access to everything without needing to unlock the phone). Even if you do encrypt them, performance would be affected. Google's scope storage and future changes to Android makes it more and more difficult for apps to access SD Cards.
Besides, we can debate cloud vs local storage for days, everyone has differing opinions and usage patterns. What isn't going to change is the fact that those features are being used less and less over time (even if your point about higher data usage and bandwidth is true). I believe that it is important to you. I also totally understand that it and the removal of the headphone jack are deal breakers for some people. However, just to say that all Samsung is doing is removing features is not true at all. To me, the S21u's addition of variable refresh rate to have 120hz when needed but dropping down to save battery when isn't is very important. The addition of the second telephoto camera is the single feature that I value most so far and it would be my own personal deal breaker if their future phones do not have the same reach.
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The logic you employ regarding features is flawed. When a feature is removed you lose that feature regardless of how many different features are added. If you liked the feature you're not pleased.
Internal Storage isn't encrypted by default, access to files is protected by passcodes or biometrics only IF the user sets these up, not encryption.
Removing MicroSD is Samsung's stragity to increase profit. The 512GB variant is USD $400.00 more than 128GB and 256GB variants, whereas the added expense to Samsung for manufacturing the 512GB device is likely less than $5.00. Transferring data, videos, music, photos and documentations from my S10 to the S21 literally took HOURS! One would think If External Storage is outdated why does Samsung continue including the feature on almost all of their lower price point devices? Less Internal Storage also compels users to pay for Cloud Storage (more profit). Cloud Storage offers less privacy and security since all major providers have already been hacked.
Note 20 worldwide sales came in at 3.2 million units while the S20 sold 17 million. The S21 is even worse at 13 million but the S10 and S10 Plus with MicroSD and 3.5 Jack weighed in at 25 million units. That's a 47% decline from the S10 to the S21. You and others may believe External Memory isn't important but that's not what sales metrics are exposing. With the S22 Ultra now essentially a Note no one should be surprised Samsung's flagship sales decline will accelerate.

varcor said:
The logic you employ regarding features is flawed. When a feature is removed you lose that feature regardless of how many different features are added. If you liked the feature you're not pleased.
Internal Storage isn't encrypted by default, access to files is protected by passcodes or biometrics only IF the user sets these up, not encryption.
Removing MicroSD is Samsung's stragity to increase profit. The 512GB variant is USD $400.00 more than 128GB and 256GB variants, whereas the added expense to Samsung for manufacturing the 512GB device is likely less than $5.00. Transferring data, videos, music, photos and documentations from my S10 to the S21 literally took HOURS! Less Internal Storage also compels users to pay for Cloud Storage (more profit). Cloud Storage offers less privacy and security since all major providers have already been hacked.
Note 20 worldwide sales came in at 3.2 million units while the S20 sold 17 million. The S21 is even worse at 13 million but the S10 and S10 Plus with MicroSD and 3.5 Jack weighed in at 25 million units. That's a 47% decline from the S10 to the S21. You and others may believe External Memory isn't important but that's not what sales metrics are exposing. With the S22 Ultra now essentially a Note no one should be surprised Samsung's flagship sales decline will accelerate.
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I never said that those features aren't removed. All I'm saying is the statement "Almost an iPhone at this point. Less features, better price tag" or the common statement that says all they're doing is removing features is simply false. The pitchforks didn't come out when they removed the FM radio or the IR blaster. People obviously care about the SD Card more than those two but it doesn't change the fact that the number is shrinking. If all they did was remove things without adding anything else, then I can agree. However, they're merely putting more resources elsewhere and focusing on other features.
Again, we can debate on the merits of cloud versus local for days, but you must also realize for your sales argument to be true, OEMs that still have those "desired" features should have seen a boost and they have not. Samsung is not the only OEM to remove the SD Card from the flagship. Google did it, Huawei did it, OnePlus did it, etc. The Pixel 6 is probably Google's best selling phone in years and it has neither an SD slot or a headphone jack. LG and Sony are the only ones who still kept both features, and LG has dropped out of mobile phones and Sony is still barely scraping by. What is true though that the S20 got significantly more expensive and both the S20 and S21 were released during the pandemic.
Also your profit margins statement is also incorrect. The S21U with 128GB is $1200 MSRP, with the 512GB model that also has 16gb of RAM at $1380, a difference of $180, not $400. And no, it doesn't cost them less than $5 to quadruple the storage. Hell, they struggled with the chip shortage and have basically discontinued the 512gb model because they couldn't keep up with the demand. Samsung has also exited the cloud storage business so it doesn't directly benefit them if people move to the cloud.
And yes, internal storage is encrypted by default. While on a phone, you can't really just rip out internal storage and move it to another device or read it on a computer, the idea is the same. Encryption is enabled by default and decrypted once the phone is unlocked. If you never setup a passcode on your phone, that just means that whoever has the phone can just unlock your device and have access to your data. If your device is powered off however, or in some state where you can't turn on the phone, another person can't just dismantle the phone, grab the flash memory chip, and put it in another device to read it.

With Android 11 and up encryption automatic as I understand it.
Lol, I just raked Samsung customer service over about expandable storage and consequences.
Just because "everybody" is doing something doesn't make it a good idea. Thinking like that can lead to a thrombosis epidemic in today's world.
You're only as good as your last phone... the manufacturer doesn't dictate the market, they cater to it.
Samsung deserves the profit crater their Fold excursion caused. Wanna go for sloppy seconds, again, Sammy?

beserker15 said:
I never said that those features aren't removed. All I'm saying is the statement "Almost an iPhone at this point. Less features, better price tag" or the common statement that says all they're doing is removing features is simply false. The pitchforks didn't come out when they removed the FM radio or the IR blaster. People obviously care about the SD Card more than those two but it doesn't change the fact that the number is shrinking. If all they did was remove things without adding anything else, then I can agree. However, they're merely putting more resources elsewhere and focusing on other features.
Again, we can debate on the merits of cloud versus local for days, but you must also realize for your sales argument to be true, OEMs that still have those "desired" features should have seen a boost and they have not. Samsung is not the only OEM to remove the SD Card from the flagship. Google did it, Huawei did it, OnePlus did it, etc. The Pixel 6 is probably Google's best selling phone in years and it has neither an SD slot or a headphone jack. LG and Sony are the only ones who still kept both features, and LG has dropped out of mobile phones and Sony is still barely scraping by. What is true though that the S20 got significantly more expensive and both the S20 and S21 were released during the pandemic.
Also your profit margins statement is also incorrect. The S21U with 128GB is $1200 MSRP, with the 512GB model that also has 16gb of RAM at $1380, a difference of $180, not $400. And no, it doesn't cost them less than $5 to quadruple the storage. Hell, they struggled with the chip shortage and have basically discontinued the 512gb model because they couldn't keep up with the demand. Samsung has also exited the cloud storage business so it doesn't directly benefit them if people move to the cloud.
And yes, internal storage is encrypted by default. While on a phone, you can't really just rip out internal storage and move it to another device or read it on a computer, the idea is the same. Encryption is enabled by default and decrypted once the phone is unlocked. If you never setup a passcode on your phone, that just means that whoever has the phone can just unlock your device and have access to your data. If your device is powered off however, or in some state where you can't turn on the phone, another person can't just dismantle the phone, grab the flash memory chip, and put it in another device to read it.
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Please share a link where someone can buy a new 512GB Ultra for $1,200 USD. How can Internal Storage be "encrypted" when after you use a passcode or biometrics everything is there to be taken. Who cares if the OS is encrypted? Thieves want your data, not the source code for the OS or anything else. Your explanation that the pandemic retarded sales seem at odds with the reality that governments were throwing around lots of cash. I bought the S21 Ultra and a new laptop, all with government handouts. People can rightfully disagree over External Memory, myself and millions of users would take advantage of it IF it were available. I passed on the S20 Ultra and will pass on the S22 as well. If Samsung doesn't make sense by the time they release the S23, TOODLES!

varcor said:
Please share a link where someone can buy a new 512GB Ultra for $1,200 USD. How can Internal Storage be "encrypted" when after you use a passcode or biometrics everything is there to be taken. Who cares if the OS is encrypted? Thieves want your data, not the source code for the OS or anything else. Your explanation that the pandemic retarded sales seem at odds with the reality that governments were throwing around lots of cash. I bought the S21 Ultra and a new laptop, all with government handouts. People can rightfully disagree over External Memory, myself and millions of users would take advantage of it IF it were available. I passed on the S20 Ultra and will pass on the S22 as well. If Samsung doesn't make sense by the time they release the S23, TOODLES!
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Did you read my post? The 128gb version is $1200, the 512gb (which is no longer for sale due to supply issues) was $1380. The difference between the two is $180, not $400 as you had previously said. I'm glad you were able to benefit from the handouts. There were plenty of people who either lost their jobs or got their hours/pay reduced during the pandemic. I myself took a pay cut for 2020 so the handouts only partly soften the blow.
I get the point that what everyone is doing it doesn't make it right, but also know that OEMs have access to usage data and have their own cost/benefit analysis. They pulled the SD Card in the S6 series and quickly put it back on the S7 series due to demand. If the declining sales were because of that, this would easily have been back in the S22 series. Like I said though, the market leaders are all without this feature.
Perhaps Samsung ditching that feature made it so people are more open to going to other brands like Xiaomi who are cheaper or Apple themselves. But then if you think about it, how much does a person really care about a feature, if they leave Samsung just to buy a different phone from another OEM that also doesn't have the feature. "If I have to use cloud storage, I might as well use iCloud"? What happened with LG and Sony is basically telling all OEMs involved that ditching the SD Card is fine since those two OEMs never saw any sales boost from having that feature. Manufacturers cater to the market, and the market is saying that SD Cards might be a nice to have feature, but it certainly isn't a main selling point for most people.

beserker15 said:
Did you read my post? The 128gb version is $1200, the 512gb (which is no longer for sale due to supply issues) was $1380. The difference between the two is $180, not $400 as you had previously said. I'm glad you were able to benefit from the handouts. There were plenty of people who either lost their jobs or got their hours/pay reduced during the pandemic. I myself took a pay cut for 2020 so the handouts only partly soften the blow.
I get the point that what everyone is doing it doesn't make it right, but also know that OEMs have access to usage data and have their own cost/benefit analysis. They pulled the SD Card in the S6 series and quickly put it back on the S7 series due to demand. If the declining sales were because of that, this would easily have been back in the S22 series. Like I said though, the market leaders are all without this feature.
Perhaps Samsung ditching that feature made it so people are more open to going to other brands like Xiaomi who are cheaper or Apple themselves. But then if you think about it, how much does a person really care about a feature, if they leave Samsung just to buy a different phone from another OEM that also doesn't have the feature. "If I have to use cloud storage, I might as well use iCloud"? What happened with LG and Sony is basically telling all OEMs involved that ditching the SD Card is fine since those two OEMs never saw any sales boost from having that feature. Manufacturers cater to the market, and the market is saying that SD Cards might be a nice to have feature, but it certainly isn't a main selling point for most people.
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What do mean they're no longer available? Readily available and the price difference is still $400.00.

varcor said:
What do mean they're no longer available? Readily available and the price difference is still $400.00.
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Ummm, isn't that eBay? I meant through official channels, like Samsung's own website, Best Buy, mobile carriers, Amazon (and not a 3rd party Amazon seller). Price difference on eBay doesn't count. Also since the 512gb model is now more rare since it is no longer available retail, the price will likely not drop on places like eBay.

beserker15 said:
Ummm, isn't that eBay? I meant through official channels, like Samsung's own website, Best Buy, mobile carriers, Amazon (and not a 3rd party Amazon seller). Price difference on eBay doesn't count. Also since the 512gb model is now more rare since it is no longer available retail, the price will likely not drop on places like eBay.
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Price difference on ebay doesn't count? It's one of few places you can aquire a 512GB besides a few retail outlets abroad. Here's what doesn't count, any outlets advertising a lower price which don't have the device in stock and never will. $400.00 difference in price where you can actually BUY the device's, not some advertising hummer. Just admit it, it can't be explained away, you're flat wrong!

varcor said:
Price difference on ebay doesn't count? It's one of few places you can aquire a 512GB besides a few retail outlets abroad. Here's what doesn't count, any outlets advertising a lower price which don't have the device in stock and never will. $400.00 difference in price where you can actually BUY the device's, not some advertising hummer. Just admit it, it can't be explained away, you're flat wrong!
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You're joking right? Prices on eBay aren't set by Samsung. Your whole argument is that Samsung is trying to ditch expandable memory by charging $400 more for 512gb to profit. That's completely false. Why stop at $400? If some small phone shop went on clearance and decided to put the 128gb model on eBay for $400, that'll be an $800 difference! lol
If you're comparing what Samsung is charging, you have to base it off of MSRP. The difference is $180. The MSRP of the 128gb model is $1200...not $850 on eBay.

DS1000RR said:
I'm sure I am not the only one who feels like the S22 Ultra is a Galaxy Note...and replaces the S for this year. I'm worried that this may be a permanent thing, and I really hate the design of the S22 Ultra.
Are we going to see a return to the more curved design of the S21 Ultra in the S23 or am I doomed to abandon Samsung in the future and take a bite out of a manky apple?
Any thoughts?
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That most likely WILL depend on sales. Of it's not extradinary good, they'll most likely make it a special edition model and go back to the regular S Series model.

beserker15 said:
The Fold series is more or less still an experiment. The Z Flip 3 was actually a better than expected seller for them but the Fold will never be mainstream until it becomes cheaper and more durable.
Google's scope storage and future changes to Android makes it more and more difficult for apps to access SD Cards.
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Totally agree with both points.
Foldables in gerneral is an "experiment" or a "look what we can do... aren't we smart?" exercise., by Samsung & other manufacturers.
I have owned the Fold1, Fold2 and Fold3 and am now "over it" with Foldabless. period.
Z Flips I have played with but never quite got the point... they are just S series phones with rubbish cameras and a small battery.
Too expensive, too big & heavy (for one handed use or for use when walking), too fragile, etc... basically just not practical as a daily driver long term.
Foldables as a genre will fades away in the next 2-3 years... unless of course Apple releases an iFLip in which case it will be a massive success and a mainstream "must have" device. lol. (sic!)
SD Cards are now only supported on mid range devives (eg A series for Samsung) and not on flagships. Sooner or later SD Cards support will disappear from smartphones entirely.
I think the main reasons for this trend is not security or google changes to android. Heres my own explanation:-
1. performance - SD Cards (even the best ones) struggle to sustain consistent read/write rates for 4k or 8k video and similar high IO functions. If the camera app crashes or produces poor quelity output because the SD card is too too slow, users will post to forums like XDA and trash the manufacturer or the device when really it is the SD Card that is the problem. Some users may return device as "faulty" for a warranty repair. Basically SD Cards on a smartphone are a total PITA for Samsung & other brands. Its much easier for them to drop support for SD Cards then sell users a (more epensive!) device with larger internal storage options.
2. Fake SD Cards (on ebay, Amazon, and other online "tat" markets). Same outcome as for 1. but much worse as data may be lost or corrupted on fake cards & performance is often much lower than advertised. It's diffucult to tell a fake from a genuine item in online markeplace apps.

dezborders said:
Totally agree with both points.
Foldables in gerneral is an "experiment" or a "look what we can do... aren't we smart?" exercise., by Samsung & other manufacturers.
I have owned the Fold1, Fold2 and Fold3 and am now "over it" with Foldabless. period.
Z Flips I have played with but never quite got the point... they are just S series phones with rubbish cameras and a small battery.
Too expensive, too big & heavy (for one handed use or for use when walking), too fragile, etc... basically just not practical as a daily driver long term.
Foldables as a genre will fades away in the next 2-3 years... unless of course Apple releases an iFLip in which case it will be a massive success and a mainstream "must have" device. lol. (sic!)
SD Cards are now only supported on mid range devives (eg A series for Samsung) and not on flagships. Sooner or later SD Cards support will disappear from smartphones entirely.
I think the main reasons for this trend is not security or google changes to android. Heres my own explanation:-
1. performance - SD Cards (even the best ones) struggle to sustain consistent read/write rates for 4k or 8k video and similar high IO functions. If the camera app crashes or produces poor quelity output because the SD card is too too slow, users will post to forums like XDA and trash the manufacturer or the device when really it is the SD Card that is the problem. Some users may return device as "faulty" for a warranty repair. Basically SD Cards on a smartphone are a total PITA for Samsung & other brands. Its much easier for them to drop support for SD Cards then sell users a (more epensive!) device with larger internal storage options.
2. Fake SD Cards (on ebay, Amazon, and other online "tat" markets). Same outcome as for 1. but much worse as data may be lost or corrupted on fake cards & performance is often much lower than advertised. It's diffucult to tell a fake from a genuine item in online markeplace apps.
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3. Space - space the insides of these phones is a premium and the majority of owners don't care for or want SD Cards.
4. IP rating - more slots more issues with securing the IP rating
5. Consumerism - Most people don't want to buy a device with basic 64GB memory then go buy an SD card, they want the device fully loaded and ready to use. You could argue they could add an SD card to the device with 256GB ram but you can't due to (3) space being premium. If they put 256GB ram then they have to sacrifice something to get the space RAM vs SD Card.
This thread has been hijacked and I guarantee this thread will be about SD Cards are good, cloud backups are bad, the group single-digit percentage of owners that want SD Cards are the most important customers, the Note 1-+ is the best, Android 12 sucks.
And we all know the S23 will fail as it will not have an SD Card. I'm still trying to get my head around how amazing the iPhone has done and it has never had, or will, an SD Card slot

lywyn said:
3. Space - space the insides of these phones is a premium and the majority of owners don't care for or want SD Cards.
4. IP rating - more slots more issues with securing the IP rating
5. Consumerism - Most people don't want to buy a device with basic 64GB memory then go buy an SD card, they want the device fully loaded and ready to use. You could argue they could add an SD card to the device with 256GB ram but you can't due to (3) space being premium. If they put 256GB ram then they have to sacrifice something to get the space RAM vs SD Card.
This thread has been hijacked and I guarantee this thread will be about SD Cards are good, cloud backups are bad, the group single-digit percentage of owners that want SD Cards are the most important customers, the Note 1-+ is the best, Android 12 sucks.
And we all know the S23 will fail as it will not have an SD Card. I'm still trying to get my head around how amazing the iPhone has done and it has never had, or will, an SD Card slot
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Agreed. And I apologize for hijacking the thread. I swear I'm not some crazy fanboy but I do get triggered when someone says Samsung is just copying Apple by removing features lol.
Apple is really the only manufacturer that sets its own terms on both features and design (trying to bring back to the OP) and that consumers follow. I don't think anyone loved the notch design at first or the removal of the headphone jack but Apple lovers followed anyway and the trend continued.
Samsung, Google, OnePlus and other OEMs are all reactionaries. They don't have the balls to take such a huge risk by removing features until they know there won't be significant pushback (and if they find out they're wrong, they course correct to bring back the feature to try and win back customers).
The merging of the S Ultra and Note series is a small risk by Samsung. They know there are Note loyalists and they hope that turning the S Ultra into a Note won't upset the regular S Ultra users like the OP. If the S22 Ultra ends up being a flop and enough people complain about the design, my prediction is that the S23 Ultra will then return to the curvy, no S-Pen form and perhaps the Fold 4 may end up being the one that merges with the Note series.

Related

This will be my first Samsung in a while

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.
Click to expand...
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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

General Couldn't Hold Out

I've hoisted a number of issues regarding Samsung recently but I've finally come to realize the S21 Ultra is overall the best device at this time, for me anyway. I dropped close to the $1,400.00 USD for the 512GB variant from Hong Kong. Cost is a factor but not my biggest issue, money is only a problem when you don't have any...
I hate the fact Samsung eliminated Micro SD's since for my usage 256GB won't cut it. I likely would have opted for a US Branded device even suffering with the bloatware but the largest storage any of the Service Providers offer is 256GB. I have well over that amount on my current device and I won't consider Cloud Storage. I'm pretty sure a number of Cloud Storage Providers have already been hacked and it's just a matter of time before news of a large data breach has occurred. FYI, for those who are looking for the Ultra 512GB the supply is drying up with only a handful of vendors stocking the device, all overseas.
The other issue is the box of a camera module. It's an improvement over the S20 Ultra but it's still there. It would seem most flagship devices are struggling with the concept due to the competitive nature of adding more cameras as feature enhancements but I'm pretty sure I'll never use all of them. I have a photographer background so my first option when I want some great snaps is a dedicated camera, not my phone.
I gave some thought to acquiring the Note 20 Ultra since this model hasn't ditched the SD Card and it's HK Variant is around $400.00 less but theres a significant drop off in performance between the Notes 865 7nm and the Ultras 888 5nm SoC, plus I'd be forced to haul around the S-Pen which I would never use. I also strongly considered the Z Fold 3 but based of functionality I can't reconcile the value, just not enough features for the price. I also considered Samsung's A72. It's got a lot going for it at a third of the price but it looks like a $500.00 smartphone. Oh well!
The other options were holding out for the iPhone 14 or the Pixel 6. Even though they each have their own individual upsides from the leaks I've seen neither have compelled me to generate real interest. I've been with Galaxy devices for a number of years so I guess I'm just not ready to throw in the towel quite yet.
That pretty much sums it up, I think I've vented enough. I understand there's no such thing as a perfect smartphone so I'm hoping all of the other wonderful features this device offers helps me overlook the aforementioned issues. At least I know my wife will be happy, she'll be the proud owner of an awesome S10 Plus!
Well, there's no one perfect phone for everyone, I guess. It's just about what compromises you're willing to live with.
Welcome to the fold brother!

Question Is it worth the upgrade?

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.
Click to expand...
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?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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!
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
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?

Question Google FRP Bypass?

Hey there guys I purchased a Google FRP locked phone off eBay for $300 hoping that I could figure a way to get a decent phone for cheap, I've tried most methods on Youtube and just wondering if it's actually possible or if someone has a special method to get through it
Thanks
Metalface Mk1 said:
Hey there guys I purchased a Google FRP locked phone off eBay for $300 hoping that I could figure a way to get a decent phone for cheap, I've tried most methods on Youtube and just wondering if it's actually possible or if someone has a special method to get through it
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FRP lock usually triggers with forced factory reset on a locked phone (outside the OS). More often than not, this is done by someone not an owner of the device. TLDR: Stolen phone.
The guy who sold it to you probably stole it from someone or was sold the phone by the thief. Either way, FRP was designed exactly to prevent this kind of mis-use and to dissuade theft, sort of like Apple's reactivation lock. I really hope there is no easy method to bypass it, no offence to you, just in a general sense. It's meant to render the device useless by design.
I'd advise you to try to get your money back by returning the device, knowing full well it is likely an illegal sale. If the device has a SIM card, you could use it to trace the original owner and return it to him/her.
Failing the above two scenarios, you can probably recover the cost of the device by selling it for parts to a third party repair shop.
I'm not sure there's a legal way to reset the FRP lock, especially on the newer KNOX devices on Android 11.
You knew about the FRP Lock before you bought it? Let me show you this bridge I'm selling, you'll love it!
varcor said:
You knew about the FRP Lock before you bought it? Let me show you this bridge I'm selling, you'll love it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You knew about the fixed storage size and no SD Card for your S21 before you bought but you keep moaning to everyone about it. He's a bridge, just a bridge not a bridge with an SD card and yet you bought the bridge!
Hypocrite!
lywyn said:
You knew about the fixed storage size and no SD Card for your S21 before you bought but you keep moaning to everyone about it. He's a bridge, just a bridge not a bridge with an SD card and yet you bought the bridge!
Hypocrite!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Difficult to understand how you lack the capacity to grasp common logic. I aquired an S21 Ultra as that is my device of choice, not a 2nd tier smartphone which lacks many features in the Ultra just to have a MicroSD as you feel would have been the better option. With Samsung's poor choice in not only eliminating MicroSD but also reducing internal storage capacities paying an extra $400.00 to aquire the device I wanted was my only option. But according to you I should be silent about Samsung's profiteering actions of forcing buyers to pay not a little more but a lot more for the appropriate device. Since it wasn't your money you really don't care, you just chose to sit back and criticize others motives which in fact are none of your business. I will continue to mock Samsung's decision and a very small number of people like you who just don't get it.
maybe this will work:
varcor said:
Difficult to understand how you lack the capacity to grasp common logic. I aquired an S21 Ultra as that is my device of choice, not a 2nd tier smartphone which lacks many features in the Ultra just to have a MicroSD as you feel would have been the better option. With Samsung's poor choice in not only eliminating MicroSD but also reducing internal storage capacities paying an extra $400.00 to aquire the device I wanted was my only option. But according to you I should be silent about Samsung's profiteering actions of forcing buyers to pay not a little more but a lot more for the appropriate device. Since it wasn't your money you really don't care, you just chose to sit back and criticize others motives which in fact are none of your business. I will continue to mock Samsung's decision and a very small number of people like you who just don't get it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you completely!
I like Samsung devices, but hate them for certain Apple-like anti-features.
Galaxy Store is even worse than Google Play and Apple's App store. The worst su from content distribution platforms in one place.
Despite how extremely deceived I feel about Samsung these days, I consider Apple devices tons worse than Samsung ones for tons of reasons. I'm proud of finally having a proper device with Magisk and such, I hate locked systems and love to modify system even if that means driving me crazy sometimes.
They also sell their ass to Microsoft with massive integration of their services and Unoperative Systems. OneDrive sucks. "Link to Windows", etc. Poor Koreans, I'm sad for them and failing at Korea history.
No SD cards was extremely deceiving. I'm thinking if a geek solution using a very tiny OTG to SD that fits in a case could be made, as I seen on iDevices. Adding tinkering stuff such as IR and I2C/rs232 etc would be a plua
I hate fanatics who hate critical thinking and opinions based on it.
timofonic said:
I agree with you completely!
I like Samsung devices, but hate them for certain Apple-like anti-features.
Galaxy Store is even worse than Google Play and Apple's App store. The worst su from content distribution platforms in one place.
Despite how extremely deceived I feel about Samsung these days, I consider Apple devices tons worse than Samsung ones for tons of reasons. I'm proud of finally having a proper device with Magisk and such, I hate locked systems and love to modify system even if that means driving me crazy sometimes.
They also sell their ass to Microsoft with massive integration of their services and Unoperative Systems. OneDrive sucks. "Link to Windows", etc. Poor Koreans, I'm sad for them and failing at Korea history.
No SD cards was extremely deceiving. I'm thinking if a geek solution using a very tiny OTG to SD that fits in a case could be made, as I seen on iDevices. Adding tinkering stuff such as IR and I2C/rs232 etc would be a plua
I hate fanatics who hate critical thinking and opinions based on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, what made Samsung popular is the utility with unlocked bootloaders, accessory compatibility and big, gorgeous displays. iPhone is a good device IF one likes iOS and Mac's. With all their proprietary gadgets and accessories they've got a firm grip on their users but android has eclipsed it as iPhone has fallen to 3rd place in worldwide sales volume. Samsung is pushing a larger ecosystem with Microsoft because it lacks it's own native component structures like Windows, MS Office, Defender and in areas it's trying to build their own organic platform like Samsung Browser, Members and the App Store they're just scratching the surface. It took Microsoft decades to achieve market dominance so to a degree Samsung has no choice but to ride their coattails, sometimes with mixed results.

Question Another smartphone equivalent to Galaxy s21 ultra

Hi, I would like your opinion for the purchase of another smartphone equivalent to Galaxy s21 ultra like Honor after the return of google service or another brand thank you in advance
Meh, oranges to lemons.
I go with a N10+ or a N20U running on no higher than Q.
The S21U isn't a favorite of mine. Android R is a dog and 12 will likely be worse.
No SD card. Lacks the gorgeous design of the N10+ and damn, are we back to round corners again?
You need to decide what you want. You're all over the road so how to you expect to get home?
samlis said:
Hi, I would like your opinion for the purchase of another smartphone equivalent to Galaxy s21 ultra like Honor after the return of google service or another brand thank you in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd go for the OnePlus 9T. Great phone, just not quite to the hardware standard of the S21 Ultra but not far off.
blackhawk said:
Meh, oranges to lemons.
I go with a N10+ or a N20U running on no higher than Q.
The S21U isn't a favorite of mine. Android R is a dog and 12 will likely be worse.
No SD card. Lacks the gorgeous design of the N10+ and damn, are we back to round corners again?
You need to decide what you want. You're all over the road so how to you expect to get home?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, we get it. Mainly from you posting the same thing at every opportunity.
Beefheart said:
Yeah, we get it. Mainly from you posting the same thing at every opportunity.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Face it 2021 sucks for Android.
1+? Bah-ha-ha-ha... I meant no comment.
We? You a committee of one now?
Actually I'm restraining myself a lot... take your own bloody advice, mate.
blackhawk said:
Face it 2021 sucks for Android.
1+? Bah-ha-ha-ha... I meant no comment.
We? You a committee of one now?
Actually I'm restraining myself a lot... take your own bloody advice, mate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Committee of one? No, just someone who's a bit bored of you posting the same complaints, and I'd be surprised if I'm the only one. You're continually saying that you don't like :-
Android R
Android Q
The additional security Google has put in place since Android R
Not having a memory card slot
Having round corners
You don't need to post it every time the opportunity arises so maybe a little more constraint is called for?
I'm curious, do you even have an S21 Ultra? If so it sounds to me like you should sell it and go back to the Note 10+ if you still have it, or buy one with the resulting funds.
Beefheart said:
Committee of one? No, just someone who's a bit bored of you posting the same complaints, and I'd be surprised if I'm the only one. You're continually saying that you don't like :-
Android R
Android Q
The additional security Google has put in place since Android R
Not having a memory card slot
Having round corners
You don't need to post it every time the opportunity arises so maybe a little more constraint is called for?
I'm curious, do you even have an S21 Ultra? If so it sounds to me like you should sell it and go back to the Note 10+ if you still have it, or buy one with the resulting funds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Off topic. Do what I do and hit ignore button for the bores... now you're dead to me.
I'm heartbroken.
samlis said:
Hi, I would like your opinion for the purchase of another smartphone equivalent to Galaxy s21 ultra like Honor after the return of google service or another brand thank you in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's the Sony Xperia 1 III. Compares very favorably to the S21 Ultra and surpasses it in a number of features. Display, MicroSD, 3.5 Jack and Faster Charging. The Sony is a bit more expensive but with the MicroSD you can lower the cost by acquiring the 128GB version and add up to 512GB External Storage. That isn't an option with the S21 Ultra and if you opt for 512GB it increases the cost of Galaxy device to $1,400 USD. Definitely worth a look.
varcor said:
There's the Sony Xperia 1 III. Compares very favorably to the S21 Ultra and surpasses it in a number of features. Display, MicroSD, 3.5 Jack and Faster Charging. The Sony is a bit more expensive but with the MicroSD you can lower the cost by acquiring the 128GB version and add up to 512GB External Storage. That isn't an option with the S21 Ultra and if you opt for 512GB it increases the cost of Galaxy device to $1,400 USD. Definitely worth a look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Sony supports up to 1tb SD cards. A 1tb V30 rated Sandisk Extreme can be had for $179 now.
A .5tb V30 card goes for about $80.
V30 rated cards will play movies, music with no issues.
Using the SD card as a data drive is preferable to one huge internal shared drive.
Not sure how scoped storage in Android 11/12 will impact its use/functionality though...
blackhawk said:
The Sony supports up to 1tb SD cards. A 1tb V30 rated Sandisk Extreme can be had for $179 now.
A .5tb V30 card goes for about $80.
V30 rated cards will play movies, music with no issues.
Using the SD card as a data drive is preferable to one huge internal shared drive.
Not sure how scoped storage in Android 11/12 will impact its use/functionality though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't understand why scoped storage is a deficiency to a large degree. It assists in accessing permissions which app developers fail to build into their specific platforms. I don't care to go way off topic from the OP however I would suggest it's a much larger benefit than a drawback.
blackhawk said:
Meh, oranges to lemons.
I go with a N10+ or a N20U running on no higher than Q.
The S21U isn't a favorite of mine. Android R is a dog and 12 will likely be worse.
No SD card. Lacks the gorgeous design of the N10+ and damn, are we back to round corners again?
You need to decide what you want. You're all over the road so how to you expect to get home?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should accept not everyone prefers a device shaped like a box, most devices have rounded corners so you're in the minority. It's a subjective assessment, your opinion doesn't go beyond you.
varcor said:
You should accept not everyone prefers a device shaped like a box, most devices have rounded corners so you're in the minority. It's a subjective assessment, your opinion doesn't go beyond you.
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Click to collapse
In your opinion... funny how you think you're opinion is the majority.
Manufacturers like rounded corners as it requires less precision and is cheaper to fabricate. Did they remember to pass that savings to you?
Scoped storage hasn't been properly integrated and will cause problems for years.
For what? When was the last time malware forced you to reload a Android?
As an added benefit scoped storage will use more cpu cycles to protect you from yourself.
Obviously this should benefit you.
blackhawk said:
In your opinion... funny how you think you're opinion is the majority.
Manufacturers like rounded corners as it requires less precision and is cheaper to fabricate. Did they remember to pass that savings to you?
Scoped storage hasn't been properly integrated and will cause problems for years.
For what? When was the last time malware forced you to reload a Android?
As an added benefit scoped storage will use more cpu cycles to protect you from yourself.
Obviously this should benefit you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, do you even have s21 ultra?
If No, then why bothering to discuss ur "superior" N10+ in an s21 ultra group?
If Yes, then why bringing ur "marvelous the 8th wonder of the world" N10+ in an s21 ultra group every single thread discussing an issue related to s21 ultra?
At last, it's ur opinion and you really don't need to convince us with it, have a blast
Amr Faried said:
Man, do you even have s21 ultra?
If No, then why bothering to discuss ur "superior" N10+ in an s21 ultra group?
If Yes, then why bringing ur "marvelous the 8th wonder of the world" N10+ in an s21 ultra group every single thread discussing an issue related to s21 ultra?
At last, it's ur opinion and you really don't need to convince us with it, have a blast
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
30/3, I see why.
blackhawk said:
In your opinion... funny how you think you're opinion is the majority.
Manufacturers like rounded corners as it requires less precision and is cheaper to fabricate. Did they remember to pass that savings to you?
Scoped storage hasn't been properly integrated and will cause problems for years.
For what? When was the last time malware forced you to reload a Android?
As an added benefit scoped storage will use more cpu cycles to protect you from yourself.
Obviously this should benefit you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're tripping over toothpicks, get over it. If you have input on the OP feel free to share, getting into the weeds over items which are non sequitur benefits no one.
varcor said:
You should accept not everyone prefers a device shaped like a box, most devices have rounded corners so you're in the minority. It's a subjective assessment, your opinion doesn't go beyond you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do it makes it easier to put in a case with round corners made of rubber and a flat glass screen protector. Round edges suck they limit accessories and make manufacturing disposable protection more difficult
xiaomi mi 11 ultra
blackhawk said:
30/3, I see why.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So You're farming reaction score and messages?
Here, let me help you with another reply
blackhawk said:
In your opinion... funny how you think you're opinion is the majority.
Manufacturers like rounded corners as it requires less precision and is cheaper to fabricate. Did they remember to pass that savings to you?
Scoped storage hasn't been properly integrated and will cause problems for years.
For what? When was the last time malware forced you to reload a Android?
As an added benefit scoped storage will use more cpu cycles to protect you from yourself.
Obviously this should benefit you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is S21 forum, don't expect people to think rationally about the phone which costed them more than 1k. I have S21 ultra and I am happy with the phone, but it doesn't mean that I am blind and see only bright side, specially where we have couple of nasty wrong things with it.
I have noticed that you have two choices, be hurray-optimistic and happy with device, or you are going to be called hater. It is really simple, I was on facebook group about PS5 and as I own one, I could put some criticism regarding console itself but no, it is not allowed. You are happy or get lost, simple.
varcor said:
I don't understand why scoped storage is a deficiency to a large degree. It assists in accessing permissions which app developers fail to build into their specific platforms. I don't care to go way off topic from the OP however I would suggest it's a much larger benefit than a drawback.
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Click to collapse
It isn't, for most of the time. Literally the only apps that need full storage access are file managers, of which you should only need one (or maybe two, one for advanced management, and one for everyday use). Besides, Google does have an API to get around scoped storage for such apps.
@samlis to answer your question, I think the phone that comes closest to the S21 Ultra is the Pixel 6 Pro. Apart from the slightly worse camera (you can literally not tell the difference in most photos, except for night mode, which the Pixel wins hands down, and >10x zoom, in which case the S21 Ultra wins).
However with the S22 coming so soon (in about 3-4 months), you might be better off waiting for that, either because it will offer much better experience at very similar price points, or because it will drive the S21's price down.

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