Not sure why I left

[Theot]

So I went for a spin on the Samsung train for a few months with an S20 and while it was fine there were a few things that irritated me a little. Then I started having problems and discovered my carrier, a Verizon mvno doesn't support the regular S20 and it messed my SIM card up. So this past week I got a SIM card and went back to the 4XL, quit trying to use a third party launcher and just used the pixel 4XL as intended and IDK why I quit using it.

The face unlock works fantastic and I'm working from home right now anyway so it's only an issue when I'm wearing a mask which isn't that often. The face unlock on the Galaxy S20 is quite frankly terrible and slow as well as the fingerprint reader is just awful to use so this was a welcome change after using something that.

That said there's a lot of things on the S20 that are good and a few of those Samsung features I do like but overall the pixel is just easier to use and I really am starting to appreciate the pixel launcher for what it is other than I would like to be able to use custom icons and hide apps in the app drawer that are already on my home screen but I've just accepted that I don't go into the app drawer a lot and using what's on my home screen most of the time and the recommendations are surprisingly good.

Anyway just wanted to share my rediscovered love for the Pixel and say that I'm back for a while. At this point I'm really not seeing a whole lot of reason to upgrade to the Pixel 5 although if there's a decent sale that could change so we'll see.

 

[kmf1]

Welcome back, Theot. Haven't used Samsung phones for years. Must have their pluses, but I'll stick with Pixel.

 

[eric002]

Welcome back, Theot. Haven't used Samsung phones for years. Must have their pluses, but I'll stick with Pixel.

I second that notion!

 

[Mike Dee]

So I went for a spin on the Samsung train for a few months with an S20 and while it was fine there were a few things that irritated me a little. Then I started having problems and discovered my carrier, a Verizon mvno doesn't support the regular S20 and it messed my SIM card up. So this past week I got a SIM card and went back to the 4XL, quit trying to use a third party launcher and just used the pixel 4XL as intended and IDK why I quit using it.

The face unlock works fantastic and I'm working from home right now anyway so it's only an issue when I'm wearing a mask which isn't that often. The face unlock on the Galaxy S20 is quite frankly terrible and slow as well as the fingerprint reader is just awful to use so this was a welcome change after using something that.

That said there's a lot of things on the S20 that are good and a few of those Samsung features I do like but overall the pixel is just easier to use and I really am starting to appreciate the pixel launcher for what it is other than I would like to be able to use custom icons and hide apps in the app drawer that are already on my home screen but I've just accepted that I don't go into the app drawer a lot and using what's on my home screen most of the time and the recommendations are surprisingly good.

Anyway just wanted to share my rediscovered love for the Pixel and say that I'm back for a while. At this point I'm really not seeing a whole lot of reason to upgrade to the Pixel 5 although if there's a decent sale that could change so we'll see.

When you say Verizon doesn't support the regular S20, what specifically do you mean and how did it mess up your SIM?

 

[Morty2264]

Welcome back! I do agree with you that I too miss having the Pixel as my daily driver and the Pixel Launcher. I'm heavily entrenched in Samsung's UI though, so we will see what happens.

Yes, if there's ever a decent sale on a Pixel 5, that would be tempting, for sure!

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

When you say Verizon doesn't support the regular S20, what specifically do you mean and how did it mess up your SIM?

I think @Mike Dee that the normal S20 doesn't have all the bands needed for Verizon 5G to work. They produced their own version of the phone for that reason. The Plus and Ultra versions have all the bands but the smallest S20 didn't.

 

[Mike Dee]

I think @Mike Dee that the normal S20 doesn't have all the bands needed for Verizon 5G to work. They produced their own version of the phone for that reason. The Plus and Ultra versions have all the bands but the smallest S20 didn't.

Correct, on the 5G aspect, but it's not like that was a secret. In fact it was made quite public. As consumers it's prudent that we do our homework when buying a device, especially when we consider buying unlocked. Putting a Verizon SIM in a regular S20 shouldn't damage the SIM unless there is something I'm unaware of.

 

[Theot]

When you say Verizon doesn't support the regular S20, what specifically do you mean and how did it mess up your SIM?

I think @Mike Dee that the normal S20 doesn't have all the bands needed for Verizon 5G to work. They produced their own version of the phone for that reason. The Plus and Ultra versions have all the bands but the smallest S20 didn't.

More or less yes, and the thing is I follow this stuff closely I knew the unlocked S20 didn't have the MM wave bands for Verizon but I didn't think it was an issue because I could still use the 4G bands and from what I've heard there's very little MM Wave anyway. However what they told me is that 5G devices use a different SIM. Now I would imagine that is just to give access to the 5G bands but I don't know. My SIM card took a dump and I couldn't get texts and I was dropping a lot of calls so who knows.

 

[Theot]

Welcome back, Theot. Haven't used Samsung phones for years. Must have their pluses, but I'll stick with Pixel.

You know the camera is a lot more versatile with the three lenses, and the quality was close enough to the pixel that I was perfectly okay with it. I took some great shots on vacation with it this summer. And there's a few small things like the notifications for calendar events and alerts are a lot better in my opinion because they actually make me address them whereas Google's calendar and reminders notifications rarely get my attention so I end up setting alarms for stuff that I have to do to remind me because the calendar while good is very basic and again I would prefer something that got my attention when I set an event reminder and didn't just vibrate once and sit there and notification that I ignore but maybe that's a me problem?

Otherwise it had been a long time for me too and I never loved the curved screen and I'm pretty much sold now after trying it that it's not for me. I had a lot of problems with touch response and getting the phone to respond to me at times.

 

[Mike Dee]

More or less yes, and the thing is I follow this stuff closely I knew the unlocked S20 didn't have the MM wave bands for Verizon but I didn't think it was an issue because I could still use the 4G bands and from what I've heard there's very little MM Wave anyway. However what they told me is that 5G devices use a different SIM. Now I would imagine that is just to give access to the 5G bands but I don't know. My SIM card took a dump and I couldn't get texts and I was dropping a lot of calls so who knows.

Still using my LTE SIM in my Unlocked S20 and Note 20 Ultras. Your SIM probably just failed....it does happen.

 

[Mike Dee]

You know the camera is a lot more versatile with the three lenses, and the quality was close enough to the pixel that I was perfectly okay with it. I took some great shots on vacation with it this summer. And there's a few small things like the notifications for calendar events and alerts are a lot better in my opinion because they actually make me address them whereas Google's calendar and reminders notifications rarely get my attention so I end up setting alarms for stuff that I have to do to remind me because the calendar while good is very basic and again I would prefer something that got my attention when I set an event reminder and didn't just vibrate once and sit there and notification that I ignore but maybe that's a me problem?

Otherwise it had been a long time for me too and I never loved the curved screen and I'm pretty much sold now after trying it that it's not for me. I had a lot of problems with touch response and getting the phone to respond to me at times.

As long as you're happy with your choice is all that matters. I was very happy with my 3XL, but when the Note 10 came out the trade in deals were great so I jumped to Samsung. I thought about the 4XL but I decided it wasn't for me. It's a great device but I wanted a device with 3 cameras and decided I would skip it and bought the S20 Ultra. Now I have both the S20 and Note 20 Ultras. I use the SIM from my work iphone in the S20 so I'm happy. Not at all pleased with the direction of the Pixel 5, but I'm glad some people are happy.

 

[Theot]

As long as you're happy with your choice is all that matters. I was very happy with my 3XL, but when the Note 10 came out the trade in deals were great so I jumped to Samsung. I thought about the 4XL but I decided it wasn't for me. It's a great device but I wanted a device with 3 cameras and decided I would skip it and bought the S20 Ultra. Now I have both the S20 and Note 20 Ultras. I use the SIM from my work iphone in the S20 so I'm happy. Not at all pleased with the direction of the Pixel 5, but I'm glad some people are happy.

Yeah the three cameras is what pulled me in to and that was great but I can't use one UI, I just don't like it and things just did not work right using Nova or Action launcher. Idle why, but the touch response on such a well spec'd and nice device was just awful and even a replacement didn't fix it for me. Now again, it may have been user error but I'm having no issues on the 4XL and am pretty happy. However it's only been a few days so I'm sure something will change my mind. That said, I am intrigued by the S20 FE with it's flat screen because I really did like using DEX and if I ever have to go back into the office full tile that will come in handy to circumvent the work web restrictions.

Also I agree I don't think the S20 borked my SIM, because it worked fine for a couple months and then all the sudden things started going wrong. All the tG card does is give access to the 5G bands I think.

 

[mustang7757]

@Theot
You have both phones so your good when u get bored
I have both samsung and google , once you leave one you will miss something from the other it always happens to me .

 

[lodo]

I have both the 4xl and the Note 20 Ultra right now.

The 4xl has been fine but the battery issue continues to be the main annoyance.

Firt thing I did with the N20U was make it look and act as much as possible as the Pixel. I love the Pixel UI and the pure android experience.

Other than that, the Note screen is a standout (but don't care for the curved aspect either). Camera is the equal to the Pixel, stylus us nice and the battery is way better than the 4xl.

One thing that almost never seems to get mentioned in any reviews that is a big plus for the Pixel is the ability to have two numbers in use at once, one physical sim and one esim. If you need a work and personal number on one device you really are limited to Apple of Google phones as far as I can tell, at least in the US. I returned the Note once over this issue as the information from Samsung is misleading but then decided I would give it another try just because the phone is so powerful.

 

[Theot]

@Theot
You have both phones so your good when u get bored
I have both samsung and google , once you leave one you will miss something from the other it always happens to me .

I'm selling the the S20, I might pickup the S20 FE due to the flat screen but right now things are on hold. I am very intrigued by the OnePlus 8T and I'd like to see how the feedback on the Pixel 5 is because there's always some issue with the Pixel devices initially.

I have both the 4xl and the Note 20 Ultra right now.

The 4xl has been fine but the battery issue continues to be the main annoyance.

Firt thing I did with the N20U was make it look and act as much as possible as the Pixel. I love the Pixel UI and the pure android experience.

Other than that, the Note screen is a standout (but don't care for the curved aspect either). Camera is the equal to the Pixel, stylus us nice and the battery is way better than the 4xl.

One thing that almost never seems to get mentioned in any reviews that is a big plus for the Pixel is the ability to have two numbers in use at once, one physical sim and one esim. If you need a work and personal number on one device you really are limited to Apple of Google phones as far as I can tell, at least in the US. I returned the Note once over this issue as the information from Samsung is misleading but then decided I would give it another try just because the phone is so powerful.

Yeah, the battery is ok but not great and it can be hit or miss. Most of the time I'm near a charger but like yesterday I was doing yard work and between streaming music and tracking my steps it ate 50% of my juice in three hours.

I've looked at the N20U, I am very tempted by it but the one thing I had issues with on the S20 was how jenky it got after I put Nova on it and my icon pack and it just didn't seem to work well especially with the gesture navigation. Now whether that's the culprit or something else IDK but it became very frustrating to use and IDK if I want to go back there because I don't care for one UI.

 

[lodo]

This is the guide I used to start the 'Pixel look and style' process on the N20U. It's early yet so we'll see how it works out. So far so good in terms of things working.

https://android.gadgethacks.com/how... open Settings,digital assistant on its users.

 

[mustang7757]

I'm selling the the S20, I might pickup the S20 FE due to the flat screen but right now things are on hold. I am very intrigued by the OnePlus 8T and I'd like to see how the feedback on the Pixel 5 is because there's always some issue with the Pixel devices initially. Yeah, the battery is ok but not great and it can be hit or miss. Most of the time I'm near a charger but like yesterday I was doing yard work and between streaming music and tracking my steps it ate 50% of my juice in three hours.

I've looked at the N20U, I am very tempted by it but the one thing I had issues with on the S20 was how jenky it got after I put Nova on it and my icon pack and it just didn't seem to work well especially with the gesture navigation. Now whether that's the culprit or something else IDK but it became very frustrating to use and IDK if I want to go back there because I don't care for one UI.

Yeah , wait and see how the 5 , 8t unfold

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

More or less yes, and the thing is I follow this stuff closely I knew the unlocked S20 didn't have the MM wave bands for Verizon but I didn't think it was an issue because I could still use the 4G bands and from what I've heard there's very little MM Wave anyway. However what they told me is that 5G devices use a different SIM. Now I would imagine that is just to give access to the 5G bands but I don't know. My SIM card took a dump and I couldn't get texts and I was dropping a lot of calls so who knows.

Not good at all.

 

[Theot]

This is the guide I used to start the 'Pixel look and style' process on the N20U. It's early yet so we'll see how it works out. So far so good in terms of things working.

https://android.gadgethacks.com/how... open Settings,digital assistant on its users.

Gestures are working?

Not good at all.

No, it was infuriating with work and not getting texts from family made things difficult. Thank God the new one works great.

 

[Morty2264]

@Theot
You have both phones so your good when u get bored
I have both samsung and google , once you leave one you will miss something from the other it always happens to me .

Samsung and Google seem to be the sweet spots for me, too! Two great manufacturers.