[RANT] Why does Samsung take so long to update firmware? - Galaxy Tab S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Thanks to DUHAsianSKILLZ and his theming how-to post I've tried my hand at theming. To do that you need to decompile and change some of Samsung's apks.
I have almost 40 years experience in software development including coding and managing software projects. As any developer worth their salt knows you avoid hard coding commonly used values as they invariable slow down further development or set you up for insidious bugs at some point which lead to costly delays.
Android provides developers a way to specify colors in an organized manner to prevent hard coding except in one place which is the colors.xml file. It even provides two levels of colors those at a system wide level from the framework-res's color.xml file and an apk's specific color file. This feature means there is no reason to specify the same hard coded value more than one time.
For instance there is a system wide non-transparent black that can be referenced such as "@android:color/black" that is the value "#ff000000". Even within an apk's own color.xml file you can specify a unique color and transparency then reference that color without hard coding that value again. For instance
Code:
<color name="unique_color">#6600273b</color>
<color name="s_view_background">@color/unique_color</color>
When developers use this level of abstraction changes to an app's colors is quick and less error prone.
As I began to theme I noticed an alarming number of times colors were hard coded in the color.xml file and within other definition files. It was so prevalent that I decided to check how many times non-transparent black and white where hard coded. Considering that these two colors are available system wide the hard code count should be exactly once for each color.
I used a Linux command line statement to count all occurrences of this color string in the decompiled apk's ("res" directory) for the framework-res, SystemUI and Settings apks. To distinguish if the issue of sloppy development standards was a Samsung only thing I also did the same test of the same Google stock firmware apks from my Nexus 5.
Code:
grep -oR '#ffffffff' | wc -l # count of hard coded non-transparent white
grep -oR '#ff000000' | wc -l # count of hard coded non-transparent black
Here are the results (The count should not be any higher than one):
framework-res (its defined colors are available system wide):
TabS: White 84; Black 100;
N5: White 61; Black 39;
SystemUI
TabS: White 291; Black 52;
N5: White 237; Black 11;
SecSettings on Tab S and Settings on N5:
TabS: White 77; Black 130;
N5: White 61; Black 3;
In conclusion, it is obvious that Samsung is a hardware company first and a software company dead last with little to no enforcement of quality control in their software development practices. This is a management issue that costs the company dearly in its ability to issue timely OS updates. I would not be surprised if the software teams wanted to commit suicide when Google released Lollipop and the massive change to the UI with material design.
Google certainly does not come out of this scot-free as their numbers are not much better than Samsung's. You can specifically see the costly nature of Touchwiz with the SecSettings apk where black is hard coded 130 time compared to Google's three. Simply insane!
Even if you could chip away at these numbers, they would still be inexcusable. Google should clean up its own shop and will be forced to as Android M promises OS level theming or a move towards that feature. But I get the feeling this is a systemic problem especially at Samsung which is costing the company at a time where they are desperate for a differentiater in an increasingly competitive market.
Here's my suggesting, Samsung pays Google to support their devices with stock Android for two years from the release date of any device. Samsung moves all its bloatware out of the system partition where it can be installed/uninstalled as each user wishes and they do that through their existing Galley store and a Samsung account. At least un-installing would recover usable internal space rather than the almost placebo effect removing bloatware from the system partition has other than a lower RAM foot print and faster boot times.
The cheers among users would be deafening and Samsung would pocket the savings for not having to support software it plainly does not know how to develop. I do not even care if they want to continue to include KNOX at an OS level for the business security market but would prefer it if they distinguish between business and regular users.
If a more experienced Android developer can explain that me stats are bogus I would be open to changing my opinion but so far this is likely to be the reason why my Tab S still has not seen Android v5.1.1 while its been available on my Nexus 5 and 10 for many months now. With the release of the Tab S2 tomorrow it starts to seem less likely my Tab S will see the latest Lollipop version let alone the dream of Android M, ever.
I could have gone on with other things I noticed such as styles or colors that are defined in two places with identical names but hopefully the stats I provided are evidence enough.

Having so many different models of phones and tablets does not help.
John.

Tinderbox (UK) said:
Having so many different models of phones and tablets does not help.
John.
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Click to collapse
True but cleaning up your development standards can only assist in addressing that choice in manufacturing so many devices. Right now Samsung seems to be a glutton for punishment and have a desire to wasting money.

Samsung`s new S2 4:3 ratio tablets that are going to be announced tomorrow, I wonder how well they will sell, has Samsung made mistake releasing an 4:3 ratio tablet?
John.

Tinderbox (UK) said:
Samsung`s new S2 4:3 ratio tablets that are going to be announced tomorrow, I wonder how well they will sell, has Samsung made mistake releasing an 4:3 ratio tablet?
John.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was a mistake as far as I am concerned as I bought my Tab S 10.5 just so I could get an AMOLED widescreen. I had not planned on buying a replacement for my Nexus 10 until next year. I do not user my tablet for business and watch plenty of videos along with reading/media consumption with my device.
In a way you cannot blame Samsung as they are desperate for an upturn in the tablet market and all the predictions that I've read is that work place tablets is the only growing market. Considering how many devices they make having two screen size versions should not have been too much of a stretch.
Same internals just different screen sizes within a category (8.x and 9/10.x). This is not the first time I've seen a device market go in a direction in which I loose interest. My Nexus 10 was bought out of curiosity/toy but much to my surprise became a favourite, heavily used, device making my phone secondary for anything other than telephony, SMS and grocery lists as the screen is just too dam small to spend sustained time with (Nexus 5).

I would like to see an A4 screen sized tablet as that is the normal paper size in most of the world for office use it might save on some trees, ebooks must have saved a bit by now.
John.

Tinderbox (UK) said:
I would like to see an A4 screen sized tablet as that is the normal paper size in most of the world for office use it might save on some trees, ebooks must have saved a bit by now.
John.
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Click to collapse
What I would buy in a heart beat is the Samsung AMOLED 16x9 screen in the form of an ASUS Padfone where your phone is inserted into a slot on the back of a larger screen/extra battery combo. Unfortunately ASUS does not use AMOLED technology or use flagship HW with their PadFones.
One day some one will make a big splash where your phone easily integrates seamlessly with docks/PadFone accessories. That may be Microsoft but they seem too incompetent when it comes to hardware as of yet. I do not mind paying a premium for powerful hardware if I get versatility and a lower total expense than buying two separate devices. The USB-C type connector seems to be a great opportunity for this type of functionality to emerge especially as accessories supporting that standard can come from many different vendors plus Android M likely adding OS support for USB-C.
We surely must be coming close as the mobile CPUs, memory and storage specs are improving so rapidly. You would think that telecoms would love the idea as it would encourage high mobile data plan use. Right now I would not buy a tablet that needs a data plan as I already feel gouged and almost exclusively use WiFi even when I'm not at home.

Related

WP7 vs. Android?

I posted this in the HD7 board but didn't get much feedback, so I'm reposting it here.
Ok guys I have a Samsung Vibrant, running a Team Whiskey rom and am pretty active in that forum, but I'd like to hear some input on plusses and minuses of this OS compared to Android. I've been solely android since G1 and was a Windows mobile user prior to that, Wing, so Tmo. I have an opportunity to get this device and just wanted some friendly input. Just a side note I've handled that device and I'm in love with the form factor. Also 2 core Androids are around the corner so I need some convincing. Thanks in advance.
Don't blame me, blame my keyboard's autocorrection algorithm.
WP7 just works. You dont have to add any additional bloatware and mod the hell out of it just to get a functional phone. It works out of the box. I've had to do a battery pull once and I have 5 WP7 devices. Also dual-core or not android will still have a lot more lag and fragmentation due to a UI thats not GPU accelerated so android just seems ridiculously slow by comparison. The market isnt as big yet (of course) but what we do have is quality. You dont have to wade through 1000s of girls in bikini wallpaper apps just to ind a gem. All in all its a matter of quality over quantity, android was meant to be a low end UI and putting it on upper end devices is just.... overkill..
Here are a few reasons why I think that WP7 is awesome:
Multiple hardware options.
Xbox Live integration.
No stupid extra UI skins.
Optimized hardware and software.
Awesome UI.
Cheap but good applications.
I use WP7 after big struggle - which OS to choose after WM6.5
And I also tested Android.
Why did I choose WP7?
Well, mostly because UI is very stable, superfluid and doesn't have annoying amount of graphic elements and colours. It is intuitive and organic. From this perspective this is what I was waiting for.
The other factors for me were: mostly excellent email client, built in Office with OneNote integrated online, sync with Hotmail/WLive which I use for years, integation with Outlook.
As you will look at this forum, huge amount of things are also missing on WP7.
In my case, I am willing to stay with WP7 only if MS will bring soon things which make this OS simply ridiculous right now. I can wait because what is on WP7 is often brilliant.
But the current set of features and limitations is make me observe the market. If in few months situation will not change vastly or we won't have a serious roadmap of improvements, I will be forced to shift to Android. SE Arc is very encouraging, and Android offers much much more in some areas.
I hope that helps a bit.
z33dev33l said:
WP7 just works. You dont have to add any additional bloatware and mod the hell out of it just to get a functional phone. It works out of the box. I've had to do a battery pull once and I have 5 WP7 devices. Also dual-core or not android will still have a lot more lag and fragmentation due to a UI thats not GPU accelerated so android just seems ridiculously slow by comparison. The market isnt as big yet (of course) but what we do have is quality. You dont have to wade through 1000s of girls in bikini wallpaper apps just to ind a gem. All in all its a matter of quality over quantity, android was meant to be a low end UI and putting it on upper end devices is just.... overkill..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WP7 works well when accept a crapton of defficiencies and limitations.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Things I don't like about windows phone 7.
1. No multitasking. Takes too long to switch between applications. Every application has to reload all the time which is time consuming.
2. Sometimes when you hit back in IE, it takes you out of the app, instead of the previous page.
3. Marketplace is still lacking. The developers are charging way too much for their apps. Everything is expensive. It seems like every developer is just trying to make a quick buck which I don't mind if the application is deserving, but I see a lot of crap simple apps that are paid.
4. No separate volume controls for regular ringer and media volume.
5. No flash, period.
6. Xbox live games are not Xbox live games that you can multiplayer with (exception being UNO). The only benefit of the games is achievements, the graphics are good but not xbla good. They're not even the same game as in the Xbox. For example ilomilo is two different versions from what I can tell.
7. Bing maps does not hold a candle to Google maps. It won't reroute your directions if you take a wrong turn.
Keep this thread civil
N8ter said:
WP7 works well when accept a crapton of defficiencies and limitations.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This brought absolutely nothing to the table except possibly making you feel better by venting. Please, keep this thread civil and productive. The other threads have been on point and positive, let's keep it this way so we don't get this thread shut down.
JamesAllen said:
This brought absolutely nothing to the table except possibly making you feel better by venting. Please, keep this thread civil and productive. The other threads have been on point and positive, let's keep it this way so we don't get this thread shut down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Talk about irony, you just did the exact same thing. However what he stated brought something to the table, yours however didn't.
Really????
vetvito said:
Talk about irony, you just did the exact same thing. However what he stated brought something to the table, yours however didn't.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have seen 4 of these threads shut down because they got hijacked. Comments like the one quoted started the hijacking. I'll say no more but watch this closely to make sure that it doesn't become the fifth shut down by the mods. I learned a great deal from the other four and was really upset that a couple of WP haters caused the threads to be shut down. My choice was between an Android and WP7 device, coming from a WM6.5. I want to hear what others thought when they made their decisions.
N8ter said:
WP7 works well when accept a crapton of defficiencies and limitations.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The same could be said about any OS. I do prefer no C&P and no multi-tasking to fragmentation and no GPU accelerated UI. I call that a fair trade-off
I have used WP7 for about two months until I went back to Android and I give nothing but recognition to the baby OS. Out of the box, like many have said, "It just works." WP7 with social integration is probably the best you'll see out of any phone. Their facebook "app" totally outpaces Android's. The lag on the OS is practically non-existent and it truly offers the "put down your phone and enjoy life" slogan. You don't need custom ROMS, blah blah, etc to have the phone perform at full functionality. For things such as copy and paste, I've never used it on a phone and for me it's not a factor, maybe for someone else though.
If you've used Android before and are converting to WP7, you might miss a lot of things such as the choice to have your own background, different launchers such as Launcher Pro, ADW and your choice of ring-tones. The one thing I didn't like WP7 is the fact that I had to use Zune software to sync my music. I'm the type that likes to plug it into the computer and drag my files without any type of software. Android definitely gives a bigger advantage when it comes to user customization. Maybe in time, MS will let WP7 users do that but as for right now, it's fine if you're not major on backgrounds, ring-tones, etc.
All in all, I like WP7 for what it is and I'm not complaining for it doesn't have.
agree,, the system just works,,simple and fast..
minor things need to be fixed or update though
i would think wp7's rival is ios,,not android...ios is also simple and target to the high end user specifically.
Both of them have their pluses and minuses.
Android Good
-Very Customizable.
-Great support from Devs.
-Always Something new
-Open Source.
-Growing more and more.
Android Bad
-It's open source, which I'll explain this one. Open source itself is not bad, but what makes it bad is anyone could write certain apks and file systems into Android that have access to the network of your phone to send out your data to random companies or people around the world. The worst part about it is, it's listed in what the app modifies and uses on your phone, in the download screen of the market. People don't read it, I'm not blaming Open Source for that either. But the way it is, it makes it easy for people to write anything to give away information.
-Fragmentation. This is a bad one indeed, because some companies update their phones on a timely basis. HTC does, and Motorola does with their high end phones.(High end phones, this leaves out smaller phones) However, some phones aren't updated to a higher build because some of them really don't need to. The Devour on Verizon is on 1.6, but is a texting social app phone, running an arm11 cpu I believe. That's all it really needs. But Samsung is bad on all types of updates, or even when they update it, it doesn't run great. This is both Motorola, and Samsung at fault.
-Rooting. This is a touchy subject, because a lot of phones are rooted to make better. But there are some phones that almost need to be rooted for support, and current updates. The Samsung Moment is a great example of this, terrible performance, had to be rooted just to work decently. Or there are phones that could run newer updates, but phone manufactures choose not to update them. G1, Hero, Eris, they could all run 2.2 just fine.
-Bloatware! you know what I mean.
I'm not gonna say that a not having a hardware accelerated ui is a disadvantage, because a lot of the higher end android phones run the ui pretty smooth. Even low end ones can run Launcher Pro really well.
WP7 Goods
-Simple
-Very nice for social apps
-Xbox live
-I like the UI a lot!
WP7 bad
-It's a new system. Meaning there isn't a lot of backing and support and development compared to Android. App selection isn't as big either, but not a big deal really. A lot of apps in Android market aren't even used.
-This is geared toward the way WP7 is designed, and the phones too. You cannot change your microsd card to a faster, or bigger one, and if you can you void the warranty. Before anybody brings up the Nexus S, the Nexus S is one phone, designed by Google and Samsung. Not every Android phone is designed by Google and Samsung.
-3 button requirement, The HD2 and the TG01 could both run WP7 no problem. Granted, we have a WP7 build on the HD2, but you need to crack it basically to use Live services. Hell, the HD7 is basically a redesigned HD2.
-This one is a gripe of mine, networks!!!!! WP7 is still not available on all the networks that are major in the States. Both Tmobile and AT&T are garbage in my area.
-Customization, this one I don't find as a big deal with WP7, I like the UI. I think it's great, why fix what isn't broken? But I know some people really count this as a buying decision on a phone.
All and all, I say you can't go wrong with either platform. Android is a very flexible system, while WP7 is a system where it just works. Android is open source, so it's bound to have problems with devices that just run in software mode, where as WP7 is mostly controlled so performance wouldn't be an issue with that.
I went from WP7 to Android. My previous phone was a blackberry.
Biggest things I liked about WP7 was how quickly it allowed me to do things. Most apps and tasks felt like a click or two away, and the software keyboard is the best bar none.
On Android the ability to do things is huge, finally got my yahoo im app, google navigator and a market place rich with feature apps. While I feel the android UI is cluttered and ugly it's just stronger in terms of what the phone is capable of. WP7 felt like a lot of wasted power.. it can certainly do more. it's mindboggling why it's so restricted.
I thank you all for your input! I'd love to hear more opinions.
Don't blame me, blame my keyboard's autocorrection algorithm.
Android does all I need and works sufficiently well. WP7 is smooth, clean and efficient, but doesn't provide the needed functionality. I choose Android.
Android:
Pros
- Multitasking
- C&P
- Large Marketplace
- Great Devs for Multiple Devices
- Open Source
- Incredibly Customizable
- Lots of hardware choices
- Google Integration
- Downloadable launchers to get rid of overlays like MotoBlur
- Flash 10.1 (For Froyo and above)
- Great alternative browsers like SkyFire
- Ability to use phone as a mass storage device
Cons
- Not as smooth as iOS or WP7 but nothing to whine about.
- Fragmentation (Not a problem if you root, but it exists for normal users.)
- C&P functions in too many different ways depending on where you are.
- Non Streamlined UI
- Can't uninstall bloatware without root.
Windows Phone 7
Pros
- Very responsive UI
- All devices upgradeable through Zune simultaneously.
- Streamlined UI
- MS Office integration
- Xbox Live integration
- Windows Live integration
- Zune Integration
- Bing Integration
- Fastest growing marketplace (100 apps per day)
Cons
- No fast app switching
- No C&P yet
- No Flash support yet
- Lacking in hardware variation
- Not as many apps as in iOS or Android
- Limited Customization
- No CDMA support yet
- No Silverlight or HTML5 support yet
- No custom ringtones
WP7 is just F*ing fast! I have an HD2 whose Android ports have been tirelessly worked on since last summer and still STILL WP7 on its first release is smoother, faster, stabler, and more lag free. Even on top android devices (looking at you EVO 4g) Android is filled with lag while our paltry launch devices with their generic parts and arguably thoughtless design run WP7 like a dream. I'll admit that I miss a lot of the features of android (flash, marketplace maturity, copy/paste, tethering), but if you want an OS that works NOW buttery smooth and don't mind waiting a little bit for the awesome extras WP7 is the way.
Just to shut the fragmentation "issues".
I understand for those who live in the US of A fragmentation on WP7 means jack, however the platform was launched internationally.
So let's see
http://andrewtechhelp.com/andrews-tech-opinions/115-windows-phone-7-feature-availability-matrix
So let's assume you are on the platform that is being cursed here as fragmented, do you have a choice on the same platform and the same carrier you are on to get what you need? Is it worse than having a phone in your country outside of US of A and no matter what carrier or manufacture you choose you end up with the same features or lack thereof?
WP7 is already fragmented. Look at the Dell. If its not fragmented its severely crippled. 256mb ram started it.

So much for non-fragmentation - Nokia difference

It appears Nokia may be a standout among all the other WP7 devices in more ways than a few. Sony/Ericsson will be providing CPUs to some Nokia WP7 devices.
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/02/st-ericssons-novathor-to-power-nokias-windows-phone-devices-l/
It's not Sony/Ericsson but ST-Ericsson
There is nothing that suggests this deal is exlusive to nokia as stated in the article ie other companys could also use the chip. This only means that |Nokia have confirmed they will and thus that WP7.5 will support it. I may be mistaken but supporting higher spec chips and breaking a manopoly are 2 good things. I may be wrong though.
MS can't seem to win...people complained that the 2nd generation Windows phones were a failure...yet they still complain when MS changes something...wow!
This is great news hopefully better screens will be in future WP devices.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
That is not what fragmentation means
No fragmentation to see here, this is excellent news. I won't really be happy until WP7 supports damn near everything Android does in terms of hardware. I want Tegra (which NVIDIA has said is coming also), OMAP, whatever Samsung puts out, etc.
PG2G said:
No fragmentation to see here, this is excellent news. I won't really be happy until WP7 supports damn near everything Android does in terms of hardware. I want Tegra (which NVIDIA has said is coming also), OMAP, whatever Samsung puts out, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope not. I prefer to have quality apps and games rather than the fragmented system of Android allows. Having this new CPU might mean lower quality apps and games. Devs would have to code for more than one hardware profile.
The level of abstraction in the Windows Phone SDK really doesn't allow for much in the way of low level optimization anyway. It should be write once, run anywhere with little to no effect on app quality.
MartyLK said:
I hope not. I prefer to have quality apps and games rather than the fragmented system of Android allows. Having this new CPU might mean lower quality apps and games. Devs would have to code for more than one hardware profile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fragmentation is one of those words which, when it was applied to Android, took on a new meaning. Unless you have an ecosystem that only pushes out one phone a year then technically fragmentation will always exist.
But fragmentation was adopted to describe the Android phenomenon where new phones could release around the same time with different OS versions and hence different capabilities (one version has copy and paste for example) & compabitibilities (app programmed for 2.1 not compatible with 1.6), and different phones could be updated or not updated and cause the same effect.
Hardware differentiations are not usually considered fragmentation once the OS offers the user the same general functionality.
MartyLK said:
I hope not. I prefer to have quality apps and games rather than the fragmented system of Android allows. Having this new CPU might mean lower quality apps and games. Devs would have to code for more than one hardware profile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
.NET is CPU independent, so devs do not need to care.
nicksti said:
Fragmentation is one of those words which, when it was applied to Android, took on a new meaning. Unless you have an ecosystem that only pushes out one phone a year then technically fragmentation will always exist.
But fragmentation was adopted to describe the Android phenomenon where new phones could release around the same time with different OS versions and hence different capabilities (one version has copy and paste for example) & compabitibilities (app programmed for 2.1 not compatible with 1.6), and different phones could be updated or not updated and cause the same effect.
Hardware differentiations are not usually considered fragmentation once the OS offers the user the same general functionality.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well put i would add an example of one os that nomatte what you think you have to agree avoided fragmentation and that is ios. Each year they bring out a new model that has better specs and as such the older phones end up being left behind. This will slowly happen with wp7 but to compensate MS will/should up the minimum specs from time to time to compensate. This will mean that older phones will drop off as there contract terms do and so more and more advanced features and apps can be developed without the same issues as android. This may seem bad for old devices but wp is very resorsful and so it will take a long time to drop off the back and at that point they should be obsolet anyways just like the iphone and iphone 3g are to ios. If this didnt happen you would be left at a single point unable to move forward. I would think a new min spec sheet will come with apollo though this is not to say old devices wont get it just that new hardware will have to be made ready for the next update and so on.
lumpaywk said:
Well put i would add an example of one os that nomatte what you think you have to agree avoided fragmentation and that is ios.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. Without getting anal about it (since you can still purchase a 3GS for free + contract one could nitpick that iOS does have fragmentation) the iPhone is immune to fragmentation because they only push out one phone per model year.
I think this goes against every principle of consumerism that you learn in the books, but there is no arguing it is successful for Apple. Imagine if Honda decided they were only going to offer silver, automatic, 4 door Accords with Xenon lights and a 300HP VTec engine? You would wonder if they were crazy. I do understand variations of colours in a car is an important component, but I wonder if millions of people are not sucking up a 3.5" screen iPhone so that they can own an iPhone.

[Q] will note 10.1 2014 see Note 4 improvements?

This may come off as a silly question, but I haven't seen much in regard to whether or not the note tablet will see the improved features of Note 4. I'd like to think the tablet line up will see the new features with s-pen and whatnot but has anyone heard anything yet?
Thanks in advanced!
@evilpenguin123 its a good question but my guess would be no.
They need to differentiate the different devices so the features on Note 4 will probably be released on the next Note 10.1. Just as I dont expect them to improve the Note 3 features I wouldnt expect them to improve our tablets. Its so they make people want to upgrade.
No. The N2 didn't receive N3 improvements. The N10.1-12 didn't receive N10.1-14 improvements. And the N10.1-14 didn't get all the Pro improvements.
thats why samsung suck.
I have/had a good time with Samsung devices the past 3 years (sgs3 and note 10.1-14) but now it's time to move on. The note is still absolutely amazing for handwriting (I use it every day for work - I'm a teacher) but my next phone will be the Sony z3 compact and I really hope some other manufacturer will make a stylus note taking tablet in the next years. Samsung pretty much owns the market atm.
Their update process and software is just a mess and all over the place. There is soo much potential with Samsung. But it always feels like they put all their energy into one device and make something great but instead of improving upon that they scrap everything and make something totally different and forget about the older devices.
I wish apple would make android devices :silly:
i think developers will port it to our Note
but sadly we dont have much developers here :/
clouds5 said:
I have/had a good time with Samsung devices the past 3 years (sgs3 and note 10.1-14) but now it's time to move on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's my take and it's a bit long.
We've reached the point where each generational device update cycle is becoming less meaningful. The M7>M8, SGS4>SGS5, and now the N3>N4 are all evolutionary. It's no one's fault, smartphones and tablets perform certain functions and you reach a point where those functions can only be improved/enhanced so far; be it via h/w or s/w. I have a N3 which I gladly upgraded from an N2 for because of the move from 720P>1080P, much improved performance, a better form factor, and Samsung's latest s/w (EG: S Note). Looking at the N4 the QHD display is a waste (over 300ish PPI the human eye can't register additional detail) and it's larger and heavier than the N3 with the same size display. It's more powerful but the display's going to take its toll and truthfully, how powerful does a smartphone need to be? I could care less about a heart rate monitor, a metal surround vs. plastic, and "enhanced S Pen feel." I'd like OIS and the better camera but outside of that there's nothing really compelling.
Some of Samsung's newer app versions are worse than their predecessors. I'll give you an example. AT&T did something to their network that borked S Voice for N3 users. That means if you have a Gear its voice capabilities become useless. With some screwing around with the APN and using the SGS5 version of S Voice folks got it working again. The amount of functionality removed from S Voice in the SGS5 version to make it "cleaner and flatter" is staggering. Driving mode got stripped of half its features and the ability to use "Hi Galaxy" from anywhere in the device was removed. A security update Samsung pushed fixed older S Voice versions and I couldn't wait to go back. So don't assume "new" S Note, My Files, Scrapbook, et. al., are better just because they're "new."
In terms of upgraded s/w Samsung's failure to keep their apps updated across older devices is actually going to start to hurt them. The N3 and N10.1-14 are really close in terms of app compatibility and versioning across Samsung's proprietary apps (EG: S Note, My Files, Scrapbook). I don't want to get a N4 with new and different versions of the same apps I use on my N10.1-14. It would be a pain in the ass to bounce back and forth between them not to mention potential incompatibility (EG: Current S Note being incompatible with earlier versions). If you think about it, the N10.1-14 is Samsung's "last great tablet." The 4.4 s/w is solid as a rock, M-UX is causing performance issues on the Pro's and S' which we avoided, AMOLED sucks on whites battery wise making it a productivity user's nightmare, we have all the stock widgets (EG: Mail, S Planner) which got shoved in to M-UX for those that have it, and S-800/Exynos 5420 is powerful enough to support a 2,560 x 1,600 display.
So my next device isn't going to be a N4. It's going to be a SM-P605M from Brazil so I can use it with AT&T's LTE bands. Samsung will eventually release a N10.1-15. It'll most likely have a 4K display ( http://www.phonearena.com/news/Is-Samsung-going-to-launch-a-4K-tablet-by-the-end-of-2014_id56929 ) which won't provide much improvement (the human eye being the lowest common denominator) but will suck tremendous amounts of battery and tax the enhanced CPU/GPU that it'll come with making it not much faster or even slower than the N10.1-14. If the N10.1-15 is AMOLED it's either going to gain a ton of weight accommodating a bigger battery or end up getting crappy battery life compared to the N10.1-14's LCD display. I'm guessing the N10.1-14 will get Android 5.0 but pretty much keep the current s/w outside the OS. Fine by me. That would be my preference knowing my N3 is never going to see the N4's improvements; the latter most likely being a good thing.
So as someone who rode the upgrade train with every generation of phone or tablet I'm done. If the N10.1-15 turns out to be compelling and and has the same Samsung s/w as the N4 maybe I'll get both. But that's a big maybe and I'm in no rush. For the first time I'm actually happy and comfortable exactly where I am.
BarryH_GEG said:
Here's my take and it's a bit long
......
......
So as someone who rode the upgrade train with every generation of phone or tablet I'm done. If the N10.1-15 turns out to be compelling and and has the same Samsung s/w as the N4 maybe I'll get both. But that's a big maybe and I'm in no rush. For the first time I'm actually happy and comfortable exactly where I am.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree with you. As I said Samsung doesn't seem to try and improve upon things they try to sell as many devices as possible every year. And they feel the best way to do that is by pushing as many "new" things in newer models as possible.
Every year the new galaxy HAS to be bigger. The s3 was still usable with one (big) hand in most situations but the s4 and s5 had to be bigger. That's their logic: it has to be bigger faster and more pixels every year. All the numbers have to be bigger on the spec sheet. There aren't any top smartphones for single hand use anymore (except sony z3 compact) and I personally don't know anybody that really wants such big devices. And then they do they go for the note anyway! Literally everyone I know has either a "mini" version from samsung/htc/sony, the iPhone or a note 2/3.
And yeah smartphones are "figured out". We know exactly what we can do with them and where the limits are, which have been reached. Now they need to improve battery life and software and usability. Simple specs won't cut it anymore. Another reason why I go for Sony with my next device.
In terms of tablets, again they need to be as light as possible and as comfortable to carry and use on the go as they can get. I'm actually fine with the note 10.1-2014. I have very little to complain except the way Samsung handles upgrades and software Dev.
It's why i said i want an iPhone with android. I don't like IOS but they have great hardware and they usually use their brain when building their devices instead of just making all the numbers bigger for the specs sheet.

General Disappointment the Pixel 6

Well after being excited to get the Pixel 6 Pro with all the hype of best pixel phone in years, i have returned the phone after finding it disappointing. Probably the phone i have been most disappointed with ever, So i have gone back to my Huawei P30 Pro
main issues are battery life, after finding the phone struggling to get through a day on a charge, after googling and finding turning off the 5g and 120hz display improves battery life. WHAT the main features of the phone drain the battery too much, battery life on P30 is 2 days for me constantly (i know peoples usage will vary), but after Lumia phones and Huawei it was like going back to Iphone 3 days barely getting 24hrs on a charge.
also the UI is terrible, how is this an improvement the notification area with the huge tiles take up so much room that you have to scroll to the right to see most of the shortcuts etc. P30 is much more intuitive and fewer steps to do the same action
The Google search bar/ assistant and clock can't be moved or resized so much for customising android, none of these restrictions on P30
Colour theming what a joke to the point of being pointless couldn't pick the colour i wanted and the choice of 4 colour LOL, P30 has a huge colour theming section and is easy pick what colour you want and away to go
You will need a case for the phone it will literally slide off everything, i know a lot pf people fit cases but you wont have any choice with the Pixel 6 or it'll end up in broke
I would go as far to say EMUI 4 was better than android 12 on the Pixel 6, only good point was the camera
Only thing I'd agree with is that Huawei makes some of the best phones and I wish they were sold for US carriers. As for this phone, it's getting better every day for me. Of course there are some annoyances here and there but battery life isn't bad for me. I still have mine on 5g and 120hz and getting 8ish hour SOT with full day use. Mostly Twitter, Reddit and cryptocurrency apps and some YouTube music. The UI I feel takes some learning and adjusting to get used to.
nighthawk626 said:
Only thing I'd agree with is that Huawei makes some of the best phones and I wish they were sold for US carriers. As for this phone, it's getting better every day for me. Of course there are some annoyances here and there but battery life isn't bad for me. I still have mine on 5g and 120hz and getting 8ish hour SOT with full day use. Mostly Twitter, Reddit and cryptocurrency apps and some YouTube music. The UI I feel takes some learning and adjusting to get used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kinda hard to trust a device made literally by the espionage wing of a hostile foreign country...
96carboard said:
Kinda hard to trust a device made literally by the espionage wing of a hostile foreign country...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not saying I don't get that. I just really miss Huawei phones.
Podster16 said:
Well after being excited to get the Pixel 6 Pro with all the hype of best pixel phone in years, i have returned the phone after finding it disappointing. Probably the phone i have been most disappointed with ever, So i have gone back to my Huawei P30 Pro
main issues are battery life, after finding the phone struggling to get through a day on a charge, after googling and finding turning off the 5g and 120hz display improves battery life. WHAT the main features of the phone drain the battery too much, battery life on P30 is 2 days for me constantly (i know peoples usage will vary), but after Lumia phones and Huawei it was like going back to Iphone 3 days barely getting 24hrs on a charge.
also the UI is terrible, how is this an improvement the notification area with the huge tiles take up so much room that you have to scroll to the right to see most of the shortcuts etc. P30 is much more intuitive and fewer steps to do the same action
The Google search bar/ assistant and clock can't be moved or resized so much for customising android, none of these restrictions on P30
Colour theming what a joke to the point of being pointless couldn't pick the colour i wanted and the choice of 4 colour LOL, P30 has a huge colour theming section and is easy pick what colour you want and away to go
You will need a case for the phone it will literally slide off everything, i know a lot pf people fit cases but you wont have any choice with the Pixel 6 or it'll end up in broke
I would go as far to say EMUI 4 was better than android 12 on the Pixel 6, only good point was the camera
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You really should have waited a bit to try a pure aosp build. I found the google [bloat|spy]ware to be bad enough that I couldn't put my sim card in it because it was completely unusable. Running pure aosp built from source and its like a dream.
Under very heavy use since about 7am this morning (its now after 3), I'm still over 70% battery, including leaving 120hz enabled. Not 5g though, my carrier only has LTE for now.
Some of your complaints don't really matter. The quick settings pane for example is a feature of android 12, not the google build, so no matter who sells you the phone, you'll have that eventually anyway.
96carboard said:
Kinda hard to trust a device made literally by the espionage wing of a hostile foreign country...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hostile wing of USA or China take your pick
nighthawk626 said:
Only thing I'd agree with is that Huawei makes some of the best phones and I wish they were sold for US carriers. As for this phone, it's getting better every day for me. Of course there are some annoyances here and there but battery life isn't bad for me. I still have mine on 5g and 120hz and getting 8ish hour SOT with full day use. Mostly Twitter, Reddit and cryptocurrency apps and some YouTube music. The UI I feel takes some learning and adjusting to get used to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i had no where near that battery time, fully charged at 9:00am out on the mtb for 6 hrs with pics on the way normal use after that by 8:00 pm 15%
The UI is just not as intuitive, take restricting apps working in the background pixel you have to go to each app individually, P30 the settings for all apps are on one page, just simpler
2021 has been a mediocre year at best for smartphones. Android 11 and 12 forced cpu cycle eating scooped storage sucks.
After the N20U Samsung released nothing I like and their last really great flagship is the N10+ running on Q.
2021, issues with variable rate displays, 5G and scoped storage galore. The usual Samsung Fold display delamination issues. For flagship SD card support you either got to use older Samsung flagships or go Chinese.
The Pixel Pro seems to numerous rude surprises. OK, maybe it's not horrible but not a flagship level device either... it's ok at best. It's user interface is subpar as usual with no substantial speed advantage to show for it. Why not just get an Apple rather than a Pixel at this rate?
I doubt even Samsung can modify Android 11/12 enough to make it user friendly; Pixel barely tried to fix their nightmare OS.
Small wonder Pixel as such a dismal market share... they earned it.
blackhawk said:
2021 has been a mediocre year at best for smartphones. Android 11 and 12 forced cpu cycle eating scooped storage sucks.
After the N20U Samsung released nothing I like and their last really great flagship is the N10+ running on Q.
2021, issues with variable rate displays, 5G and scoped storage galore. The usual Samsung Fold display delamination issues. For flagship SD card support you either got to use older Samsung flagships or go Chinese.
The Pixel Pro seems to numerous rude surprises. OK, maybe it's not horrible but not a flagship level device either... it's ok at best. It's user interface is subpar as usual with no substantial speed advantage to show for it. Why not just get an Apple rather than a Pixel at this rate?
I doubt even Samsung can modify Android 11/12 enough to make it user friendly; Pixel barely tried to fix their nightmare OS.
Small wonder Pixel as such a dismal market share... they earned it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 9 owner
Everyone knows the 10 lineup was literally a downgrade in all the ways literally a minor cpu bump and a 3rd camera.
You lost iris scanner, spo2 ,heart rate , headphone jack and sd card slot on certain models.
It was also the mark of samsung making like 4 3/4 different models of phone which had worse hard ware than previous versions unless you get the top top end.
For example the fact screens on the note10 itself are worse than 9.
It literally started the mark of samsung killing off the note line with the making it a glorified Samsung Galaxy with a pen in which case then note 20ultra is worse that the galaxy 20 ultra in a lot of ways.
It's not even ahead of software updates since the note 10 lite uses the same chipset as the s9/n9 so it's easily ported to them.
So yeah the fact you said that means you literally have no clue on the state of it.
Also you think Samsung will simplify it gl they literally need to make a new ui every year because they can't do it right it's improving but still , if you don't like stock android get different launcher.
At least we know we going to get software support for a long time and direct also support
Phone is Awesome! Best purchase ever!
blackhawk said:
2021 has been a mediocre year at best for smartphones. Android 11 and 12 forced cpu cycle eating scooped storage sucks.
After the N20U Samsung released nothing I like and their last really great flagship is the N10+ running on Q.
2021, issues with variable rate displays, 5G and scoped storage galore. The usual Samsung Fold display delamination issues. For flagship SD card support you either got to use older Samsung flagships or go Chinese.
The Pixel Pro seems to numerous rude surprises. OK, maybe it's not horrible but not a flagship level device either... it's ok at best. It's user interface is subpar as usual with no substantial speed advantage to show for it. Why not just get an Apple rather than a Pixel at this rate?
I doubt even Samsung can modify Android 11/12 enough to make it user friendly; Pixel barely tried to fix their nightmare OS.
Small wonder Pixel as such a dismal market share... they earned it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you stated in so many posts you have 2 Note 10's so I can only assume that your opinion is pure speculation! Did a clean install and don't have any issues at all. When the Note 20 Ultra first came a lot of members were having issues with it to because of importing data and apps from an old phone, once they did a FDR all the problems magically disappeared! Just saying...........................
ggrant3876 said:
As you stated in so many posts you have 2 Note 10's so I can only assume that your opinion is pure speculation! Did a clean install and don't have any issues at all. When the Note 20 Ultra first came a lot of members were having issues with it to because of importing data and apps from an old phone, once they did a FDR all the problems magically disappeared! Just saying...........................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read a lot. The Pixel UI... well each to his own is the best I can say.
The N20U has display issues caused by the variable frequency, the N10+ color rendering exceeds the N20U, S21U and likely the P6pro.
I have extremely good color perception, top 1% so I find color aberrations annoying with displays. The 10+ is near spot on even after two years of heavy usage. I'll do a color test between the new and old one to see how tight the calibration is just for kicks sometime.
The N20U is running on R, enough said.
Some of both have 5G, not worth the increased battery usage. This problem persists in most of the newest devices. Variable rate displays, 5G and especially scooped storage are not mature technologies and continue to underperform.
Stats with pics... or it never happened.
Here's what a stock N10+ Snapdragon/P variant did just today with a 4300mAh battery. About one hour is watching utube vids, the rest browsing. The N10+ isn't even breaking a sweat...
The entire pre-order mess has soured my excitement for the phone. Google showed early November delivery, now shows mid January. It seems to cut costs, Google went with outdated and inferior parts and made some strange sacrifices. Samsung always gives it's competitors last year's display tech. Android 12 feels largely incomplete, much like hipster aesthetics were put before functional changes. I have been excited to get a flagship that has a clean base, can be rooted and built upon, but if the hardware is subpar, it may not be worth it.
With Samsung phones, I've debloated and modded almost every element to my liking without even needing root. Custom themes, custom fonts, custom clock styles and placement, always on display scheduling, ability to hide the navigation bar, and endless GoodLock modules to fine tune the UI are all things stock Android 12 can't do. That said, it's always bugged me that Samsung phones have roughly 300 preloaded system apps, where stock Android has about 100. I'm debating whether to cancel the P6P preorder and wait for the S22 Ultra.
Guyinlaca said:
The entire pre-order mess has soured my excitement for the phone. Google showed early November delivery, now shows mid January. It seems to cut costs, Google went with outdated and inferior parts, and made sacrifices to keep costs down. Samsung always gives it's competitors last year's display tech. Android 12 feels largely incomplete, much like hipster aesthetics were put before functional changes. I have been excited to get a flagship that has a clean base, can be rooted and built upon, but if the hardware is subpar, it may not be worth it.
With Samsung phones, I've debloated and modded almost every element to my liking without even needing root. Custom themes, custom fonts, custom clock styles and placement, always on display scheduling, ability to hide the navigation bar, and endless GoodLock modules to fine tune the UI are all things stock Android 12 can't do. That said, it's always bugged me that Samsung phones have roughly 300 preloaded system apps, where stock Android has about 100. I'm debating whether to cancel the P6P preorder and wait for the S22 Ultra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was comparing my 2 N10+'s, one running on 9, the other 10. The 10 variant has dozens of small apks that show on the package disabler, but they're not bloatware. Samsung deliberately moded Android 10 to make it more user friendly and functional. It runs very well.
The S21 isn't anything I want but it shreds the P6pro.
However both are having display issues. I would at least wait for the dust to settle...
Hold out until Samsung gets their act together again if you can... it may take a year or two. Latter 2022 or perhaps 2023. I wouldn't hold my breath... it may take until 2024 to arise from the ashes of mediocre and lack of features.
Guyinlaca said:
I'm debating whether to cancel the P6P preorder and wait for the S22 Ultra.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep in mind you can't unlock the bootloader on recent Samsung phones without breaking the camera completely. I had nothing against them until now but this is major BS on their part.
Ghisy said:
Keep in mind you can't unlock the bootloader on recent Samsung phones without breaking the camera completely. I had nothing against them until now but this is major BS on their part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fair, on a Samsung, one doesn't really need root. So much debloating can be done using ADB. Many developers have found ways to utilize Samsung's theme engine and font engine to customize the phone however one prefers. I installed an AOSP theme using Hex Installer that made the UI look 95% stock.
Guyinlaca said:
To be fair, on a Samsung, one doesn't really need root. So much debloating can be done using ADB. Many developers have found ways to utilize Samsung's theme engine and font engine to customize the phone however one prefers. I installed an AOSP theme using Hex Installer that made the UI look 95% stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running 2 stock N10+'s using Samsung Galaxy mods, a package disabler, a firewall and heavily optimizing them.
That's all you need... they run great and look/function exactly how I want them too.
No plain Janes here... some assembly required.
Samsung phones are pus*y phones, pardon my language. If you can't unlock the bootloader have any kind of development opportunities, you're just a sheep. Last Samsung phones I had were the Galaxy Nexus and the Note 2. Seems like a lot of Samsung Fanboys here. I get it because we're here to talk about phones, but this is an XDA Development site - Development. It's all about development. So move forth and go forward with your beautiful Sammy phones and enjoy those locked bootloaders!
darbylonia said:
Samsung phones are pus*y phones, pardon my language. If you can't unlock the bootloader have any kind of development opportunities, you're just a sheep. Last Samsung phones I had were the Galaxy Nexus and the Note 2. Seems like a lot of Samsung Fanboys here. I get it because we're here to talk about phones, but this is an XDA Development site - Development. It's all about development. So move forth and go forward with your beautiful Sammy phones and enjoy those locked bootloaders!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
darbylonia said:
Samsung phones are pus*y phones, pardon my language. If you can't unlock the bootloader have any kind of development opportunities, you're just a sheep. Last Samsung phones I had were the Galaxy Nexus and the Note 2. Seems like a lot of Samsung Fanboys here. I get it because we're here to talk about phones, but this is an XDA Development site - Development. It's all about development. So move forth and go forward with your beautiful Sammy phones and enjoy those locked bootloaders!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I had two glasses of wine.
darbylonia said:
Sorry, I had two glasses of wine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good thing it wasn't WT 101
Stability, functionality, speed and good battery life are all that matters. This "pu$$y" phone in my hand right now has all four, it's current load is over 1.5 years old with minimum maintenance/zero updates.
Yeah, I really hate it...

Question Replace a Galaxy S21 Ultra with a Pixel 6 Pro?

Hey everybody!
Quick question: would you replace your Galaxy S21 Ultra with a Pixel 6 Pro?
I'm asking it because I'm a S21 owner but I've never been completely in love with the Samsung design (those squircle icons...) nor all the Samsung apps I don't use and can't remove. I'm into Google apps and services and I'm attracted by the simple and minimal design of the Pixel 6. On the other hand, I like Samsung for the plethora of options and features they add to the Android system, most of which are not in the Pixel.
I've been reading around a lot and it seems that in terms of performance and battery the two phones are basically the same - and the S21 is one year old almost. The S21 could have a slightly better camera, whereas the Pixel can count on the Tensor chip and specific features.
So, what's your thought?
_JuSteR_ said:
Hey everybody!
Quick question: would you replace your Galaxy S21 Ultra with a Pixel 6 Pro?
I'm asking it because I'm a S21 owner but I've never been completely in love with the Samsung design (those squircle icons...) nor all the Samsung apps I don't use and can't remove. I'm into Google apps and services and I'm attracted by the simple and minimal design of the Pixel 6. On the other hand, I like Samsung for the plethora of options and features they add to the Android system, most of which are not in the Pixel.
I've been reading around a lot and it seems that in terms of performance and battery the two phones are basically the same - and the S21 is one year old almost. The S21 could have a slightly better camera, whereas the Pixel can count on the Tensor chip and specific features.
So, what's your thought?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're probably not going to be happy with a Pixel. The UX is polar opposite of Sammy's and a few cool features aren't probably going to be enough for you to unlike what you liked about Sammys in the first place.
Icons? There are hundreds of free icon packs, themes and more at the Samsung Galaxy store.
You can use a package disabler to block apps you don't want.
Personally I rejected the S21U because of no SD card slot or spen.
The Pixel is a bare bones UI, just the opposite of Samsung. I've seen the homepage screen shots for the Pixels and they're damn weak.
You can really trick out stock Samsung's... Good
Lock family of apps, etc.
My two N10+'s look and behave like I want them to...
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"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I personally just made the exact switch you're thinking of doing. It doesn't have all of the "custom" additions that the S21U does but I feel like because of that the Pixel feels better.
The biggest reason I switched was for the performance. The S21U felt laggy and slow even compared to my previous phone (OnePlus 8 Pro). The Pixel feels way smoother of an experience.
Camera is subjective but I've always been a fan of the "Google" processing so I've installed a GCam mod on every phone I can, S21 included.
I'm much happier now on the Pixel 6 pro than the S21U so if you're okay with a more minimalistic phone without all of the Samsung goodies, then this might be worth the switch.
Yes, I would replace any Samsung with the P6P. My wife and I were happy with the first Pixel, which we used until they stopped updating it almost two years ago. I was waiting for Google to come out with a 512 GB model, and since they hadn't yet we got the Samsung Note 10+ 512 GB.
When the P6P 512 GB model was revealed, I knew it was time to buy, and sell our Samsungs, which I did on Swappa without wasting much time. The only thing we slightly miss is the included stylus.
I could go on and reiterate a list of things I didn't like about Samsung's version of Android (the hardware was great). One major thing I couldn't stand about the software was the erratic, unreliable notifications of my GMail, Hangouts, and Google Chat.
I don't have a work phone because I don't want to use iOS, and I count on prompt notifications when I'm busy multitasking on my work PC. Sometimes I wouldn't get notifications for two hours after the email was sent. My work uses Google for everything. Sometimes I would get a notification of an email hours after I had already seen it on the PC and had deleted it.
I tried everything I could to try to fix it with no luck. My brother's family has their very first smartphone in the last several years when they bought the Samsung Galaxy S9+. When I told him about my notification issue, he said he assumed that's just the way Android is (no, it's not).
As I said, I could detail a long list but I've been over it before so it gets tiring.
Good luck, whatever you choose.
blackhawk said:
Icons? There are hundreds of free icon packs, themes and more at the Samsung Galaxy store.
You can use a package disabler to block apps you don't want.
Personally I rejected the S21U because of no SD card slot or spen.
The Pixel is a bare bones UI, just the opposite of Samsung. I've seen the homepage screen shots for the Pixels and they're damn weak.
You can really trick out stock Samsung's... Good
Lock family of apps, etc.
My two N10+'s look and behave like I want them to...
View attachment 5469201
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can trick out any android phone. Not hard to put a different launcher and icons on it. The homescreen you attached there looks no better than any of the other homescreens on any other phone.
i have both devices, ehm three(s21, s21u, p6pro) and i will say, P6pro is better, same performance, a lot better battery, comparing camera(what i miss so much is better zoom with S21U). p6pro is battery friendly, same usage and you get 10h SOT, with S21U only 5-7(but with profiles - data, bt off, in night Flicght mode...)
Same here. I still have my s21u and currently using the p6p. As of now, I'm content with the 6 pro. Battery can be better. This phone is fairly new and there will be lots of updates.
I'd stick with the S21 Ultra. If you want a better UI, download Nova Launcher and a Pixel icon pack. Also #Hex Installer allows you to completely redesign the UI with Pixel style icons and less rounded elements throughout. I'm not sure if it's working with Android 12 yet though. If you hate the bloat, there are ways to disable the majority of it using ADB.
I like the Pixel 6 Pro a lot, but I'm not gonna lie, there are A LOT of things that Samsung phones do better. Samsung has GoodLock for endless customization, Always on Display Customization, the 5G modem works better, and charging seems to be faster and more reliable.
I'm already using Nova and tried so many times with #Hex but I've never achieved a complete and consistent customisation - unfortunately I have a thing for design done well.
What's really holding me is that:
- the P6P modem is actually worse than the S21U
- charging time is the same if not worse than S21U, in contrast to what Google initially promised
- battery life is basically the same
- the P6P display is less brighter (least worst)
And I also consider that the S21U is one year older than the P6P. So I'm wondering if it's worth the hassle. On the other hand I know the P6P is new, so it's expected to receive fixes and updates - but improving the modem or battery sounds like a miracle
skimminstones said:
you can trick out any android phone. Not hard to put a different launcher and icons on it. The homescreen you attached there looks no better than any of the other homescreens on any other phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't get it. No 3rd party launcher needed as the icons packs, theme etc plug directly in. One UI is fast and uses far less resources and battery than Nova.
My homescreen is purposely devoid of display degrading, lame top bar icons and battery eating crap. I could junk it to the max if so inclined
Smooth completely user controlled pull down notifications, none of the Pixel snap stuff. Animations can be completely disabled (yes they are disabled) without unwanted side effects unlike Pixel.
Pull down notifications... any colors or shade my evil heart desires.
Nope
blackhawk said:
You don't get it. No 3rd party launcher needed as the icons packs, theme etc plug directly in. One UI is fast and uses far less resources and battery than Nova.
My homescreen is purposely devoid of display degrading, lame top bar icons and battery eating crap. I could junk it to the max if so inclined
Smooth completely user controlled pull down notifications, none of the Pixel snap stuff. Animations can be completely disabled (yes they are disabled) without unwanted side effects unlike Pixel.
Pull down notifications... any colors or shade my evil heart desires.
View attachment 5469237
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Click to collapse
but youre missing the point yourself. Samsung is just another launcher on top of android letting you customise it. No different to buying any phone and choosing which launcher you want to put on.
skimminstones said:
but youre missing the point yourself. Samsung is just another launcher on top of android letting you customise it. No different to buying any phone and choosing which launcher you want to put on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Big difference.
One UI is integrated into the device. It's extremely stable, fast, and efficient. Currently it's using 83mb of ram. Current total ram usage 5.1 of the 12gb with 2 browsers open.
Many of the customizations are built into the base load of the N10+. Keep what you like, disable the rest.
blackhawk said:
Big difference.
One UI is integrated into the device. It's extremely stable, fast, and efficient. Currently it's using 83mb of ram. Current total ram usage 5.1 of the 12gb with 2 browsers open.
Many of the customizations are built into the base load of the N10+. Keep what you like, disable the rest.
View attachment 5469245
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For fairness’s sake, every UI has its quirks and bugs. Neither Googles Launcher, nor Samsung are perfect.
Samsung users claimed a heckload of bugs when the One UI versions came, for anecdotal purposes
One UI 2
Samsung One UI 2 problems we know so far
It’s been a couple of months since Google’s grand Android 10 unveiling. Apart from Google’s Pixel lineup, a few other companies, such as OnePlus, Xiaomi, Essential Phone, and Noki…
nerdschalk.com
One UI 3
Many (!!!) bugs in OneUI 3.0 full release
I installed OneUI 3.0 when it released for my S10 (Germany, no SIM-lock) a couple of days ago (no beta!). So far, I found several bugs, at least one is a CRITICAL SECURITY FLAW, missing features and removals of options for no good reason. These problems must get fixed immediately! When someone...
eu.community.samsung.com
One UI 4
Samsung One UI 4 Beta review: Phenomenal cosmic bugs, itty bitty feature set
The stable release of Android 12 hasn't happened yet, but Samsung has decided to go ahead and give us our first taste of its new One UI 4 update. In some ways, this beta is even better ...
www.androidcentral.com
Et cetera. And we all know Googles bugs, even though it's sometimes hard to differentiate between general Android version bugs and specific Google Launcher bugs.
In the end, it's a question of personal taste.
Most people in a Google Pixel forum will tell you "Go Google Pixel".
Most people in a Samsung Galaxy forum will tell you "Go Samsung Galaxy".
Why? Because people freakin paid money for a product they want to like. Nobody wants to buy sh*t. Nobody wants to get ripped off. Nobody wants to feel like the id*ot that bought a broken product.
It's normal for people to say "my product is awesome, buy it!!!" - it's not always a rational decision, or a good one, but it's a human one.
(You have to mind the trolls though, meaning people that never owned a device, but trying to tell people what to think about it. Or people trying to go on a personal level because they lack arguments, often or not found here at XDA).
In the end, what matters is that manufacturers fix their stuff, and both Google and Samsung tend to do that, so I'd give both a recommendation. The S21 Ultra has the better screen and battery life and a slightly better processor, Google has the better camera, connectivity (in terms of notifications that are not delayed, not modem) and unique software features (now playing, live translate, automatic call screening, whatever - since all Samsung features can be easily ported over to a (rooted) Pixel, but not vice versa - and no, Shazam cannot replace now playing, it's not nearly as convenient and efficient). So it's up to you to decide whats more important.
Even though there were certain Samsung that tended to explode in your pants, you know the whole recall with specialized explosion safe packaging story, that was a bummer of the magnitude 8.
Personally, I can't Samsung. But not because their products are ****. No, Samsung just behaves like an a**. They want to forcefeed you huge mountainsized ADS on your 9000 Dollars expensive television and that's just unacceptable on the magnitude 10. They will not get a single dime from me in the future. That kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated. If I pay thousands of dollars for a product, I have earned the right to never again have to bother with ads - if that company disagrees, f*ck them.
Morgrain said:
For fairness’s sake, every UI has its quirks and bugs. Neither Googles Launcher, nor Samsung are perfect.
Samsung users claimed a heckload of bugs when the One UI versions came, for anecdotal purposes
One UI 2
Samsung One UI 2 problems we know so far
It’s been a couple of months since Google’s grand Android 10 unveiling. Apart from Google’s Pixel lineup, a few other companies, such as OnePlus, Xiaomi, Essential Phone, and Noki…
nerdschalk.com
One UI 3
Many (!!!) bugs in OneUI 3.0 full release
I installed OneUI 3.0 when it released for my S10 (Germany, no SIM-lock) a couple of days ago (no beta!). So far, I found several bugs, at least one is a CRITICAL SECURITY FLAW, missing features and removals of options for no good reason. These problems must get fixed immediately! When someone...
eu.community.samsung.com
One UI 4
Samsung One UI 4 Beta review: Phenomenal cosmic bugs, itty bitty feature set
The stable release of Android 12 hasn't happened yet, but Samsung has decided to go ahead and give us our first taste of its new One UI 4 update. In some ways, this beta is even better ...
www.androidcentral.com
Et cetera. And we all know Googles bugs, even though it's sometimes hard to differentiate between general Android version bugs and specific Google Launcher bugs.
In the end, it's a question of personal taste.
Most people in a Google Pixel forum will tell you "Go Google Pixel".
Most people in a Samsung Galaxy forum will tell you "Go Samsung Galaxy".
Why? Because people freakin paid money for a product they want to like. Nobody wants to buy sh*t. Nobody wants to get ripped off. Nobody wants to feel like the id*ot that bought a broken product.
It's normal for people to say "my product is awesome, buy it!!!" - it's not always a rational decision, or a good one, but it's a human one.
(You have to mind the trolls though, meaning people that never owned a device, but trying to tell people what to think about it. Or people trying to go on a personal level because they lack arguments, often or not found here at XDA).
In the end, what matters is that manufacturers fix their stuff, and both Google and Samsung tend to do that, so I'd give both a recommendation. The S21 Ultra has the better screen and battery life and a slightly better processor, Google has the better camera and unique software features (now playing, live translate, automatic call screening, whatever - since all Samsung features can be easily ported over to a (rooted) Pixel, but not vice versa). So it's up to you to decide whats more important.
Even though there were certain Samsung that tended to explode in your pants, you know the whole recall with specialized explosion safe packaging story, that was a bummer of the magnitude 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think both of those devices suck; hardware and firmware. I wouldn't touch either... to be fair.
blackhawk said:
I think both of those devices suck; hardware and firmware. I wouldn't touch either... to be fair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, if you want a good camera and don't want a chinese spy phone, there is not much to go around a Pixel. It's the old dilemma. If Apple had made jailbreaking and updating easier, plus had the decency to actually pay for codec licences (the **** do they not support aptx/ldac?! Music from Iphones (if you are used to custom tailored v4a with custom ddcs/convolvers) sound like sh*t - I would have probably made the switch, but iPhone is still a joke in terms of customization.
Besides, I don't think that neither Samsungs or Pixels suck, they both serve specific needs and make some compromises, as does Apple. Sadly, there is no perfect phone. In theory, it should be easy to achieve, but as of now, no manufacturer ever tried hard enough.
For my personal need, the pixel 6 pro comes in as almost perfect. There are a couple minor things (why not all camera modi in 60fps Mode? Improve battery life, improve VRR, fix Android 12, give us modern camera sensors, improve post processing, more efficient panel, more efficient processor...) and some major ones (Modem, heat, I want Faceunlock AND ultrasonic, plus give me back improved Soli and edge sense and make battery replacement easy) that bother me. Once that's fixed/such a kind of device gets released, I'm going to keep that device until it breaks down and probably buy a spare phone to replace my own, since I know that manufacturers will f*ck it up again.
I have the had the s21 ultra since it came out. Nothing wrong with it but I travel and there's no s21 ultra model that has all the 5G bands in all locations... But the pixel (and iphone!) does. So I gave it a try and it's incredibly similar to the ultra especially in a leather case. In fact, using Nova I mimicked it almost completely!
Pixel charges slower, and I felt battery was slightly worse (but it needs time to settle in) but sound is good. Camera is good on both. Each has its benefits. Screen is slightly dimmer and less saturated and I felt that immediately, sort of like an LG device, felt a year or two behind the Samsung, but not a deal killer. They are about as fast as each other.
The difference is in the software. Whereas Samsung is well rounded, with years of maturity, Pixel is stock. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, just different. The only issue for me is lack of a decent email (and calendar to a lesser extent) on the pixel. I don't like Gmail and I have yet to find a comfortable 3rd party email package that meets my needs. The Samsung on the other hand has fantastic email and calendar software. That's a deal breaker for me.
One thing I would note is that, aside from radio bands, there's no area that I felt the pixel was actually better than the ultra (which is incredible considering that the ultra is nearly a year old). As good as, in most cases, but never a step up. And therefore I didn't think it made sense to switch as the software experience ultimately is more important to me than I originally realized.
Hope that helps.
As a side note, when I compared the pixel 6P on T-Mobile's 5G UC Network to an iPhone 13 pro at the same time, the iPhone 13 pro was nearly twice as fast (400mbs v 230). No idea why that was. I tested it many times in different places and it was almost always slower than the iphone on 5G. Not sure what to make of that!
Morgrain said:
Well, if you want a good camera and don't want a chinese spy phone, there is not much to go around a Pixel. It's the old dilemma. If Apple had made jailbreaking and updating easier, plus had the decency to actually pay for codec licences (the **** do they not support aptx/ldac?! Music from Iphones (if you are used to custom tailored v4a with custom ddcs/convolvers) sound like sh*t - I would have probably made the switch, but iPhone is still a joke in terms of customization.
Besides, I don't think that neither Samsungs or Pixels suck, they both serve specific needs and make some compromises, as does Apple. Sadly, there is no perfect phone. In theory, it should be easy to achieve, but as of now, no manufacturer ever tried hard enough.
For my personal need, the pixel 6 pro comes in as almost perfect. There are a couple minor things (why not all camera modi in 60fps Mode? Improve battery life, improve VRR, fix Android 12, give us modern camera sensors, improve post processing, more efficient panel, more efficient processor...) and some major ones (Modem, heat, I want Faceunlock AND ultrasonic, plus give me back improved Soli and edge sense and make battery replacement easy) that bother me. Once that's fixed/such a kind of device gets released, I'm going to keep that device until it breaks down and probably buy a spare phone to replace my own, since I know that manufacturers will f*ck it up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I mean is both hardware and firmware wise across the board 2021 has been a bust year for Android. Android 11 and 12 are a mess.
At least 2 years until scope storage is straighten out.
Issues with displays are common and 5G is still not mature. Slight improvements in cams but that technology was fairly mature 2 years ago so no big surprises there.
Any hardware improvements are being offset by cpu hogging scoped storage and forced encryption. Even the heavily modified Samsung UI can't clean up that mess.
You might think that Apple must be bribing Google to belly flop... but no, Google is really is this inept. No end in sight, Android is in a full self induced high G flat spin... maybe full afterburner will help
vlubosh said:
i have both devices, ehm three(s21, s21u, p6pro) and i will say, P6pro is better, same performance, a lot better battery, comparing camera(what i miss so much is better zoom with S21U). p6pro is battery friendly, same usage and you get 10h SOT, with S21U only 5-7(but with profiles - data, bt off, in night Flicght mode...)
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What p6 pro are you using lol?

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