New Android Phone

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freitasm

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#3077652 18-May-2023 20:34

jamesrt:

It is, however, ColorOS rather than a "pure" Android; but that's really not that much different to Samsung/One UI anyway from a practical end-user perspective; the N7.2 experience was so bad it's put me off using a Nokia again for the short term - I'll do the research again next round, of course.

"Pure Android" these days are Google Pixel and Nokia. Samsung runs One UI and OPPO runs ColorOS. Both are really good and you won't notice much difference from a pure Android as it's mainly a skin only.

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jlittle

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#3077683 19-May-2023 00:24

I've been looking for a new budget phone but many don't support NFC. What gives?

Handle9

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#3077685 19-May-2023 00:55

jlittle: I've been looking for a new budget phone but many don't support NFC. What gives?

The cheaper the phone the more features get removed to save cost. It's a pretty simple equation.

jonathan18

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#3077734 19-May-2023 05:53

Handle9:

jlittle: I've been looking for a new budget phone but many don't support NFC. What gives?

The cheaper the phone the more features get removed to save cost. It's a pretty simple equation.

And here’s one way of having your cake and eating it too (as in getting the features you want at a good price) - buy secondhand. (It’s also a good call from an environmental point of view.) Or, alternatively, look to a brand known for bargain value and accept that also comes at a cost, eg length of support.

timmmay

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#3077736 19-May-2023 06:56

openmedia:

I'm always having a fight stopping the Samsung apps taking over as defaults on family member's phones. If you're mostly using the Google Ecosystem I don't need their Calendar, Email, Contacts, Gallery etc, many of which can't be disabled except via adb hacks.

Recently discovered a family members One Drive had been automatically filled to capacity with photo backups by Samsung Gallery on a Galaxy S21. They we actually using Google Photos backup and had never configured the One Drive backup.

Give me a vanilla phone any day of the week.

My wife has the S22, she wanted it because it was compact. She hasn't mentioned any problems with Samsung apps, though I may have disabled them when she first got the phone. It seems to work quite well. I assume the A54 is a similar software experience.

MikeB4

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#3077745 19-May-2023 08:20

My wife uses Samsung phones. She uses the Samsung Apps for phone, SMS (use Whatsapp more), camera, files, gallery.

She uses the Microsoft Apps for work stuff and uses Chrome as her browser.

I have an iPhone and a Samsung phone I used to detest the Samsung UI but the latest OneUI is excellent and have not found the need for a third party launcher.

Here in Aotearoa with our woeful range of available brands and devices Samsung and Apple are way ahead of the competition in my opinion and use experience.

timmmay

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#3077746 19-May-2023 08:33

Speaking of launchers - once you put something decent on like Nova it hides many of the quirks of any particular brand of phone.

openmedia

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#3077749 19-May-2023 09:01

timmmay:

Speaking of launchers - once you put something decent on like Nova it hides many of the quirks of any particular brand of phone.

Haven't run a replacement launcher since my Galaxy S2 days

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

jonathan18

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#3077755 19-May-2023 09:04

timmmay:

My wife has the S22, she wanted it because it was compact. She hasn't mentioned any problems with Samsung apps, though I may have disabled them when she first got the phone. It seems to work quite well. I assume the A54 is a similar software experience.

Yeah, I tend to use the standard Google apps for most things (contacts, Gmail, calendar, dialer...) and having installed them on day one I've never found the Samsung apps have got in the way or caused any issue. Yep, it's slightly irritating that they can't be deleted, but it's not like I've ever run out of room on a phone (current free space: 181 GB free!).

lchiu7

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#3077758 19-May-2023 09:11

My current phone is a OnePlus 9 Pro after years of using Nexus and then Pixel phones. I had a 4XL which I liked but it died and while Google fixed it out of warranty for free, I had to have it physically carried over to the US to be fixed (lucky I had a friend going over) since NZ Post won't allow phones to be mailed. OxygenOS is quite a vanilla Android and I like the phone mostly apart from the lack of wireless charging. The Amazon description said wireless charging but it didn't so they gave me a $150(US) credit on the phone or I could return it.

My next phone is going to be a Pixel 8 when it comes out.

timmmay

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#3077760 19-May-2023 09:13

openmedia:

Haven't run a replacement launcher since my Galaxy S2 days

I like the way Nova works, and it means the UI is consistent across different brands of phones if you change. It's the first thing I put on any new phone. But each to their own.

MikeB4

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#3077811 19-May-2023 11:30

I used to use Nova but the last time I used it I noticed a lot of bugs in particular screen freezing and the Google feed becoming non existent. I don’t believe the quality control is the same with the new owners of Nova launcher.

timmmay

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#3077818 19-May-2023 11:57

MikeB4: I used to use Nova but the last time I used it I noticed a lot of bugs in particular screen freezing and the Google feed becoming non existent. I don’t believe the quality control is the same with the new owners of Nova launcher.

We're probably off topic a bit, but I find Nova to be stable and I haven't noticed any bugs. I don't need my launcher to do things like show feeds, I need it to be a launcher, but that's just me.

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