I just switched a phone after 6 months. I can't change phones now, especially since I'm on a 2 year financing plan on the Ultra.
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The Samsung Galaxy S24 / Ultra
- Thread starter Tulani
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I just switched a phone after 6 months. I can't change phones now, especially since I'm on a 2 year financing plan on the Ultra.
I probably won't get the Pixel 9. I used my 8 Pro yesterday and the performance and overall experience left my a bit disappointed.
Apps that run smoothly on the S24U (and older Samsung and OnePlus phones) are worse on the Pixel. There is stuttering when scrolling and sometimes even when unlocking the phone or pulling down the notification panel.
The fingerprint reader, battery life and lack of features (I'm in Europe) are also frustrating.
I've had almost every XL/Pro Nexus/Pixel and they have always felt a bit like a beta product. It's getting harder to accept now that they cost more than 1000€.
I look forward to the Pixel 10 Pro though.
Apps that run smoothly on the S24U (and older Samsung and OnePlus phones) are worse on the Pixel. There is stuttering when scrolling and sometimes even when unlocking the phone or pulling down the notification panel.
The fingerprint reader, battery life and lack of features (I'm in Europe) are also frustrating.
I've had almost every XL/Pro Nexus/Pixel and they have always felt a bit like a beta product. It's getting harder to accept now that they cost more than 1000€.
I look forward to the Pixel 10 Pro though.
Same. I'm a diehard Nexus / Pixel guy, but after getting the S24U the P8P does have some lag and hiccups here and there like you mentioned, that I don't get on the S24 Ultra.
I'd like to write down my experience with the S24 ultra.
I have been an iPhone user since 2010. I only tried an android during the galaxy S4 days but quickly returned it because it was not polished and back then iOS was much better compared to Android. I have had iphone 4, 5, 6, 7, X, 12 pro and 14 pro.
But after so many years, even if the product in itself is good, it became quite boring. I saw all these cool phones on Android come and go meanwhile my 14 pro wasn't that much different than my 12. I noticed that I like the UI aesthetic of oneUI because it looked polished and a bit like iOS and Android wasn't the same anymore as in 2012.
So end of January I purchased a S24 ultra. Very good phone. But after about 2 weeks I missed my Iphone, mostly because majority of friends and family used one. So shared albums, airdrop, imessage was gone. I live in Europe so Whatsapp is really popular here too but it was more than just imessage.
I also have ipad pro and macbook pro but noticed I don't use them that much to force me to stay on apple. It was mostly family reasons.
Anyway after about 3 weeks I returned my galaxy and purchased iPhone 15 pro max. I got used to the big screen so went for the max for the first time. It felt nice having the things back I missed. But you can already see it coming. I started missing Android too. Even if the iPhone 15 pro max was still the best iPhone ever made, it was still 99% the same as my 14 or even 12, save for the dynamic island.
So what did I do then? I bought a S24 ultra again and carried both at the same time for several weeks.
I noticed that if I have both in front of me i was more inclined to use the S24, unless I needed to do something only my iPhone could but this hardly ever happened.
I like the bigger screen, the status bar, the gestures like back button, app drawer, swipe for notification center.
So currently my iPhone is only used when I go to the gym because I have airpods pro. Those fit much better for me than the galaxy buds 2 pro. I see myself switching again after some weeks to keep it fresh though but carrying 2 phones at the same time i won't ever go again. It felt so stressed for me.
I am interested in the iPhone 16 but it will probably be minor improvements yet again and iOS 18 will come to my 15 pro anyway.
I have turned to using workarounds for the fact that my family uses iPhones. Texting is whatsapp which we all have anyway. Icloud photos are now google photos. We all have a google account anyway so I send using that. Airdrop and so on I use quick share with the qr code. I gave my apple watch (which I didn't use that much anyway) to my wife. I feel sorry for the people wanting to switch but can't let go because of pressure from family.
What I wish is that samsung just improved the consistancy of the camera. With iPhone you knew what to expect but my S24 could sometimes completely expose wrong. And the zoom camera, although good in good lighting, is really bad moment it gets darker. Skin tones become orange like which I really hate. For photos I still prefer my S24 but videos is hands down my iPhone.
At the end of the day, what iOS is known for is true for me. A bit more polish, (some) apps have a better UI, but you also give up certain things to have that.
I have been an iPhone user since 2010. I only tried an android during the galaxy S4 days but quickly returned it because it was not polished and back then iOS was much better compared to Android. I have had iphone 4, 5, 6, 7, X, 12 pro and 14 pro.
But after so many years, even if the product in itself is good, it became quite boring. I saw all these cool phones on Android come and go meanwhile my 14 pro wasn't that much different than my 12. I noticed that I like the UI aesthetic of oneUI because it looked polished and a bit like iOS and Android wasn't the same anymore as in 2012.
So end of January I purchased a S24 ultra. Very good phone. But after about 2 weeks I missed my Iphone, mostly because majority of friends and family used one. So shared albums, airdrop, imessage was gone. I live in Europe so Whatsapp is really popular here too but it was more than just imessage.
I also have ipad pro and macbook pro but noticed I don't use them that much to force me to stay on apple. It was mostly family reasons.
Anyway after about 3 weeks I returned my galaxy and purchased iPhone 15 pro max. I got used to the big screen so went for the max for the first time. It felt nice having the things back I missed. But you can already see it coming. I started missing Android too. Even if the iPhone 15 pro max was still the best iPhone ever made, it was still 99% the same as my 14 or even 12, save for the dynamic island.
So what did I do then? I bought a S24 ultra again and carried both at the same time for several weeks.
I noticed that if I have both in front of me i was more inclined to use the S24, unless I needed to do something only my iPhone could but this hardly ever happened.
I like the bigger screen, the status bar, the gestures like back button, app drawer, swipe for notification center.
So currently my iPhone is only used when I go to the gym because I have airpods pro. Those fit much better for me than the galaxy buds 2 pro. I see myself switching again after some weeks to keep it fresh though but carrying 2 phones at the same time i won't ever go again. It felt so stressed for me.
I am interested in the iPhone 16 but it will probably be minor improvements yet again and iOS 18 will come to my 15 pro anyway.
I have turned to using workarounds for the fact that my family uses iPhones. Texting is whatsapp which we all have anyway. Icloud photos are now google photos. We all have a google account anyway so I send using that. Airdrop and so on I use quick share with the qr code. I gave my apple watch (which I didn't use that much anyway) to my wife. I feel sorry for the people wanting to switch but can't let go because of pressure from family.
What I wish is that samsung just improved the consistancy of the camera. With iPhone you knew what to expect but my S24 could sometimes completely expose wrong. And the zoom camera, although good in good lighting, is really bad moment it gets darker. Skin tones become orange like which I really hate. For photos I still prefer my S24 but videos is hands down my iPhone.
At the end of the day, what iOS is known for is true for me. A bit more polish, (some) apps have a better UI, but you also give up certain things to have that.
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Try using your airpods with S24U, it works really really well, I'm using 2nd gen Pros with my Ultra
Not entirely True, I use my AirPods with S24 ultra to Forward/Back songs with double tap, double tap to answer calls.
Only thing I can not do is to check battery as there is no widget.
Controlling music and answering calls is all I need.
It's Apple. They're known for making their products to be subpar with any other phone than iPhone. You lose Spatial Audio and that makes a huge difference in my opinion. If you want the best audio with an Android I would suggest Sony (with LDAC), Bose, Sennheiser etc instead that also brings better apps with control over the audio.
Wow! Nice write and thanks for sharing your experiences.
All of the things you listed mirror my experiences as well. I was a long time Apple customer and love my iPhone and love my s24U. So the only solution was to have both phones and switch back and forth...or carry both of them sometimes!
Most of my friends and family are iPhone users and they like to give me a hard time when i use any Android phones.
Enjoy your S24U...in my opinion it is the best smartphone out there.
I have been using the Airpods with the S24U and they have been great. I wish I can have the features like adaptive and noise cancellation but those really didn't mean much to me when I had the Iphone. I can listen to music at the gym or Podcasts and Music when I walk. They still work and that's what matters.
I think tomorrow will be 3 weeks since I've had the Ultra and I don't really miss the Iphone yet. I'm more frustrated by not really having an idea of how to customize the Ultra to make it fit my personality (And I find Good Lock a little confusing) but I'm still enjoying it. I think the real test will be ignoring WWDC and what Apple has to say, but even then, I feel like Samsung brings out new features and updates quicker than Apple does. Samsung had it's thing in February and S21s were getting those features in April. Apple will have it's thing in June and no one will get a public release of those features until mid to late September. I wish Apple sped up their schedule especially considering how many bugs are still in public releases and I feel like the Betas don't really mean anything.
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I used be the guy who tried "the new Android" but went back to iPhone within weeks.
I've had pretty much every iPhone, I have skipped maybe 2-3 iPhones over the years. Got a S23 last summer and haven't switched back. Wasn't even tempted to buy iPhone 15 Pro.
I was able to last 8 months last year. Thought I finally cracked the code, but pretty much wrestled with going back to iPhone the entire time. Alas, here I am still on iPhone.
not a chance
Which is why I very much enjoy using both. I'm very lucky I get to enjoy different software experiences of android as well.
Yes, had every iPhone until 6s plus. At first I kept the iPhone , but found myself switching back to it. I decided to sell the iPhone so it wasn't there to switch back to. Was on Android until I bought a used XS Max and then replaced that with a 13PM which I still have. Since then I have had Pixel 6 pro,7 pro and now S24U.
To be honest I only keep the iPhone as I work as a driver in semi rural area where a lot of houses have names rather than numbers, and Apple Maps is SO much better in that regard compared to Google Maps. If it wasn't for that, I would happily go back to 100% Android. Although I must admit I do prefer Face ID, especially compared to under screen FPS.
I did the same up until iPhone 8 Plus.
Pre-ordered a Pixel 4a and have been using Android mobile phones ever since (and a Chromebook too).
Most of the reasons for me reverting back to iPhone in the past had to do with app (and OS!) stability and inconsistency issues. There were substantial improvements around then and RCS came out a little while after as I recall.
Agreed. Much prefer Face ID, would be good if Samsung could improve their facial recognition
I’ve been iPhone owner since the 1st generation and I’ve dabbled with Android through out the years while being an iPhone user. But I could never get over the hurdle to actually fully commit to Android… until I realized how much I really preferred using Android over iOS, the iPhone is a phenomenal device.
And when folks pair an iPhone to other Apple devices (iPad, Mac, Apple Watch)… it’s awesome experience. I’ve personally enjoyed that experienced for years… but I wanted more out of the iPhone than Apple was willing to give me. I take a cellular iPad on-the-go to help stay within the Apple ecosystem and this method keeps me with an Android phone.
I think one of your main concerns with Android… was using Google Photos as your default gallery app and how you wanted to share photos under Google Photos app (not Samsung Gallery app), which I think I stumbled upon an article with Google trying to fix that issue you was dealing with.
Because I recall you like using Instagram to share photos and were annoyed using Galaxy Phone due to that particular issue.
Yeah there was always something that was just better with iPhones before, if it wasn't the battery life it was the smoothness, imessage or something else that just kept me going back to iPhone. But I didn't really miss anything of that when I got the S23 last year so I just never switched back.
It would be a game changer for Samsung if they had a FaceID equivalent.
You're 100% accurate there. Yes, that was a very unique concern to me, but a very annoying one. Probably not going to ever leave Apple again, mostly because I don't really have the time anymore and my new addiction is guitars, which is way more expensive, and fml for that.
Samsung has had this for years in their Internet Browser.
Much more powerful a d secure than the overhyped Brave and their products/service. Lots of terrible security decisions vs what's advertised. Serious do a LOT of digging on that company.
