For Android phones at least (especially in the US), there aren’t many great alternatives. Regardless of what you think of Samsung and their bloatware, Galaxy phones have fewer glitches and far better customization options than Google Pixels.
Maybe stop thinking that you absolutely need a flagship phone with the latest SoC to browse Lemmy and marketplace and you’ll find there are more options.
Maybe stop thinking everyone uses their phones as glorified forum browsers. I mean that’s how I use mine, but I know for a fact there are plenty of people who expect plenty more from their shit.
This. Every phone upgrade I sit down and look at all the options. Generally I’d love to have a phone with physical keyboard which is at least to a degree business oriented. Before my last upgrade I was keen on Blackberry Key3, since Key2 fit the bill so much. Then they decided not to make phones anymore and I was again swayed to Samsung’s side with their Fold offering. Now I have fold with pen and bluetooth keyboard which sort of does the work. Pen is really handy for signing documents and annotating work my developers do.
I am not brand loyal at all, but somehow the best offering is always from Samsung.
Yep, Samsung’s customization runs rings around Google’s. Don’t like the AOSP gestures? Samsung offer an alternative set that are arranged along the bottom of the display which frees up the sides for the user to add and configure their own with One Handed Operation+. Don’t like the stupid recents screen that was brought in with Android 10 that only lets you see one app at a time? No problem - you can use Good Lock to turn it into a stack, a grid, or a vertical list. Good Lock can also be used to customize the stock launcher, quick settings, edge lighting, the navigation bar, amongst other things.
In terms of glitches, Google phones have been frequently dogged by hardware and software issues. With the Tensor chips, for example, many users have reported random drops in connectivity and WiFi disconnecting. This was a common issue with the Pixel 6 and is still apparently a common problem for 7 and 8 series owners. Then you also had the infamous fingerprint sensor troubles, which I hear have been largely fixed but are still not as good as Samsung’s optical and ultrasonic sensors. Many of these issues do get patches further down the road, but it seems with every new Pixel generation, there’s something else that crops up.
It seems like you’re trying to sell Samsung’s pretty extreme problem with feature bloat as a good thing. It is indeed a good thing that if I want to customize my launcher more than a little, I will need to download a third party app for that, rather than run software on my phone every day that I may have literally no use for.
Further, I would a million to one prefer Nova launcher to the slow visual abortion that is the Samsung launcher.
I am able to customize just about everything about my UI that I’ve ever thought of, and I’m quite picky. I haven’t had these hardware issues either. My last Samsung though? Installed an update, and boom not only was the phone a slow shitty mess, I could no longer unlock my bootloader and install another ROM. The good hardware was suddenly rendered useless unexpectedly.
I couldn’t disagree with you more than Samsung has a single advantage over the Pixels I’ve had over the years.
The problem with Uniherz is the lack of 5G network support. I’m on T-Mobile and only 1 of the 4 bands are supported by Uniherz phones, so that means limited connectivity and no mmwave support.
Yeah, that’s true. Part of why it’s a niche appeal.
In my case, I was having a hard time finding a reasonably sized phone. All the major manufacturers really jumped into the phablet trend (150mm x 70mm is where I start to feel like a phone is too big).
I hear you. My personal limit is 155mm x 74mm and even I were willing to overlook the lack of connectivity, so many of the Google/Samsung alternative Android phones are just too goddamn big these days.
They exist. They’re just not well known. I love my LG Velvet. It’s as unobtrusive as a phone of this processing capability can get. Just about fully stock Android with a few minor apps from my carrier preloaded. It’s about 5yrs old now and not a bit slower than when I bought it. Decent camera, too.
Really? Which others support US 5G network frequencies apart from Samsung, Google, and maybe Motorola? LG have been dead in the water for some time and their software support is atrocious.
I’m on the go a lot and my area has good >6GHz coverage. I prioritize connectivity above pretty much all other factors, so I’m not really interested in devices that don’t support all the frequency bands used by my carrier.
For Android phones at least (especially in the US), there aren’t many great alternatives. Regardless of what you think of Samsung and their bloatware, Galaxy phones have fewer glitches and far better customization options than Google Pixels.
Maybe stop thinking that you absolutely need a flagship phone with the latest SoC to browse Lemmy and marketplace and you’ll find there are more options.
I don’t think that anyway, but if you’d like to offer some suggestions that support 5G bands 41, 71, and 260/261 then I’m all ears.
Maybe stop thinking everyone uses their phones as glorified forum browsers. I mean that’s how I use mine, but I know for a fact there are plenty of people who expect plenty more from their shit.
This. Every phone upgrade I sit down and look at all the options. Generally I’d love to have a phone with physical keyboard which is at least to a degree business oriented. Before my last upgrade I was keen on Blackberry Key3, since Key2 fit the bill so much. Then they decided not to make phones anymore and I was again swayed to Samsung’s side with their Fold offering. Now I have fold with pen and bluetooth keyboard which sort of does the work. Pen is really handy for signing documents and annotating work my developers do.
I am not brand loyal at all, but somehow the best offering is always from Samsung.
What? I ain’t trying to praise google here, because fuck 'em, but what on earth are you about with customization and glitches?
I’ve had the Pixel 5 and 7 pro so far and I’ve wanted to stomp on those phones way less than any phones I’ve ever had from samsung.
Yep, Samsung’s customization runs rings around Google’s. Don’t like the AOSP gestures? Samsung offer an alternative set that are arranged along the bottom of the display which frees up the sides for the user to add and configure their own with One Handed Operation+. Don’t like the stupid recents screen that was brought in with Android 10 that only lets you see one app at a time? No problem - you can use Good Lock to turn it into a stack, a grid, or a vertical list. Good Lock can also be used to customize the stock launcher, quick settings, edge lighting, the navigation bar, amongst other things.
In terms of glitches, Google phones have been frequently dogged by hardware and software issues. With the Tensor chips, for example, many users have reported random drops in connectivity and WiFi disconnecting. This was a common issue with the Pixel 6 and is still apparently a common problem for 7 and 8 series owners. Then you also had the infamous fingerprint sensor troubles, which I hear have been largely fixed but are still not as good as Samsung’s optical and ultrasonic sensors. Many of these issues do get patches further down the road, but it seems with every new Pixel generation, there’s something else that crops up.
It seems like you’re trying to sell Samsung’s pretty extreme problem with feature bloat as a good thing. It is indeed a good thing that if I want to customize my launcher more than a little, I will need to download a third party app for that, rather than run software on my phone every day that I may have literally no use for.
Further, I would a million to one prefer Nova launcher to the slow visual abortion that is the Samsung launcher.
I am able to customize just about everything about my UI that I’ve ever thought of, and I’m quite picky. I haven’t had these hardware issues either. My last Samsung though? Installed an update, and boom not only was the phone a slow shitty mess, I could no longer unlock my bootloader and install another ROM. The good hardware was suddenly rendered useless unexpectedly.
I couldn’t disagree with you more than Samsung has a single advantage over the Pixels I’ve had over the years.
They are definitely niche appeal, but take a look at Unihertz. They make some phones that diverge from the current trends with flagship phones.
The problem with Uniherz is the lack of 5G network support. I’m on T-Mobile and only 1 of the 4 bands are supported by Uniherz phones, so that means limited connectivity and no mmwave support.
Yeah, that’s true. Part of why it’s a niche appeal.
In my case, I was having a hard time finding a reasonably sized phone. All the major manufacturers really jumped into the phablet trend (150mm x 70mm is where I start to feel like a phone is too big).
I hear you. My personal limit is 155mm x 74mm and even I were willing to overlook the lack of connectivity, so many of the Google/Samsung alternative Android phones are just too goddamn big these days.
Right? All I want for Christmas is a phone that fits in my hand. Apparently, that’s WAY too much to ask for.
They exist. They’re just not well known. I love my LG Velvet. It’s as unobtrusive as a phone of this processing capability can get. Just about fully stock Android with a few minor apps from my carrier preloaded. It’s about 5yrs old now and not a bit slower than when I bought it. Decent camera, too.
LG dropped out of the smartphone market entirely. I wish I could still get their phones, with an AUX port and expandable micro-SD card storage.
Really? Which others support US 5G network frequencies apart from Samsung, Google, and maybe Motorola? LG have been dead in the water for some time and their software support is atrocious.
Idk what you mean by that. My Velvet has 5G…
It only supports sub6 5G frequencies. That means no mmwave.
I’m on the go a lot and my area has good >6GHz coverage. I prioritize connectivity above pretty much all other factors, so I’m not really interested in devices that don’t support all the frequency bands used by my carrier.