Samsung Galaxy S9

[raqball]

Picked up an S9 last weekend. Best Buy had $300 off so I snagged the regular S9 for $489 (AT&T version) put $450 down and financed $39. You had to be on financing to get the deal. Called AT&T next day and paid it off and then requested unlock code which I got yesterday...

It's a sweet phone. Not sure if I am going to keep my iPhone X or sell it after using the S9 for a few days now, I dig it...

Pluses:

Screen
Fingerprint reader
It's fast
Feels better in hand than the X
Always on screen
Notification light! - Hadn't realized how much I miss this

Bummers:

Bloat
Junk
Duplicate services and apps
Bixby - Seriously Samsung? Just kill it off!

 

[Wildo6882]

Picked up an S9 last weekend. Best Buy had $300 off so I snagged the regular S9 for $489 (AT&T version) put $450 down and financed $39. You had to be on financing to get the deal. Called AT&T next day and paid it off and then requested unlock code which I got yesterday...

It's a sweet phone. Not sure if I am going to keep my iPhone X or sell it after using the S9 for a few days now, I dig it...

Pluses:

Screen
Fingerprint reader
It's fast
Feels better in hand than the X
Always on screen
Notification light! - Hadn't realized how much I miss this

Bummers:

Bloat
Junk
Duplicate services and apps
Bixby - Seriously Samsung? Just kill it off!

They still have this deal going and I’m tempted to do it, too, coming from an iPhone X. I haven’t used an Android phone for more than a few days in about 2.5 years so I REALLY get cold feet when it comes to ditching iOS.

 

[raqball]

They still have this deal going and I’m tempted to do it, too, coming from an iPhone X. I haven’t used an Android phone for more than a few days in about 2.5 years so I REALLY get cold feet when it comes to ditching iOS.

For $489 it's really a killer deal.. I figure worse case I'll sell it a make money. LOL

I might actually keep it and sell my X. Not sure, going to give the S9 a few more weeks and see..

So far I dig it. I've been pretty critical of Samsung in the past and while some of my criticism still holds true, the phone @ $489 is a killer deal..

 

[Wildo6882]

For $489 it's really a killer deal.. I figure worse case I'll sell it a make money. LOL

I might actually keep it and sell my X. Not sure, going to give the S9 a few more weeks and see..

So far I dig it. I've been pretty critical of Samsung in the past and while some of my criticism still holds true, the phone @ $489 is a killer deal..

Yeah. The price is what is getting me. I can sell my X and pocket a good few hundred dollars while still having a solid phone. How’s your battery life? I’m torn between the Plus and regular S9. I’d love to try one out for awhile and see if I can go back to Android.

 

[sunking101]

How come you guys get killer phones for peanuts?
Over here in the UK a budget OnePlus 6 is $730 and a Samsung S9 costs way more.

 

[noobinator]

If I could get it for 489 on T-Mobile I would but alas no deals this good for T-Mobile.

 

[raqball]

Yeah. The price is what is getting me. I can sell my X and pocket a good few hundred dollars while still having a solid phone. How’s your battery life? I’m torn between the Plus and regular S9. I’d love to try one out for awhile and see if I can go back to Android.

Battery life for me has been good but I am a light user. I used it for 2 days before charging it last night and it was only at 48% when I put it on the charger. It's about the same as I get with the X, maybe a little less on the S9..

I deleted and disabled as much of the crud as I could but some is still there and can't be removed or disabled. Bixby is off so maybe that's saves battery...

My son has the 9+ (he has always been a Samsung fan) and he is impressed with the battery life on his.
[doublepost=1527709064][/doublepost]

If I could get it for 489 on T-Mobile I would but alas no deals this good for T-Mobile.

Yeah, I wanted to just buy it outright but the guy at BB said it had to be on payments to get the deal. Put $450 down then called AT&T the next day and paid the other $39 off.. Strange but I guess that's how they are doing it..

 

[Wildo6882]

Battery life for me has been good but I am a light user. I used it for 2 days before charging it last night and it was only at 48% when I put it on the charger. It's about the same as I get with the X, maybe a little less on the S9..

I deleted and disabled as much of the crud as I could but some is still there and can't be removed or disabled. Bixby is off so maybe that's saves battery...

My son has the 9+ (he has always been a Samsung fan) and he is impressed with the battery life on his.
[doublepost=1527709064][/doublepost]

Yeah, I wanted to just buy it outright but the guy at BB said it had to be on payments to get the deal. Put $450 down then called AT&T the next day and paid the other $39 off.. Strange but I guess that's how they are doing it..

I think I would probably splurge for the S9+ just to get the better battery and telephoto lens. I have some strange attachment to iOS, though, and have trouble pulling myself away. But man saving that money would be nice...

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

Bummers:

Bloat
Junk
Duplicate services and apps
Bixby - Seriously Samsung? Just kill it off!

I never really get why people get bothered about these things.
If you don't like the Samsung additions, just remove them from the homes screens and disable them in settings, if possible.

 

[raqball]

I never really get why people get bothered about these things.
If you don't like the Samsung additions, just remove them from the homes screens and disable them in settings, if possible.

I dunno, maybe because they are a waste of space and resources? Some can't be removed or disabled.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

I dunno, maybe because they are a waste of space and resources? Some can't be removed or disabled.

Apps take up minimal space in a 64G phone with SD card capability. If you are not using the apps, what resources are they using?
Real space users are music and video files that run perfectly from SD cards.

Edit: You can remove the icon for an app you cannot delete from the homescreens. Out of sight, out of mind

 

[raqball]

Apps take up minimal space in a 64G phone with SD card capability. If you are not using the apps, what resources are they using?
Real space users are music and video files that run perfectly from SD cards.

Edit: You can remove the icon for an app you cannot delete from the homescreens. Out of sight, out of mind

Not the point at all.. Why do you care if people want choices? I do not need the Samsung browser (can't be removed) I do not need Samsung email (can't be removed) I do not need Samsung ect, ect, ect...

If I wanted them then I am well aware of how to install an app.. As far as using minimal storage, again that's not the point and yes some of the Samsung crap does use up resources as it runs and loads at boot...

Anyways, the phone is loaded to the hilt with junk, bloat and duplicate services. A lot of which can't be removed.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Battery life for me has been good but I am a light user. I used it for 2 days before charging it last night and it was only at 48% when I put it on the charger. It's about the same as I get with the X, maybe a little less on the S9..

I deleted and disabled as much of the crud as I could but some is still there and can't be removed or disabled. Bixby is off so maybe that's saves battery...

My son has the 9+ (he has always been a Samsung fan) and he is impressed with the battery life on his.
[doublepost=1527709064][/doublepost]

Yeah, I wanted to just buy it outright but the guy at BB said it had to be on payments to get the deal. Put $450 down then called AT&T the next day and paid the other $39 off.. Strange but I guess that's how they are doing it..

If you're in to auto call recording, "Call Recorder ACR"(NLL) is a must have.

 

[Gilligan's last elephant]

Not the point at all.. Why do you care if people want choices? I do not need the Samsung browser (can't be removed) I do not need Samsung email (can't be removed) I do not need Samsung ect, ect, ect...

If I wanted them then I am well aware of how to install an app.. As far as using minimal storage, again that's not the point and yes some of the Samsung crap does use up resources as it runs and loads at boot...

Anyways, the phone is loaded to the hilt with junk, bloat and duplicate services. A lot of which can't be removed.

None of the the things you list has ever bothered or been an issue with me, which was why I was asking the original question

Thankfully, although one cannot delete the Samsung apps it would be particularly annoying if one couldn't decide which apps one wanted to make one's default apps of choice, like a certain manufacturer does.

 

[raqball]

None of the the things you list has ever bothered or been an issue with me, which was why I was asking the original question

Thankfully, although one cannot delete the Samsung apps it would be particularly annoying if one couldn't decide which apps one wanted to make one's default apps of choice, like a certain manufacturer does.

So you just choose to jump on any post that dares to say anything negative about it? Odd but rock on I suppose..

Apple has nothing to do with this. Samsung runs android with their own skin on top and they are well known for bloat, crapware and duplicate services. There is no reason to bake their apps into the OS so they can't be removed other than to force their use and/or collect info when they are running in the background. If you buy a Pixel 2 can you remove the browser? Yup! Can you remove the email client? Yup! Can you remove? Yup, yup and more yup. It's not an android thing, it's a Samsung thing.

Anyways, it's not a deal breaker for me as I said I dig the phone. I wish Samsung would knock it off though.

 

[nviz22]

If I could get it for 489 on T-Mobile I would but alas no deals this good for T-Mobile.

T-Mobile's definition of a "good deal" has soured over the last 12-18 months. Add a line and bill credits? Shovel that crap elsewhere, right? It's more or less a contract these days. I am going to go buy another phone outright next time by.
[doublepost=1527724220][/doublepost]

So you just choose to jump on any post that dares to say anything negative about it? Odd but rock on I suppose..

Apple has nothing to do with this. Samsung runs android with their own skin on top and they are well known for bloat, crapware and duplicate services. There is no reason to bake their apps into the OS so they can't be removed other than to force their use and/or collect info when they are running in the background. If you buy a Pixel 2 can you remove the browser? Yup! Can you remove the email client? Yup! Can you remove? Yup, yup and more yup. It's not an android thing, it's a Samsung thing.

Anyways, it's not a deal breaker for me as I said I dig the phone. I wish Samsung would knock it off though.

Speaking of knocking stuff off, I have one helluva story to mention about Samsung:

FYI, words of advice from a recent iOS to Samsung switcher: Be very prepared for a bumpy start.

Samsung Direct isn't very customer friendly or even semi-useful. They shipped me two phones with their good ole ordering system giving me errors processing orders in the first place. Then they refused to cancel the order and said I had to reject the item once they shipped it. This was before they even processed the shipment (wasting time and dollars). Then they do not want to help you with issues with processing timely refunds.

My old S9+ was sitting in my house for 30+ days just waiting for a return label after I shipped out to Samsung. Samsung promptly sent it back to me after claiming they accepted the device for a return. They processed "return" under the wrong order too. Meanwhile, the S9+ was sent after the rejected old Note 8 duplicate shipment. S9+ return confirmed. Note 8 return? Still not confirmed even though the Note 8 got to their return facility quicker than my old S9+.

I do miss Apple's customer service anyway. WWDC is around the corner, so maybe I may return to the iPhone this fall because I sure do not like Samsung's incompetent customer support. The Note 8 is a fine device, but small battery, curved edges, and problems finding screen protectors make it harder to use the damn device. I think the curved screens do screw up touch sensitivity too.

 

[sunking101]

I dunno, maybe because they are a waste of space and resources? Some can't be removed or disabled.

If Apple allowed you to set other apps as the default then a lot of the preinstalled iPhone apps would be classed as bloat. With the storage sizes we have now unused and unwanted apps really aren't a problem IMO.

 

[kkh786]

May be I have a special S9 but I can remove or at least disable all the unwanted Samsung apps including the browser etc. Hmm.

 

[mib1800]

May be I have a special S9 but I can remove or at least disable all the unwanted Samsung apps including the browser etc. Hmm.

So true. All those who complained about bloatware most probably they are just too lazy to find out. Of course some just regurgitated ancient stuff which is no longer true.

 

[torana355]

May be I have a special S9 but I can remove or at least disable all the unwanted Samsung apps including the browser etc. Hmm.

Nope not special, people just like to whinge about Samsung and don't even try to disable stuff they don't want. the reality is its very easy to do and it gives us choices!! For instance the first thing i do is delete Chrome browser as the Samsung browser is vastly superior.

 

[raqball]

May be I have a special S9 but I can remove or at least disable all the unwanted Samsung apps including the browser etc. Hmm.

So true. All those who complained about bloatware most probably they are just too lazy to find out. Of course some just regurgitated ancient stuff which is no longer true.

Nope not special, people just like to whinge about Samsung and don't even try to disable stuff they don't want. the reality is its very easy to do and it gives us choices!! For instance the first thing i do is delete Chrome browser as the Samsung browser is vastly superior.

Really.... Care to share how this so simple thing is done without rooting the phone then? Thanks

Here are 2 apps that can't be disabled (Samsung Email and Browser) would you like me to post 15 or 20 more that can't be disabled?





Guess it's easier to put others down in the defense of a phone then it is to have a conversation about it's shortcomings eh?

 

[sunking101]

Really.... Care to share how this so simple thing is done without rooting the phone then? Thanks

Here are 2 apps that can't be disabled (Samsung Email and Browser) would you like me to post 15 or 20 more that can't be disabled?

View attachment 763796

View attachment 763799

Guess it's easier to put others down in the defense of a phone then it is to have a conversation about it's shortcomings eh?

My Note 8 (running Oreo) allows me to uninstall Samsung Email and Samsung Internet...

 

[0388631]

I'll stick with my S8.

 

[raqball]

My Note 8 (running Oreo) allows me to uninstall Samsung Email and Samsung Internet...

My S9 does not.. Had the other posters not stooped to name calling and put downs then perhaps a rational discussion could have ensued... There are a TON of apps and services on my S9 that can't be disabled or deleted.

If you look at my original post that caused the defenders to flip out, my only real gripes were with the bloat and crap that Samsung won't let me get rid of.. Other than that. it's a fine phone.. The Samsung garbage has always been my main gripe with them though..

 

[noobinator]

Guys, I think different models (carrier models vs unlocked vs international etc.) can act different. Some will allow you to un-install certain things and others won't. So you might both be right.