Database Info

Alternatives to the Note 3

I have loved and used Samsung phones since I switched from HTC's fuze.
I had a Captivate, a Galaxy S, Note, Galaxy S3 and was planning on getting a Note 3. The Captivate and Note where grey imports and the Note 3 was going to be one. Another thing that I liked is that you could flash the latest rom from any region and use the modem from your region, did this with all of them.
Now with all the bootloader locking, Knox warning after rooting and now region locking it's very doubtful I'll get the Note 3.
Now this thread is here not to defend the Note 3, or to rant and vent against Samsung, but to provide alternatives to it. It should be a better phone that the Note 1
What would you recommend or what are you planning on doing?
Any recommendation should be unlockable, flashable and rootable as Samsung's phones USED to be.
So, do you guys have any thoughts on the following phones? Pros, cons against the Note 3?
HTC One Max? When will this phone be announced and available?
Sony's Xperia Ultra?
$769.50 Unlocked
Pros: Bigger screen
Cons:
No stylus
No flash on the back
Glass on the back
Screen seems to pick up scratches if you use a pencil and touch is not pressure sensitive. See Ericka Griffin's review
Note 8
$477.50 3G Unlocked
$589.50 LTE Unlocked
Pros:
Even bigger screen
Cons:
Probably would need a BT handset like Sony's SBH52 or Samsung HM5000 Pen Type Bluetooth 3.0 Headset
Outdated S3 hardware and lowres screen
Note 3 Developer's edition
Has anyone used the Note 2 Dev edition? Pros, cons?
Cons:
Really don't know if this will be available, and if it becomes available what capabilities it will or won't have.
So, any thoughts?

Sent from my LG-LS970

jgaviota said:
I have loved and used Samsung phones since I switched from HTC's fuze.
I had a Captivate, a Galaxy S, Note, Galaxy S3 and was planning on getting a Note 3. The Captivate and Note where grey imports and the Note 3 was going to be one. Another thing that I liked is that you could flash the latest rom from any region and use the modem from your region, did this with all of them.
Now with all the bootloader locking, Knox warning after rooting and now region locking it's very doubtful I'll get the Note 3.
Now this thread is here not to defend the Note 3, or to rant and vent against Samsung, but to provide alternatives to it. It should be a better phone that the Note 1
What would you recommend or what are you planning on doing?
Any recommendation should be unlockable, flashable and rootable as Samsung's phones USED to be.
So, do you guys have any thoughts on the following phones? Pros, cons against the Note 3?
HTC One Max? When will this phone be announced and available?
Sony's Xperia Ultra?
$769.50 Unlocked
Pros: Bigger screen
Cons:
No stylus
No flash on the back
Glass on the back
Screen seems to pick up scratches if you use a pencil and touch is not pressure sensitive. See Ericka Griffin's review
Note 8
$477.50 3G Unlocked
$589.50 LTE Unlocked
Pros:
Even bigger screen
Cons:
Probably would need a BT handset like Sony's SBH52 or Samsung HM5000 Pen Type Bluetooth 3.0 Headset
Outdated S3 hardware and lowres screen
Note 3 Developer's edition
Has anyone used the Note 2 Dev edition? Pros, cons?
Cons:
Really don't know if this will be available, and if it becomes available what capabilities it will or won't have.
So, any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see them releasing a developer edition for this phone as much as I would get one it is all about the Spen in Samsungs eyes but you never know

How are Sony's, HTC's and LG's attitudes to rooting now?

Acer Liquid S2 looks very interesting.
Almost same great specs as Note 3:
snapdragon 800 quad core 2.2, Adreno 330, 13mp camera (4K video rec), 1080p Corning Gorilla Glass (lcd) display, 2gb ram.
but with larger screen 6", 4 led ring flash (powerful flashlight), stereo speakers, microSD, up to 128 GB, and... fm radio!
Lte support: 800 / 1800 / 2600.
They haven't published a weight for it yet. No Knox or Region lock! I'm guessing hoping an unlocked boot loader! I have a new crush!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317

keeping my note 2 and buying the refreshed version of this W3 Windows x86 Desktop OS tablet for 280$
http://www.staples.com/Acer-ICONIA-W3-810-1600-81-32GB-Tablet/product_48343
because no phone or phablet will be 8.1" in display size
or have a real desktop OS that runs .exe files
and just use it in tandem using my note 2 to tether unlimited verizon 4G to the windows tablet. and keep the note 2 for calls, messages, notifications, GPS.
both in either pocket.

I was SO getting a Note3 to replace my Note2 as quickly as possible but recent events have turned me off and I'm in no hurry whatsoever anymore. I'm going to sit tight and follow how things develop.
If you're into Samsung have a look at the Mega which I had for about a week. It was really nice but I ended up returning it because when I set the brightness to 100% it would often "auto-dim" due to overheating.
Right now I'm keeping my Note2 but have actively started to look at other brands (I'm only one person and Samsung could care less about my business, but if bad reputation spreads things could change quickly).

Personally the only other phone alternative I would consider is HTC Max which I think is being launched on 15th Oct.
both ultra and mega are sluggish in comparison to Note 3 so a no no for me, and mega is plastic. Note 3 is lovely phone with good features but the beast is caged in cheap looking plastic and the bezel is ugly. The design has put me off somewhat but I love the features. So not sure what I'll do with it I've been offered iPhone 5s 64gb to swap, I'm considering it.

Xperia Z Ultra is the best alternatives.

How about HTC One MAX which will be coming soon?

Fact of the matter is none of the other large size screen phones are considered alternatives to the Note. An alternative or a substitute is something that fulfills the same benefit. Even now after two years of launching the note, there is no phone that provides you with same or equivalent multi tasking features and the S-pen.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk 2

The Xperia Z Ultra is too big with the bezels. I had it for awhile. And it scratches so easily.
If I wasn't getting the Note 3 it would be the LG G2. Nice big display and fast. I also had it for awhile to test. Great phone.

The Oppo N1 is the only interesting phablet alternative.

yes +1 for Oppo N1.
http://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_n1-review-990.php

Tubgirl said:
I was SO getting a Note3 to replace my Note2 as quickly as possible but recent events have turned me off and I'm in no hurry whatsoever anymore. I'm going to sit tight and follow how things develop.
If you're into Samsung have a look at the Mega which I had for about a week. It was really nice but I ended up returning it because when I set the brightness to 100% it would often "auto-dim" due to overheating.
Right now I'm keeping my Note2 but have actively started to look at other brands (I'm only one person and Samsung could care less about my business, but if bad reputation spreads things could change quickly).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
riz157 said:
Personally the only other phone alternative I would consider is HTC Max which I think is being launched on 15th Oct.
both ultra and mega are sluggish in comparison to Note 3 so a no no for me, and mega is plastic. Note 3 is lovely phone with good features but the beast is caged in cheap looking plastic and the bezel is ugly. The design has put me off somewhat but I love the features. So not sure what I'll do with it I've been offered iPhone 5s 64gb to swap, I'm considering it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Regarding the Galaxy Mega, Samsung missed a HUGE (pun intended) opportunity with that device. I checked it out in person at an AT&T store. The first thing I thought was 'Holy Jesus, this thing is huge' (and i'm a pretty big guy, but even I was surprised at the size). The second thing I thought as I played with it was how laggy it was. I know they were just testing the waters, but they went too low-spec with that device. I think people like us (nerds and technophiles) could deal with the lower-res screen and the plastic feel of the phone, but the internals of the device killed it. If they had done slightly better specs (I'm talking maybe Note 2 range) and a slightly smaller screen (6"), there would have been people jumping all over that phone.
That being said, if they come out with a Galaxy Mega 2 next year that is actually speedy and a little bit smaller, then I might seriously consider buying one.

After a quick research I decided that I will wait for HTC ONE Max,My experience with my old HTC HD2 ,which is still my backup device,is very good.

Ascend Mate?
I used Huawei Ascend Mate for a while. It's a pretty good device, quad core, 2GB RAM, 6.1 inch, nice screen, good quality, and the price also. (I paid 350 euros for it in France, which is very cheap compared to the 750 euro price tag of the Note3). The cons were, only 8GB of inner storage (there's a slot for external SD card though), no stylus (this bothered me the most), not really good camera, and -well it isn't really important to every user- no custom software development. Rootable, so u can at least remove the bloatware. I've heard about some MIUI custom ROM for it, though, but never tried it.

hagba said:
After a quick research I decided that I will wait for HTC ONE Max,My experience with my old HTC HD2 ,which is still my backup device,is very good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck. They botched the launch of the One and now the One Mini whose design (at least in China) the One Max shares. Not to mention their precarious financial condition.
azzerc said:
Hi guys.
I have recently upgraded to the HTC One Mini and I have to say that I'd love this handset if it wasn't for the fact that the plastic edge/chassis keeps cracking. I am on my second handset as Vodafone were happy enough to replace my first one when I reported this issue to them but it has happened again on my second. These small cracks were not there when I first got either of the two handsets but seemed to appear after a few days of use. I have been back to the store again and they will replace the handset or let me change to a different model/brand so there is no issue there. My question are: Has anyone else had this issue? As I can't seem to find any info on other instances. And, Does it's big brother the HTC One have the same issue as I may upgrade to that?
Cheers guys any info would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=45061270#post45061270
HTC Corp is facing supply constraints on its latest smartphone, sources familiar with the matter said, piling pressure on already disappointing sales and increasing the likelihood the firm will post its first net loss this quarter.
The problems with the HTC One Mini, launched in mid-July to generally positive reviews, come partly from a casing shortage arising from design difficulties that are crimping production rates, one of the sources said.
The casing troubles come hot on the heels of shortages associated with the flagship HTC One model's camera module, indicating the Taiwanese company is still struggling to overcome supply chain difficulties which delayed the One's full launch and contributed to a record low first-quarter net profit.
Another source said consumer and telecom demand for the One Mini could not be met at the moment, even though analysts estimate that the company plans to ship only around 200,000 of the devices each month.​
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/24/htc-shortage-idUSL4N0HK18P20130924

BarryH_GEG said:
Good luck. They botched the launch of the One and now the One Mini whose design (at least in China) the One Max shares. Not to mention their precarious financial condition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
who knows my humble contribution may help them with their finacial situation!,besides since I dont have a marriage arrangment with Samsung I see no harm in flirting around a bit!!.

Galaxy Note 2 hands down.

Note 8 vs S8+

Question for @norbarb and @Venom0642,
(or anyone else who has, or had both....)
Both of you have mentioned having both the S8+ and Note 8. Nearly every review I have read says something like "except for S pen and camera the Note 8 has no advantages". Do you(s) agree with this assessment? Any other observations? I ask, because I'm on the fence about upgrading, and I wouldn't use the S pen, and don't use the camera very much. Thanks, in advance...

My opinion
My wife got a Note 8 the week before my 8+ arrived, both unbranded, unlocked from Samsung. After seeing both, regular daily use for a month...I have to admit, hers seems snappier, more responsive opening apps and navigating around on the phone. She has 7.1.1 and I'm on 8.0 beta 3. Maybe the extra RAM, I don't know for sure. I also thought I would not use the pen enough to pay the premium but, in hindsight the Note would have been a nicer phone.
This is a nonscientific evaluation, she was like "you shoulda got a Note" from day one. If I had to replace my 8+, I know what the choice would be. I did pick the Note for her considering her job, she does take notes on hers. She is a MSN Charge Nurse of the OR and really needed the productivity features of the N8. On my job its just messaging, taking pictures and the basics.
cam30era said:
Question for @norbarb and @Venom0642,
(or anyone else who has, or had both....)
Both of you have mentioned having both the S8+ and Note 8. Nearly every review I have read says something like "except for S pen and camera the Note 8 has no advantages". Do you(s) agree with this assessment? Any other observations? I ask, because I'm on the fence about upgrading, and I wouldn't use the S pen, and don't use the camera very much. Thanks, in advance...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

cam30era said:
Question for @norbarb and @Venom0642,
(or anyone else who has, or had both....)
Both of you have mentioned having both the S8+ and Note 8. Nearly every review I have read says something like "except for S pen and camera the Note 8 has no advantages". Do you(s) agree with this assessment? Any other observations? I ask, because I'm on the fence about upgrading, and I wouldn't use the S pen, and don't use the camera very much. Thanks, in advance...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely agree, I have the Note 8 and S8+ and AFAIC the pen is the only difference. Don't use the pen that much but since I was a previous Note 7 owner I got the Note 8 for $424.00 plus tax, couldn't pass on that.

Have the S8+ than Note8 ... after 7 days back to S8+. Why ? because changed Note8 for S8+ + 300 euros (insane)
Note8 have S-Pen (didnt use much) little just little better camera , screen is very sharp / brighter then S8+ , overall smooth just a little better (6gb RAM) on Note8 . But battery is way better on S8+ and basically its 90% same phone with insane price difference , ... will see what is goin on with Oreo on both devices or just waith february / march for S9 .

I like my Note 8 more personally...
The extra 2 gb does go a long way to improve the experience and though I don't use the S-pen all the time sometimes it is just too good at replacing my ham-fists when I want to do something precise...
If you have the money to spend I would consider it over the S8+...

I had Note II and I NEVER used that pen. Seems like a great idea but in practice NOBODY uses it. Or if they do, they do just to show off, any task is faster done without that s-pen. So, since the screen is just 0.1" bigger... no real advantage IMHO. Camera should be a little better as well, but who knows. IT all comes to personal preference, whether you like more curved edges (S8+) or less curved phone edges (N8)

The reason the System UI is snappier and apps are opening faster is the new version of Samsung experience. Just flash a Note 8 ported ROM on your S8 and it's as quick as the Note 8. You can instantly feel the difference. The 2 gigs more RAM may keep more apps open in the background but it doesn't really affect the smoothness of the UI. The S8+ also feels a lot more comfortable in your hand. The Note 8 feels huge compared to the S8+.

reppi said:
The reason the System UI is snappier and apps are opening faster is the new version of Samsung experience. Just flash a Note 8 ported ROM on your S8 and it's as quick as the Note 8. You can instantly feel the difference. The 2 gigs more RAM may keep more apps open in the background but it doesn't really affect the smoothness of the UI. The S8+ also feels a lot more comfortable in your hand. The Note 8 feels huge compared to the S8+.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point. But I'm in the US, with only the Snapdragon version. Hence, bootloader is unlockable = no ROMs for us. But thanks for the observations, anyways.
And thanks to all who've posted here. Much appreciated.

dalanik said:
I had Note II and I NEVER used that pen. Seems like a great idea but in practice NOBODY uses it. Or if they do, they do just to show off, any task is faster done without that s-pen. So, since the screen is just 0.1" bigger... no real advantage IMHO. Camera should be a little better as well, but who knows. IT all comes to personal preference, whether you like more curved edges (S8+) or less curved phone edges (N8)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought the same thing too about the pen but she is not a show off and does scribble notes on the screen quite a bit, she added. I am experienced with roms coming from past phones but no desire to root this 8+. Beta testing is enough for me. As far as size difference, ya'll are nuts. We both use ugly pelican cases because dropping phones really happens (all glass, really?) and we are constantly picking up each others phone, size and shape are so close. I dont understand all the crying about the finger sensor, I guess my hands are big and its easy to find...i don't see what all that whining is about. Its all about preference. Since I flashed 8.0 v3 the 8+ has really been trouble free, just a couple of apps need updates.
I'm very happy to have NOT gotten Pixel2xl's...no regrets there. I cancelled my orders twice and there is no looking back.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

Why so quiet here?

Isn't it strange?
The S10e has highly favourable reviews and is supposed to become one of the best selling phones, maybe it could sell even better than the S10.
But it's very quiet around here with not much discussion compared to other phones.
And personally I've never seen an S10e in person even though I've seen plenty of S10 & S10+.
The S10+ Q&A forum has thousands of posts already, and there's 341 here.
So what's happening?

I would say s10e people go see s10 or s10+ forums as there is not much difference.

The S10e is ultimately the third tier device in the S10 line. Enthusiasts are more likely to be the ones to develop for devices in general, and enthusiasts are more likely to go for the first or second tier options.
We may get a small amount of development ported over from the other devices, but odds are this is about the amount of participation we're going to see here.

Maybe because people are satisfied with it. I honestly have no complaint about this device

Because it's locked down... Not much we can do really.
I'm very happy with this phone tho. Don't even need root anymore really....custom kernel would be nice but not likely to see that for long time if ever.
Good old locked af Sammy phones.

wywywywy said:
Isn't it strange?
The S10e has highly favourable reviews and is supposed to become one of the best selling phones, maybe it could sell even better than the S10.
But it's very quiet around here with not much discussion compared to other phones.
And personally I've never seen an S10e in person even though I've seen plenty of S10 & S10+.
The S10+ Q&A forum has thousands of posts already, and there's 341 here.
So what's happening?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right, brother.
I've been a oneplus user for the past three devices, and this s10E really got my attention.
I ordered a G9700 version from ebay, should come next week
Surprised though there's little talk about it here.
What about TWRP? hmm
Could even survive without magisk nowadays as long as I use themes such as swift installer or even substratum ones.
This device seems unique for what it can offer, almost the same as their big brothers. With such a compact design,
Let's rock it!

jasons1004 said:
Because it's locked down... Not much we can do really.
I'm very happy with this phone tho. Don't even need root anymore really....custom kernel would be nice but not likely to see that for long time if ever.
Good old locked af Sammy phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not if you have the Exynos version ...

You guys have got valid points, however, even the Accessories section (which has nothing to do with being locked down) is super quiet.
The S10 and S10+ are locked down too, yet they still have big communities.
My worry is that the S10e is selling maybe nowhere near as well as people were expecting, possibly even a flop. This will be a problem for future official or non-official support.

No idea.
Major weirdness.

wywywywy said:
You guys have got valid points, however, even the Accessories section (which has nothing to do with being locked down) is super quiet.
The S10 and S10+ are locked down too, yet they still have big communities.
My worry is that the S10e is selling maybe nowhere near as well as people were expecting, possibly even a flop. This will be a problem for future official or non-official support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't remember where I read the news but I saw that S10+ and S10e both are outsellIing S10. I think this forum just needs more time

I typically get the highest model available when I purchase phones but there was a few things that made me get my s10e. The main thing is that I despised curved screen phones. That's why I've been away from Samsung for years now. Finally is that I do not want to deal with the experimental in screen finger print sensor.
After getting the s10e, The only downside is the absurdly narrow screen. While the screen size is actually larger than my older LG V20 actual usable screen space is less and I feel it when playing puzzle games. Other than that I never thought that I'd be so happy on a non rooted phone. I pretty much destroyed my LG V20 on sprint by installing the best rom that was available and which got rid of lots of things like visual voicemail and many other features.

esqueue said:
I typically get the highest model available when I purchase phones but there was a few things that made me get my s10e. The main thing is that I despised curved screen phones. That's why I've been away from Samsung for years now. Finally is that I do not want to deal with the experimental in screen finger print sensor.
After getting the s10e, The only downside is the absurdly narrow screen. While the screen size is actually larger than my older LG V20 actual usable screen space is less and I feel it when playing puzzle games. Other than that I never thought that I'd be so happy on a non rooted phone. I pretty much destroyed my LG V20 on sprint by installing the best rom that was available and which got rid of lots of things like visual voicemail and many other features. I mainly root to have access to free wifi hotspot and to my surprise, my s10e has no problems getting. There is absolutely no reason to root this device anymore.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One word: ads. After being pushed onto an S8 when my OP6 broke, I couldn't believe how many ads there are spamming all over the place. It felt unusable. Adaway really spoiled me. At that point I rooted my S8 with Nougat.
There are still some drawbacks to rooting an SD S8 (random crashes and 80 percent battery), but it's still worth it IMO. Enough so that I didn't upgrade to the 10e, even though I like my wife's overall.
Oh, and Titanium Backup too.

I agree root was not necessarily so far. I am using Adguard VPN ad blocking, used ADB to remove bloatware and add some 3rd apps for gestures and other improvements. All ok for now.

root is no longer needed for blocking advertisements. you can use, Blokada, adhell3, Disconnect Pro and private Dns. I use Disconnect Pro in combination with Adguard dns. Dns over tls. perfect combination for adblocking with 0% battery drain

Xda isnt Poppin like it used to and the phone is so good, there's really nothing to complain about or anything. Ppl are just enjoying their phone
Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk

I really wish I could use a custom ROM on this. I don't like using stock ROMs and haven't on a single smartphone I've owned... including my first, the Samsung Captivate. I'm currently in love with Resurrection Remix.

Not much to complain about so far. I was getting a bit fed up with the increasingly large screens and weight, so I decided to go for the 10e and so far it is a great phone.

Phh just ordered an s10e, that's great news for any aosp lovers.

There's not much to do having the Snap SoC(ks)
Still waiting for the promised supper-dupper night mode update, 4 months since purchasing my unlocked S10e and that's too long. Samsung is bombarding the market with so many cheap "A" models now, that they're forgetting their obligations to the owners of top priced galaxy 'battleships' or 'flagships',... whatever.
I like the S10e, but I'm beginning to regret not waiting for the OP7 Pro, they seem to be on top of updates/upgrades. I think I'll give OP7T Pro a try when it gets released in the fall.

mzsquared said:
There's not much to do having the Snap SoC(ks)
Still waiting for the promised supper-dupper night mode update, 4 months since purchasing my unlocked S10e and that's too long. Samsung is bombarding the market with so many cheap "A" models now, that they're forgetting their obligations to the owners of top priced galaxy 'battleships' or 'flagships',... whatever.
I like the S10e, but I'm beginning to regret not waiting for the OP7 Pro, they seem to be on top of updates/upgrades. I think I'll give OP7T Pro a try when it gets released in the fall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got around the night mode thing by installing a dark theme and using night mode for all my Google apps. Gives me about 85% night mode for everything.
Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

Question worth the "upgrade"?

I currently have an S9+, and aside from the battery dying much quicker than it used to, it still runs fine. I was looking at trading in for the S21+ since T-Mobile has a decent offer, but I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth it. The specs don't look to be that huge of a leap above what I have now, slightly faster processor and slightly more memory, and the screen resolution is actually a downgrade. Plus, no SD card.
The Ultra looks like it would be, but I don't want to spend quite that much. I'm not seeing enough to convince me on the 21+ Am I missing something or is it really not worth upgrading?

BradHP said:
I currently have an S9+, and aside from the battery dying much quicker than it used to, it still runs fine. I was looking at trading in for the S21+ since T-Mobile has a decent offer, but I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth it. The specs don't look to be that huge of a leap above what I have now, slightly faster processor and slightly more memory, and the screen resolution is actually a downgrade. Plus, no SD card.
The Ultra looks like it would be, but I don't want to spend quite that much. I'm not seeing enough to convince me on the 21+ Am I missing something or is it really not worth upgrading?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jump on the hype train my dude ! Look at funny camera holes, not good 4 trypophobia lul
Spoiler: Me ranting about the design
No seriously, I think the upgrade is more on the look and feel side than anything else, and my personal tastes don't really hate the new design but don't love it either. It's like they tried to be revolutionary, then someone on twitter told them the first design was offensive to the [insert random common point, physical trait, interests and tastes] group of people, so they sanatized it so everyone would not feel it's awful. Well it worked, I don't think it awful but damn that's booooooorrriiiiiiiiiinnng.
in short I think you're fine with what you have, and i may even say try to look elsewhere a little, you might find your true love (in phone of course) in another brand
Have a nice day.

Raiz said:
Jump on the hype train my dude ! Look at funny camera holes, not good 4 trypophobia lul
Spoiler: Me ranting about the design
No seriously, I think the upgrade is more on the look and feel side than anything else, and my personal tastes don't really hate the new design but don't love it either. It's like they tried to be revolutionary, then someone on twitter told them the first design was offensive to the [insert random common point, physical trait, interests and tastes] group of people, so they sanatized it so everyone would not feel it's awful. Well it worked, I don't think it awful but damn that's booooooorrriiiiiiiiiinnng.
in short I think you're fine with what you have, and i may even say try to look elsewhere a little, you might find your true love (in phone of course) in another brand
Have a nice day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'm already leaning towards not getting the S21. I don't understand how it's barely an upgrade (and in some ways a downgrade) from the phone I've had for 3 years. Looking into the OnePlus 8T right now.

BradHP said:
Thanks, I'm already leaning towards not getting the S21. I don't understand how it's barely an upgrade (and in some ways a downgrade) from the phone I've had for 3 years. Looking into the OnePlus 8T right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a OP8. OnePlus is. A good brand, but if you prefer smaller phones (which I doubt since you had samsung phones lol), check Google Pixels

Yeah, I like the biggest screen I can afford. Watch a lot of Netflix/Prime/Youtube on the go. I already went ahead and ordered that OnePlus 8T after reading more reviews and the forums here. Can't beat the price of free when I trade in the S9.

I decided to upgrade from my Note 9 to the 21+. Why? Because I felt like it and got a great deal from AT&T on my trade in. My Note was running fine, but it is getting a little long in the tooth since It's been 2+ years.
I chose the Plus because I wanted the bigger screen and bigger battery. The glass vs plastic wasn't an issue for me, I'd have been fine with either. I also didn't want to spend the $$$ for the Ultra since I'm not a big photo person, just a casual photographer for personal purposes. The plus was just in that nice sweet spot for me, and I knew this would be the last flagship that I'd get the big $800 credit from AT&T for a trade-in, so I figured I might as well take advantage while I could.

How much the battery on your S9+ last?
With the S21+ you will have twice the battery time. The 1080+ screen actually increases battery time by about 20-30% over the unncecessarily high (IMO) QHD+ resolution
And apart from battery is far better in processor power of course, and an upgrade in genearl in many ways... On screen fingerprint reader, much faster one, far better cameras, better audio, and so on

Definitely worth it. My last phone is exynos s9+ and definitely s21+ (exynos) double performance and double the battery life

I came from a VZW Pixel 3aXl....to a Unlocked phone... seems like an upgrade to me, plus I got 200 bucks tradein

BradHP said:
I currently have an S9+, and aside from the battery dying much quicker than it used to, it still runs fine. I was looking at trading in for the S21+ since T-Mobile has a decent offer, but I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth it. The specs don't look to be that huge of a leap above what I have now, slightly faster processor and slightly more memory, and the screen resolution is actually a downgrade. Plus, no SD card.
The Ultra looks like it would be, but I don't want to spend quite that much. I'm not seeing enough to convince me on the 21+ Am I missing something or is it really not worth upgrading?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The s21 Plus looks great but honestly I went from Samsung to Sony to Huawei to Xiaomi and I find Xiaomi to be the best, decent custom ROM support and good hardware, a lot cheaper than Samsung devices too. Maybe take a look at the Mi 10 Ultra? Not sure about where you are from though, afaik you have to import them into the UK. If you don't mind flashing a new ROM to your phone and tinkering around with it, I'd go for a Xiaomi. Big fan of Sony's though, the hardware is awesome and they're pretty much bloat free out of the box

I moved from S10+ to S21+ and I'm happy with the change because S21's screen is flat, the battery life improved, the camera improved a lot, the fingerprint scanner is way much better than s10+, I like the screen to be setup to 96Khz for example, still it has the crappy amoled with terrible PWM like most of the phones... If you have the S9+ that has much worse battery than s10+, the s21+ could be a good choice in all senses.
Take in consideration that Android 11 is still not very good in general and we need to wait 6 month till we will see an improvement.
I never been interested in the ultra because its curved screen, is not practical.

Like everyone else whether a device is an "upgrade" comes down to preferences, useful features which make a difference. Price is a consideration but not an issue if the device stacks up. Trade-in promotional pricing doesn't motivate me for a number of reasons. First off, I don't want to deal with carrier bloatware. Secondly, I don't care to enter into a muli-year commitment with any Service Provider. Lastly, all US Galaxy variants are bootloader locked.
My daily driver is an SM-G9750, S10 Plus, Hong Kong variant. I would enjoy Snapdragon's latest SoC found on the S21 but that's not saying the S10 Plus is slow, it's not. A larger battery is also appealing but I'm pretty sure I'll still need to charge the battery once a day. The cameras on the S21 Plus are the same as the S20 Plus and the only difference from the S10 Plus is a bit larger appiture. 5G is in it's infancy but at this time many of the useful iOT it will enable aren't yet available. Additionally, many 5G users state it's not much faster if any, than a good 4G pipe but at this time for device manufacturers and service providers 5G is a goldmine, the greatest marketing scheme since light beer. Based on my preferences these are issues I have with the S21 Plus.
1) No MicroSD. Sorry but I have zero faith in Cloud Storage, not only for data security but privacy as well. Samsung has also reduced internal storage capacity. 256 GB isn't enough, I have to close double that amount on my MicroSD already and adding more every week. It also saves time when you need to transfer data to a new device.
2) Camera Housing. The S21 camera module is an improvement over the S20 which is awful. It blends into the frame a bit better but it still doesn't lay flat and will snag coming in and out of pant pockets. It also degrades the device's symmetry. Samsung has like many of their competitors have gone overboard with multiple lenses. I'm certain if you had a photo from an S10 and another from an S21 side by side, you wouldn't be able to tell which device created the snaps. That's the trend in mobile phones but if you want really great photos, use a camera not your phone.
3) 3.5mm Jack. Wired audio is the gold standard, Bluetooth doesn't compare and who wants the hassle with charging buds? Yes, I can buy new earphones with a USB connector if I don't want to use a dongle but then I can't charge my device while listening to audio files, which I do often. Plus I really like my earphones, they sound great!
3) Flat Display. I like the look of Immersive Displays. I do a lot of gaming and watch a ton of movies or videos. A curved display doesn't bother me at all.
4) Size. The s21 Plus and Ultra aren't pocket phones. They're huge, closing in on tablet size, just too big! I prefer a device I can easily slip in and out of my front pocket. If I went with an S21 it would fit well but sacrifice a number of features.
5) Screen Resolution. Not sure in most instances if I could tell the difference between 1080 X 2400 and 1440 X 3040 Pixels but why downgrade on an "upgrade"?
6) No Earphones or Charger. Not my biggest issues but then again isn't the S21 Plus supposed to be an "upgrade" over my current device?

samsung offered me a crazy good deal. traded in my note 20 which sucked anyway. gave me a huge trade in credit. only 199 which they jacked to 260 something with bogus shipping fee and tax. free galaxy buds plus. 200 dollar credit towards accessories. it was a crazy good pre order deal. its always the cheapskates who ask questions like this. of course your old phone battery is ****. thats gonna happen. is it worth it? if the phone has better features [except for losing MST] and costs next to nothing in trade hell yes it is. samsung gives me great offers and has since 2 years ago when I traded my S8+ in for an S10+.

I just bought it and upgraded from S8+
Apart from battery I can barely see any notable improvement so I imagine that from the S9 the improvement is even smaller.
I thought my phone was dead so I bought a new one. I then starting playing with the OS and "Odin"ed the **** out of it and now I have 2 almost identical phones.
Still worth for me as my old S8+ is not working properly with the camera and GPS but if the hardware would have been ok, I probably wouldn't have upgraded.

For me: Worth it 100x over. My previous phone was an lg g7 thinq.
That thing took a beating and was quite the loyal device.
However, it was my carrier that ultimately decided I jump ship and upgrade. After their recent merger, I began to roam in my upstairs office. Started to miss calls and texts. Bad bad bad.
So, as I said I jumped ship; to a carrier affiliated with my internet provider *cough*.
I looked over their offerings, and the S21+ jumped out as being the "best bang for the buck".
Never had a Samsung device before, but so far I'm loving it! My wife got one too, and she feels the same.
Got the 256GB variant, and that gave me some relief, as the lg was starting to act funky as I had to move a lot of apps to an sd card so I wouldn't run out of space.
Again, for me, totally worth it. Feels like I went from a buick to a lamborghini!

Am I late to jump on the bandwagon? Anyway, I just received mine a week ago and here are my thoughts why this should be worth or doesn't worth to be upgrade.
I came from Huawei P20 Pro. IMHO if you're holding last year models such as P40 Pro or Galaxy S20, you shouldn't upgrade to this one unless you're offered with a crazy trade-in deal.
So, if your phone is older than last year models? Like S9, S10, Huawei P20 Pro, or iPhoneX etc, the specs worth an upgrade, but the price is still arguable. You shouldn't get this one on MSRP. Only do it if there is some sweet deals. For example, in Brazil, they added a SF charger for free. That's the least deal you should go for. For me, in SG, I've received Galaxy Buds Pro and a Samsung 10k mAh Wireless Charging Power Bank, and a Samsung Clear Case. That deal is a can't miss one.
Storage-wise, on my previous P20 Pro, which is 128 gb, it barely hit to 80 gb after 2 years of photos and video recording. Have a few gb of songs downloaded but nothing else. I didn't install big-ass games. So, for this one, 256 Gb should last long enough for me. In case if the storage run out, I'll simply backup the large files to my PC and carry on. No big issue on the storage.
No audio jack is a bummer. My P20 Pro also doesn't come with a round hole, but at least, they throw a cheap USB to 3.5mm adapter in the box. Samsung even doesn't bother with it. So unless if you get a pair of Buds Pro like me, you should get some Bluetooth headphones, or if you still prefer your wire earphones, get those kind of adapters that you can plug-in your charger and 3.5mm audio jack at the same time.
For display, I didn't buy any of the previous Galaxy phones because of that waterfall edge display. Didn't fancy a curve edge especially because it's very hard to get a good screen protector. This flat screen is perfect for me. The issue comes where I have to decide between FHD 120Hz and UHD 60Hz display. I used to use UHD display on my LG V20, and if someone said the pixels are not noticeable, I'd surely give him a pair of glasses. They're very noticeable, but 120Hz wins over the 60Hz, so, I have to pick-up the FHD again.
For an Asian, I got a pretty big hands, so size of this phone is not a problem, especially it is even slimmer than some other smaller screen phones. But when your screen is 6.7" and FHD, the pixel density goes below 400 dpi (398 dpi to be exact). If you've got an OCD for this, get an S21, because it has got higher dpi than the S21 Plus.
To wrap things up, the deciding factor for me to choose this phone over other contenders such as OnePlus 8T, Mi 11 etc are as follows.
- Not Chinese Brand (currently, we're boycotting as much Chinese brands as possible)
- Excellent camera setup. (Easy win over OP 8T)
- larger battery
- sweet deals (to receive $300 worth of freebies for a $1000 phone is undeniable).

Should I buy one now

Hi All,
I was wondering what you guys think of the phone now 8 months down the line. I am getting this at a good price around £650 for a good condition used phone on ebay. I was wondering if you guys think most of its problems have been fixed by now.
Just to give you a background, I currently have a note 9 and frankly I am very happy with this phone but it is old now and I am itching to upgrade to something newer, primarily for the cameras and 120hz refresh rate. I did buy the S21 ultra on pre-order but was really disappointed with the camera performance as I found the images my exynos variant produced to be very soft and noisy and not as sharp/clear as my note 9 and overall the phone felt like a big compromise (no s-pen, no sd card, no headphone jack) after paying £1300, so I sent it back. The camera and screen are the primary reasons for me to upgrade and I expect at least decent battery life (maybe 6-7 hours SOT with youtube abd browsing). I do use the S-Pen every now and then and think it would be a good to have. I know the note 20 ultra doesnt support WQHD+ and 120hz at the same time but at the price im getting it at i think this is a compromise i am willing to make since i mostly use my phone at FHD+ anyway and I can barely tell the difference.
I know there was talk about the exynos variant being bad when compared to the SD 865+ version but frankly I am not a gamer and dont need my phone to be ultra powerful. But what i would like to know from you guys is whether the software updates over the past 8 months have fixed most of the issues with battery life and camera performance. Those of you coming from the s10 range or the note 10+ / Note 9 etc. How would you say the camera is on the Note 20 U? Do you guys think its a good buy now? Or should I just give it a miss and hang on to the note 9 till they stop the security patches? Any advise is appreciated.

I have a mate who upgraded from the Note 9 to the Note 20 Ultra. He was VERY impressed with the differences...
He has the Exynos variant but when there is no other phones to compare but what you already have he's happy...
It all comes down to you, go to a store, play with a demo version and make up your mind.

I've upgraded from S10e Exynos with 4,5 screen on time maximum and terrible idle battery drain to Note 20 Ultra Snapdragon. First week was thinking to give it back because it was too big for me and those rounded edges always made me typos. Then I've get used to it, set the keyboard paddings from edges and finally bought nice case (I never used any cases before) and now I'm totally happy with it. I as far as I've read it's almost impossible to get 7-8 screen on time on Exynos variant. I got around 7 on my Snapdragon version but never tested it with gaming so I can not tell yet how good the battery is. I can tell that Qualcomm modem is much better in sense of keeping good connection and speed and very good keeping battery in idle state. Considering the camera - it's much better that in my old S10e ofcourse but I don't use it often so can't say I care about it much. What I love about my new Note 20 ultra Snapdragon is I've rooted it to tweak some small things here and there and now totally feel it's mine. I've rooted my past phones around 5 years ago last time.
Not sure if anything I said will help you but if you have any questions I would be glad to answer.

Thanks guys really useful. As mentioned I don't really need a new phone as my current phone does pretty much what I need it to. But I am itching to upgrade and I don't want to end up being stuck with something that I feel is not as good as my current phone. I currently average 4-5 hours screen on time on my 2 year old note 9 which I think is good for an old phone so hoping to get more. The S21U was good battery wise I got 7 hours SOT with 10% remaining. But the cameras were a let down for the price. I might just wait a couple of months and pick one used if they fix the camera with software updates as the price difference doesn't seem that much like a barely used S21U is going for around 850 on ebay so might be worth the extra 200 vs the note 20 ultra. Especially because I heard a lot of bad things about the n20u battery in particular.

Hi, @eldrid
I upgraded (downgraded considering the cost/storage, lol) from the Note9 (512GB) to the Note20 Ultra (128GB) with Android 11/One UI 3.1.
Have you considered replacing the battery in your Note9? Maybe have the battery replaced and purchase the N20U?
I don't use the camera much, but hopefully one of the forum members will give you some feedback on the N9 vs N20U cameras.
I can hear the Note20 Ultra camera *rattle* but I think this is normal??
If you purchase the N20, you may not want to update the phone to Android 11 (scoped storage, bugs galore, etc...).
I enjoy using the N9 more than the N20U because of the OS and the apps function without issue.
I detest Android 11, ahem, and think it contributes to my attitude of the N20U. N9 is the Beast!

I haven't had note 9 earlier but for me the note 20 ultra is perfect.
We get 1080p with 120hz (sure only 1080p but battery friendly and do you even notice higher res on regular basis?)
Sdcard slot, perfect for pictures, movies, big files and so on, also very easy to swap. (cloud exist but what about vacation or if u got limited data)
Very good cameras, still one of the best out there.
Very good performance with snapdragon 865+, even the exynos one is good. Recent updates have made it better than release version.
S-pen in a slot, no ugly weird case and all functions works perfectly.
The design is also very modern and future proof, I mean the front is almost all display.
People even speculate that this could be the last note ever, so if I were u, I would really consider note 20u if u liked your note 9 and want something better.

I've had my Note 20 Ultra Exynos version since launch, and it's a lot better now than it was when it first came out in both battery life & performance, I also don't game on phone's so it's been more than fine for me.
The camera has also been on point for me as well I've not been disappointed with any pictures or videos I've taken with it.
For 650 quid i think it's well worth it for what you get.

Thanks a ton guys for the honest advice. I finally picked an almost new one for £650 on ebay. They offer a 30 day return so fingers crossed i hope it works out. I won't be selling my note 9 just yet so I will have some time to compare side by side and see what it's like. I am sure it's an upgrade in many regards. But the three key things for me are 1)screen and I'm sure that's great I don't use wqhd and will be perfectly happy with the adaptive 1080 120hz. 2)The cameras... This is one area I am not sure how it will be... This is a very subjective area but I like my images to be sharp and I noticed on the S21U the images were soft and fuzzy not crisp like on the note 9. And 3) is battery life... I still get around 5 hours from the note 9 which is great so I hope to get at least that much. Will keep you guys posted on how it goes over the next few days. I feel like @650 there won't be much to complain about. I was really upset with the s21 ultra as I had paid full price for it and it (£1300) and it felt like a downgrade. Seems like the more modern Samsung phones while powerful are compromising on the basics and are not what they used to be 2 years ago.

Finally got the note20u and frankly I am quite happy with it. I am getting pretty good SOT and plus i used Bluetooth headphones for at least an hour. Considering that I think the battery life is good. Also the camera software seems to be ironed out and the image sharpness is much better than the current image quality on the S21U 1st pic is from note 20u and 2nd from s21u. Overall I think it was a good buy. I would never recommend anyone buying a Samsung phone at launch as the software is very unpolished and you pay a huge amount for an unfinished product. Comparing the experience i have with this nearly new note 20u for 650 is great compared to the ****ty experience the s21u offers for £1200 plus no sd card support or charger in the box. Very good value overall at £650

I upgraded from my still pristine Note 9 and found it a very worthy successor. From the enhanced Dex and S-pen features to the improved cameras, the Note 20 Ultra has provided me with a great user experience. Given Samsung's quest for becoming more -like and shedding features left and right, the Note 20 Ultra is the closest to what the Note line once was: the no holds barred, everything but the kitchen sink, no compromises, Note. I don't know if there is a Note 21 Ultra in the works and if there is it will probably include less features than the Note 20 Ultra offers.

Medevac1 said:
I upgraded from my still pristine Note 9 and found it a very worthy successor. From the enhanced Dex and S-pen features to the improved cameras, the Note 20 Ultra has provided me with a great user experience. Given Samsung's quest for becoming more -like and shedding features left and right, the Note 20 Ultra is the closest to what the Note line once was: the no holds barred, everything but the kitchen sink, no compromises, Note. I don't know if there is a Note 21 Ultra in the works and if there is it will probably include less features than the Note 20 Ultra offers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely agree. Probably why i was finding it hard to part with my note 9 as well. What a great 0 compromise device. I really hate how Samsung were originally the anti apple and a premium alternative for those that didn't want to chain themselves to apple. But now they're becoming more like apple taking away our choice.
Rumours are that there will be a watered down fan edition only this year and that the s-pen toting phone is going to be the fold from now on. If its true its a poor farewell to the note. I say they should bring back the headphone jack, sd card and pack the box with goodies. Make the whole experience of buying a premium flagship feel premium again.

eldrid said:
Absolutely agree. Probably why i was finding it hard to part with my note 9 as well. What a great 0 compromise device. I really hate how Samsung were originally the anti apple and a premium alternative for those that didn't want to chain themselves to apple. But now they're becoming more like apple taking away our choice.
Rumours are that there will be a watered down fan edition only this year and that the s-pen toting phone is going to be the fold from now on. If its true its a poor farewell to the note. I say they should bring back the headphone jack, sd card and pack the box with goodies. Make the whole experience of buying a premium flagship premium again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The 10+ was the last Note before Q. After Q things started going south and 11 is even worse.
Between Android and Samsung's "improvements" it's been a dismal year.
Everything's coming up psuedo Apples... and I mean that in the most derogatory way.
As for the Fold series it has been a self made disaster for Samsung. Overpriced and unreliable.
Samsung, you do know the definition of insanity don't you? Apparently not.

Late to the party here but I'm happy with my N20 Ultra 5G Snapdragon soc I imported from Hong Kong.
I wouldn't of been keen to buy a used phone from ebay due to the amount that get imei locked a few weeks / months after receiving it.

BandOfBrothers1 said:
I wouldn't of been keen to buy a used phone from ebay due to the amount that get imei locked a few weeks / months after receiving it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can you avoid that from happening 100%?
Is it that common?

blackhawk said:
How can you avoid that from happening 100%?
Is it that common?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's something I've come across way too often throughout the years on forums.
A person sells a phone on ebay and then fraudulently claims it lost or stolen.
Auction Sites need to tighten up and introduce even more protection for the buyer as well as the seller.

BandOfBrothers1 said:
It's something I've come across way too often throughout the years on forums.
A person sells a phone on ebay and then fraudulently claims it lost or stolen.
Auction Sites need to tighten up and introduce even more protection for the buyer as well as the seller.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doing that in the USA be incurring multiple federal felonies.

BandOfBrothers1 said:
Late to the party here but I'm happy with my N20 Ultra 5G Snapdragon soc I imported from Hong Kong.
I wouldn't of been keen to buy a used phone from ebay due to the amount that get imei locked a few weeks / months after receiving it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn didn't know that happens. I got mine from a business seller with 100% ratings so looks like hes been at it for a while with no issues. He claims the phones are customer returns from the official Samsung store and would barely have any usage if at all. And everything looked the part it seemed brand spanking new, scratchless and even no signs wear or dust in the usb c port. Also he had a whole batch of 7-8 to sell so everything sounded legit. Let's hope everything works out well.
On a separate note. I thought id use the phone without a screen protector for a few days while the tempered glass one I ordered arrives and so removed the factory one. After a day or so i have already noticed a couple of micro scratches on the screen visible at certain angles. This is with careful use at home. I feel like this whole gorilla glass thing is just market hype.

blackhawk said:
Doing that in the USA be incurring multiple federal felonies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't worry about it too much. The only reason someone would do that is to be malicious and most people are not. I doubt the seller has a personal vendetta against you. He got his money and will move on.
I have had the N20U since release and have no issues and at this point is a good as it gets functionally.