Android phone questions - Samsung

louuisc on 25/09/2020 - 22:06
Last edited 25/09/2020 - 23:07

I'm a long time Apple products user (but NOT a fanboy). For obvious reasons, I'm now looking at Android phones (long due).

Can someone briefly explain that how much customisation that major players (Samsung, Huawei) make these days on top of the vanilla Android OS?

Along with Huawei (which has unfortunately got dragged into this global political game), Samsung has made some truly outstanding hardware.

However, I've owned a few Samsung TVs (The Frame as the recent one), and some other Samsung gadgets before, and my experience is that they have the worst software ever, so bad that close to disgraceful, and to an extent that makes it hard to imagine they can ever make some decent software from this very same company.

I've also sensed similar bad taste like their Bixby button in the smartphone world.

Well, I speak of my concern frankly.
If today's Samsung has a totally different reputation, then I'm open to it.

Mobile Mobile Phone Samsung Android

Comments

  • bazingaa on 25/09/2020 - 22:23

    I got a S10 as my first Samsung device. Although, I am an Android user from Android 2.1, I couldn't stand a day with the default UI. So I have done below things right away,

    Killed Bixby and remapped Bixby button with "Button Mapper".
    Removed "Samsung Launcher" and replaced it with "Nova Launcher"
    Installed "Pixel icon pack"
    Removed Samsung bloatware for user '0' using ADB
    Replaced most Samsung apps such as Messages, Phone, Contact, Gallery etc. (except Samsung Health and Camera) with Google apps from Playstore

    • louuisc on 25/09/2020 - 23:06

      Thanks. So it is crappy, but there are workarounds

      Which phone do you use now btw

      • bazingaa on 25/09/2020 - 23:11
        +1

        I don't know about S20. I still have a S10 (SM-G9730) with One UI 2.1 with above customizations. But these things can be "ok" for a previous Samsung user. Before this, I used 3 Sony (very light customization) phones and a Xiaomi with a custom ROM.

  • Nalar on 25/09/2020 - 22:32
    +1

    Bixby button gone with S20

    Works as expected, nothing too crappy about the Samsung UI these days.

    • louuisc on 25/09/2020 - 23:27

      Thanks for your reply. Yes I know Bizby is gone but the history often says a lot.

      Bad software doesn’t just come and go. It sticks due to the nature of how software is developed and the product management and culture around it.

  • scrimshaw on 25/09/2020 - 23:47
    +2

    Samsung likes to replace all of the stock google stuff with their own versions

    their Samsung Cloud backup service is by default using Microsoft OneDrive and not Google Drive, so if you opt into the Cloud service it asks for your Microsoft account. Since I have a Google One subscription I disabled the cloud backup and used Google One instead for automated backups.

    So what else does Samsung replace? Well,

    • the fitness tracking app is Samsung Health as opposed to Google Fit.
    • wearables companion app is Samsung Wear as opposed to Android Wear. I actually like Samsung wearables so this I don't really mind.
    • Microsoft Office as opposed to Google docs is preinstalled. I actually prefer MS Office so I didn't mind this replacement.

    And instead of Chrome, Google Keep, Google Calendar, Google Pay and Google Duo, you'll instead find Samsung alternatives like Samsung internet browser, Samsung Notes, Samsung Calendar, Samsung Pay and Skype. All of these are kind of crappier alternatives but you're not really forced to use them. Just drag the icons off your homepage and forget about them.

    But despite all those 'replacement' apps being forced into your phone's OS, it's pretty easy to replace all of them with stock Google alternatives and once you've spent around maybe 10 minutes tinkering with your home screen with Nova Launcher, BX actions and disabling the apps you don't need, you've got a pretty stock Android experience.

    • bazingaa on 26/09/2020 - 00:04

      You can follow this guide to remove unwanted apps (which can't be uninstalled and only can be disabled) from "default" user so that they won't appear on the menu or interfere with other alternative apps. Root access is not required.

  • MagicMushroom on 26/09/2020 - 02:12

    Try oneplus or pixel

  • trustnoone on 26/09/2020 - 05:06

    I have the S20+ and I like it, as typical with samsung phones theres just a bunch of bloatware. For the most part though you can "disable" them so that they don't get used and can't be seen, its the closest you'll get to uninstalling it.
    I don't even think I have a bixby button anymore? The S10e I had you can remap the bixby button to whatever you want (I think I had spotify?) but s20 I don't remember. When I hold the home button it automatically uses google home right now and I think once you open up samsung pay you can then stop it for google pay.

    Style wise seems fine, I don't think its as full on as companies used to be, though of course sometimes stock is just really nice to deal with. Personally I don't see too much of a difference anymore besides the bloat.

  • No Username on 26/09/2020 - 10:47

    I've got a Samsung S20 Ultra and so far my experiences are pretty good.
    Things I like about the phone are:

    • Pin point accuracy GPS location. (Shows what part of the house I'm in)
    • Lost of customisation in terms of colours, animation styles, motion features and hardware
    • Lots of power options and AI Power Monitoring
    • Privacy in Mind ( In private mode the phone acts as a hyper visor and allows you to install two of the same app without interference )
    • Dex ( Basically turns any USB C monitor into a fully useable computer )
    • Customisable hardware button
    • Excellent camera with rapid focusing
    • Themes and Animated Wallpapers
    • If you want more customisation for the home screen then install Nova Launcher.

    Had a S7 a while back. An update caused an issue with the GPU driver and started acted funny. Samsung replaced in the screen and mobo in under 3 days which I was happy with considering I wasn't a business partner with them.

    • louuisc on 26/09/2020 - 12:01

      Really appealing list of good stuff. Feature wide can I assume S20 plus share the same list? (Except the inferior camera and cpu performance of course)

      • No Username on 26/09/2020 - 12:28
        Info Galaxy S20 Plus Galaxy S20 Ultra
        Size 161.9 × 73.7 × 7.8mm (6.37 × 2.9 × 0.3 inches) 166.9 × 76 × 8.8mm (6.57 × 2.99 × 0.34 inches)
        Weight 186 grams (6.56 ounces) 220 grams (7.76 ounces)
        Screen size 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 6.9-inch Dynamic AMOLED
        Screen resolution 3,200 × 1,440 pixels (525 pixels-per-inch) 3,200 × 1,440 pixels (511 ppi)
        Operating system Android 10 Android 10
        Storage 128, 512GB 128, 512GB
        MicroSD card slot Yes Yes
        Tap-to-pay services Samsung Pay, Google Pay Samsung Pay, Google Pay
        Processor Samsung Exynos 990 Samsung Exynos 990
        RAM 12GB 12, 16GB
        Camera 12-megapixel, 64MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide, and ToF sensor rear, 10MP front 108-megapixel, 48MP telephoto, 12MP ultrawide, and ToF sensor rear, 40MP front
        Video 8K at 30 fps, 4K at 60 frames per second, 1080p at 240 fps, 720p at 960 fps 8K at 30 fps, 4K at 60 fps, 1080p at 240 fps, 720p at 960 fps
        Bluetooth version 5.0 5.0
        Ports USB-C USB-C
        Fingerprint sensor Yes, in-display Yes, in-display
        Water resistance IP68 IP68
        Battery 4,500mAh Fast charging (25W) Qi wireless charging 5,000mAh Fast charging (45W) Qi wireless charging

        Difference I see are screen size, camera and battery.

        Also if your company has a Samsung Partnership you are entitled to a massive discount. If you have an EDU email you are also eligible.
        I managed to get my ultra for $1250 which RRP is $1999.

        Current Prices using EPP

        Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G = $1,599.20
        Galaxy S20+ 5G = $1,319.20
        Galaxy S20+ 4G = $1,199.20

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