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Hi, I'm currently using the Galaxy S4 i9500 and I'm looking to change to new phone in less than a week. I'm currently deciding between the Nexus 6 and Galaxy S6 (normal, not edge) and while I like the stock build of Android, bigger screen, the promise of two years worth of consistent software updates and you know, no Samsung bloatware, the S6 offers me a much better camera and also a more pocketable size. Also, glass trumps plastic on the back and Samsung after-service can easily be found in my country, while Motorola is basically non-existent. (I'm not even sure there is one, I'm going abroad to buy it, but in my two years with the S4 I've never had to service it anyway).
You're probably saying the S6 is a clear winner, but there's one thing that makes me hesitant - my poor experience with the S4. In particular, lagginess, poor delivery of software updates and battery life. The S4 has just downright awful battery life (2:30 SOT, 8-9h overall) and lags a lot too. While I'm quite sure that lagginess has been fixed (I got to play around with a demo unit which was butter smooth), I'm still hesitant on software update speed and battery life. The fact that the battery can't be swapped out means that the battery life, if it's not good at first, will only continue to fall. GSMArena shows a higher rating on the S6, but I've heard more positive things about the N6 battery, and Pocketnow reports only 2.3h of SOT on the S6.
AB__CD said:
Hi, I'm currently using the Galaxy S4 i9500 and I'm looking to change to new phone in less than a week. I'm currently deciding between the Nexus 6 and Galaxy S6 (normal, not edge) and while I like the stock build of Android, bigger screen, the promise of two years worth of consistent software updates and you know, no Samsung bloatware, the S6 offers me a much better camera and also a more pocketable size. Also, glass trumps plastic on the back and Samsung after-service can easily be found in my country, while Motorola is basically non-existent. (I'm not even sure there is one, I'm going abroad to buy it, but in my two years with the S4 I've never had to service it anyway).
You're probably saying the S6 is a clear winner, but there's one thing that makes me hesitant - my poor experience with the S4. In particular, lagginess, poor delivery of software updates and battery life. The S4 has just downright awful battery life (2:30 SOT, 8-9h overall) and lags a lot too. While I'm quite sure that lagginess has been fixed (I got to play around with a demo unit which was butter smooth), I'm still hesitant on software update speed and battery life. The fact that the battery can't be swapped out means that the battery life, if it's not good at first, will only continue to fall. GSMArena shows a higher rating on the S6, but I've heard more positive things about the N6 battery, and Pocketnow reports only 2.3h of SOT on the S6.
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Love ? s6
I think you should buy Nexus 6. Why? Reason is simple. Why are you on XDA? Because you are interested in Android stuff, developing, etc. Nexus 6 have amazingly big support! That means, that you'll get updates first. Custom ROMs will release on your device more often. So, the final choice is on you, but if I were you, I would buy Nexus 6 (It's my dream smartphone right now).
I don't really tinker much with custom ROMs, so it's not a high priority. I'd like to ask if the S6 has multiple user accounts though
I was the previous owner of the the Samsung Galaxy S1 and the S2. I skipped the S3 but got the S4. All the phones I got were the international unlocked versions. Samsung left a very sour taste in my mouth with the S4 because it was stuck on Android 4.4.4 for a long long time despite Android 5.0 being released. I eventually gave up the wait and moved over to the Nexus 5 which I'm still rocking now. I love the quick updates and the monthly security updates too. The S5 didn't seem that much better than the S4 so I skipped it and the S6 seemed dreadful due to the changes they made so I skipped that. However the S7 has gotten me interested again for the following reasons:
1. Much bigger battery.
2. Expandable storage is back after the S6.
3. (Supposedly) much reduced bloatware.
4. One of the best displays on any smartphone (as reported by http://www.displaymate.com).
5. A really nice design and they didn't increase the phone screen size (I loathe manufacturers who keep increasing the phone screen size. Admittedly, 5.1" is still bigger than I'd like but only just).
The only thing I have concerns about is how slow Samsung may be with releasing future Android OS updates for the phone. My experience with the S4 and what I've heard about the S5 and S6 is that Samsung are pretty good with updates for the first 4 months of their new phone's release. Mainly because a delayed update during this period would really hurt their sale numbers. However, after 4 months, they really drag their feet and it's almost like it's become the lowest priority. I know it'll never be as good as Nexus but how good are Samsung compared to other manufacturers?
Edit: I've rooted and done custom ROMs in the past but I'm really reluctant to go down this path again.
What do people think?
Techno79 said:
I was the previous owner of the the Samsung Galaxy S1 and the S2. I skipped the S3 but got the S4. All the phones I got were the international unlocked versions. Samsung left a very sour taste in my mouth with the S4 because it was stuck on Android 4.4.4 for a long long time despite Android 5.0 being released. I eventually gave up the wait and moved over to the Nexus 5 which I'm still rocking now. I love the quick updates and the monthly security updates too. The S5 didn't seem that much better than the S4 so I skipped it and the S6 seemed dreadful due to the changes they made so I skipped that. However the S7 has gotten me interested again for the following reasons:
1. Much bigger battery.
2. Expandable storage is back after the S6.
3. (Supposedly) much reduced bloatware.
4. One of the best displays on any smartphone (as reported by http://www.displaymate.com).
5. A really nice design and they didn't increase the phone screen size (I loathe manufacturers who keep increasing the phone screen size. Admittedly, 5.1" is still bigger than I'd like but only just).
The only thing I have concerns about is how slow Samsung may be with releasing future Android OS updates for the phone. My experience with the S4 and what I've heard about the S5 and S6 is that Samsung are pretty good with updates for the first 4 months of their new phone's release. Mainly because a delayed update during this period would really hurt their sale numbers. However, after 4 months, they really drag their feet and it's almost like it's become the lowest priority. I know it'll never be as good as Nexus but how good are Samsung compared to other manufacturers?
What do people think?
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If you want fast updates, go with the nexus 6P/nexus 5x. Pretty sure the S7 won't be updated to Android N until February of next year (if not later depending on how much new stuff there is). Or wait for the next Nexus. Samsung really sucks when it comes to updates, but luckily the stock firmwares are usually fast and smooth enough for me not to care about not having the latest version.
FWIW the international S6 received marshmallow officially last month before any of the carrier branded ones.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
Samsung is the slowest with updates, and they usually filled with problems, on mine Note 5 i tried now the Android 6.0.1 rom and had few major problems, roll back to 5.1.1.
dew.man said:
FWIW the international S6 received marshmallow officially last month before any of the carrier branded ones.
Sent from my SM-P600 using Tapatalk
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Which is why I only go for SIM free phones because carrier branded phones just add another layer of complete ball ache and bureaucracy to an already problematic OS update process. So not to be mean anything, but comparing the update delay to carrier branded phones doesn't really say much at all.
Derpling said:
Samsung is the slowest with updates, and they usually filled with problems, on mine Note 5 i tried now the Android 6.0.1 rom and had few major problems, roll back to 5.1.1.
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It's a real shame because Samsung has so much potential. They've got a lot of budget to throw more resources (or acquire the resources if needed) to get more timely updates. If they did, they would gain so many more consumers as they'd appreciate the better support. Samsung have a very short sighted strategy at the moment.
You right and many users smart and even sheeps throwing them to the pit, i had many GS3 and 4 heck even S5 users that swore never to use samsung, and while they all like my Note 5 and agree it's the best phone atm, they never buy it just because they know that sammy is behind with it, literally with updates.
I can see it in my own eyes, October was the last time i got an update, Note 4 users left in the dust, while G4 G3 got Android 6 running for 3 months.... only now some S6 and edge variants getting 6.0.1.
Derpling said:
You right and many users smart and even sheeps throwing them to the pit, i had many GS3 and 4 heck even S5 users that swore never to use samsung, and while they all like my Note 5 and agree it's the best phone atm, they never buy it just because they know that sammy is behind with it, literally with updates.
I can see it in my own eyes, October was the last time i got an update, Note 4 users left in the dust, while G4 G3 got Android 6 running for 3 months.... only now some S6 and edge variants getting 6.0.1.
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Everyone keeps on putting the slow updates on Samsung when indeed, they just push the updates to the carriers and it is the carriers that drag there feet so that customers get pissed off and just change devices. Remember that the carriers have to add there bloat to the updates, it is not just Samsung.
That right for carrier versions, i'm talking about internation unlocked model like mine, N920C.
Carriers slow it down, but samsung has more interrest in making you buy a new phone than updating a one or two years old phone. Just look at apple or sony, there you see how also older phones get an update.
Samsung never honoured the 18 month update cycle for Note 3 either.
Their SW update process is broken - either on purpose or alternatively due to lack of competence/resources.
Regardless, if you buy Samsung, you will not be first to get major updates (X.0), sometimes you don't get for your model at all (even though 18months is officially promised) and the security patches you pretty much need to hunt down / patch yourself.
So, buyer beware.
It's ok to delay the update if they gonna optimize it further, but i don't feel it's the case with 6.0.1 as it have some weird bugs and apparently new "feature".
Samsung never details the updates and they never honored the security updates, mine n920c last update was in October some were lucky and got January security update.
They really should stop selling devices until they can support them, you buy the best product they can make to receive the worst support ever, low end sammy phones never get any updates.
After thinking about it lots and doing a lot of googling about the topic, as much as I really do love what S7 will bring to the table, it is Samsung crappy software support that has put me off. It's unacceptable that Samsung provides such poor support for their flagship phone.
I've decided to hold out for the 2016 Nexus phone. I'm sure it won't be as advanced as the S7 but that'll be a small downside compared to the much better software support.
I truly hope someone at Samsung is reading this so they can take note as to how much poor software support is hurting their profits.
If you want fast updates then Nexus but my personal opinion is that Sammy isn't too bad on the update front. They do release a load of phones and with all their skins etc a fair amount of work is required before they can push out their flavour of new updates.
Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk
The longest I have kept a phone over the past few years is 8 months lol, so I'm not too worried about updates as sad as that is. If this phone turns out to be especially great, I could see myself keeping it for a year, but I can't really imagine keeping a phone for 18 months or two years. Although my wife and I do want to have a baby within the next year, so maybe my priorities will change and I will stop caring about having the latest phone. I am an Android and iOS app developer by profession though, so I sort of use that to justify buying phones all the time.
I've heard many said 2016 was the worst year of releases of Android devices. I just feel like nothing has really been exciting, it's kind of like the same ole same ole this year. Many may laugh, but the Nextbit Robin has been the most exciting release for me this year. Reasoning being is they actually did something to differentiate themselves by not just focusing on the same ole same ole hardware specs battle (Though I do believe they need to make some improvements for their sucessors), but using software to advance their smartphone and its experience. There have been many improvements made to it, the gallery app, camera app, some upcoming cloud updates like battery life, etc.
I however was impressed by the OnePlus 3 this year, and I thought the Axon 7 is a great smartphone (though I'm not too keen on the camera quality). Other than that, I'm kind of meh this year. People debated on who's the top at times, but honestly, I prefer a smartphone company to just do something great that's unique. I kind of hope Blackberry doesn't die off with their smartphone line. I think they still have something unique and different that the can bring to their own line of smartphones.
Any thoughts?
Any smartphone anyone else has been excited for this year that have already been released or that will be releasing before this year's end?
I think that 2015 was more boring. Marshmallow that was released last year was just Lollipop with like 5 new features, and the phones from last were are pretty boring as far as innovation went. At least the Iphone 7 (2016) was more full of innovation than the 2015 Iphone 6S. And this year we got much more interesting devices. The LG G5 and Moto Z series are one of them. They are both modular and completely redesigned from their successors. Sony as well. They are also redefining their smartphone designs. And as for Nougat that was released this year, Nougat brought a lot of new changes. Such as somewhat a redesigned look, Multi-Window, Vulkan API. And at the end of the year, we will also see the new Pixel phones, and perhaps the Daydream VR as well. In conclusion, 2016 wasn't really boring. i would say that 2015 and even 2014 were much more boring than 2016 is.
I don't think devices are any less exciting, people are not getting excited because the phones have gotten so good that it takes a lot longer to make major improvements or breakthroughs anymore.
I'm not sure what's so innovative about the iPhone 7? I'm not about to give up the headphone jack. When I get stuck inside the office for the day sometimes, i have my phone plugged into the computer speakers all day long and plug it in at times.
Hi everyone
Is the S7 [exynos] worth buying now? I can get it for around ₹22k(330$), brand new with warranty. Or should I go for newer ones like oneplus 5T [~500$]. I'm not planning to root it & use stock rom. Hardware seems good, my other considerations being battery life, software & camera. Any suggestions are welcome..
I have just bought mine, cause now the price is good. I bought a golden S7 and I´m very happy. It´s worth buying. My previous phone was a 2y old S6. These phones rock! 4gb Ram, this back camera, ip68, this processor... u can´t go wrong!
I just got my S7 from Bestbuy At&t for $12.66/mo. love it. Good battery life, great screen, wireless charge. Not easy finding a good screen protector though.
If you plan on staying on stock, then you should focus on both device's specs:
https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=7821&idPhone2=8912
As you can see both devices, even if they are one year apart(launching date wise) they are almost similar.
In this case, I think you are better off going for the S7. I'll always go for a Samsung first.
fast96 said:
I just got my S7 from Bestbuy At&t for $12.66/mo. love it. Good battery life, great screen, wireless charge. Not easy finding a good screen protector though.
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Try Skinomi protectors, I've used them in various phone and they really good.
I purchased it on 7th Feb 2018
I just bought mine yesterday from Flipkart!
got it for Rs 23,000.
The only good options were (according to price range of Rs. 25,000)
Moto x4 , Honor 8 pro, Moto z1, Galaxy s7
I choose this because of
1. Super Amoled 2k display
2. Camera (having dual pixel technology)
3. Guaranteed update to oreo by April 2018
As you know It has all the ingredients of a everyday smartphone, i.e 4GB ram , top of line processing power, 32gb storage, Hybrid sim slot.
For me the screen and camera are the main reasons
I have installed google camera app v4 and it has significant improvement over the photos clicked.
Hope this helps
Super_Commando said:
Hi everyone
Is the S7 [exynos] worth buying now? I can get it for around ₹22k(330$), brand new with warranty. Or should I go for newer ones like oneplus 5T [~500$]. I'm not planning to root it & use stock rom. Hardware seems good, my other considerations being battery life, software & camera. Any suggestions are welcome..
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Definitely no. This device is now 2 years old. Just wait a few months, there would be tons of better devices in this price range.
ZeroCGTI said:
Definitely no. This device is now 2 years old. Just wait a few months, there would be tons of better devices in this price range.
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There's always going to be a better phone coming out in a "few months" and you'll end up waiting forever. I initially thought about waiting as well, but I ran out of patience and got mine at a great price. And I have no issues whatsoever. Innovation on mobile has plateaued so there's no point waiting. My only complaint is that we might not get Android P or even 8.1.
ZeroCGTI said:
Definitely no. This device is now 2 years old. Just wait a few months, there would be tons of better devices in this price range.
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Any suggestions for upcoming better devices..
Sent from my Moto MAXX using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Still the only phone out there that's "small" and has wireless charging, ip68, enough ram, large battery, microsd, amoled, and no curved edge. Not a single other phone! if mine broke I would have to buy another S7
buy it after s9 is announced this month end, should see another price drop on the s7.
Is it worth buying is not the question; the question is more WHERE is it worth buying. As a US S7 (Snapdragon) owner with an MVNO, the answer is equivocal for two reasons:
1. An Exnyos-based S7 has no warranty support in the US; technically, it's a "gray market" phone (only Snapdragon-based S7s are permissible (per Samsung USA). If you want US warranty support, stick with Snapdragon-based S7 series. While you lose out on the wider support of the AOSP and TWRP features with a Snapdragon-based S7, S7+, or S7edge, you are not dead in the water - there ARE fusion firmwares available (stang5litre running an MM fusion firmwarew, and Project L - a Nougat-based fusion firmware). I am running L myself, and it's not any harder to install than an AOSP ROM is on phones that permit them (I came from AOSP on the Galaxy Nexus - which is now my alternate). I'm with Tracfone, the largest MVNO in the US, and can choose between Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile under normal circumstances (I went with T-Mobile, because my IMEI is blacklisted on VZW due to the phone's previous owner)
2. Naturally, outside of the US, your situation is different - which I get. However, all the S7 models will get Oreo; the weird part is that it was announced for older model phones (S6 series) first - which has resulted in much scratchage of heads and chins. The issue therefore is patience (ours).
i would wait till the s9 comes so that the s8 gets cheaper... i like the s8 more due to the battery having more output after a year. on the s7 you will get like 70% battery after a year use and with the s8 you will get around 95%
i bought it as it was the cheapest phone for max price of 300 USD.The Honor 8 was on the fritz plus its getting oreo.Could not beat that price
I purchased a s7 from flipkart yesterday, i paid 23k for it n i am very happy with it, i preferred s7 over moto x4, z2play and iphone se because of these reasons:
1) S7 is a flagship product from 2016, and its worth buying a flagship product over some mid range phone, it gives u a premium feeling.
2) S7 has THE best smartphone screen, its 2k and an insane 577ppi, which is in fact more than that of iphone x,note 8 and s8
3)Out of the box, it has android 6.0 but its upgradable to 7 and 8 as well, but we have to wait till April.
4)This Phone rocks a 4gb ram, it has a sd card slot, ip68 water resistance,12 mp camera and even ois,octa core cpu, fast charge,otg,heart rate sensor and so on
In short we can never call s7 an obsolete device, it meets all the standards of 2018 mobiles and in most cases it surpasses them, it still gives a tough challenge to todays flagships like iphone x, note 8, s8, nokia 8, one plus 5t and so on. So if ur budget howers around 20-23k i would highly recommend buying this beast, u will never regret ur purchase
Absolutely it is worth buying. I have a s8 (exynos) with a s7 (exynos) as a backup. If the s8 didn't exist or I didn't want to spend s8 money on a phone, the only phones on the market in Feb 2018 I would consider would be the S7 and XZ1 Compact. The S7 has the highest DPI screen on the market (STILL) and the smallest body (excluding the XZ1 Compact) with a high end processor. It has a high screen/body ratio for a 16:9 phone, made better by hardware buttons. It has strong development support for custom roms including the ability to run both S8 and N8 roms. It has a camera only slightly worse than the S8.
Go for the S7. You will not regret it. I have been the owener of one S7 for almost one year, and I dont regret it. This phone is the best in his price range.
The S7 is better than any budget/mid phone of 2017-2018 and even some current flagships,it's the best phone i've ever had, got mine on late september 2017, fast, amazing screen, great camera,4gb of RAM,ip68,sd card slot and so on. This phone is a beast, one small detail is that battery life could have been a "little bit better" but no big deal it gets me trought the day with 50% left sometimes more, for me the S7 is still worth in 2018 and even 2019, it's one of the best devices ever made if you ask me, reminds me of the days i had the LG G2 it was my favourite device, now it's the S7 i just love it.
Having owned most of the Samsung S-line phones since day one (missing only S6 and S8) many would probably call me a fanboy. And since you asked this in the S7 section, odds are that most of the other replies are from fans as well.
I really like the S7. Yes, battery life could have been better but that's almost the only beef I have with it. However, for a new buyer, particularly one interested in camera performance and unwilling to install custom roms, I'd give this warning:
The S7 is nearing the end of its support cycle. We will get android 8 and maybe 8.1 if we're lucky, but after that odds are we'll not get any android updates and I have my doubts as to how long Samsung will keep supplying security updates (maybe 2 more years, but could be less). I know many people do not consider this particularly important, but anybody should ask themselves, how much sensitive information they have stored on or have access to through their phones. As soon as those updates stop, you quickly become easy prey for an attack. Despite the awesome hardware of the phone, I would consider buying something else, even at a premium, to avoid this risk.
---------- Post added at 04:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:26 PM ----------
Having owned most of the Samsung S-line phones since day one (missing only S6 and S8) many would probably call me a fanboy. And since you asked this in the S7 section, odds are that most of the other replies are from fans as well.
I really like the S7. Yes, battery life could have been better but that's almost the only beef I have with it. However, for a new buyer, particularly one interested in camera performance and unwilling to install custom roms, I'd give this warning:
The S7 is nearing the end of its support cycle. We will get android 8 and maybe 8.1 if we're lucky, but after that odds are we'll not get any android updates and I have my doubts as to how long Samsung will keep supplying security updates (maybe 2 more years, but could be less). I know many people do not consider this particularly important, but anybody should ask themselves, how much sensitive information they have stored on or have access to through their phones. As soon as those updates stop, you quickly become easy prey for an attack. Despite the awesome hardware of the phone, I would consider buying something else, even at a premium, to avoid this risk.
Best phone in cheap price range. I think phones perfect. It's as good/better than the iPhone 7. Basically a small/one hand use phone and quite powerful.
I never usually start this kind of thread as it's so based on rumor etc, and it's early days, but having been a NOTE fan (plus the s21), so far, I AM disappointed by what the rumor mill is suggesting is more of an S22 Ultra 'S' than an exciting device for 2023. I have the 22 Ultra and it seems for the first time in years, it may not be much of a difference year to year... Unless this is Samsungs way to push people to their folded devices?
Well I have no plans in the distance future to buy another phone until this one is hopefully 5 yrs old, and no longer working.. Of course if I hit the lottery, then I might buy a new one.
ekerbuddyeker said:
I never usually start this kind of thread as it's so based on rumor etc, and it's early days, but having been a NOTE fan (plus the s21), so far, I AM disappointed by what the rumor mill is suggesting is more of an S22 Ultra 'S' than an exciting device for 2023. I have the 22 Ultra and it seems for the first time in years, it may not be much of a difference year to year... Unless this is Samsungs way to push people to their folded devices?
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I'm staying put w/the S22 Ultra, as you mentioned, the 23U is a very iterative bump at most.
I'd like to see a smaller option, akin to the Note 20, but, that's not likely to be in the cards.
If their foldable lineup included something dimensionally similar to the Oppo Find N2 & had a siloed pen, that would be a great option.
I still have a Note20 Ultra, I'll be hanging on to it & the S22 Ultra for at least the next two years or so.
It does sound like it's going to be a very iterative upgrade. Really the only exciting upgrades so far are better camera and potential for much more battery efficiency. They really need to bring back the 16 GB RAM option, louder speakers, and stronger vibration motor from the S21 Ultra.
@KOLIOSIS
How you been? For once I will not jump on the newest shiny device. It's basically going to be the same device being sold again. Should be the S22 Ultra+
I'll wait for another year. My S22 Ultra has been excellent.
butchieboy said:
@KOLIOSIS
How you been? For once I will not jump on the newest shiny device. It's basically going to be the same device being sold again. Should be the S22 Ultra+
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Life is good!
Yeah, the past 2-3 model years have been pretty much meh, but, any improvement is welcome, just not enough on the S23 to rationalize an upgrade just for little else to have the latest model.
Kinda on-topic, as far as new/improved features to look for:
Looks like the EU may mandate the return of the removable battery :
The EU wants to make your next phone's battery easier to replace
The EU wants to revive the concept of removable and user-replaceable batteries
www.androidpolice.com
Barring anything new as features goes, I'm willing to wait for this to actually happen & hopefully, it'll make it's way internationally.
I don't upgrade every year. I usually go every other year. Going from the Note 10+ to the S22 Ultra was the first time i waited an extra year to upgrade. I'm waiting to see how the next Z Fold will be refreshed.