How are you liking your new phones?

[Morty2264]

I have a S10+which I love, but just got a Pixel 4a 5G and I just love the phone to bits. The camera is great and the smoothness. I prefer it definitely to the 4xl that I gave to my husband after 4 months.

I do like OneUI 3 and the extras on my S10+, but I also like Pixel. I wouldn't know what to say in your situation.

Choosing between those two phones is definitely a difficult task.

 

[chazglenn3]

You can use gesture navigation with other launchers. I do it all the time with Nova and Microsoft launcher.

Also, the Ultra's screen is flat.

Um, no the S21 Ultra has a curved edge display. The S21 and S21+ displays are flat. I'm typing this on an S21 Ultra so I can guarantee it

 

[Theot]

You can use gesture navigation with other launchers. I do it all the time with Nova and Microsoft launcher.

Also, the Ultra's screen is flat.

Gesture navigation works great with Nova Launcher as well.

You can, I just tried the nova beta, and it's better than the current play store version but there is something that is just not the same. There are little hiccups and studders, particularly when trying to go into recent apps, it's slow and doesn't always work. Using gesture navigation on the pixel launcher is much more fluid.

 

[The_Woo]

Yeah, I liked my S21 so much that I sold it......And just bought an Ultra off Swappa.

I'm a heavy user and I need that extra juice. Plus that camera and zoom look phenomenal.....Can't wait

 

[RoseBud68]

Upgraded from the Note 10 to the S21+. I'm loving so far.

 

[VidJunky]

The only thing I don't like is the Samsung pay. It worked flawlessly on my S20 and doesn't on my S21.

I'm not sure if you mean that it's buggy just in general or if you mean that you're finding that it doesn't work at as many places but they removed a component that allowed it to work with card readers without NFC. I've heard it referred to as MSR, magnetic strip reader...? Anyway it was a small piece of tech that they removed. When I first heard about this I saw it as a deal breaker but with how little love I have for the S20 I relented.

In the meantime I popped in to see what people were saying and feeling and to see if there were any complaints. So far I've been truly surprised at the comments not just hear but over all everywhere. I really haven't seen much if any negative press on this device which is, again surprising. The most negative things I've heard are, lack of SD, lack of a headphone jack and the loss of MRS.

As a soon to be owner I'll be interested in seeing how this trend continues, obviously mixed with my own experiences.

 

[neil74]

Gesture navigation works great with Nova Launcher as well.

That's odd as that is not my experience. Nova and Lawnchair work for me but not perfectly. Mostly I am seeing some animation issues when going home such as a double animation or delay

 

[illiniah]

I just switched after the 2xl, 3, 3xl, and 4xl. S21 ultra has much brighter screen, all day battery life, and 5G (I'm in the DMV with T-Mobile). The software is a bit of a learning curve, not as intuitive as stock Android. The fingerprint sensor is much worse than the 3, I registered multiple times, but it only works about 20% of the time - absolute garbage. I like the phone, but the unlock experience is horrid.

 

[anon(19759)]

Love my S21 but it's too slippery.

 

[thecaringkind]

Love my S21 but it's too slippery.

Amen. Waiting on my Slickwrap to apply for a little more grip when not in it's case.

 

[amyf27]

I have been back ND forth S21 Ultra, Note 20 tra. I prefer the S21 Ultra. Have the black unlocked version now.

 

[bxrider117]

I just picked up the smaller S21. I had the S20+. I just really wanted a powerful small phone. Today is day 2 and so far I like it. Fully charged up phone last night and have been off the charger and using the phone for 13.5 hours and have 5 hours 38 minutes of screen time and I still have 24% battery left.
So far not bad. With the Samsung trade in of $700 for my plus it was an economical no brainer.

 

[VidJunky]

Love my S21 but it's too slippery.

That's funny cause all the reviews said it wasn't as slippery as the S10 and S20 models with that matte back. Because of the back order my case arrive long before the device so I've never really handled it without the case.

Like someone mentioned just before this, this is only day 2 for me. I feel like I really put it through some paces. I ended this morning with 9 hours of SOT at around 15%. Charged it up real fast and pulled it off a little bit ago to see where the day goes. Probably not as intense as yesterday, getting all my apps setup and logged into. Found out this morning the AC app doesn't work with it. I have to go through Tapatalk. That was really the first hiccup so far.

 

[purwater]

I traded in my old Note 9 for the S21 Ultra. It was a good deal through Verizon as I got $600 for the note and I had $35 device dollars and a promo $50 credit over 24 months. Made my total for the S21 Ultra 256GB $565 plus tax. Good price and the phone is overall good. I'll be honest I'd just about rather have my old Note 9 back. This in screen fingerprint scanner is terrible. Most of the time I rely on face unlock and that isn't great either. Many times I end up putting in my pin. I guess the total frustrating unlocking is made worse by the fact that my note 9 fingerprint reader worked perfectly. I also have an iPhone 11 Pro Max and the face ID is awesome. I can't see why Samsung can't at least make a great face unlock if the fingerprint scanners aren't ready for prime time. The battery life is decent, but I was spoiled with the iPhone. I make it through the day just fine so it's not a big deal, but definitely won't be going 2 days like I have in the past. The camera is really good and the screen is excellent as well. If Samsung had put the fingerprint scanner on the back or power button I'd definitely be happier. I'd rate mine as overall good, but not great. I think my favorite Samsung is still the Note 9.

 

[lmandl]

I'm curious, what are your thoughts between your s20 and s21?

I honestly can't tell the difference? I have the vzw s20+ and unlocked s21+.

Ergonomics, I prefer the s21+ with the flat screen. Other than that, I don't notice much.

Honestly there's not much of a difference. I got the 256 so it holds more pictures, which I like. I honestly like the back of the 21 vs the 20. I like the flat screen. But I hate that I can't use Samsung pay everywhere. I only paid $150 to upgrade (plus a new case.) If it was any more I wouldn't have upgraded.

 

[TheAngryToaster]

I'm on the fence. I know that through a Samsung Trade, I can get a S21 for not a lot of cash. I'm a little hesitant because I had a S8 that died (motherboard) after a year, which sent me to a Google Pixel 3. I've had that phone since, and it's been great. Well, until it started bootlooping last night, which kept me up way to late trying to fix it.

Anyone here who upgraded from a Pixel device to the new s21? Should I join the Samsung side of things? Any buyer's remorse?

I upgraded from iPhone twice, first time I sent it back due to not wanting 2 phone payments, especially when I won't be using the iPhone. After that return was finalized I upgraded and selected the option to send the 12 mini back.

I couldn't be happier, I really really like this phone. I generally can't stand Samsung, every time I try their devices they have some sort of issue or bug or something that I don't want to deal with. This time around, this phone just freaking works and works well.

 

[droid93]

Looks like it might be time to upgrade from the Note20 Ultra. Glad to hear everyone's experiences with it have been positive so far.

 

[J Dubbs]

Choosing between those two phones is definitely a difficult task.

Not for me ... pixel all the way. But I've always been way more concerned about the software experience than cutting edge hardware.

 

[Morty2264]

Not for me ... pixel all the way. But I've always been way more concerned about the software experience than cutting edge hardware.

There is just something about those Pixels, isn't there?!

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

Not for me ... pixel all the way. But I've always been way more concerned about the software experience than cutting edge hardware.

Weirdly it's the software experience that pushed me to Samsung. Specifically to customise it to my liking, for the most part, rather than being stuck with whatever I'm given.