This phone is so buttery smooth. Samsung has improved so much.
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Samsung galaxy S23 and S23 ultra
- Thread starter The Game 161
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I completely agree. I really like the s23u. I have a Pixel 7 Pro and I enjoy the phone a lot and I switch back and forth but I end up spending most of my time on the s23 ultra.
It has better speakers, it has better heat management, it has better screen to body ratio, slightly better battery life.
It is just a great phone. The OneUI 5 is so much better than previous versions by a huge margin. In previous OneUI you would get stuttering every so often. Some animations just weren't as polished. It seems like Samsung has really put focus on making the UI a better and more polished experience overall.
When a Pixel feels less fluid in very, very limited situations compared to OneUI I think that is pretty huge because Pixel or vanilla Android has always been so much better than the slower, choppy Samsung OneUI that having the two reach parity is pretty amazing on Samsung part.
It really is a solid, reliable device. There are still times during heavy use where I experience weird bugs and I switch back to Pixel but then the Pixel will do the same thing.
It's funny you mention that, because I was just telling that to a friend of mine yesterday.
I've had this S23U for about 2 months now, and the other day I turned on my iPhone 14 PM to look at a couple of things, and to me it felt slow and sluggish. Even updating apps is faster on the S23.
I have always thought in the past that the iPhone just ran smoother, but Samsung did a good job on the S23U this year and the iPhone just doesn't seem as snappy any more.
I still say that Android notifications are much slower and not as good or as efficient as iOS.
Well Samsung just sent me an email saying I didn’t honor my trade in of my S22 Ultra for my first S23 Ultra purchase, so they will be charging my credit card $500. They’re also threatening to remotely disable my phone. Lol good! Do that. It was stolen. They should have remotely disabled it already when my husband reported it stolen to them.
My husband is going to handle this latest correspondence for me again.
I’m not ordering from them again with a trade. Special colors isn’t worth that risk again.
I do have to trade in a Pixel 6 Pro to Google. We will see how that one goes. I had a return of a defective Pixel phone stolen before. It was stolen after being dropped off to FedEx. Google customer service was super nice and after getting information from me, told me I wasn’t responsible and would receive my refund. I don’t know if their customer service is still that good these years later but they were very responsive back then.
Samsung was good with my husband’s stolen trade in phone though they didn’t communicate with him. They just said they were issuing him a trade in credit.
Mine was a return. They say I sent them an empty box. They sent us a video of the box being opened and it was empty. We had to settle it through the credit card company. I guess they’re entitled to $500 if the credit card company gave us $1000. It depends on what I was actually charged at the time. It was all a mess.
Knowing there are thieves in the transportation chain somewhere means I will never trust buying from Samsung directly again. They can stuff their exclusive colors.
Buying my second S23 Ultra from Amazon was fine, so I’ll probably do that again, but trading won’t be a part of the transaction going forward, so I’ll just have to hang onto my phones and not upgrade whenever the whim hits me anymore. Which is fine.
Now if they threaten to deactivate my account entirely so that none of my phones work, we’re just done. But so far all they sent me was standard boilerplate. I’m just shocked they’re sending it NOW. Last time I was late sending in a trade in they sent that letter immediately. I had decided not to trade in my phone and per the instructions on their site accepted the charges. Obviously this time things are different but getting this letter months later is interesting and weird.
My husband is going to handle this latest correspondence for me again.
I’m not ordering from them again with a trade. Special colors isn’t worth that risk again.
I do have to trade in a Pixel 6 Pro to Google. We will see how that one goes. I had a return of a defective Pixel phone stolen before. It was stolen after being dropped off to FedEx. Google customer service was super nice and after getting information from me, told me I wasn’t responsible and would receive my refund. I don’t know if their customer service is still that good these years later but they were very responsive back then.
Samsung was good with my husband’s stolen trade in phone though they didn’t communicate with him. They just said they were issuing him a trade in credit.
Mine was a return. They say I sent them an empty box. They sent us a video of the box being opened and it was empty. We had to settle it through the credit card company. I guess they’re entitled to $500 if the credit card company gave us $1000. It depends on what I was actually charged at the time. It was all a mess.
Knowing there are thieves in the transportation chain somewhere means I will never trust buying from Samsung directly again. They can stuff their exclusive colors.
Buying my second S23 Ultra from Amazon was fine, so I’ll probably do that again, but trading won’t be a part of the transaction going forward, so I’ll just have to hang onto my phones and not upgrade whenever the whim hits me anymore. Which is fine.
Now if they threaten to deactivate my account entirely so that none of my phones work, we’re just done. But so far all they sent me was standard boilerplate. I’m just shocked they’re sending it NOW. Last time I was late sending in a trade in they sent that letter immediately. I had decided not to trade in my phone and per the instructions on their site accepted the charges. Obviously this time things are different but getting this letter months later is interesting and weird.
What a nightmare. I am sorry you have been through all of this.
I am sure when your husband follows through with Samsung they will do the right thing. Too many people had similar experiences. I don't remember if you said you sent them a video or pictures?
I have had issues with Google in the past with not receiving a phone as it was stolen out of the sealed box. FedEx was the delivery company then. But I sent Google a trade in last November and everything went through fine so here is hoping the same will happen with you.
I certainly would not want to deal with Samsung again after what you have gone through but instead of trading you can sell on private market? Swappa is good and sometimes you will get a better value. Another alternative is to just take a video of you sending the device and packing it up then you would have the same evidence they try to use but even then it is a step you shouldn't have to go through.
Unfortunately it seems like these kind of scams happen and when they do it can be a real hassle for everyone but the thieves. It is such a sinking feeling because you have no control once you ship the device out.
I really hope Samsung does the right thing and you get a positive outcome!
Yeah I did a video for my husband’s phone but for some reason didn’t do one for mine. 😟
Even doing his phone’s video, he gave me such a hard time about it, explaining why there was no logic behind it because anyone could do a video but remove the phone at any point after making the video. I’d have to have one uninterrupted video of me wrapping it and handing it to the FedEx people. Which is what some people do. But we live out in the country so far away from the FedEx drop off point accepted by Samsung for this purpose, that it would be a real pain to do. It would be a video of a long car ride.
I still did a short (illogical by his standards) video for his. And took photos. I didn’t do one for mine but I can’t remember if it’s because he’d talked me out of it. There was so much going on at that time I don’t remember. As it turned out, he didn’t need to provide a video to Samsung. They had so many cases of lost trade in phones I think they realized something was going on.
Mine was a return and so the same decision making process was not applied to mine.
Happily, my return for my Pixel 6 Pro will be via UPS. There’s a UPS drop off place closer to my house than the FedEx one.
Thanks for sympathizing with me. I really hated being reminded of this right now. I thought it was all just done with. This is a massively busy week with a ton of social commitments and I still have to make sure my mom is taken care of and nothing falls through the cracks for her. I have to leave her for a week and she’s pitching a fit about it. Ugh. And worse, I don’t blame her.
It is a real burden and stress when these things come up months later out of the blue. Companies try to leverage our exhaustion and hope we don't do anything and they get an extra $500. In my personal opinion if Samsung offers such a program and the goal is selling more new phones then they should just take the hit and move on and not pressure the customer unless it is obvious fraud. They should insure the return shipments so if anything happens then they can let the return carrier deal with it and not the customer.
In the end things like this are much worse for Samsung sales than the loss of $500. Not because $500 is cheap but because sometimes that is the cost of doing this kind of transaction. Once they have a customer like you they should do everything in their power to keep you and make you happy because it is rare to get a customer who upgrades often and buys the top of the line device.
If they lose you as a customer as a result of their poor service it will cost them much more in the long run than the $500.
At the same time Samsung sales for everything but phones is way down which puts pressure on them to get every penny they can but is exactly why they should protect their phone customers as it is the most profitable business they have.
I understand the familial pressure you are under. A family member who I take care of had a mental health emergency and as a result I am driving them over two hours a day, 3 days a week, for 6 weeks on top of other commitments. Life doesn't make time for us but the key is you have made a commitment to your family and you follow through. It is hard and unrelenting and often times instead of a thank you, you get yelled at or not appreciated for your efforts.
In the end all of what you do for your family matters more than anything else and being a good person in a bad world is something that you will be able to sit back and reflect on for years. It is it's own reward because you can feel good about yourself regardless if anyone else cares.
Hopefully your husband will get Samsung to come around. But put it out of your mind and don't stress over it. You have learned not to trust them and won't make that choice again and that is all you can do.
Oh goodness, that's a lot of time on the road. I admire your spirit so much. Hey all the best to you in getting your responsibilities taken care of. And thanks so much for the kind words. It means a lot.
We are just having one of those weeks during a busy time for parents of graduating seniors.
It doesn't help that my iphone 14 Pro Max display keeps giving me shooting head pains. I am going to have to move my shopping accounts to my Pixel/Samsung and basically start over with new accounts because I had been using "sign in with Apple".
The head pains have been ramping up for a couple of months now. I really love my 14 Pro Max so I don't know what I'm going to do. My daughter had me use her 14 Pro for Uber Eats a couple of days ago and it was comfortable. I am not trading phones with her. After I use my iphone for some graduation videos, I will go back to my SE3 I guess. And set things up so that if I have to just evacuate from iPhone, I will be able to do it.
I would think this all is from getting a new phone except it started well before I got my new Pixel.
I was using my iphone past my usual 1 hour screen time limit because I was shopping for graduation gifts for family and friends. And it's definitely the iphone because the pain goes away about half an hour after I stop using the iphone.
Sorry I get a bit irritable and overwrought when these migraines plague me. Getting that email from Samsung just set me off.
The email from Samsung would have set me off too. I would have called them right away and asked for a supervisor. It is unfortunate that customer service has become more like a chess game or Gladiator than when companies at least pretended they cared.
With T mobile I called them daily for over a month just to get my iphone unlocked to no avail. It made me realize that I was just wasting my time and to move on but I think most people would have let it go way before I did. So now I will never use T mobile again. Maybe an MVNO of T mobile and even that pisses me off.
Sometimes I have gotten error emails from Samsung though or they send the email but when talking to them they end up doing the right thing. So far, knock on wood they have been fair to me which is why I like them. To be fair so has Apple. But they all seem to be going downhill in general.
Thank you for the kind words. It is tough being a parent and caretaker of your parent at the same time!
Well I guess you can just use your iPhone as little as possible until the 15 comes out or 16 and try again. Something about Apple displays bothers more people than anything else I have experienced over the years. Seems as soon as they switched from tn panels to ips LCD panels it has been a constant complaint with a lot of people. The newer the worse it seems to be and the iPhone OLED from LCD. My son has an iPhone 11 and I swear it is the best LCD screen ever used in a phone. It isn't even full hd but you can't tell. It isn't 120hz or OLED but it still looks great.
Of course you could also trade in or sell your iPhone 14 Pro Max but I have a feeling that option is not on the table. It is a very nice phone and I do really like the purple color.
I am thinking about the next iPhone SE. Whever they launch it I may give Apple a try again or I may wait for the 16 pro max. I just don't know what they are going to cost with rumored price increases and I am holding out for some features but if the SE has the same display and body of the 14 and they use at least a17 I think I could live with 60hz and regular cameras.
I am just kind of upset that Apple is not giving all of the new phones the same chip.
And let's say that they raise the price of base Pro Max to $1300 then I might just be priced out.
Even though the retail price of my s23 ultra is I think $1379 or something I paid only $600 and sold another phone so it cost me like $150 or so out of pocket. It is hard to beat that. I just can't find those kind of discounts with Apple. Not going to buy another locked phone.
Once my 40 days are up on Google Fi I am going to switch to another carrier so next year when the new s24 ultra comes out if Google Fi has another special I can take advantage of it. That way I can sell my s23 ultra and probably pay next to nothing out of pocket. So that might just keep me locked in to Samsung for a while. I am hoping that Google gives us Pixel 7 owners a good trade in deal because the Pixel 8 Pro is something I am most interested in. I am thinking Apple won't release a new SE until 2024.
I still like iPhone but I am just not willing to pay the cost when I can get such great Android alternatives so much cheaper. At least for now.
After going through a few cases and not being super happy and not wanting to spend $50 on a case I got a Rinke Onyx case.
The colors are a little dark but I kind of like that for longevity. I generally like brighter colors but they tend to get stains and marks a lot faster. Generally my favorite case is a Tech 21 lime case for the ultra but it is $40 for a bumper case which seems expensive.
The Rinke is solid TPU but it is pretty thick on the back and has a nice matt texture. The sides also have a grippy texture so the phone doesn't slip out of your hands. It feels thin but still seems very protective. It is sort of a hybrid between very thin and light and a thicker heavier case. So it doesn't bulk the phone up like the TPU and polycarbonate cases do but offers a similar level of protection.
Since it is not translucent it shouldn't discolor the texture should not show scratches as easy.
The colors are a little dark but I kind of like that for longevity. I generally like brighter colors but they tend to get stains and marks a lot faster. Generally my favorite case is a Tech 21 lime case for the ultra but it is $40 for a bumper case which seems expensive.
The Rinke is solid TPU but it is pretty thick on the back and has a nice matt texture. The sides also have a grippy texture so the phone doesn't slip out of your hands. It feels thin but still seems very protective. It is sort of a hybrid between very thin and light and a thicker heavier case. So it doesn't bulk the phone up like the TPU and polycarbonate cases do but offers a similar level of protection.
Since it is not translucent it shouldn't discolor the texture should not show scratches as easy.
Ringke Onyx [Feels Good in The Hand] Compatible with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra Case, Anti-Fingerprint Technology Prevents Oily Smudges Non-Slip Enhanced Grip Precise Cutouts for Camera - Black
Compatible with Galaxy S23 Ultra Made of slim & lightweight TPU material for increased protection against impact and scratches. Streamlined design with an anti-skid & anti-fingerprint granulate texture on the back and frame. Duo-QuikCatch lanyard holes on each side of the device allow for the usa...
www.amazon.com
I assume when you send back phone, you just put it in box and tape it up?
Just take the tape with you and seal it up outside the drop off point and video then?
Not that you should have to do that.
When you drop it off do they weigh the package? If so do you get a receipt?
Just take the tape with you and seal it up outside the drop off point and video then?
Not that you should have to do that.
When you drop it off do they weigh the package? If so do you get a receipt?
It's not them awesome pics y'all share here with scenery and all ..
But I'm always happy when I do something with my car ..
Calipers painted and the rims were redone to factory gloss black to get rid of some of those sidewalks rash burns and chips
Those calipers looking dope!! Also is your car Nardo Grey?!!
Fitting such things to the standard S23 would utterly defeat the point of it which is to be compact and light.
Duh! Lol Shows you how absolutely out of it my husband and I are not to think of that! Thank you.
I'd be embarrassed, but if I were to list out everything my husband and I have been dealing with since his mom died in 2019 and how it's all snowballed since then with his job circumstances completely changing twice since then, more family and pet deaths, dealing with damaged properties, teenagers stressed to near breaking over school policies that act like COVID never happened and was just a bad dream...we just barely sleep anymore. That pretty much says it right there. At least we're not alone, most of our friends are going through the same thing. We're all zombies and Zoombies.
Yes, thank you again, this is exactly what I'll do from now on. Doh! Derp!🤪😆
Edit: I don't remember getting a receipt. Not from FedEx but I didn't take it in, my husband did. I am the one who does UPS drops and I think I get a receipt from them. I'll find out today when I drop my Pixel 7 Pro off.
A weight does get printed on the labels but doesn't seem to matter when dealing with Samsung.
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I once had the misfortune of trying to deal with Samsung when I got my S8+ that had a blotchy pink screen. I ended up stuck in a customer service phone labyrinth for hours and gave up after a couple of days of trying to actually speak to a person in person. I ended up living with it until the S9+ came out. I did get an online response that was somewhat canned. Samsung kind of implied a software fix was possible for that problem so I waited past the return period and when the fix came out to adjust the colors, it wasn't really addressing what was wrong with the display.
Interestingly enough my beloved Snowball Pixel 2 had the same exact pink blotch display. But unlike my S8+ wasn't a hideous laggy failure of a phone so I didn't mind too much. I can tolerate some imperfections like that if they don't trigger my migraines and if the phone is functioning well otherwise.
I absolutely had no intention of trading away my 14 Pro Max for a 15 anything and definitely not another Pro anything. The phone itself is fabulous! No complaints at all about overall functioning. It's the best iphone I've ever owned.
It's just triggering such intense head pain. My LCD iphones unfortunately trigger the white shimmer in my vision that dangerously diminishes my ability to see! That leaves my 12 mini. That used to cause me strong eye pain until I adjusted. Then the 13 Pro unadjusted me to it. I'll have to try it again. If I can't use it I can think about trading it for a different budget iphone and seeing how it works out. But it's a purple color I love and was a mother's day surprise gift so I wanted to hold onto it for as long as possible.
I am going to get an appointment with a neurologist. I know from other people's experiences that a neurologist won't be able to help at all.
But I really should get that shimmer checked out. Because it's worse on the left side. Being asymmetrical, it means I might have a pituitary tumor. My dad had one he lived with for years and they monitored it. 20 years ago, I had a brain scan after which the doctor said my pituitary gland was on the large extreme of the normal range and I should keep it monitored. He said my brain scan looked weird in that it looked like at some point I might have had a pituitary tumor that went away. He said it was really peculiar but I told him an endocrinologist had put me on bromocriptine for a couple of years based on blood tests (but no brain scan). He said that might explain what he was seeing. Bromocroptine is used for a lot of things and one of them is to shrink pituitary tumors.
I have had intensive brain scans since then due to my seizures and nobody mentioned the pituitary gland looking odd at all to me. But now it's been a few years so I should probably get checked out again. My dad died partly due to Covid but he also had a brain tumor and liver cancer so the genetics are questionable for me.
If I've got pituitary tumor it could be messing with my vision. My last attempt to schedule an appointment got me the answer that there was a wait of almost a year for non emergency appointments. I'll try again. If I'd made the appointment when I was told that, I would have been seen by now! My critical thinking skills have clearly stunk for awhile now.
Thanks
Those calipers looking dope!! Also is your car Nardo Grey?!!
...it's Bernina Grey ...
Thanks...it's Bernina Grey ...
Ooo never heard of that color. I love me some grey cars. My Mazda 3 is polymetal grey.
Love the lookOoo never heard of that color. I love me some grey cars. My Mazda 3 is polymetal grey.
these greys are lookers ...one of my fav colors ....That's sweeeet! The other day I saw a small SUV, didn't catch the make or model, that was a couple shades lighter but had the same tone and sheen as your car. It looked so cool!Ooo never heard of that color. I love me some grey cars. My Mazda 3 is polymetal grey.
Auto makers are starting to make some interesting colors again. They're experimenting with finishes and colors in a way I haven't seen done in so many years. Maybe 25 years or so.
Thanks! Yeah I’ve been noticing that trend as well and I’m all for it. Still see too many white cars on the road though LOL.
I have friends that have a streak larger than DiMaggio with white cars or trucks haha
Ended up going with the iphone 14 pro max. GF sort of talked me into going this route 
Bought from Apple with $100.00 trade in 256 purple model, had to be different!
Reading your trade in fiasco grumpy. I traded my 10.5. iPad pro towards an 11" iPad pro last year. Got an email from apple saying it was "bent" when they got it and "offered" something like $50.00 or they could send it back. I knew damn well it was not bent because not only did I ship it in that pretty tough box they send back, I also left it in its case as Apple said they will recycle it as well.
I called Apple and plead my case and the lady I spoke with gave me the full trade/recycle price.
Bought from Apple with $100.00 trade in 256 purple model, had to be different!
Reading your trade in fiasco grumpy. I traded my 10.5. iPad pro towards an 11" iPad pro last year. Got an email from apple saying it was "bent" when they got it and "offered" something like $50.00 or they could send it back. I knew damn well it was not bent because not only did I ship it in that pretty tough box they send back, I also left it in its case as Apple said they will recycle it as well.
I called Apple and plead my case and the lady I spoke with gave me the full trade/recycle price.
Ended up going with the iphone 14 pro max. GF sort of talked me into going this route
Bought from Apple with $100.00 trade in 256 purple model, had to be different!
Reading your trade in fiasco grumpy. I traded my 10.5. iPad pro towards an 11" iPad pro last year. Got an email from apple saying it was "bent" when they got it and "offered" something like $50.00 or they could send it back. I knew damn well it was not bent because not only did I ship it in that pretty tough box they send back, I also left it in its case as Apple said they will recycle it as well.
I called Apple and plead my case and the lady I spoke with gave me the full trade/recycle price.
Did you just get the iPhone or was this a while back?
The 14 Pro Max is a very nice phone. The purple color is in my opinion the best color of any smartphone on the market currently.
Let's hope next year Samsung decides to be a little more bold with it's standard color options. I would love to see more companies adopt that particular purple or something close to it.
Apple has pretty decent customer service but it highly depends on who you speak to and how polite and persistent you are.
Samsung generally is good too. Not as good as Apple but if you are persistent and polite you generally get a decent resolution.
I really hope they do the right thing for GrumpyMom and sort out the mess they had this past year during the preorder trade ins.
I would love to see them keep the purple, bring back the green and dark blue for the pro models, and go bright and bold for the regular models, like nokias back in the day...bright green, orange, yellow, blue, pink.....That would be awesome.