Hold on tight, we are almost back...
Previously on Lemmy: Sony
Past Discussions:
I thought we should restart the brand discussion with something more popular to give this community relaunch a bit more oomph. So, Samsung it is.
I've never really used a Samsung phone much before, despite them being so popular in the States. Have friends who used them, they usually look nice and high quality, and the Galaxy S Active are the only high-end phones I know that doesn't shatter when you look at them wrong without a case, so, props to Samsung.
There are may reasons I don't like Samsung phones: Hardware fuse disabling Knox on bootloader unlock, Exynos vs Snapdragon models, the mandatory Bixby button, the Galaxy Note 7 that really blew up. To me, Samsung phones are trying so hard to go against what makes Android good, which is the customizability to do whatever you wanted. Android is everything; Samsung is just Samsung.
Personally, I think Samsung is only worth buying at the very high end for the Galaxy S series. I've heard that A series have gotten better, but there always seems to be better choices from Moto/Pixel/Chinese brands on Amazon that it's not worth considering their low tier offering.
What should we do next week? I'm thinking Microsoft, just to make fun of them for the very idea of making a Surface Duo 2.
FAQ:
I haven't had a Samsung phone since Android Gingerbread, but I do have a Samsung TV in my guests room and every time it gets turned on, my pi-hole blocks a lot of traffic under the ads and tracking category, so Samsung's phones are probably similar.
I think their screens are really good and they also have 5 generations of foldable devices, more than any other company.
Still, I wouldn't buy one because I don't like their software and they tend to restrict functionality unless you use other Samsung devices. For instance, a Samsung Galaxy watch, even running Wear OS, will not have all the features enabled unless you pair it with a Samsung phone.