Android 14 & S24

[snuffy]

My S21U has just updated this morning to Androd 14 and this time I can see some differences (as I recall, 12 to 13 was no different at all).

The quick menu looks much better for a start.

Also, I've seen that the S24 is due to be launched mid January, so I think I finally feel an upgrade coming on!

[Mr-B]

Which carrier is that with? Still waiting for mine on EE.

[snuffy]

Mr-B said:

Which carrier is that with? Still waiting for mine on EE.

That's on Three.

[Mr-B]

snuffy said:

That's on Three.

OK cheers.

[V8covin]

snuffy said:

My S21U has just updated this morning to Androd 14 and this time I can see some differences (as I recall, 12 to 13 was no different at all).

The quick menu looks much better for a start.

Also, I've seen that the S24 is due to be launched mid January, so I think I finally feel an upgrade coming on!

I have an A34 and One UI version 6 has the new quick start menu

[TameRacingDriver]

Bloody typical, mines not playing ball, and I'm on a bone stock vanilla Samsung S21U from Samsung themselves! I guess it'll be imminent.

I do think OneUI 6 looks considerably better (appearance wise) from what I've seen. It also has a brand new system font which really lifts the appearance all round.

I am interested to see what the S24U is like, but I must admit my S21U is still running like a champ, probably the fastest / smoothest it has ever ran, and it still takes decent photos, and still has reasonable battery life, so it might be a waste really, and it's probably going to feel more or less the same in practice - a bit better obviously, but enough of an improvement to justify the expense of an upgrade? My screen is cracked though, so there is at least that reason to upgrade

[Mr-B]

TameRacingDriver said:

Bloody typical, mines not playing ball, and I'm on a bone stock vanilla Samsung S21U from Samsung themselves! I guess it'll be imminent.

I do think OneUI 6 looks considerably better (appearance wise) from what I've seen. It also has a brand new system font which really lifts the appearance all round.

I am interested to see what the S24U is like, but I must admit my S21U is still running like a champ, probably the fastest / smoothest it has ever ran, and it still takes decent photos, and still has reasonable battery life, so it might be a waste really, and it's probably going to feel more or less the same in practice - a bit better obviously, but enough of an improvement to justify the expense of an upgrade? My screen is cracked though, so there is at least that reason to upgrade

I bought my S21U direct from Samsung but I believe it is down to the network you are with as to when it gets released to your phone. Still going to hang on to mine until they stop supporting it, then maybe look at a Pixel to get 7 years of updates, I like to get my moneysworth.

[TameRacingDriver]

Mr-B said:

I bought my S21U direct from Samsung but I believe it is down to the network you are with as to when it gets released to your phone. Still going to hang on to mine until they stop supporting it, then maybe look at a Pixel to get 7 years of updates, I like to get my moneysworth.

I went from a line of Pixels to the Samsung. I preferred the OS on the Pixel as a thing to look at and interact with, and the camera was consistently decent on all of them, but the rest of the package was a horror show, and the Samsung is better in every other way. The S21U has been the best phone I've ever had, not perfect, but pretty close for what it is.

[Mr-B]

TameRacingDriver said:

I went from a line of Pixels to the Samsung. I preferred the OS on the Pixel as a thing to look at and interact with, and the camera was consistently decent on all of them, but the rest of the package was a horror show, and the Samsung is better in every other way. The S21U has been the best phone I've ever had, not perfect, but pretty close for what it is.

Useful feedback, I will bear that in mind in a year or so.

[Buffalo]

I got the update yesterday on EE after reading this. Apart from a different clock font on the lock screen and a brighter meeting reminder screen, I've not not noticed anything obviously different. I think my phone is an S22, about 18mo old.

[Corso Marche]

TameRacingDriver said:

I went from a line of Pixels to the Samsung. I preferred the OS on the Pixel as a thing to look at and interact with, and the camera was consistently decent on all of them, but the rest of the package was a horror show, and the Samsung is better in every other way. The S21U has been the best phone I've ever had, not perfect, but pretty close for what it is.

Always interesting to read of other's experiences. I contemplated moving from Pixel in 2019 and 2020, and Samsung were among those under serious consideration. But I couldn't do it in the end due to the Samsung software experience, and hardware failures under warranty (2 watches, and a tablet).
I submitted many error logs because the tablet was so buggy and unreliable, the apps for the watches demanded permissions they didn't need for my usage, but the app wouldn't even launch without granting the permissions!
Then the first watch failed at 11 months, and was replaced with a refurbished unit, which also subsequently failed after circa 13 months. And the tablet developed a hardware issue just outside warranty as well.
Failures like the above (both hardware and software) is one thing, but these failures then lead you into Samsung Customer Service which is absolutely shockingly abhorrent and ineffective.

While the software experience was the main reason I didn't switch, everything else just compounded the decision.

[TameRacingDriver]

Corso Marche said:

TameRacingDriver said:

I went from a line of Pixels to the Samsung. I preferred the OS on the Pixel as a thing to look at and interact with, and the camera was consistently decent on all of them, but the rest of the package was a horror show, and the Samsung is better in every other way. The S21U has been the best phone I've ever had, not perfect, but pretty close for what it is.

Always interesting to read of other's experiences. I contemplated moving from Pixel in 2019 and 2020, and Samsung were among those under serious consideration. But I couldn't do it in the end due to the Samsung software experience, and hardware failures under warranty (2 watches, and a tablet).
I submitted many error logs because the tablet was so buggy and unreliable, the apps for the watches demanded permissions they didn't need for my usage, but the app wouldn't even launch without granting the permissions!
Then the first watch failed at 11 months, and was replaced with a refurbished unit, which also subsequently failed after circa 13 months. And the tablet developed a hardware issue just outside warranty as well.
Failures like the above (both hardware and software) is one thing, but these failures then lead you into Samsung Customer Service which is absolutely shockingly abhorrent and ineffective.

While the software experience was the main reason I didn't switch, everything else just compounded the decision.

Interesting indeed to read of other experiences, and it's also interesting how different peoples experiences can end up being.

My first Pixel was a 2XL, and I had 3 of those, the original, and 2 warranty replacements. The first just had lots of little niggly bugs, none of them were deal breakers, but it was like death by a million paper cuts. The screen was also a bit sub par. Eventually the issues got worse so I triggered the warranty just before it was up, and they reluctantly agreed to replace (with a refurb). The replacement lasted less than a day before it completely died. The third did seem better thankfully, but it was soon time to upgrade.

I then got a Pixel 5, again, it had a few annoying bugs, the fingerprint reader was utter ste, and I ended up getting a replacement that was slightly, but not much better. It was after that I jumped ship to the Samsung.

Every year though, I've kept an eye on the new Pixels, because I like the look and feel as I said before, but every year, it's sub par hardware, and people complaining of bugs, so I still haven't really felt compelled to make the change.

I also had other Google hardware, like some of their tablets, which were naff and they ultimately abandoned. Doesn't inspire confidence.

The last Pixel related video I watched was Mr Mobile, and while he liked the phone and whatnot, he found the watch and earbuds to be poor, and as usual they all have plenty of bugs. For me they just seem to struggle to ever truly hit the spot now, there's always something to put me off giving them another chance.

The Samsung has been good to me, but I've experienced their customer support and I agree it certainly wasn't brilliant. Good thing their phones do seem really good, but it wasn't always the case, I remember the original Galaxy S, what a piece of st that thing was. I then had an S2 (much better) then a Note 2, but that was my last until the S21, owning various iPhones, HTCs, Sonys and Google phones in between.

I guess you pay your money, take your choice (gamble!)

[Corso Marche]

TameRacingDriver said:

Interesting indeed to read of other experiences, and it's also interesting how different peoples experiences can end up being.

TameRacingDriver said:

I guess you pay your money, take your choice (gamble!)

Yes indeed!

My Pixel 2XL lasted as both my work phone and personal phone for 5 years, until I changed to a P7Pro last year. The P2XL sits in a drawer now. Everything still functioning, and the battery is still usable even after 6 years, although the battery is the one aspect showing it's age.

[mjcneat]

Checked for updates after seeing this thread. Updated my S22 and it feels noticeably "snappier" just generally navigating through apps.

[V8covin]

Turns out the update I had was indeed android 14 , I've had it 5 weeks and apart from the pull down menu I can't say I've noticed any difference