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Tulani

macrumors 68000
Dec 6, 2012
1,889
851
to the couple of good honorable colleagues that have been on the thread since the build up and speculation about the launch,
my day has finally come to fruition

have gone with the “baby” S21
I prefer smaller phones for ease of handling

256GB phantom violet

I shall be using it without a case
the glastic back will save me the fingerprints

the black sleeve on the photo will be the carrying purse

now just taking my sweet time to retire the iPhone and start my learning Android curve with the endless discoveries and customizations

8a2b23d46b495e1032daa3e7a36b2a5b.jpg
 
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mjschabow

macrumors 601
Dec 25, 2013
4,924
6,239
Early adopters (preorders) got ridiculous trade in deals, $200 in samsung accessory credit, and depending on the carrier some for $100 off the MSRP. So how exactly did they get screwed by this?
This. It's so easy to forget how many accessories we buy with phones. I was able to get 3 cases, the S-Pen, and the Trio Charger which might be my favorite accessory ever, and only paid $400 for the phone with my trade in. If someone else is able to get the phone for $100-$200 cheaper a month after launch, good for them. In no way am I going to whine over here.
 

Klyster

macrumors 68020
Dec 7, 2013
2,231
2,642
Early adopters (preorders) got ridiculous trade in deals, $200 in samsung accessory credit, and depending on the carrier some for $100 off the MSRP. So how exactly did they get screwed by this?

yep, I got roughly a grand worth of stuff and 1500 trade in on my note 20u (nz dollars), basically the phone cost a few hundred dollars as you never get retail prices for the items you sell.

I've done this quite a few times now.
 

mjschabow

macrumors 601
Dec 25, 2013
4,924
6,239
yep, I got roughly a grand worth of stuff and 1500 trade in on my note 20u (nz dollars), basically the phone cost a few hundred dollars as you never get retail prices for the items you sell.

I've done this quite a few times now.
The best part is if you really do decide to stay with Samsung, it'll only cost about $400 to upgrade next year and you'll probably be able to get a free pair of earbuds or whatever the new watches are at that time. So net $150'ish.
 

animalx

macrumors 6502
Apr 1, 2013
474
330
Early adopters (preorders) got ridiculous trade in deals, $200 in samsung accessory credit, and depending on the carrier some for $100 off the MSRP. So how exactly did they get screwed by this?
Exactly. I came out way better than the new deal. $200 in credits plus the extra money on the trade, comes out better than the current deal.
 

animalx

macrumors 6502
Apr 1, 2013
474
330
The best part is if you really do decide to stay with Samsung, it'll only cost about $400 to upgrade next year and you'll probably be able to get a free pair of earbuds or whatever the new watches are at that time. So net $150'ish.
This. This is why I find myself upgrading every Note and every S. The out of pocket isn't bad at all and easily justifiable to me.
 
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animalx

macrumors 6502
Apr 1, 2013
474
330
Friggin Android customization.
8207e26b8ef5e7d429c4b62e67707b45.jpg
Indeed! I like the minimalist look, so my screen is simply a time widget that changes to alerts for relevant things like appointments, bad weather warnings, etc... And my calendar. I use the edge screen for my most used apps.
 

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Zito Abroad

macrumors 6502a
Mar 17, 2019
535
1,218
Indeed! I like the minimalist look, so my screen is simply a time widget that changes to alerts for relevant things like appointments, bad weather warnings, etc... And my calendar. I use the edge screen for my most used apps.

I absolutely wouldn't be surprised if Google added the edge screen to Android, after all, I believe quick toggles was introduced by Samsung and then Google added it to Android. Apps pairing in the edge panel is awesome as well, I use it all the time. One other feature I use all the time with the edge panel, when you grab an app from the edge panel, and drag it to the center of the screen, then let go. It opens the app in pop up view. The calculator is perfect for doing this. Use it all the time.
 

lyunmac

macrumors regular
Aug 22, 2011
199
210
Some carriers still offering good deals. My friend got $800 for her S9+ from AT&T and paid about $400 and change for her 128GB phantom black S21 Ultra after the trade in. Sure she didn’t get the freebies but not even Samsung was offering $800 for a 3 year old phone.
 
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Tulani

macrumors 68000
Dec 6, 2012
1,889
851
I absolutely wouldn't be surprised if Google added the edge screen to Android, after all, I believe quick toggles was introduced by Samsung and then Google added it to Android. Apps pairing in the edge panel is awesome as well, I use it all the time. One other feature I use all the time with the edge panel, when you grab an app from the edge panel, and drag it to the center of the screen, then let go. It opens the app in pop up view. The calculator is perfect for doing this. Use it all the time.
i am learning.
nice tip
 
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Dave245

macrumors G3
Sep 15, 2013
9,854
8,081
Ok so the weirdest thing has happened. Samsung said it would take 72 hours in quarantine for my return before the order would be refunded. Today I have received a refund for the fast charger but nothing else. They only received it Monday. That was not 72 hours (not that I’m complaining).

next to the phone, SPen and watch it says “refund initiated” I wonder why they have refunded me already for the charger but not the rest 🤔

UPDATE: Never mind, I have just received about 4 other emails, it seems they are refunding each item rather than doing it collectively.
 
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5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
I absolutely wouldn't be surprised if Google added the edge screen to Android, after all, I believe quick toggles was introduced by Samsung and then Google added it to Android. Apps pairing in the edge panel is awesome as well, I use it all the time. One other feature I use all the time with the edge panel, when you grab an app from the edge panel, and drag it to the center of the screen, then let go. It opens the app in pop up view. The calculator is perfect for doing this. Use it all the time.
I did not know that! 😯
 

5105973

Cancelled
Sep 11, 2014
12,132
19,733
I’ve still been really busy but I got to take some quick family photos which unfortunately I can’t share for privacy reasons, but so far what I’ve noticed is that if I had a complaint or issue with the photos on the Samsung then I would also have a slight variant of the same issue on my iPhone 12 Pro Max.

So basically what I see on both phones in slightly different ways are noise, fuzzy focus, and a look of haze or glare which has me checking for non existent fingerprints on the lenses. The haze or glare is on subjects with a bright window behind them. It’s just certain indoor lighting conditions, really.

It’s been extremely cold and icy so I can’t do photo shoots outside. And we haven’t been able to go for the country drives where the iPhones have excelled at capturing scenes despite the car being in motion. That’s something I’m eager to test on the Samsung as well as connectivity on the road. I unfortunately don’t have Car Play or Android Auto on any of my 3 outdated vehicles, so I can’t test that sort of functionality.

I think the iPhone does a tiny bit of a better job capturing a subject in motion in indoor lighting. But I don’t feel anymore that there’s an overwhelming difference between my Samsung cameras and my iPhone ones. And there are times and circumstances where I actually think I’ve had older iPhones and an S9+ that could have taken a better picture than either the 12 Pro Max or the S21 Ultra! Both phones sometimes over process a scene and cause some odd noise and artifacts. I think this may be what @Dave245 was seeing.

This is where I think I need to step up my game and get more practice shooting in RAW modes and in manual modes on the Samsung. Unfortunately I’ve not had the spare time.

In other news, I’ve got a Caudabe case coming to me that I’ll let you all know about.
 
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mjschabow

macrumors 601
Dec 25, 2013
4,924
6,239
I’ve still been really busy but I got to take some quick family photos which unfortunately I can’t share for privacy reasons, but so far what I’ve noticed is that if I had a complaint or issue with the photos on the Samsung then I would also have a slight variant of the same issue on my iPhone 12 Pro Max.

So basically what I see on both phones in slightly different ways are noise, fuzzy focus, and a look of haze or glare which has me checking for non existent fingerprints on the lenses. The haze or glare is on subjects with a bright window behind them. It’s just certain indoor lighting conditions, really.

It’s been extremely cold and icy so I can’t do photo shoots outside. And we haven’t been able to go for the country drives where the iPhones have excelled at capturing scenes despite the car being in motion. That’s something I’m eager to test on the Samsung as well as connectivity on the road. I unfortunately don’t have Car Play or Android Auto on any of my 3 outdated vehicles, so I can’t test that sort of functionality.

I think the iPhone does a tiny bit of a better job capturing a subject in motion in indoor lighting. But I don’t feel anymore that there’s an overwhelming difference between my Samsung cameras and my iPhone ones. And there are times and circumstances where I actually think I’ve had older iPhones and an S9+ that could have taken a better picture than either the 12 Pro Max or the S21 Ultra! Both phones sometimes over process a scene and cause some odd noise and artifacts. I think this may be what @Dave245 was seeing.

This is where I think I need to step up my game and get more practice shooting in RAW modes and in manual modes on the Samsung. Unfortunately I’ve not had the spare time.

In other news, I’ve got a Caudabe case coming to me that I’ll let you all know about.
The shutter speed is still a little slower than iPhones and Pixels but one thing I've noticed is that the post processing does a good job capturing the shot as a still photo without blur. Obviously, if my 4 year old is swinging his arms around like crazy, it'll be blurry on any phone, but the Samsung of old would have even struggled with almost still shots where my kids are posting by maybe my 4 year old moved a little bit. That issue has for the most part been resolved.
 

keti2377

macrumors member
Nov 1, 2020
70
89
I’m not sure if this is just me but does anyone notice that their S21 Ultra is much faster using Wifi and 5G than on an iPhone? I was using my iPhone 12PM today and websites and images doesn’t load as fast as my S21U. The 12PM is not slow by any means but everything is just instant on the S21. Does anyone know why?
 

The Game 161

macrumors Nehalem
Dec 15, 2010
30,991
20,172
UK
I’ve still been really busy but I got to take some quick family photos which unfortunately I can’t share for privacy reasons, but so far what I’ve noticed is that if I had a complaint or issue with the photos on the Samsung then I would also have a slight variant of the same issue on my iPhone 12 Pro Max.

So basically what I see on both phones in slightly different ways are noise, fuzzy focus, and a look of haze or glare which has me checking for non existent fingerprints on the lenses. The haze or glare is on subjects with a bright window behind them. It’s just certain indoor lighting conditions, really.

It’s been extremely cold and icy so I can’t do photo shoots outside. And we haven’t been able to go for the country drives where the iPhones have excelled at capturing scenes despite the car being in motion. That’s something I’m eager to test on the Samsung as well as connectivity on the road. I unfortunately don’t have Car Play or Android Auto on any of my 3 outdated vehicles, so I can’t test that sort of functionality.

I think the iPhone does a tiny bit of a better job capturing a subject in motion in indoor lighting. But I don’t feel anymore that there’s an overwhelming difference between my Samsung cameras and my iPhone ones. And there are times and circumstances where I actually think I’ve had older iPhones and an S9+ that could have taken a better picture than either the 12 Pro Max or the S21 Ultra! Both phones sometimes over process a scene and cause some odd noise and artifacts. I think this may be what @Dave245 was seeing.

This is where I think I need to step up my game and get more practice shooting in RAW modes and in manual modes on the Samsung. Unfortunately I’ve not had the spare time.

In other news, I’ve got a Caudabe case coming to me that I’ll let you all know about.
Honestly there isn't enough of a difference in flagship cameras these days to notice what's better. there will be times one will be better than the other. So for stills I think it really just does depend on the lighting. I think the days where people choosing one over the other for camera is not that important. unless of course amazing zoom is your thing as then the ultra is the best and obvious choice. I do think improving cameras each year there are improvements and I guess thats what companies market as really thats the only standout thing where you can see improvements
 

mjschabow

macrumors 601
Dec 25, 2013
4,924
6,239
Yep. Even my Ultra and iPhone 11 (work phone) are about the same quality with stills. The zoom is the fun part of the Ultra. Well, Single Take and Portrait Video Mode too.
 
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