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robertosh

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2011
1,100
920
Switzerland
When was the last time you used one? I currently use an iPhone 13 PM and a pixel 8 w/ graoheneOS. Android has grown on me.
Are you happy with GrapheneOS? I'm also considering giving it a try as I don't feel comfortable in the Apple ecosystem anymore.
 

GUNSTAR1

macrumors newbie
Jan 23, 2024
28
26
Seattle, WA
I wont lie, ive never been more tempted than now to snag an S24U. I hope IOS 18 can bring more customizable aspects to the every day apps we use but they seem to have gone backwards or stopped caring to innovate on some things.
 

VertPin

macrumors 6502a
Nov 12, 2015
951
971
The Samsung S24 Ultra does indeed have great hardware. The only thing crippling this phone, in my opinion, is the operating system. Android is a dumpster fire controlled by a company that cant make up its mind (ever seen the Google graveyard?). What Samsung needs to do is create a real iOS competitor.
Android is a dumpster fire? How? Explain.
 
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GuruZac

macrumors 68040
Sep 9, 2015
3,604
11,493
⛰️🏕️🏔️
This is the first android device I've used that I'm legitimately impressed with. Build quality is pretty damn good. Screen is amazing. More importantly, the AI features simply work brilliantly. I'm blown away and I've been a samsung phone hater for years and years.

Now, I know those will respond with, "Apple doesn't have to do anything since Samsung sells a tiny percentage of the iphone", or, "Apple only does small, incremental changes." But, the iphone 15 and more importantly, IOS 17 feel positively ancient compared with the S24 Ultra. Do we think Apple will see this as a legitimate threat and actually deliver real evolutionary change in IOS 18?
By just about every metric the S24 Ultra is a superior phone To my 15 Pro Max that I love. I too am seriously impressed with the S24 Ultra. I checked one out for a while at Best Buy the other day and was super impressed. It feels like the pinnacle of slab phones hardware wise and Samsung has done a much better job software wise utilizing the larger display for multitasking as well, and much as people hate on the S-Pen, it’s a great addition to have for those who would use it.
 

AgeOfSpiracles

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2020
431
819
We prefer iOS as it is now. If I wanted android I’d go buy one of the 100s of amdroid devices.

I like iOS and my iPhone working as it does. I wish people would stop demanding they be similar. Most iOS users don’t want an android clone.

More importantly google ecosystem pales greatly to iOS so just because android can do more its overall ecosystem is inferior. If I wasn’t into apple I’d be In Microsoft ecosystem like I was before.

The only google product I use is google fi and YouTube.
Yeah, the whole fanboy argument is just dumb at this point. There's no exclusivity here, the fact that I haven't bought an Android handset in years is a clear indication of my needs and preferences.

But I gotta take issue with the Microsoft... uh, "ecosystem?" Is there one? They tried, but in typical fashion couldn't commit to the market. I had co-workers who were 100% all in on MS services and integrations around 2010... feature by feature, one by one, the Jenga tower was picked apart until it made no sense to even bother any more. I use the Family Safety features (because it's the only way to really monitor a kid's PC), and I just got a notification that in November the "Location and Driver Safety" features are being pulled. Luckily for me, I don't use any of those features, but I must assume that some number of families do... sucks for them I guess. I guess MS couldn't figure out a way to monetize it or AI-ify it, and/or it was accidentally included in a PowerPoint deck presented to some middle mgmt Associate VP who was suddenly confronted with its existence. Because, like Google, MS isn't selling products or services to consumers; they're selling eyeballs and data.

<rant over> sorry.
 
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yustas

macrumors 6502
Dec 11, 2009
426
222
It only took 16 years to have more than one timer and an early reminder, so I cannot complain, it could have taken 20 years. There're too many little things that are still missing, such as bookmark tags, for example, but the biggest for me is the ability to schedule a text message and an auto reply with a text to a phone call.

S24 Ultra is a beauty; the size is perfect, the screen is innovative, no ugly (I mean dynamic) island, AI, AI photo editing, battery life, etc. It's the top dog right now, but Apple's ecosystem is clearly a winner, and I hope the 16 and iOS 18 will put up a good fight, but I wouldn't bet on it.
 

NewOldStock

macrumors member
Mar 20, 2023
89
53
It always starts out Compete. Apple doesn't compete. Companies don't compete. They simply produce the best product they have to showcase at the time. Game changer is another word I wish never existed as well. Making products is what they do and either they sell or they don't. Why does everyone think the world revolves around competition these days.
I just don't get it. Everyweek seems like. compete..get over it. You think companies sit around a table to discuss the competition every day,. Hey look what apple did..lol Look what Samsung is doing to day oh we got to beat that.
Just aint so...
 

NewOldStock

macrumors member
Mar 20, 2023
89
53
Takes years sometimes to make a product and you keep it under the wraps, secretsand NDA`s. How would you know what your competition was doing anyway unless you used the same parts and similar pieces and there was information leaked about the products being worked on before hand. You get what you get.
 

Jumpthesnark

macrumors 65816
Apr 24, 2022
1,053
4,555
California
Another thread where someone claims a device is better than the competition and when people say "but I like the competition" people demand answers. How very DARE they disagree!

How about enjoy your device. Whether it's Apple or Android or Oxygen or Linux or Windows or whatever. Buy what you want and use it and enjoy it. But please don't come here and demand that we agree, that's not how any of this works. I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation for why I buy what I buy, and I sure wouldn't demand that of OP or anyone else.
 

phrehdd

macrumors 601
Oct 25, 2008
4,321
1,314
This is the first android device I've used that I'm legitimately impressed with. Build quality is pretty damn good. Screen is amazing. More importantly, the AI features simply work brilliantly. I'm blown away and I've been a samsung phone hater for years and years.

Now, I know those will respond with, "Apple doesn't have to do anything since Samsung sells a tiny percentage of the iphone", or, "Apple only does small, incremental changes." But, the iphone 15 and more importantly, IOS 17 feel positively ancient compared with the S24 Ultra. Do we think Apple will see this as a legitimate threat and actually deliver real evolutionary change in IOS 18?
I'll openly say it - I was one of the earliest users of iPhones and it was a miserable experience for internet use but I stuck with it and then later, I grew tired of Apple not taking care of basics and telling us what we wanted. I moved over the the Samsung Galaxy S line up and in less than 40 minutes, I was able to get the phone the way I wanted it and that address some things Apple would not do. I was VERY happy with my experiences with Samsung. However, on a whim, I opted to return to the Apple fold with a 13 Pro Max. By this time, the connectivity with Mac and iPad and watch showed a more mature eco system which I thoroughly enjoy now. My friend as S23 or one of the relatively new Galaxy phones and it is a very refined phone and indeed in some features, superior to iPhone. If Samsung was able to really get their phones into an Apple eco system easily, I would switch back without blinking an eye.
 
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robvalentine

macrumors 6502
Nov 21, 2014
362
882
I have an iPhone 15 pro max and a pixel 8 pro. the pixel's software and UI on the Iphone would be ideal. And underscreen fingerprint over the stupid annoying get in the way Dynamic Sausage.

Why does apple make the notch more annoying with every redesign, the shallower longer notch was best, the 13's might have been smaller by area, but it dropped down into the screen more. And now swiping down for notifications is a fine art in missing the dead screen space.
 

TheLocNar

macrumors regular
Nov 2, 2017
138
131
I just got a new battery in my 12 Pro Max because phones just aren’t worth the price tag to *ME*, anymore. They all do the same thing and this phone does it all well enough for me right now. :)
 

Ctrlos

macrumors 6502a
Sep 19, 2022
862
1,904
The S24 Ultra is a brilliant phone, albeit not much of an update over the S23 Ultra given most of the AI features are filtering down.

But whilst Android lacks app parity with iOS there isn't much you can do to push that hardware. There is no Death Stranding to task the processor, no ProCreate to make better use of the stylus and no Keynote for the video-out. App parity is normally missing from most comparison reviews and videos but its arguably the most important thing a user will look for in a phone (and what keeps us in the Apple ecosystem)

And bar Garmin devices there isn't and Android watch as good as the Apple Watch as an accessory.

So what should Apple do? They need to make some advanced in AI to make Siri better but as long as they continue to put out the best silicon and invest in handy photographic features I will keep coming back. I'll take a 2-stage shutter button over AI in-fill any day of the week.
 
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dmr727

macrumors G4
Dec 29, 2007
10,429
5,185
NYC
I just got a new battery in my 12 Pro Max because phones just aren’t worth the price tag to *ME*, anymore. They all do the same thing and this phone does it all well enough for me right now. :)

I was faced with putting a new battery in my 12 mini and went the other direction as you, buying a 15 Pro instead. This is a nice phone, but I have to admit that it wasn't nearly the upgrade that I thought it might be. I notice that it scrolls more smoothly because of the 120Hz screen, but otherwise it's been the same experience, of course just a bit bigger. I don't necessarily regret the decision, but I'll file the experience away as a lesson learned for next time.
 

canadianreader

macrumors 65816
Sep 24, 2014
1,139
3,165
Yeah, but...it runs Android. If you want to be in that ecosystem, sure, get that phone. But if you care about privacy, security, regular and timely updates, iMessage, etc, then it's completely irrelevant.

The people I don't get are the ones that flip/flop back and forth, chasing the latest and greatest. It's a duopoly, and they leapfrog each other. Best option is to pick an ecosystem and stick with it.

You could degoogle the phone and get better privacy and security than on iOS or a googled android phone
 

AgeOfSpiracles

macrumors 6502
May 29, 2020
431
819
Gosh, maybe I should complain why can't IOS/Android have live tiles like MS phones did years ago. Now that was innovation. ;-)
lol, man, people used to rave about that junk. Some still do. When it was finally added to Windows I was excited to see what the hype was all about.... it's basically unusable. A bunch of featureless squares flashing text. Sure there was data being presented, but in the most indiscernible jumble possible. Now Windows Phone is dead, and Live Tiles are disabled in Win11. That's pretty much par for MS "innovation."
 

Harthag

macrumors 68000
Jun 20, 2009
1,800
2,193
U.S.
Apple doesn't need to compete. They are going nowhere anytime soon and will never be "doomed." Samsung needs to compete to stay relevant. When 90% of a young generation and likely younger generations (in the US) is / are brought up using iPhones, they are likely iPhone for life.
 

a m u n

macrumors regular
Aug 14, 2018
245
2,609
iPhone 15 Pro Max: $1199 — it incurs development costs for hardware, iOS, iCloud, data centers maintenance, App Store & other services, apps developed for iPhone, WebKit [:apple: web browser engine], Swift [:apple: programming language], and so on.

Samsung S24 Ultra: $1299 — they have significantly lower costs because Google & Qualcomm support 80% of them.

I don’t even think it’s necessary to repeat that on an iPhone you have better optimized and designed apps, consistent performance for all users (Samsung is the only company that sells 3 different types of processors with 3 different levels of performance), and, most importantly, you receive the operating system update as soon as it’s released, not after a few months.

The iPhone and Google Pixel are the only phones that truly justify their price.

Samsung: “Titanium is only applied on the device frame. Frame does not include volume and side keys.” 🤣

Galaxy AI is just Samsung’s cheap marketing; it doesn’t actually exist. Samsung uses Google Gemini and Google Cloud with features developed by Google.
 

Nozuka

macrumors 68040
Jul 3, 2012
3,530
5,996
Actually I disagree. I find the software to be the Samsung’s strongest suit. Apple hardware is fine but iOS and IpadOS are just awful these days. A terrible combination of buggy and not innovative. Android has come a long way. The S24 Ultra I saw was extremely smooth and most importantly, filled with features that would make my daily life easier. Apple seems focused on adding the latest emoji and calling it a day.


Lets see how smooth it still is, after a couple of updates. At least that is when my samsung phones started to annoy me. (About 6 Months in)

Calling iOS buggy is.. strange. It runs great.
 
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