I am Windows Mobile user thinking of switching. I have some questions...

[Tat3rs10]

Hello all, I am not sure if this is the right place to be posting but since I am primarily interested in the S7 I figured this would be the best place. Please let me know if there is a better forum for this.

So here is the deal, please don't hate me for this but I have been a long standing Windows Mobile user. Going way back to when the first Windows Phone 7 devices launched I was hooked. I, apart from many, was very interested in the direction that Microsoft was headed with Windows Phone 7, then 8, 8.1, and now 10. I still am very interested in Windows 10 but the os just doesn't have the polish and speed of other smartphones right now. I am currently rocking the Lumia 950 XL, camera is amazing, wireless charging is great, but like I said the os just isn't there yet.

I have a Nexus 7 tablet and that has been my only foray in to Android, I have never owned an Android phone. With recent news about a Surface phone coming out in 2017 I figure now is the best time to give Android a try.

So coming from an ecosystem vastly different from Android there are some questions I have that would help me decide if the S7 is right for me.

1. What is the deal with the different processors on the S7. From the research I have done, looking at the SD820 and the Exynos processors, I think I want an Exynos model. How do I know which is which?

2. Are all Qi wireless charging stands compatible with the S7? I have 4 Nokia Qi wireless charging stands placed in different areas in my home and work. I would hate to have to get rid of them.

3. I have T-Mobile and bought the 950 XL off contract. Where is the best place to buy an S7 off contract?

4. Since the phone has been out for a while, is there any thing that you guys don't like about the phone that I should look out for? Any software deal-breakers that you are frustrated with?

5. How easy is it to get rid of the bloatware? Do I have to root the phone or can I just uninstall? Coming from Windows Mobile, that is one thing I have loved about the OS, barely any bloatware.

6. Does the S7 have a glance screen and double tap to wake?

7. I mentioned I have a nexus 7 tablet. It is currently installed in to my car dashboard. Is there any way to sync the phone to the tablet when I am on the road? So I could answer calls/messages through the phone?

8. In general, are there any apps, accessories, deals etc. that I should be aware of and are must haves?

I apologize for the lengthy post but I would appreciate your feedback. Thanks for your time!

 

[Bridget Booth]

1. The differences are exaggerated. If it's American or Chinese, it's SD. Everywhere else, it's Exynos.
2. You should be good. My little bean bag chargers that I used with my L925 work with my S7.
3. I don't think you can get a non-carrier-branded one stateside that will come with a warranty. If you want WiFi calling, you'll want to stick with the TMo model. I think Best Buy had some good cash prices, but it really depends on the promotions for that sales period. Same thing with the carriers.
4. Nope. It's my second Android device and it's the second best phone I've used, behind my L925.
5. The best you can do in most cases is disable it. Once it's disabled, it's out of the way, but still taking up space. That is a good thing about Windows Phone, but then again, there aren't enough apps to make bloatware.
6. There's the always on display, which would be the closest replacement for glance. There is no double tap, which infuriates me to no end.
8. Nova Launcher, CloudMagic, and ProShot are your best friends. The good news is that many of the features that make Windows so good are also available for Android (Cortana, OneDrive, Office apps).

Make the switch. I was hesitant to, at first, but I haven't really looked back. You deserve a decent phone and you're not getting that Microsoft anytime soon.

 

[DJCBS]

1 - Differences are negligeble. The Exynos processor seems to get better performance and battery life but not that noticeable. If you want an Exynos, buy an European model and you're sure to get it.

2 - CAUTION. It will depend on the chargers you have. I (as you might have guessed by now) also have a ton of Nokia Qi chargers around. If you have FatBoy or any of the normal, flat charging plates, you will be fine, although the smaller ones will require you to place the S7 very precisely on top of them. If you have the last Qi chargers Nokia did (DT-903 if I recall correctly. The ones with the neon lights) it will be the best on. If you have the Qi STAND it will NOT work. and that's because the Qi foil on the S7 is places way too high on the phone and the Qi foil on the Nokia charging stand is too low. So they don't connect. It's really annoying but well, the charging stand was also thought for the Nokia 920 with 4.5".

3 - Can't help you here. Not American.

4 - YES. You won't get double tap to wake and since the last stupid April Update patch, you will also lose double tap to sleep if you use Nova Launcher (and you're HIGHLY recommended to use another Launcher) along with fingerprint unlocking. You will also miss the dedicated camera button and no matter what other people say, double clicking the home button is not a decent alternative.
Another thing you will probably not enjoy is the fact that Samsung, for the sake of being different, has switched the back and multitasking buttons. So the back button is on the right and the multitasking on the left.
But apart from these things, you'll lose the freedom that Android gives you (and that Windows Phone never did).

5 - "Bloatware" is very subjective. If you buy it from a carrier, prepare yourself to tons of it. I only have experience with the European S7 which is carrier free. The Google bloatware is reduced on the S7 and you can uninstall a bunch of it (including Google+). Then there's Samsung's own bloatware which you can't uninstall but can disable and it will reduce the app to mere kb's. And THEN you have Microsoft's own bloatware which you also can't uninstall. Word, Excel, Point, OneNote, OneDrive, all of that is pre-installed on the S7. But if you're like me, that's the sort of "bloat" you'll be able to enjoy since you're likely to keep all your Microsoft services

6 - Yes, Samsung has finally discovered Glance Screen, almost a decade after Nokia invented it lol It isn't very useful on the S7 though. But then again, I was never a fan of it.
Double tap to wake, as I've said, isn't present. And like Bridget Booth, it annoys me to no end.

7 - I'm not sure how you can do it, but it's Android so it's probably possible to do it. You might have to look or ask around XDA for that, though. As far as I know, the only things on Android that are actively doing that are Android Wear devices and Android Auto.

8 - Nova Launcher: Essential to use and get you rid of TouchWiz. Believe us, you'll thank us later. If you're a Microsoft fan, you might want to try out Microsoft's own Launcher but it's not that amazing.
GO to the Samsung's Theme store. You will most likely want to get rid of the white notification tray. You can install a Theme that will get you rid of the bright colours around the OS. Peruse it, there are tons of themes to meet anything your heart desires.
And I also recommend these apps IF, like me, you enjoy your phone with dark/black themes instead of bright colours and white backgrounds:

Textra - to replace the default SMS app
TrueDialer - to replace the dialler (you may know them, they are also present on WP although the functionality on WP is obviously more limited)
AppLock - This will allow you to lock apps and unlock them only with a fingerprint (or another security method). It's good to lock apps you might not want someone who picks up your phone to look into.
BlueMail - for the email client. You also have Microsoft's Outlook available though it lacks a Black theme.
File Commander - It's a file explorer app if you don't like Samsung's native one.
QuickPic - A powerful gallery app if you don't like Samsung's native one.
Galaxy Buttons - to keep the hardware keys lit. It doesn't consume enough battery to even show in the stats and it's amazingly useful specially as you get used to the placement of the buttons.
Microsoft Account - it's like the WP Authenticator app but it's way more powerful and better (surprise, surprise).
BlackPlayer EX - a wonderful music player. Forget Groove, it's even worse on Android than on Windows.

 

[Tat3rs10]

Thanks for the response guys, really informative! Cool to see other former Windows users. Now I have to just figure out if its worth it. Good to know about the Qi wireless chargers and that they will be compatible. The reverse back button will definitely throw me off but I am thinking I could get a skin and then remap the keys through an app? That is really a bummer about the double tap to wake. I wonder if a future software update would enable it?

 

[Bridget Booth]

I didn't think to mention Textra, but I can vouch for it, too. Messaging in Windows is so easy and great. Textra is really close to that and the developers have built in a few extra layers of protection against SMS and MMS malware.

 

[Laura Knotek]

I'm also an ex-Windows Phone user.

I like Aqua Mail Pro for email. It manages every type of email account, and it is very secure. It is very customizable (even allows HTML signatures and has a dark theme that can be automatically set for night time). https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.AquaMail&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.AquaMail.UnlockerMarket&hl=en

 

[erasat]

Thanks for the response guys, really informative! Cool to see other former Windows users. Now I have to just figure out if its worth it. Good to know about the Qi wireless chargers and that they will be compatible. The reverse back button will definitely throw me off but I am thinking I could get a skin and then remap the keys through an app? That is really a bummer about the double tap to wake. I wonder if a future software update would enable it?

Instead of the double tap to wake, you can simply set the Fingerprint unlock, then instead of a double tap on the screen to wake and unlock without security, you just click once in the fingerprint and leave the finger there for a fraction of a second and the phone unlocks, great replacement plus the bonus of a secured phone.

 

[DJCBS]

Instead of the double tap to wake, you can simply set the Fingerprint unlock, then instead of a double tap on the screen to wake and unlock without security, you just click once in the fingerprint and leave the finger there for a fraction of a second and the phone unlocks, great replacement plus the bonus of a secured phone.

Except if he wants to take advantage of double tap to sleep, after the April Patch, he will no longer be able to do it because "reasons".
I removed the fingerprint unlocking because of that. It became useless. Not that fingerprint unlocking was ever a good replacement for double tap to wake. I always found it more cumbersome due to the place the fingerprint reader is in. But after the April Patch, it's just not worth it.

 

[1812dave]

My suggestion is try Nova Launcher Prime. I also use their Tesla Unread feature (a separate download). They are the the first thing I install on a new phone.

 

[erasat]

Except if he wants to take advantage of double tap to sleep, after the April Patch, he will no longer be able to do it because "reasons".
I removed the fingerprint unlocking because of that. It became useless. Not that fingerprint unlocking was ever a good replacement for double tap to wake. I always found it more cumbersome due to the place the fingerprint reader is in. But after the April Patch, it's just not worth it.

It's not worth it, for you.

For me it worth a lot knowing that my personal/work phone is secured. Knowing that I can unlock it just by using my fingerprint in a single step by pressing the home button and in a fraction of a second it unlocks without a swipe or double actions, and I can do that even when it's resting in my desktop or car without needing to pick it up to put my fingerprint on the back, priceless.

Don't say that it doesn't worth it without adding, IMHO, or for me, to each its own.

 

[SpaceyO]

Just about 3 weeks away from my Lumia Icon, and I don't really miss much about it. I was a hardcore WinPhan and the app gap and lack of support finally got to me. I'm stuck on Verizon, so I got a good amount of bloatware, but it was easy enough to disable and remove from sight.

I'll 2nd the Nova Launcher recommendations too...everything else, I'm still learning...watching tons of best app, best launcher, etc. videos on Youtube just to get a feel of what's out there...

 

[DJCBS]

It's not worth it, for you.

For me it worth a lot knowing that my personal/work phone is secured. Knowing that I can unlock it just by using my fingerprint in a single step by pressing the home button and in a fraction of a second it unlocks without a swipe or double actions, and I can do that even when it's resting in my desktop or car without needing to pick it up to put my fingerprint on the back, priceless.

Don't say that it doesn't worth it without adding, IMHO, or for me, to each its own.

Well, allow me to quote myself:

"I removed the fingerprint unlocking because of that. It became useless. Not that fingerprint unlocking was ever a good replacement for double tap to wake. I always found it more cumbersome due to the place the fingerprint reader is in. But after the April Patch, it's just not worth it."

It seems pretty clear to me that I was talking about my experience...

 

[Dan TheMan86]

Did you ever make the switch? One thing I really miss about my Lumia 920 was the battery life in the first couple of years before my battery got old and deteriorated. Battery drain in Android is pretty bad, fortunately the S7 has a 3000mah battery

 

[accursedvenom]

I also had a L925 on tmobile. I originally wanted an HTC M8 windows version but it wasn't offered anymore. Wound up getting an M9 instead. Good phone for my first Android phone. Already had a Samsung tab 4 before the htc.

Upgraded to the S7 a few months ago. Way better than the "flagship" M9. I do miss windows though. Spent 5 years with the OS starting with WP7.