Thought I'd post some more thoughts now I've used the phone over 24 hours.
I still don't really feel like I have made my mind up on this device yet. I don't think it's a case of you either just like it or you don't. It's a very complex phone, IMO and in a way that's part of its charm but also part of the problem.
I will try to make sense with what I write, but when I'm still not sure on it myself it might not make full sense unless you've had a hands on / used one yourself.
Pros
+ Displays. Both, but particularly that inside display. Absolutely amazing. When you turn vivid mode off that is... no one wants eye bleeding, neon colour. Well, some might, but I find Samsung's vivd mode to be absolutely awful. Even their basic mode is still too dialled up for me, but I am coming from a Sony 4k OLED display which is the most colour accurate phone screen I have ever had the pleasure of using.
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+ 120hz - I will be honest, whilst this is amazing to have - I don't notice the difference between 90 and 120. From 60-90 I absolutely do. But the Pixel 4's device which was the last device I used with full 90hz, and my Xperia 1 ii which had 'motion sense' to make 60 look smoother, I can't see a huge increase in fluidity. It's still a massive plus though.
+ Camera - I am marking this as a positive, as when it gets it right - it delivers a great picture. I am not sure I love Samsung's post processing. Point and shoot is quick, responsive and I quite like the 'Best Shot' feature which is a nice to have. Video recording always great with Samsung. No complaints from me there!
I need a camera that captures solid pictures as I have a local business I have been running since August so it has to be able to take detailed photos. This passed my Loaf Cake test so it's a thumbs up from me.
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+ Build quality. Absolutely top notch. Feels incredible - so premium. The Bronze colour I have is actually gorgeous. I think I would have gone black if ever I was going to buy one personally, but now I have this bronze I do think I like the look of it over black. The front display doesn't look as odd with bronze IMO, as the black one makes it look like the screen has a black bar down the side. Whereas the bronze makes it seem obvious that it isn't actually the screen, and just the hinge. Soft touch back also a win. The phone looks a lot less grubby in this matte finish.
+ Versatility. The sheer
options you have with a device like this. I have a free Disney + trial currently and last night we took our puppy to have her first groom. The lady said she would be an hour and we were 40 mins from home so we just sat and waited. I loaded up Disney + and we watched The Simpson's.
Obviously, I could have done this on any phone - no biggie. But it was nice to actually feel more immersed with a screen like this.
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All media content is just fantastic on this thing. I've been wanting to start reading again and last night downloaded a book on the Kindle app. I hate reading on a smartphone and would never entertain the idea. With this - I love it. A lot of talk about this phone replacing a tablet - it cannot IMO. But who needs a Kindle anymore?!
That is a device it can 100% replace!
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Xbox Game Pass and gaming in general - just incredible. The Glap controller apparently holds this device in perfectly, despite it not being optimised for it. Even with just my Xbox controller this works perfectly. I don't think I'd play anything too heavy on it (FPS online etc) as I don't think it would work too well for that. But for solo games and story driven games (my preferred games) this is perfect.
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I haven't used any split screen stuff yet but I know that will come in very handy as and when I need to.
+ Optimised apps. When apps are optimised and you get split screen views (Outlook, Samsung's own apps etc) - this thing is a game changer. It's just a more pleasant viewing experience. That is what needs to happen across the board with all apps. For now, the Twitter web page is actually better than the app as the app just magnifies itself. Not bad, as it's still very useable, but it would be nice to see the same kind of layout as Twitter URL.
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+ Web browsing. Samsung's browser has always been my absolute go to on Android, and with this phone it's even better. I think on regular mobiles Samsung gives you the option to add tabs that are visible on screen rather than in the card view to scroll through. But tab view on this phone is perfect. It feels like a full non-mobile browser and just makes managing multiple tabs a breeze.
+ Good Lock. This app is such fun to use. I love the customisation it brings. I have added so many handy settings to the phone using this. Not a Fold feature, but being able to choose which apps are full screen through it is great. Although Instagram needs to stay in the native resolution IMO - bars and all. It just doesn't work full screen. I quite like the bars personally.
+ Haptics. They're good. They're not amazing - but they're good. I'll take them and I am VERY picky with haptics.
There are many, many positives with this phone. I don't think I've even covered everything, but these are the takeaways so far from a small amount of time with it.
It's not all roses though. Here's the not so good stuff (for me).
- Buggy. It's a bit buggy. Again, this is just MY experience. So please no "well that must just be you" - I appreciate everyone has a different experience and these are likely to be isolated to just me.
I've had several app crashes. I loaded Spotify yesterday and it just hung on a black screen. I force closed it and tried again - same thing. I closed the phone and it just beamed the black screen to the front display. I had to restart the phone to get it to work.
When travelling to dog groomers yesterday (I wasn't driving) - I needed to check where it was when we neared the place. I tried to load Google Maps but I had 'no connection'. My signal was showing full bars and 4g. No app would refresh. It was as if there was no mobile signal. I again, had to reset the phone to get it to work. Once reset it was fine. Odd.
I opened Reddit and there was big red line down the middle of the app. I panicked thinking it was my screen - but it was just the app. I force closed it and it was then fine. Again - odd.
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- Fingerprint scanner. It isn't very good IMO. I have had several messages throughout the day to say 'wait 30 seconds, too many attempts'. I just don't find it as good as Apple's or Google's FPS. I don't know if it's these side mounted ones, as my Xperia's FPS's have been temperamental too. I could try Face Unlock, but ehhh.
- Weight. Yes, an obvious one as anyone would know it's heavy just by checking the weight of the thing online. But it is damn heavy. When it's open it isn't so much of an issue as you will generally be using two hands to handle it then. But closed it doesn't feel nice to use IMO.
- Front screen. I... don't like it. I find it hard to use and I have small hands for a guy. Anyone with big hands is going to struggle with this front screen unless they use the swipe typing. Which I absolutely hate. I think it's a dreadful input method, but people swear by it! It's just too narrow. It's fine for swiping through Spotify, scrolling Twitter or using the calculator / clock app etc. But it doesn't feel convenient to me. It needs to be convenient for the instances where you can't or don't want to open it fully. I feel like this must (and likely will) be addressed in V3.
- The fact is has 2 screens. So, a strange one this. But hear me out lol. It's
great that there are two screens although one for me isn't very user friendly - but the phone in some instances makes you use it like two devices - and then in other instances, doesn't.
An example: Wallpaper setting. As has already been discussed in the thread - you can't set the same wallpaper across both the external and internal lock / home screens. The phone makes you treat them separately. Same with apps. You put an app on your front screen on the outer display, it doesn't mirror it inside. That's fine for me as I want different apps over both. But there's no choice.
However, for keyboards, I use the Samsung split keyboard when unfolded. It works great and I am getting quicker and quicker with it every time I use it.
But for the outer display, I love SwiftKey. Not for swipe typing, but I make nowhere near as many mistakes using that one over the Samsung one - strangely. But I have to swap between them if I reply to a message on the outer display and then an hour later open the phone to say, do a Google search as the phone remembers which one you used on the outer display and sets it.
So... it can remember that and set that but it can't set a wallpaper across them all... again, odd.
It's these little things that make the day to day usage a bit... cumbersome? Annoying? I mean, its no problem if you use the same keyboard across both, but I don't.
- Camera. It's a positive too - but there's also some issues. Selfies (which I very very rarely take) - are just filled with garbage beauty options. Why? Just give it a damn rest, Samsung. Seriously. I know you can turn them off, but it still applies something I am convinced of it.
It's also a little bit poor in lower light. Detail goes totally out of the window and a moving object (dogs lol) are a blurry mess. For the price, it needs to be better. I will also not take "people are not buying this for the camera" argument either. BS. It doesn't matter if they are or not. Put your best camera in it for a device at this price point.
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- Power button. Why does this activate Bixby. This could be an option I can turn off but I haven't managed to find it if it is there. Bixby needs to be killed off now - it has more than out stayed its welcome.
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Trying to restart the phone by holding the 'power' key and getting her voice is just annoying.
I think that's kind of everything (so far) that I have had some thoughts on.
Sorry for the long post, but didn't want to just post a sentence and upset some of the delicate readers of the forum. Lol.
In regards to the 'keep or sell' thing. Well. I don't know. Like I said at the start, I still don't know how I feel about this phone. Not properly anyway.
More time is definitely needed.
