Samsung phones have so many quality of life improvements over the default Android experience that I don't think I can get away from them just from software alone (why do you have to scroll down twice to change the brightness on normal Android it's the most important function in the quick menu) Not to mention they're the only phones that I can seemingly drop as many times as I want without breaking screen. I'd love to switch to another company as I don't really like Samsung but every other software experience I've had has been abysmal.

I had one about a decade ago after my HTC Magic. Didn't like it, never went back. My mother keeps buying them and is infinitely frustrated. She'll also ask for help and I have no idea what to tell her. They move all the settings around, so it's next to impossible to understand unless you already know it.

I know we're not doing Sony here, but the Xperia Performance X was the most amazing phone I've ever seen. Glass slate phone dropped out of a god damned car on the highway at 120km/h. Chipped a corner and went on the work for another 2 years. Same phone went through a foam and mud obstacle course run in no case. Dirt and water wedger in every square inch of the thing, still worked for another 3 years, although the camera lenses did have some water in it (camera still worked though!). Only phone I've ever been impressed by.

Crap phones that don't last, bad UI, filled with bloat and ads, don't play nice with the other Android kids, and steal their homework.

Currently using an A series Samsung phone. For a non power user, it's pretty good since software support is up to 3-5 years. Chinese brand phones are good on paper but, don't expect any software support at all after purchasing.

A Samsung phone's best asset is it's screen. The CPU is a bit of a roulette. If you get a Snapdragon, you're golden. The Exynos ones run hotter and drain battery faster. If someone wants the most polished version of android, I'd recommend a Samsung.

I don't know about cheap Samsung phones, but their flagships are excellent. I'm pretty happy with mine.

I still have my S21 and I <3 it

I had (tbh I still have it somewhere) a Samsung Galaxy (the first model, no S, no number, no anything) as it was the first Android phone available in my country. About a year later Samsung decided they won't support this model anymore and I had to install custom firmware to keep it up to date to the quickly evolving Android landscape back then. I never bought anything from them again.

I bought a Samsung because it was the only device with a headphone jack and removable battery. I have zero brand loyality - I just go with whoever makes the best device

I had a note 8.

Ok phone, nice pen.

But the one phone I managed to break the screen of. Tanks to curved screen that make using proper protection impossible.

Went back to nexus / pixel.

Cant use same email on two phones if you lost old one, because need old phone to verify account.

Over time phone runs slower and slower.

I find Motorola's much better, I generally go with the Pure.

Great hardware, especially as far as the screens. Questionable software environment. Last I had one, there were duplicates of most Google apps in inferior Samsung form, which was really useless, and they couldn’t be deleted (I think). While the display was s beautiful, another thing I didn’t like was I had one of the ones with curved glass on the sides, a Galaxy S9, which looked cool, was useless, and it ended up getting cracked on the side, so it was useless and fragile.

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.

Don't mess with the knockoff Chinese phones and tablets. They're shit

Honestly, they're horrible I can't believe people still buy them when wanting an Android experience. They come with so much bloat now and it just feels jank constantly.

I'd never recommend them to anyone but then again, Google Pixel devices aren't much better due to how unstable they are and you're essentially beta testing the phones as you go. Big part of the issue with Android phones these days.