Samsung galaxy S23 and S23 ultra

[drinkingtea]

So far, I'm getting notifications from the new Threads app the same time on my S23U and my iPhone, and the same notifications. This is something Twitter never did (I would not receive most of the Twitter notifications my iPhone did, nor would they come in on time). Fingers crossed that Threads will continue to be great on my S23U the same way it is on my iPhone.

 

[mjschabow]

So far, I'm getting notifications from the new Threads app the same time on my S23U and my iPhone, and the same notifications. This is something Twitter never did (I would not receive most of the Twitter notifications my iPhone did, nor would they come in on time). Fingers crossed that Threads will continue to be great on my S23U the same way it is on my iPhone.

I hope that platform takes off big-time.

 

[noobinator]

Oh hell yeah, join the party. 😁

Only if I can find a good deal. Samsung only offers $750 for a 14PM. Might look for a gently used one or something.

 

[Technerd108]

Only if I can find a good deal. Samsung only offers $750 for a 14PM. Might look for a gently used one or something.

I wonder how much Apple will give you when the iPhone 15 PM is released? Do you think they will offer you more?

Plus Samsung is giving a storage and ram upgrade for free.

But you will have another sale opportunity during the November sales if you live in the US. If you don't upgrade your iPhone and still want the s23 ultra. Then a few months later pre order deals for the s24 ultra. 😂 Lol.

 

[Dave245]

I see that some people are getting the July update, I’m still on the June one.

 

[unclejamaal]

Quick mini review of my S23 Ultra (512Gb) and a few questions:

Background:
Location: UK

Coming from an iPhone 11 Pro Max which I've used for the past three years. Before this I had a Samsung s8+ since its launch so at least three years.
Then I got the Pixel 7 Pro on a special offer deal. Loved the software. Didnt quite get on with a few 'perks' e.g. Google Pay was VERY sensitive and never gave me a chance to select which card and would 'pay' as soon as I took phone out of the pocket. The screen was really sensitive and would often select text when I was simply scrolling down a web page. These two factors alone were enough for me to sell the P7 P.

Now: S23 Ultra on Samsung June cashback + earbuds offer.

- Scroll speeds is better.
- I'm fairly used to Samsung's One UI having used it previously.
- A bit overwhelmed at the possibility of customisation as with any Android, so just have a basic screen for now until I find my way round. I have the Premium version of Nova Launcher but decided to stay with One UI for the moment as there's some quirks like notification badges and 'news by swipe left' which just work out of the box on One UI.
- Battery after a few days of use gets to be VERY good and has lasted me over a day after 'medium' usage. I generally charge the phone to anything between 60% to 90% though. Is that the general accepted method of prolonging battery life?
- Face Unlock on S23 is totally rubbish and hardly ever works for me. I'm slowly learning to accept its fingerprint sensor only on Android and Face ID on iPhone is really hard to beat.


Questions:

How do I get rid of the annoying alerts for the generic Samsung weather app?
Is there a shortcut for Google or Samsung Pay which allows me to use it without finding the app on home screen then tapping the card reader? With Apple its a simple double tap of power button and face unlock and job done.
Is there a free icon pack, or some sample Home Screen layouts I can use as inspiration to have my own unique home screen?
The Pixel 7 Pro had a 'now playing' app which would always listen in background for songs. On the S23 I can 'OK Google what song is playing now' and it will tell me. Where is this info stored so I can get to it later?
Where are 'Google reminders' stored ? Is there an app which I can put on my home screen to give me a list of reminders?
What keyboard app do people use? I find Swype and Swift to be hit and miss. I love Apples default keyboard which auto corrects mostly to what I was typing and miss that.
- Is there an SMS app which makes the messages look like iMessage?
- whats the difference between Samsung Pay and Google Pay? In the UK we also have Barclays Pay which annoyingly my credit card uses but doesn't use Google Pay

 

[robvalentine]

for paying with a card, I have the wallet app on the home page, and if you are paying with the defualt card you don't need to open the wallet app, just hover the phone over the terminal. I use Google pay because my bank doesn't so samsung pay so can't advise on the difference.

for the weather app long press the noticifation and it should give you the option to change the notification settings.

I find the themes app quite useful, I'm using oynx black (I think that's the name) and it's free, and looks good IMO

Quick mini review of my S23 Ultra (512Gb) and a few questions:

Background:
Location: UK

Coming from an iPhone 11 Pro Max which I've used for the past three years. Before this I had a Samsung s8+ since its launch so at least three years.
Then I got the Pixel 7 Pro on a special offer deal. Loved the software. Didnt quite get on with a few 'perks' e.g. Google Pay was VERY sensitive and never gave me a chance to select which card and would 'pay' as soon as I took phone out of the pocket. The screen was really sensitive and would often select text when I was simply scrolling down a web page. These two factors alone were enough for me to sell the P7 P.

Now: S23 Ultra on Samsung June cashback + earbuds offer.

- Scroll speeds is better.
- I'm fairly used to Samsung's One UI having used it previously.
- A bit overwhelmed at the possibility of customisation as with any Android, so just have a basic screen for now until I find my way round. I have the Premium version of Nova Launcher but decided to stay with One UI for the moment as there's some quirks like notification badges and 'news by swipe left' which just work out of the box on One UI.
- Battery after a few days of use gets to be VERY good and has lasted me over a day after 'medium' usage. I generally charge the phone to anything between 60% to 90% though. Is that the general accepted method of prolonging battery life?
- Face Unlock on S23 is totally rubbish and hardly ever works for me. I'm slowly learning to accept its fingerprint sensor only on Android and Face ID on iPhone is really hard to beat.


Questions:

How do I get rid of the annoying alerts for the generic Samsung weather app?
Is there a shortcut for Google or Samsung Pay which allows me to use it without finding the app on home screen then tapping the card reader? With Apple its a simple double tap of power button and face unlock and job done.
Is there a free icon pack, or some sample Home Screen layouts I can use as inspiration to have my own unique home screen?
The Pixel 7 Pro had a 'now playing' app which would always listen in background for songs. On the S23 I can 'OK Google what song is playing now' and it will tell me. Where is this info stored so I can get to it later?
Where are 'Google reminders' stored ? Is there an app which I can put on my home screen to give me a list of reminders?
What keyboard app do people use? I find Swype and Swift to be hit and miss. I love Apples default keyboard which auto corrects mostly to what I was typing and miss that.
- Is there an SMS app which makes the messages look like iMessage?
- whats the difference between Samsung Pay and Google Pay? In the UK we also have Barclays Pay which annoyingly my credit card uses but doesn't use Google Pay

 

[kkh786]

Quick mini review of my S23 Ultra (512Gb) and a few questions:

Background:
Location: UK

Coming from an iPhone 11 Pro Max which I've used for the past three years. Before this I had a Samsung s8+ since its launch so at least three years.
Then I got the Pixel 7 Pro on a special offer deal. Loved the software. Didnt quite get on with a few 'perks' e.g. Google Pay was VERY sensitive and never gave me a chance to select which card and would 'pay' as soon as I took phone out of the pocket. The screen was really sensitive and would often select text when I was simply scrolling down a web page. These two factors alone were enough for me to sell the P7 P.

Now: S23 Ultra on Samsung June cashback + earbuds offer.

- Scroll speeds is better.
- I'm fairly used to Samsung's One UI having used it previously.
- A bit overwhelmed at the possibility of customisation as with any Android, so just have a basic screen for now until I find my way round. I have the Premium version of Nova Launcher but decided to stay with One UI for the moment as there's some quirks like notification badges and 'news by swipe left' which just work out of the box on One UI.
- Battery after a few days of use gets to be VERY good and has lasted me over a day after 'medium' usage. I generally charge the phone to anything between 60% to 90% though. Is that the general accepted method of prolonging battery life?
- Face Unlock on S23 is totally rubbish and hardly ever works for me. I'm slowly learning to accept its fingerprint sensor only on Android and Face ID on iPhone is really hard to beat.


Questions:

How do I get rid of the annoying alerts for the generic Samsung weather app?
Is there a shortcut for Google or Samsung Pay which allows me to use it without finding the app on home screen then tapping the card reader? With Apple its a simple double tap of power button and face unlock and job done.
Is there a free icon pack, or some sample Home Screen layouts I can use as inspiration to have my own unique home screen?
The Pixel 7 Pro had a 'now playing' app which would always listen in background for songs. On the S23 I can 'OK Google what song is playing now' and it will tell me. Where is this info stored so I can get to it later?
Where are 'Google reminders' stored ? Is there an app which I can put on my home screen to give me a list of reminders?
What keyboard app do people use? I find Swype and Swift to be hit and miss. I love Apples default keyboard which auto corrects mostly to what I was typing and miss that.
- Is there an SMS app which makes the messages look like iMessage?
- whats the difference between Samsung Pay and Google Pay? In the UK we also have Barclays Pay which annoyingly my credit card uses but doesn't use Google Pay

My tuppence..

The default Samsung keyboard is the most optimised in my opinion with a lot of customisation options. Side note, I try to keep as much as possible Native One UI for a smoother experience.

Samsung Pay works better on Samsung device but Google Pay isn't far behind and supports more cards in the UK such as Halifax. So it's Google Pay for me.

The Google Pay shortcut I use is the side key double press. Double tap anywhere and the wallet pops up. It is a similar action to how I used Apple Pay on the iPhone.

 

[unclejamaal]

My tuppence..

The default Samsung keyboard is the most optimised in my opinion with a lot of customisation options. Side note, I try to keep as much as possible Native One UI for a smoother experience.

Samsung Pay works better on Samsung device but Google Pay isn't far behind and supports more cards in the UK such as Halifax. So it's Google Pay for me.

The Google Pay shortcut I use is the side key double press. Double tap anywhere and the wallet pops up. It is a similar action to how I used Apple Pay on the iPhone.

That’s a good tip actually and I’ve just added the double tap shortcut !

 

[hockeyfan81]

I see that some people are getting the July update, I’m still on the June one.

Just got the July update today. How about you?

 

[Dave245]

Just got the July update today. How about you?

No mine still says “your software is up to date” this is one of the occasions where I prefer Apple and iPhone, they at least push out updates at the same time.

 

[rockitdog]

I hope that platform takes off big-time.

I'm torn.... I am hearing about things being labeled as hate speech and being removed on threads which is disappointing compared to the absolute astounding amount of lies, misinformation and actual hate speech that is allowed to exits on twitter. Can't we have a happy middle ground?

 

[rockitdog]

Picked up an 8GB variant of the S23 Ultra... itching for some Android but wishing I had gotten the 12GB variant. Anyone using the lower memory variant?

 

[robvalentine]

8gb has been fine for me on my laptop... and is fine on my s23+, but I rarely do much intensive stuff on my phone TBH

 

[danb1979]

Picked up an 8GB variant of the S23 Ultra... itching for some Android but wishing I had gotten the 12GB variant. Anyone using the lower memory variant?

What real world use do you need 12GB for?

8GB will be more than adequate for more or less all tasks on a mobile; unless you're a heavy gamer etc!

 

[unclejamaal]

Picked up an 8GB variant of the S23 Ultra... itching for some Android but wishing I had gotten the 12GB variant. Anyone using the lower memory variant?

Most users wouldn’t care or notice any need for more than 8gb

I only got the 512gb 12gb ram version as it was on a cheap offer last month in the uk otherwise would have gone for 256

 

[SteveJUAE]

No mine still says “your software is up to date” this is one of the occasions where I prefer Apple and iPhone, they at least push out updates at the same time.

How is this really impacting you other than self inflicted anxiety LOL

IOS has been a bug fest this year so much so many hold back on the updates and the only recent exploits being actually used were on IOS

What about the bettor UI and apps updates on Android you do not have to wait a full cycle to get many updates during the year unlike IOS

 

[drinkingtea]

Still in love with my S23U. I've had it for more than 7 months now. I only touch my iPhone nowadays for phone calls. I've never been this enamored by a phone before, especially an Android. It's perfect. I've also have had no case or screen protector on it since day one and the phone and screen are still in great shape.

(TMI, but I spent the entire day designing a new website for my blog; sometimes I don't know why I am in law school. I love tech and design so much.)

 

[Dave245]

How is this really impacting you other than self inflicted anxiety LOL

IOS has been a bug fest this year so much so many hold back on the updates and the only recent exploits being actually used were on IOS

What about the bettor UI and apps updates on Android you do not have to wait a full cycle to get many updates during the year unlike IOS

I can’t say I have experienced any bugs on IOS 16, I do still prefer IOS overall. My S23 Ultra is my second phone, I use it mainly for the camera because of that zoom and the Astrophotography, the spen is awesome to have also.

I just find software updates on Android to be unreliable at times. Also app quality isn’t as good as it is on IOS.

I sold my red S23 Ultra because I hadn’t used it in a while, but I did find myself missing it, so I re-brought a S23 Ultra (Cream this time which I love the colour of). But as my main phone I still don’t think you can beat an iPhone. I will probably buy the 15 when it’s announced in a couple of months.

 

[drinkingtea]

I can’t say I have experienced any bugs on IOS 16, I do still prefer IOS overall. My S23 Ultra is my second phone, I use it mainly for the camera because of that zoom and the Astrophotography, the spen is awesome to have also.

I just find software updates on Android to be unreliable at times. Also app quality isn’t as good as it is on IOS.

I sold my red S23 Ultra because I hadn’t used it in a while, but I did find myself missing it, so I re-brought a S23 Ultra (Cream this time which I love the colour of). But as my main phone I still don’t think you can beat an iPhone. I will probably buy the 15 when it’s announced in a couple of months.

App quality is definitely still lacking in Android, and I continue having my SIM card in my iPhone because as much as I love my S23U, the iPhone is more reliable, especially when it comes to notifications coming in on time (or coming in at all; many times my S23U does not push incoming notifications until I unlock the phone—this is a persistent Android issue that Google refuses to acknowledge and fix).

 

[SteveJUAE]

I can’t say I have experienced any bugs on IOS 16, I do still prefer IOS overall. My S23 Ultra is my second phone, I use it mainly for the camera because of that zoom and the Astrophotography, the spen is awesome to have also.

I just find software updates on Android to be unreliable at times. Also app quality isn’t as good as it is on IOS.

I sold my red S23 Ultra because I hadn’t used it in a while, but I did find myself missing it, so I re-brought a S23 Ultra (Cream this time which I love the colour of). But as my main phone I still don’t think you can beat an iPhone. I will probably buy the 15 when it’s announced in a couple of months.

How are software updates unreliable you get more consistent and continuous updates with Android than you ever will with IOS that wait a complete cycle on many native apps

I find no disparity with the apps I use on Android vs Iphone if anything because of IOS and Apple lock downs/ins they are more restrictive

I simply do not feel empowered with my IP14P s compared to my Fold4 as when push comes to shove Android invariably have solutions and not hit a brick wall of Apple ECO or system policies not open to 3rd parties etc

Give me core functionality and options over pretty animations any day

 

[Dave245]

App quality is definitely still lacking in Android, and I continue having my SIM card in my iPhone because as much as I love my S23U, the iPhone is more reliable, especially when it comes to notifications coming in on time (or coming in at all; many times my S23U does not push incoming notifications until I unlock the phone—this is a persistent Android issue that Google refuses to acknowledge and fix).

IOS apps seem to be more reliable for sure, for example on my S23 Ultra I have had apps crash back to the Home Screen, the last one was Amazon. I dont remember a time when that has happened with my iPhone. I also have an issue where someone will send me a message on Facebook Messenger but i wont get the notification, same with WhatsApp at times.

 

[Dave245]

How are software updates unreliable you get more consistent and continuous updates with Android than you ever will with IOS that wait a complete cycle on many native apps

I find no disparity with the apps I use on Android vs Iphone if anything because of IOS and Apple lock downs/ins they are more restrictive

I simply do not feel empowered with my IP14P s compared to my Fold4 as when push comes to shove Android invariably have solutions and not hit a brick wall of Apple ECO or system policies not open to 3rd parties etc

Give me core functionality and options over pretty animations any day

I mean in the sense that with IOS you know you will get them when everyone else does. I definitely feel like the app quality is not as good on Android. That being said I do love my S23 Ultra for taking pictures, especially night time photos. The 200mp camera is great for taking pictures too. S23 Ultra definitely has more options.

that being said if Apple can bring the same quality and zoom to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I may go all in once again on iPhone. I doubt it will happen tho as we have only heard about a 6x zoom so far In the rumours.

 

[yui4]

IOS apps seem to be more reliable for sure, for example on my S23 Ultra I have had apps crash back to the Home Screen, the last one was Amazon. I dont remember a time when that has happened with my iPhone. I also have an issue where someone will send me a message on Facebook Messenger but i wont get the notification, same with WhatsApp at times.

For me personally. I've had the 14 PM since launch. I've had UI issues from apple. Since being back on the s23 ultra I can honestly say I don't think apple has the advantage it once did.

1 of the things I relied on apple was for passwords, in that they'd restore without fuss when setting up a new phone. Samsung pass has been just as reliable this time.

I have sold my iPhone, watch ultra and airport pro to replace with the s23 ultra, watch 5 Pro and buds pro 2 and for the first time I haven't had an ounce of buyers remorse

 

[yui4]

Also @Dave245 Why when I look quickly at your forum pic do I see some sort of cat? Lol

Took me zooming in to realise it was killing eve 🤣