Phones I jumped to Android and it was a disaster?

[Vegastouch]

I don't require a sliding keyboard. But I loved the idea of a phone for everyone. Be different not the same and all that. Now all phones are basically alike. Nothing differentiates. Nothing tries to do anything unique. There's only two mobile OSs. There's less competition. The wild wild west of 2010-2014 was a fun ride. I'll stick with it until something enticing comes out that actually feels like an upgrade.

I will say that sliding keyboards were nice, they kept all those smudges off the screen. I personally never understood thin phones. easy to break or bend, but offering no real durability. I actually long for the days of thick, indestructable phones coming back. Like different screen sizes from 3.5 to 6 inches. Not just 6 inches.

Checked the link. no IR blaster mentioned in the specs, and the phone once again looks the same as the others. huge screen too big for one hand, gesture nav, no buttons, multiple cameras. It's like OEMs just ran out of ideas. Boring. The camera is literally the last thing I care about on a phone. It's not actually doing anything my S5's camera can't do. I mean, what little photos I have taken on the S5 are quite nice, but I do have photos I took on my old Mavica from 2005 that were quite amazing given it only had literally 1 megapixel to work with.

You needn't worry about me. I got all my old stuff and it works 100% and I'm happy. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I still got tons of features that have gone missing in modern stuff which means no purchase. I still can't grasp the whole less features = upgrade though.

Mentioned here and when Flossy reviewed it, he mentioned it and showed it on top of the phone.

TCL 10 Pro

The TCL 10 Pro is similar to a OnePlus device, in that it looks like a high-end mobile, but without the accompanying high price.

www.trustedreviews.com

 

[Camarillo Brillo]

How do 2010 phones have more features than 2020 phones? Name a few features.
You make no sense

 

[nickdalzell1]

IR blaster, removable battery (means you can keep it as long as you want and it's not intended to be disposed of like phones today), different screen sizes like tiny 3 inches all the way to 6 inches if you like, so you're not stuck with too big or too small, actual buttons (useful if you shatter the touchscreen and can't trigger voice control) thicker, more solid design, an OS that doesn't look like Fisher Price designed it, expandable storage (still in some modern phones but dying off) headphone jacks, some had sliding keyboards, need I go on?

The original Sony Xperia Play. Playstation style controls that lit up. There was also a Sony Walkman style phone with playback controls. There was so much variety in 2010 and there was a phone for every person out there. Nowadays, you just got phones for one type--the kind with huge hands and even the largest phone display is too small for comfortable video viewing.

The only 'feature' you get on a modern phone is multiple cameras. That's an upgrade? All modern phones do is look alike and are too big, there's no individuality left. The OS is flat pastel garbage with too much white. Gesture nav is not better than a home button.

Does anyone remember the world before the iPhone? Best phones we had then were some Sony Ericsson garbage flips, a few Nokia E-series 'smartphones' (if you can even call them that), Pocket PCs with compactflash cellular cards, the Motorola RAZR. Think about how the iPhone totally revolutionized the phone landscape.

Remember the first Galaxy Note? How about the T-Mobile Sidekick? What of the HTC Evo? With its kickstand photo mode and huge front-firing speakers?

Seriously I want the revolution back. Not this bland homogenized landscape we are seeing today. Where is 'the next big thing?' If all I wanted were a camera I'd go buy a DSLR.

 

[michael9891]

IR blaster, removable battery (means you can keep it as long as you want and it's not intended to be disposed of like phones today), different screen sizes like tiny 3 inches all the way to 6 inches if you like, so you're not stuck with too big or too small, actual buttons (useful if you shatter the touchscreen and can't trigger voice control) thicker, more solid design, an OS that doesn't look like Fisher Price designed it, expandable storage (still in some modern phones but dying off) headphone jacks, some had sliding keyboards, need I go on?

The original Sony Xperia Play. Playstation style controls that lit up. There was also a Sony Walkman style phone with playback controls. There was so much variety in 2010 and there was a phone for every person out there. Nowadays, you just got phones for one type--the kind with huge hands and even the largest phone display is too small for comfortable video viewing.

The only 'feature' you get on a modern phone is multiple cameras. That's an upgrade? All modern phones do is look alike and are too big, there's no individuality left. The OS is flat pastel garbage with too much white. Gesture nav is not better than a home button.

Does anyone remember the world before the iPhone? Best phones we had then were some Sony Ericsson garbage flips, a few Nokia E-series 'smartphones' (if you can even call them that), Pocket PCs with compactflash cellular cards, the Motorola RAZR. Think about how the iPhone totally revolutionized the phone landscape.

Remember the first Galaxy Note? How about the T-Mobile Sidekick? What of the HTC Evo? With its kickstand photo mode and huge front-firing speakers?

Seriously I want the revolution back. Not this bland homogenized landscape we are seeing today. Where is 'the next big thing?' If all I wanted were a camera I'd go buy a DSLR.

What more do you want from a phone? They can only evolve so far.

You talk about how the iPhone revolutionised the phone landscape and yet aren't happy with today's phones, despite them being far better and more capable than anything before.

Too much white on the OS? Strange, mine is mainly black.

Just for huge hands? I have no trouble using a 6.7" and I don't have big hands.

Plenty big enough for watching some YouTube or whatever on the go.

People compare iOS to Fisher Price, so I assume you mean their OS is like Fisher Price. Yet you said the iPhone was revolutionary.

I'm glad the home button is gone, was wasting space on the front. Gestures work perfectly.

And the "if I want a good camera, I'll buy a dslr" rubbish people come out with is laughable. A dslr isn't something people carry around at all times. And they certainly can't fit in your pocket. And a modern smartphone has such capable cameras, they can easily take the place of one at certain times. Probably all the time for the average consumer.

 

[nickdalzell1]

I agree we can only go so far but going backwards is too far. I used to say 'once you go so far up the only way is down' but never expected the tech market to take that mindset so literally.

I think all modern OSs look Fisher Price. They're all flat, rainbow colored pastel garbage. Dark mode is just there for those who hated their retinas being burned in from blinding white UI in a dark room. Compensation instead of fixing the actual problem. Is flat design forever?

Gestures look cool to onlookers, but are frustrating to use over the home button/capacitive keys. Most don't make sense. Believe me I tried both Android 9 and the iPhone X and hated both. Also more convenient to wake the phone from the home button.

I just want the choices back. Every time I see someone holding a tablet-sized phone to their ear I feel like I'm watching some Saved by the Bell episode or something. How does that even fit into their pocket? That's another one. Not only huge, but heavy. Smaller phones like my Lucid 3 from 2014 disappear in my pockets where I forget they're there. But the G7 Power I used as a backup for the last two weeks was so heavy and big you could see the bulge in my shorts (it barely fit and the top stuck out) and it weighed them down. Not comfortable. New phones are also slippery bars of soap. You pretty much need a case for them which means any design is moot. A case just makes it look like a 2010 phone especially Otterboxes.

I couldn't use an iPhone X or Motorola G7 Power with one hand. It'd either involve me stretching my thumb uncomfortably or me dropping it unless I worked it like a tablet. My Galaxy S5 is the largest phone I can comfortably use in one hand. A shame that the market for smaller devices is just gone. Those who actually want a smaller phone (or one with tons of features) can't get any. Only option is downgrading to an old phone which for myself feels more like an upgrade these days. I know how to optimize Android and what to turn off so an old phone still performs quite well.

Yes, the first iPhone in 2007 revolutionized smartphones. But what does a launch mean now? more flat design (yawn) and more cameras...Nothing else but a glass slab.

Even Android launches have become boring. I can rewatch the first Galaxy Note or the Galaxy S4 unpacked events and be amazed today. What's Samsung doing now? copying (badly) both the Pixel and the iPhone. Once they did what no one else did. The Galaxy S2 had NFC before it was standard and turn-by-turn navigation OFFLINE. The Galaxy S4 had the ability to make other S4s into stereo speakers, had nice features to control your TV, had a direct-call feature so if you're in a message thread and wanted to call someone you just put the phone to your ear. The Galaxy S5 proved you can waterproof a phone without taking the removable battery away, as well as added a blood oxygen sensor, fingerprint reader, and heart-rate sensor in addition to what the previous S4 offered.

Basically every launch added worthwhile features that made folks want to upgrade. Now? it's all about cameras. nothing else.

 

[michael9891]

I agree we can only go so far but going backwards is too far. I used to say 'once you go so far up the only way is down' but never expected the tech market to take that mindset so literally.

I think all modern OSs look Fisher Price. They're all flat, rainbow colored pastel garbage. Dark mode is just there for those who hated their retinas being burned in from blinding white UI in a dark room. Compensation instead of fixing the actual problem. Is flat design forever?

Gestures look cool to onlookers, but are frustrating to use over the home button/capacitive keys. Most don't make sense. Believe me I tried both Android 9 and the iPhone X and hated both. Also more convenient to wake the phone from the home button.

I just want the choices back. Every time I see someone holding a tablet-sized phone to their ear I feel like I'm watching some Saved by the Bell episode or something. How does that even fit into their pocket? That's another one. Not only huge, but heavy. Smaller phones like my Lucid 3 from 2014 disappear in my pockets where I forget they're there. But the G7 Power I used as a backup for the last two weeks was so heavy and big you could see the bulge in my shorts (it barely fit and the top stuck out) and it weighed them down. Not comfortable. New phones are also slippery bars of soap. You pretty much need a case for them which means any design is moot. A case just makes it look like a 2010 phone especially Otterboxes.

I couldn't use an iPhone X or Motorola G7 Power with one hand. It'd either involve me stretching my thumb uncomfortably or me dropping it unless I worked it like a tablet. My Galaxy S5 is the largest phone I can comfortably use in one hand. A shame that the market for smaller devices is just gone. Those who actually want a smaller phone (or one with tons of features) can't get any. Only option is downgrading to an old phone which for myself feels more like an upgrade these days. I know how to optimize Android and what to turn off so an old phone still performs quite well.

Yes, the first iPhone in 2007 revolutionized smartphones. But what does a launch mean now? more flat design (yawn) and more cameras...Nothing else but a glass slab.

Even Android launches have become boring. I can rewatch the first Galaxy Note or the Galaxy S4 unpacked events and be amazed today. What's Samsung doing now? copying (badly) both the Pixel and the iPhone. Once they did what no one else did. The Galaxy S2 had NFC before it was standard and turn-by-turn navigation OFFLINE. The Galaxy S4 had the ability to make other S4s into stereo speakers, had nice features to control your TV, had a direct-call feature so if you're in a message thread and wanted to call someone you just put the phone to your ear. The Galaxy S5 proved you can waterproof a phone without taking the removable battery away, as well as added a blood oxygen sensor, fingerprint reader, and heart-rate sensor in addition to what the previous S4 offered.

Basically every launch added worthwhile features that made folks want to upgrade. Now? it's all about cameras. nothing else.

I can't even be bothered to reply to this properly. Seems like you enjoy a good moan, so have fun reliving the past.

 

[nickdalzell1]

No problem. Just ordered the Thunderbolt and a Galaxy S4.

 

[Vegastouch]

IR blaster, removable battery (means you can keep it as long as you want and it's not intended to be disposed of like phones today), different screen sizes like tiny 3 inches all the way to 6 inches if you like, so you're not stuck with too big or too small, actual buttons (useful if you shatter the touchscreen and can't trigger voice control) thicker, more solid design, an OS that doesn't look like Fisher Price designed it, expandable storage (still in some modern phones but dying off) headphone jacks, some had sliding keyboards, need I go on?

The original Sony Xperia Play. Playstation style controls that lit up. There was also a Sony Walkman style phone with playback controls. There was so much variety in 2010 and there was a phone for every person out there. Nowadays, you just got phones for one type--the kind with huge hands and even the largest phone display is too small for comfortable video viewing.

The only 'feature' you get on a modern phone is multiple cameras. That's an upgrade? All modern phones do is look alike and are too big, there's no individuality left. The OS is flat pastel garbage with too much white. Gesture nav is not better than a home button.

Does anyone remember the world before the iPhone? Best phones we had then were some Sony Ericsson garbage flips, a few Nokia E-series 'smartphones' (if you can even call them that), Pocket PCs with compactflash cellular cards, the Motorola RAZR. Think about how the iPhone totally revolutionized the phone landscape.

Remember the first Galaxy Note? How about the T-Mobile Sidekick? What of the HTC Evo? With its kickstand photo mode and huge front-firing speakers?

Seriously I want the revolution back. Not this bland homogenized landscape we are seeing today. Where is 'the next big thing?' If all I wanted were a camera I'd go buy a DSLR.

Ive had SS removal battery phones and sure its cool you can buy a new battery but the battery replacements werent as good as the original and didnt hold a charge as well....and yes they were SS brand.

But whatever....use/keep what you want. Sooner or later you will nee to get a new one as those wont last forever. And you can get a mid spec phone, you dont need to get a flagship and the midspec phones are at least as good or probably better than the specs on your S5.
The Xiaomi phones are pretty good and you can get a Redmi 10X for well under $300.

Cant help you on the looks. Not sure what the hec you want. These are phones, they arent fashion statements or jewelry. Would you prefer they make an oval phone or something? Hey at least its different

In anycase, it just seems you are trolling at this point.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Well, I'm not trolling. But one thing I can honestly say about old phones is that they're super cheap. That nice HTC is only $50 on Amazon and the S4 $99. The HTC comes with a 32GB MicroSD card too. Never tried HTC back in their heyday (was very much into Samsung once iOS 7 ruined my love of Apple in 2013) so it'd be a nice thing to play with. Right now the SIM I'm putting into the HTC when it arrives is in an LG Lucid 3 LTE, which is sorta beat from my use at work long ago when I bought it, and it's kinda cheap feeling, so the HTC will feel like a major upgrade from it. Also that nifty kickstand it offers can make it double as a clock/photo frame while it charges--I am aware the battery life was not up to spec in 2010...

Since 3G is dying, (we still have 1x here), I'm limited to old 4G LTE phones at this point. I'd love to try a Galaxy S2 or even a Nokia N900, or the Sharp Zaurus phone, but being 3G/2G renders them on life support at this time.

I did honestly think there was a market for a 'pear-shaped phone' after getting into that old Nickelodeon show Victorious long ago, they just seemed, well, different. I'm into being different. I like unique. Today's phones just seem to scream 'conformity!' and do nothing special. It's not that they're bad phones, my Moto G7 does work, all the apps worked, but it really isn't me at all. No modern phone does it for me. They're all the same.

 

[Camarillo Brillo]

 

[nickdalzell1]

Well, some OEMs do, ZTE does, Moto still does, pretty much any budget $39.99 special at Walmart does.

Variety:

Nokia N900

T-mobile Sidekick

The Sony Xperia Play

Truly a shame 3G is dying off. Would love to try all these.

 

[Camarillo Brillo]

Well aren’t those ugly POSs

so you think the POS budget slider phones are cool but top of the line smartphones are boring

I’m beginning to feel like I’m being trolled

 

[nickdalzell1]

None of those were 'budgets' back then. Probably were when they started being the cheap pre-paid phones later on, much like the RAZR V3 did about 5 years after launch. I remember my RAZR GoPhone. Right at the end of GPRS coverage. Wasn't quite the experience I hoped it was...

Today's phones are homogenized and there's no variety and all the features are alike. If you like zero differentiation or choice, great. I prefer options. Options are great. Choices are great. Heck, it was once one of Android's defining points. Now lost in a sea of conformity.

 

[Vegastouch]

None of those were 'budgets' back then. Probably were when they started being the cheap pre-paid phones later on, much like the RAZR V3 did about 5 years after launch. I remember my RAZR GoPhone. Right at the end of GPRS coverage. Wasn't quite the experience I hoped it was...

Today's phones are homogenized and there's no variety and all the features are alike. If you like zero differentiation or choice, great. I prefer options. Options are great. Choices are great. Heck, it was once one of Android's defining points. Now lost in a sea of conformity.

You prefer options? What options are those going to give you asside from a sliding keyboard and crappy screens and slow specs?

Agree with the last guy, we are being trolled.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I agree we can only go so far but going backwards is too far. I used to say 'once you go so far up the only way is down' but never expected the tech market to take that mindset so literally.

I think all modern OSs look Fisher Price. They're all flat, rainbow colored pastel garbage. Dark mode is just there for those who hated their retinas being burned in from blinding white UI in a dark room. Compensation instead of fixing the actual problem. Is flat design forever?

Gestures look cool to onlookers, but are frustrating to use over the home button/capacitive keys. Most don't make sense. Believe me I tried both Android 9 and the iPhone X and hated both. Also more convenient to wake the phone from the home button.

I just want the choices back. Every time I see someone holding a tablet-sized phone to their ear I feel like I'm watching some Saved by the Bell episode or something. How does that even fit into their pocket? That's another one. Not only huge, but heavy. Smaller phones like my Lucid 3 from 2014 disappear in my pockets where I forget they're there. But the G7 Power I used as a backup for the last two weeks was so heavy and big you could see the bulge in my shorts (it barely fit and the top stuck out) and it weighed them down. Not comfortable. New phones are also slippery bars of soap. You pretty much need a case for them which means any design is moot. A case just makes it look like a 2010 phone especially Otterboxes.

I couldn't use an iPhone X or Motorola G7 Power with one hand. It'd either involve me stretching my thumb uncomfortably or me dropping it unless I worked it like a tablet. My Galaxy S5 is the largest phone I can comfortably use in one hand. A shame that the market for smaller devices is just gone. Those who actually want a smaller phone (or one with tons of features) can't get any. Only option is downgrading to an old phone which for myself feels more like an upgrade these days. I know how to optimize Android and what to turn off so an old phone still performs quite well.

Yes, the first iPhone in 2007 revolutionized smartphones. But what does a launch mean now? more flat design (yawn) and more cameras...Nothing else but a glass slab.

Even Android launches have become boring. I can rewatch the first Galaxy Note or the Galaxy S4 unpacked events and be amazed today. What's Samsung doing now? copying (badly) both the Pixel and the iPhone. Once they did what no one else did. The Galaxy S2 had NFC before it was standard and turn-by-turn navigation OFFLINE. The Galaxy S4 had the ability to make other S4s into stereo speakers, had nice features to control your TV, had a direct-call feature so if you're in a message thread and wanted to call someone you just put the phone to your ear. The Galaxy S5 proved you can waterproof a phone without taking the removable battery away, as well as added a blood oxygen sensor, fingerprint reader, and heart-rate sensor in addition to what the previous S4 offered.

Basically every launch added worthwhile features that made folks want to upgrade. Now? it's all about cameras. nothing else.

My galaxy S5 doesn’t monitor blood oxygen levels, only pulse and stress levels?

I will admit the S5 is feature packed considering its age. We can’t don’t the Apple TV remote (again). My husband uses a galaxy note 8. So when I’m at work I leave my S5 at home so he can use it to control the TV. The only disappointing thing about the phone is how badly it drains in standby. I suppose it’s to be expected given its age.

I actually used the S5 for 6 months as my daily driver when it came out back in 2014. I can’t remember the battery drain being this bad although I do know I carried multiple batteries around and used anywhere from 1-3 on a daily basis. So maybe it was like this.

 

[nickdalzell1]

Is yours a Verizon model? Those chew through batteries (and run extremely HOT!) especially in a low-signal area. Mine is a Verizon variant (now running on a Straight Talk SIM) and whenever it drops down to 1x or 3G it really gets hot and the battery life is like 4 hours standby!

At home, where I got 4-5 bars of 4G LTE, however, I can easily go 2 days standby, or one day of normal use with 1-3 hours screen on time (reading E-books, mainly).

There's also that advertised "Ultra Power Saving Mode" which can make that 4-hours in low/no signal areas become 1-2 days, but it makes everything black and white, and allows only certain app access.

The S5's battery is not really a high mAH battery either. I remember the one in my Galaxy Note Edge being even worse. Also, Verizon-based or CDMA phones are not as efficient due to the radios in them. I once tried the S6 when it released, and the Verizon one was horrible. The AT&T one, in contrast, was excellent.

I get a better experience with a GSM-unlocked version of any older Samsung smartphone from the TouchWiz era. If one is into the classics, like myself, then I do NOT recommend a CDMA phone. Get a universal or GSM unlocked and activate it on a BYOP. Or just pop your SIM in and away you go.

When my Thunderbolt arrives, I read it only had a 1400 mAH battery. I will likely just turn data and wifi off on it to save some of it, given my only use of that line is for messaging my girlfriend (was previously an iPhone 6S but SMS stopped working on it).

 

[Shanghaichica]

Look at the quality of the shots I was able to get with my old S5 (not the one I have now).

The pics are compressed as I found them on my Facebook memories. Still impressive for such an older phone though

[automerge]1595314697[/automerge]

Is yours a Verizon model? Those chew through batteries (and run extremely HOT!) especially in a low-signal area. Mine is a Verizon variant (now running on a Straight Talk SIM) and whenever it drops down to 1x or 3G it really gets hot and the battery life is like 4 hours standby!

At home, where I got 4-5 bars of 4G LTE, however, I can easily go 2 days standby, or one day of normal use with 1-3 hours screen on time (reading E-books, mainly).

There's also that advertised "Ultra Power Saving Mode" which can make that 4-hours in low/no signal areas become 1-2 days, but it makes everything black and white, and allows only certain app access.

The S5's battery is not really a high mAH battery either. I remember the one in my Galaxy Note Edge being even worse. Also, Verizon-based or CDMA phones are not as efficient due to the radios in them. I once tried the S6 when it released, and the Verizon one was horrible. The AT&T one, in contrast, was excellent.

I get a better experience with a GSM-unlocked version of any older Samsung smartphone from the TouchWiz era. If one is into the classics, like myself, then I do NOT recommend a CDMA phone. Get a universal or GSM unlocked and activate it on a BYOP. Or just pop your SIM in and away you go.

When my Thunderbolt arrives, I read it only had a 1400 mAH battery. I will likely just turn data and wifi off on it to save some of it, given my only use of that line is for messaging my girlfriend (was previously an iPhone 6S but SMS stopped working on it).

It’s a uk model.

 

[jamezr]

Look at the quality of the shots I was able to get with my old S5 (not the one I have now).

The pics are compressed as I found them on my Facebook memories. Still impressive for such an older phone though

View attachment 935877 View attachment 935878 View attachment 935879 View attachment 935880

Those are impressive

 

[PaddyFowler]

Surely the S5's aren't getting security updates any longer though?

 

[Shanghaichica]

Surely the S5's aren't getting security updates any longer though?

No it’s not. The last security update was in 2017.

 

[nickdalzell1]

So long as you're browsing secure sites (https) and avoiding sketchy sites like The Pirate Bay or Porn hub you're fine. There's always FUD about older OSs being instantly hacked the very second they're out of support but it's simply not true. Also, Google Play Services still gets updates on the S5 and it can still run any modern app's latest version (although mine has mostly Android 2.3-4.1 era apps on it since I despise flat design)

Yeah, it had an excellent camera. I took a few nature landscapes to use as wallpapers with it the first year I got it. It's on-par with my iPhone 6S in quality. I am not sure what multiple cameras are doing but I couldn't see any reason cameras on smartphones needed improving--we had already reached peak IMO.

I got my Galaxy S4 a few days ago (new in box GSM unlocked) and put my backup/hotspot line SIM in it. Tried it at work and signal is 1-bar or less, but comes home with 71% battery unlike my CDMA Verizon Galaxy S5--which usually comes home with less than 34% and running so hot you can't keep it in your pocket comfortably. However, turning off DATA and Wifi helps with the heat and battery--it can make it home with 56%.

I also didn't install that many apps onto the S4. I only really use it (currently) to text my girlfriend (until my Thunderbolt arrives) or as an internet hotspot or remote control (it has an IR blaster)

From using field test menu (still supported in the S4, you dial a code in the phone app and it does it) I found a still-active AMPS tower broadcasting near work. The only one in the entire county. It's always showing 4-5 bars on the S4, but being analog, it can't send/receive texts and I haven't tested calls. There are some sites where AMPS still exists (Alaska has a few as well) mostly for construction crews or emergency centers. Since all the supported networks have 1-2 bars or no service (due to 4G not propagating at work at all and 3G dwindling down) that one with 5 bars has to be an AMPS. There is a large live-in industrial park a few miles from work, so I would bank on the site giving their employees AMPS phones to use in that site only, possibly running the tower there.

 

[Vegastouch]

The Xiaomi Redmi 10X 5G also has a IR Blaster so they arent extinct. You just have to search.

 

[nickdalzell1]

True, but the rest of the phone is like everything else. Flat UI design, huge screen, homogenized and not differentiating. I like my phones to reflect my personal lifestyle and my wants/needs. That means no screen bigger than 5", I don't care if they're thick or thin, I HATE glass/metal (and the weight) and they need to pack in tons of features/software even if many consider it bloatware, I consider it less need to go to the Play Store to find what's missing, and oftentimes the built-in apps have far more features than stock (especially Samsung's browser, email app, and messages app) and the UI design is consistent with the skin (After using my Thunderbolt a couple days, I can't imagine a life sans skins. Sense 3 is outstanding! Especially that lock screen weather animation)

I must be getting older though, I've already got the stubborn streak going

BTW my S4 is the AT&T variant despite being listed as unlocked on Amazon, but works a bit on the T-Mobile SIM (albeit has holes in coverage) and not only did I find that one analog tower, I also discovered two EDGE service areas still out there. Didn't AT&T kill EDGE/2G back in 2017?

 

[timidpimpin]

Even though all Android phones run Android, the experience is unique with each manufacturer. It comes down to internal hardware, and how well the phone maker implements their unique Android with their chosen hardware.

For the reasons I mention above... it's better to go with Android phones from makers with a lot of experience. Like Motorola, Samsung, LG etc. Google, and virtually all the newer Chinese companies are still going through a lot of growing pains. I personally choose Motorola.

 

[ian87w]

Even though all Android phones run Android, the experience is unique with each manufacturer. It comes down to internal hardware, and how well the phone maker implements their unique Android with their chosen hardware.

For the reasons I mention above... it's better to go with Android phones from makers with a lot of experience. Like Motorola, Samsung, LG etc. Google, and virtually all the newer Chinese companies are still going through a lot of growing pains. I personally choose Motorola.

Under Lenovo, Motorola is in shambles. They don't even have consistent OS upgrade cycle anymore, with many models only getting one major OS update if you're lucky. It's in a sad state. Lenovo (and thus Motorola) pulled out from the smartphone market in my country many moons ago, since they just don't have the vision to compete.

The Chinese are getting really good. Take OnePlus. I do agree staying with the major brands will at least provide some consistencies in user experience. Samsung is my vote, simply at the least they have some predictable pattern for their OS upgrade cycle. Their unification in OneUI is also a good move.