Don't forget about the little things! (My Samsung experience.)

[TheAngryToaster]

When it comes to phones I feel a lot of people only focus on camera, storage, screen, charging capability, ip rating, and the other big focuses of phones. It does seem that a lot of little things tend to get brushed under the rug. Coming over from using an iphone regularly from the X to the 12 Mini, this is apples area they really excell on. There are just a lot of little things on an iphone that you really kind of over look when you use them.

That is why I enjoy the S21 a lot. This phone does all the key things really well but it also does the little things really well. I recently got the chance to try out the pixel 5 and the little things are what killed that phone for me and one major thing. I made a post about the major thing, to sum that up in one sentence the audio capabilities on the pixel 5 are not good at all.

The little things for me that make this phone are,

Bixby Routines - I don't do wild things with them but I have a few routines setup to take care of mundane things like turning the wifi of when I connect to my car. Or turn the volume off when opening apps that like to auto play with the volume at max. Autoplay music when I put my headphone on. Yesterday I learn thanks to a post on here I could keep my phone unlocked with a routine when connect to my home wifi, serious life changer right there.

The Edge Panel - I live on that panel, it is so freaking useful. I just have an apps page for those apps that your frequently use but don't want to clutter your home screen. I have a contacts page for just my frequent personal and work contacts. I have tried out other panels but more then 2 just seems like work at that point haha.

GoodLock - This is a really game changer for this device, I love being able to tweak my homescreen setup. The best one is added more apps to your dock. I also love that you can customize the app switcher. I was rocking a list but the pixel 5 made me appreciate the full screen. I dont really get into the notistar or the lock screen portion.

ThemePark - Being able to go in and tweak and fine tune a theme to your wallpaper is a very nice addition. I imagine it will only get better with android 12.

Samsung Dex - This is such a killer feature and has pretty much replaced my computer. In fact I am using it right now to type out this post. I am able to remote into my work pc using samsung dex. Its just so useful and the Dex labs pretty much makes most apps work in full screen. However there are a few issues I have ran into but its experimental so its not a guarantee to work.

Samsung Messages - The reason for this is the ability to pin conversations. The ability to add conversation categories that you can put message threads into. I have category for the most people I talk to the most in my personal life. I have a category for all of my work related contacts. Its such a life save to just select work and only scroll through a few conversations before finding the person I am looking for.

The pixel 5 really did help me realize that the s21 is just a solid device that does a lot of things very well out of the box. I am really looking forward to the next phone in the S line. I hope they keep the flat screen and size of the base s21.

Edit: I forgot to add the dolby atmos and adapt sound profile. Those 2 paired with a nice headphone are absolutely killer. I still have my airpod pros mainly because they sounds freaking amazing and the transparency/noise canceling works exactly as if I had an iPhone. Add on that I prefer apple music and the fact that the s21 is compatible with apples spatial audio. You get a very nice music listening experience.

 

[Mike Dee]

Nice job pointing out the little things

 

[BergerKing]

Some will complain about the Samsung "bloat" because they're purists about how they use their devices. I use many of the features Samsung makes available, myself, even though I don't do anything with Bixby, (currently), I have my App Dock arranged in a single Folders page, by category, I love that feature, honestly. It simplifies things tremendously. I have my moderately used apps in folders on one page, the most used apps on the Home screen, and the left page is a series of useful apps I don't wanna dig for, like the calculator, Samsung Health, and a few others.

I never used the Edge feature on my Note 9, and the Note 20 5G is a flat-screen device, so no Edge to deal with. But the ability to customize a number of things is why I go Samsung regularly. I have explored options, but what I've found only leads me back home.

I added a little bit to your title to kinda tip what it's about.

 

[BerryBubbles]

That's a good list @TheAngryToaster.

I have never used an iPhone & I think that as I don't really have a comparison to my Samsungs, except really old Blackberrys that were in a different class, I tend to take some features for granted.

Thanks for the reminder.

Love your name, makes me think of Battlestar Gallactica.

 

[BergerKing]

That's a good list.

I have never used an iPhone & I think that as I don't really have a comparison to my Samsungs, except really old Blackberrys that were in a different class, I tend to take some features for granted.

Thanks for the reminder.

I was initially a BlackBerry user, going through 3 of them before Major League Baseball announced that they were no longer supporting BlackBerry devices. That brought me to Android, with a Sprint WiMax Motorola Photon. It was a beautiful piece of hardware, but the support was simply awful. I passed the Photon along to my son, when he earned his own line, and got an S3.

Loved it, had kind of a love-hate relationship with the S4, then I upgraded to the Note 5, which simply blew the S4 out of the water. S8+ after the Note 7 debacle left me wanting, and then the Note 9 for a record-setting 3 year run, and still going as a secondary device.

But one of the amazing things I loved about Samsung is Smart Switch. When I went from the 9 to the 20, my Smart Switch experience was simply amazing to behold. My screens all populated exactly, except the App drawer picked up some AT&T apps, all of my Text messages and Messenger material transferred, and it was simply a matter of signing into secure apps, and setting up my fingerprints for security.

OH, and I should say, I was doing something slightly unique with Smart Switch. I was integrating information from two different phones! I used a Samsung J2 Core for my live phone (Not one I'd recommend!) because my daughter got it for me when I had to give up my Sprint service, and went to her account on AT&T, and beggars can't be choosers, and the Note 9 I had been using on Sprint, strictly on WiFi, because it could actually keep up with my enormous usage.

Since the messages and such on the 9 were two years old, and the J2 were current, I restored the Messages and Call logs from the Core, and apps, etc from the Note 9. This was simply an outstanding experience, because I screwed up on the initial switch, then went back and fixed it. THAT was a "small thing" that saved me hours of potential headaches. Now I use oneone phone, and I couldn't hardly be happier!

 

[Laura Knotek]

@TheAngryToaster This is an excellent thread you started. I hadn't even consider a Samsung device until two years ago, since all I thought of were touchwiz and bloat. However, I learned differently when I got my S10+. I've since also acquired a Samsung tablet, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. SmartSwitch was great for me to automatically get the same apps I had on my phone added to my tablet. I've also found that I love the default Samsung apps for: keyboard, messages, browser and calendar.

I use GoodLock, Members, and Edge Panels too.

I also love the audio quality, especially with my high impedance headphones when I listen to FLAC or WAV files.

 

[BerryBubbles]

I was initially a BlackBerry user, going through 3 of them before Major League Baseball announced that they were no longer supporting BlackBerry devices. That brought me to Android, with a Sprint WiMax Motorola Photon. It was a beautiful piece of hardware, but the support was simply awful. I passed the Photon along to my son, when he earned his own line, and got an S3.

Loved it, had kind of a love-hate relationship with the S4, then I upgraded to the Note 5, which simply blew the S4 out of the water. S8+ after the Note 7 debacle left me wanting, and then the Note 9 for a record-setting 3 year run, and still going as a secondary device.

But one of the amazing things I loved about Samsung is Smart Switch. When I went from the 9 to the 20, my Smart Switch experience was simply amazing to behold. My screens all populated exactly, except the App drawer picked up some AT&T apps, all of my Text messages and Messenger material transferred, and it was simply a matter of signing into secure apps, and setting up my fingerprints for security.

I went through two Blackberrys. I would have stuck with Blackberry, however, in 2014 T-Mobile announced that they were going to drop support for Blackberrys & offered a $200.00 gift card for purchasing a Samsung device. So I abandoned my poor loyal Bold 9900 for a Galaxy S5. That is where my Samsung journey began.
(I had a love-hate relationship with my s9+)

I think Smart Switch is one of the most useful features in the Samsung ecosystem. (A nice improvement over Kies) Smart Switch makes migration to a new device a breeze. I also use it for backups. I'm not much of a cloud person.

It would take a lot for me to drop Samsung, but I have to admit, I still miss Blackberry's physical keyboard.

 

[BerryBubbles]

@TheAngryToaster This is an excellent thread you started. I hadn't even consider a Samsung device until two years ago, since all I thought of were touchwiz and bloat. However, I learned differently when I got my S10+. I've since also acquired a Samsung tablet, the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite. SmartSwitch was great for me to automatically get the same apps I had on my phone added to my tablet. I've also found that I love the default Samsung apps for: keyboard, messages, browser and calendar.

I use GoodLock, Members, and Edge Panels too.

I also love the audio quality, especially with my high impedance headphones when I listen to FLAC or WAV files.

I also listen to my music in Flac format. I was shocked the first time I listened through good quality headphones. I have a Sony Hi-Res music player that is sitting in a drawer collecting dust. Another device I have abandoned. Between the Samsung Tab s6 & Note 20U, I just don't need the Hi-Res player.

 

[BergerKing]

I went through two Blackberrys. I would have stuck with Blackberry, however, in 2014 T-Mobile announced that they were going to drop support for Blackberrys & offered a $200.00 gift card for purchasing a Samsung device. So I abandoned my poor loyal Bold 9900 for a Galaxy S5. That is where my Samsung journey began.
(I had a love-hate relationship with my s9+)

I think Smart Switch is one of the most useful features in the Samsung ecosystem. (A nice improvement over Kies) Smart Switch makes migration to a new device a breeze. I also use it for backups. I'm not much of a cloud person.

It would take a lot for me to drop Samsung, but I have to admit, I still miss Blackberry's physical keyboard.

Being a qualified old fart, and having peripheral neuropathy, I initially thought that a virtual keyboard was a non-starter. Then I tried one of the BlackBerry phones with the virtual keyboard, I think it was a 9250, and suddenly found why I hated the early iPhone keyboards: No vibration for a tactile feel. A 'clicky' sound didn't cut the mustard, especially at night. The vibration in that BlackBerry's keyboard led me to check for it on Android, and I divorced physical keyboards for good. I got the Photon, found SwiftKey when it was a paid app, and with the improvements they've integrated, no way I'm interested in a reunion. I've moved on.

The BlackBerry Style was my last. Yeah, a flip phone. It was awesome for the way I used a phone then, but once I stepped away, I was done. I use these phones the way many people use a laptop, and more. I can't use a laptop nearly as effectively as I can a smartphone. Heck, even all my Word content migrated. I'm rapidly becoming a story writer, and can type at greater speed on the phone than a computer, especially with the formatting and special characters and such.

 

[BerryBubbles]

Being a qualified old fart, and having peripheral neuropathy, I initially thought that a virtual keyboard was a non-starter. Then I tried one of the BlackBerry phones with the virtual keyboard, I think it was a 9250, and suddenly found why I hated the early iPhone keyboards: No vibration for a tactile feel. A 'clicky' sound didn't cut the mustard, especially at night. The vibration in that BlackBerry's keyboard led me to check for it on Android, and I divorced physical keyboards for good. I got the Photon, found SwiftKey when it was a paid app, and with the improvements they've integrated, no way I'm interested in a reunion. I've moved on.

The BlackBerry Style was my last. Yeah, a flip phone. It was awesome for the way I used a phone then, but once I stepped away, I was done. I use these phones the way many people use a laptop, and more. I can't use a laptop nearly as effectively as I can a smartphone. Heck, even all my Word content migrated. I'm rapidly becoming a story writer, and can type at greater speed on the phone than a computer, especially with the formatting and special characters and such.

That's wonderful that you can type so well on a virtual keyboard. Including special characters & formatting... (Now I'm a little jealous )

I'm just terrible on the virtual keyboards. My family group text thread, I just can't keep up. I think it comes from years of running a 10 key (adding machine) & data input on a computer keyboard. I want to feel those buttons...

Okay, I have veered off topic, back to the little things....

I really like the ability to schedule the time a message will be sent in the Samsung Message app. I use that feature quite a bit. I stick with all of Samsung's apps.

 

[BergerKing]

That's wonderful that you can type so well on a virtual keyboard. Including special characters & formatting... (Now I'm a little jealous )

I'm just terrible on the virtual keyboards. My family group text thread, I just can't keep up. I think it comes from years of running a 10 key (adding machine) & data input on a computer keyboard. I want to feel those buttons...

Okay, I have veered off topic, back to the little things....

I really like the ability to schedule the time a message will be sent in the Samsung Message app. I use that feature quite a bit. I stick with all of Samsung's apps.

Yeah, I veered a bit, too, but that's one place I cheat, I've used SwiftKey instead of Samsung's keyboard. It's customized to my tastes and simply makes my phone a powerhouse.

The Calendars app is pretty sweet. There are so many features I use in it, makes my old BlackBerry seem pathetic. I use the multiple reminders feature a ton. When I make an appointment, I have it remind me a week ahead, 3 hours, one hour, and 15 minutes ahead.

Alarms, oh, while I was working, it reminded me of break and lunch times only on the days I was scheduled. I still use it so I could backstop my son to make sure he got up for work when working nights. So many tools, and information sources.

Oh, by the way, @BerryBubbles, this is the way I have my keyboard set up, with an active numbers row, and the multifunction keys. I also have Word Substitutions set up to quickly add little things I want to use without digging for them in the keyboard fields, like the degree sign, and the divide symbol.

 

[Rhyalus]

What drives me insane is that reviews and posts never cover the performance of the device as a PHONE! Sound quality, antenna and signal quality, speaker phone, etc.

R

 

[Morty2264]

I totally agree with you: it's the little things about a phone that can ultimately make or break your experience. I truly LOVED the Edge Panel on my S10, and especially loved Good Lock and Theme Park. Those are things I miss about my Pixel 5 but I do enjoy this experience better (but I won't deny that Samsung had some awesome configurations that Pixel could adopt).

One "little thing" I miss actually goes all the way back to my LG G3. When it was raining, thunderstorming, or snowing, the lockscreen animation made my life. I picked up my husband's LG Velvet yesterday morning AND I SAW THE RAIN ANIMATION ON THE LOCKSCREEN! As you can tell, I freaked right out and told him I loved that animation all the way back on my LG G3. Like you said, it's the little things.

 

[stevetaz]

What a great thread @TheAngryToaster

 

[VidJunky]

Not a huge fan of some of the Samsung apps. Mostly the keyboard, although I did switch to their browser but that may be short lived. Chrome gives me more of the news I want on the home screen, while the Samsung browser gives me the same stuff just not as much of it.

I use the side panel but only for one app. Guess I'm just old and stuck in my ways on that one and I really don't have a good reason not to like or use it more. I just don't.

I haven't tried Dex. Not even sure exactly what it is or what it does, that's the old person in me again, but I don't think I'm missing anything.

I tried some Bixby routines but I have Tasker and have used Tasker since 2010 or so. I had heard a lot trash talk about it and the handful of times I dug into it I didn't really find anything too interesting. Having said that I may try the unlock when on home WiFi thing. I tried Smart Lock for this but it doesn't do location very well and it doesn't offer WiFi as a trusted device. I don't get that at all. It does work fine for my BT devices though.

You're coming iPhone so themes are probably pretty exciting to you but I preferred HTC's themes. There was a lot more free stuff on their store. Samsung wants a dollar or more for just about everything. Plus if I have to pay for something I'd like it to be something I'm not going to be tired of in a week or two.

I can't say that I've even given Samsung Messages a chance. I got on Google Messages because of RSC and just never left. And even though I haven't said a lot of positive things in this comment, I do really like and enjoy my S21. It was the first phone to give me that feeling of, this is a great phone, in a while.

 

[TheAngryToaster]

Not a huge fan of some of the Samsung apps. Mostly the keyboard, although I did switch to their browser but that may be short lived. Chrome gives me more of the news I want on the home screen, while the Samsung browser gives me the same stuff just not as much of it.

I use the side panel but only for one app. Guess I'm just old and stuck in my ways on that one and I really don't have a good reason not to like or use it more. I just don't.

I haven't tried Dex. Not even sure exactly what it is or what it does, that's the old person in me again, but I don't think I'm missing anything.

I tried some Bixby routines but I have Tasker and have used Tasker since 2010 or so. I had heard a lot trash talk about it and the handful of times I dug into it I didn't really find anything too interesting. Having said that I may try the unlock when on home WiFi thing. I tried Smart Lock for this but it doesn't do location very well and it doesn't offer WiFi as a trusted device. I don't get that at all. It does work fine for my BT devices though.

You're coming iPhone so themes are probably pretty exciting to you but I preferred HTC's themes. There was a lot more free stuff on their store. Samsung wants a dollar or more for just about everything. Plus if I have to pay for something I'd like it to be something I'm not going to be tired of in a week or two.

I can't say that I've even given Samsung Messages a chance. I got on Google Messages because of RSC and just never left. And even though I haven't said a lot of positive things in this comment, I do really like and enjoy my S21. It was the first phone to give me that feeling of, this is a great phone, in a while.

The nice about samsung messages, is that it's literally the only other app with access to the RCS api.

I use tasker as well for my more complex things. Bixby routines is nice for doing simple tasks. It has a simple user interface that takes out the guess work. Setting up the screen unlock was done in about 3 taps on the screen.

I am not a fan of the samsung browser, I just use chrome. Mainly because I sync it between my devices. I actually prefer the samsung keyboard. The reason is that it's very close to the ios keyboard and that one is my favorite keyboard on a phone. I can't stand gboard, I make so many mistakes when I try to type on it.

Dex is a computer desktop environment built in the phone. I have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse that I connect. I literally use it like I would a computer. Dex is great for transferring files to and from your actual computer it's literally drag and drop. This includes Mac os as well.

That's the joy of android you can use your phone and set it up how you prefer and I can do the same and in the end we both get an enjoyable experience.

 

[BergerKing]

What drives me insane is that reviews and posts never cover the performance of the device as a PHONE! Sound quality, antenna and signal quality, speaker phone, etc.

Yeah, that can be such an annoyance!

 

[o4liberty]

Definitely a great device IMO smartphones get better and better every year along with their price. I came from the note 20 to the s21 and the are very similar and I am super happy don't see me getting a new device unless this one breaks. I usually keep one IOS and one Android device but as of now just the s21 and a old 6s. If there are any more free deals on the iPhone 12 or 13 mini I would grab one.
Reason I got the s21 was TMobile could not fix my note 20 so they did a total refund and I picked up the s21 I was going to use my iPhone 12 mini but I gave it to the wife and traded her iPhone 8 for the 21 they gave me 500 for the 8 so I couldn't refuse.

 

[BerryBubbles]

(Snipped Quote)


Oh, by the way, @BerryBubbles, this is the way I have my keyboard set up, with an active numbers row, and the multifunction keys. I also have Word Substitutions set up to quickly add little things I want to use without digging for them in the keyboard fields, like the degree sign, and the divide symbol.

View attachment 336693

Thank You for this! I will try setting the keyboard up & see if I can improve my typing skills.

 

[gomezz]

As far as Bixby Routines go I have a couple that are useful but they could do with being made more flexible which is why I also use MacroDroid macros for controlling turning Bluetooth on and off depending where I am and if I have an of my several audio devices connected or not.