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Samsung S10E Review

(Topic created on: 18-12-2019 09:11 AM)
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ukmercenary
Journeyman
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So I had an old iphone 6s and wanted an upgrade so decided to get a Samsung S10e. The last time I used an Andriod phone was well over 4 years ago.  I was kind of hoping that the Andriod platform might have evolved from in this time clearly it has not.  It reminds me very much of Windows vs Mac...a Mac just works Windows / Andriod does not.  Biggest issue with Samsung is there software. Bixby is completely useless I thought Siri wasn't great but in comparssion it is amazing.

 

Example with Siri and Apple Carplay I get tell Siri to end navigation or start navigation to home.  With Bixby I get an error saying "can't open Google maps whilst using Andriod Auto".  Also the layout to Andriod Auto is almost dangerous compared to Apple Car Play.  With Apple Car Play you can easily swip left and right to get to the apps. With AA you have a tiny little verticle scroll bar on the left hand side which is very hard to use whilst driving.  I would use voice control but clearly that doesn't work...

 

One of the most useful features on IOS the autofill feature. You can use either keychain along with Safari to manage your passwords or like me use Bitwarden to do the same.  It works on every app I have ever used on IOS.

 

However on Andriod the auto fill only works on a  handful of apps which makes it poitless.

Samsung phones might be cheaper than Apple phones ...but I can see why ..as they don't work

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22 REPLIES 22
SjorsK
Maestro
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I personally have different experiences.

Did you also try using Google Voice? One of the benefits of Android as an operating system is that you can use the program that works best for you :smiling-face: If Bixby doesn't cut it for you, there is fortunately an alternative :smiling-face:

Considering I don't have a car I can't comment on those points made. But my family is usually quite happy when I have my phone with Google Maps around to help navigate.

Different browsers also have their own autofill features. For example I use 1password and Samsung Pass. It works great in my Lifestyle.

Regarding the statement "Apple Just works" is simply incorrect. Apple as a brand tends to be quite arrogant in my honest opinion. Here are some issues that simply don't work with Apple (as it should)
- Your bank wallet doesn't work with Apple devices (For apple blocked access to the NFC chip)
- The Apple watch is extremely expensive and useless, with the exception for apple smartphones
- Due to OS level restrictions third party devices don't always work well with Apple Products (For example: Smartwatches that are non-Apple branded).
- Apple Computers have all their components soldered to the motherboard of the device (Which makes data recovery extremely expensive after a drive failure)
- I bought a "16 Apple laptop last month, when signing in to iCloud I got the most useless error ever (An unknown error has occured) and I got in the first 2 days 7 times a BSOD (Black screen of death) whereof 3 during the first update. It just didn't work. I had to get the devices swapped (It was a business purchase considering I serve clients as a developer in the movie industry).

Just to name a few issues :winking-face: There are of course more :smiling-face:

Every device and brand has its issues, learning curve, upsides and downsides. I'm sad to hear that you are not happy with your Smartphone but some things you stated in here where simply not true.

I hope that you appreciate other parts of your new phone though :smiling-face:
ukmercenary
Journeyman
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I will try to find an alternative to Bixby I have used Google Voice before in the past however I am making efforts to try and not to use too many google products as I don't like the way they can use personal data for there own finacial gain. (yes I know Andriod is Google).   I do like F-Driod which is a good alternative to the Play store.

 

In my expereince (over 20 years as a Windows support Engineer) I can see how an OS which is forced to run 1000's or even millions of devcies can be segmented.  My point about password managers was that I don't want to have to use more than one.  However if that is the only option I may consider using Firefox password manager along side Bitwarden.  However im not conviced this will work as I havent seen the Andriod Firefox asking to save passwords.

 

Apple invoate the rest of the world just immitate , just look at the Dell XPS 13 with its soldered in RAM for an example.

Ive never had any issues with my MacBook Pro 13. 

On the positive side I love the OLED screen and the 128GB of RAM and the high res screen.  I realise that Samsung make the screens for Apple also.

 

I will try some of your suggestions thanks

 

 

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SjorsK
Maestro
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Yeah, Windows is imperfect (But I really like the direction and the shift Microsoft has been taking :smiling-face: ). I have the same issues with Google products if I'm completely honest, wherever possible I prefer to use other paid products that are as cross platform as possible (Which somehow lands me on Microsoft365 solutions considering it brings the best value) - I do tend to use or have replacements for vendor-specific apps that have the habit to vendor-lock you a bit too much or have the habit to invade your privacy (Google Apps & Apple Apps, both for another reason).

Android itself is open source but is indeed managed by Google, there is also a licensed android version that is used by larger manufacturers. Luckily the open source program makes sure that everyone is able to check the code for issues (and resolve them) :smiling-face: And as long something is Licensed (or open source) its paid for in one way or another and checked so I trust it. And if google somehow abuses it they will lose the trust from many businesses which is a scenario nobody will benefit from.

The password manager I actually use to store passwords is 1password. But sometimes I save things in Samsung pass for convenience reasons.

I do disagree with only Apple being the only party Innovating, I agree that they innovate on some areas but they also copy/adopt technologies used by other companies. Samsung is for example a great innovating company when it comes to making cutting edge hardware.

For example, multitasking as Apple and Samsung have it right now is for example copied from Windows phone (Which is a dead product). There are far more examples where companies tend to copy each other (For good reason!). Sometimes I wish that companies did copy each other a bit more (For example, I wish that Apple took a note from Samsungs Playbook and adopted USB-C chargers for their phone and reduce their Notch) and that other PC manufacturers adopted USB-C or Thunderbolt 3 more. One thing that I also would love to happen is that Apple would allow people to simply download and install apps outside of their store (Its too much of a monopoly).

A few things that Apple copied from Samsung:
https://www.extremetech.com/mobile/268375-top-5-features-apple-stole-from-samsung

And this whitepaper makes it clear that Samsung is definitely innovating in their flagship products:
https://news.samsung.com/global/infographic-10-firsts-and-10-bests-from-the-galaxy-s10

And yeah, I agree. Its horrible that Dell solders the RAM, at least they don't have extraordinary prices for 16GB of ram, I find soldering like that on computers a horrible business practice - Especially for the SSD. It reduces the repair-ability of the product significantly.

That said, Linux is quite segmented as well and is the most used operating system in the world (Android = a Linux distribution). :smiling-face:

That said most innovations are actually refinements of existing/old technologies and optimized in such a way that its easy to use for the average person :smiling-face: These are exciting times to live in regardless of your preferences.

Competition is a good thing, and as clients we should be thankful :smiling-face:
ukmercenary
Journeyman
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Prime example of Andriod Autofill Service not working corectly:

 

https://github.com/bitwarden/mobile/issues/489

 

On IOS no such issue.

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Venom7000
Voyager
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My review of the s10e?
Everything is nice.

Camera is a complete utter garbage.

Also:

1. shame on Samsung for separating markets by region and then selling different specs to different regions. Snapdragon curbstomps the inferior Exynos cpu (and that even shows in the camera/picture quality).

 

2. No option to turn usage of 3G/4G data on some apps individualy. So you dont end up watching Youtube on data by accident. (dont tell me that "there is a 3rd party app for it" because that is not a solution!! What stops Samsung from integrating that in to their "perfect" OS?!)

 

So say what you want about Apple (I too personaly switched from 6s). But at least they dont discriminate based on regions and everyone gets the same specs. (also the data/wifi problem can be managed on iOS for ages now). 

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SjorsK
Maestro
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@ukmercenary 

 

Actually, that bug report is a Google Chrome (A app) and Bitwarden (A app) issues (Application level issue :smiling-face: ) related to a third party app named bit warden. I wouldn't consider that an Operating system level issue. 

 

@Venom7000 

1. shame on Samsung for separating markets by region and then selling different specs to different regions. Snapdragon curbstomps the inferior Exynos cpu (and that even shows in the camera/picture quality). - I completely at this point :smiling-face: 

 

2. No option to turn usage of 3G/4G data on some apps individualy. So you dont end up watching Youtube on data by accident. (dont tell me that "there is a 3rd party app for it" because that is not a solution!! What stops Samsung from integrating that in to their "perfect" OS?!) - Actually, the OS is created by Google (And the open source community). No Operating system is perfect. Regardless - This is a fair feature request if you ask me. Hopefully a moderator reads it and forwards it to the devs. I know that Samsung truly appriciates feedback :smiling-face: 

 

So say what you want about Apple (I too personaly switched from 6s). But at least they dont discriminate based on regions and everyone gets the same specs. (also the data/wifi problem can be managed on iOS for ages now). 

Actually, they do discriminate based on regions. On my laptop I have for example no access to "Apple News" because that is apperently not a part of my region. Until recently Apple Pay was also not accessible in my country and the Apple card also isn't. 

 

On hardware level there is no discrimination, there I agree on. On service level there definitely is. 

 

That said, I have nothing against hardware "Discrimination", in some cases its more benificial to localize different parts of the phones for the local market (Every country has some different technical standards and optimized standards for the region can in certain cases be better :smiling-face: ). Please remember that would only be for the sake for the best performance/least battery usage and of course for keeping the prices low (In the budget devices). 

 

(To be absolutely clear: I am not a Samsung representative :winking-face: ). 

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Venom7000
Voyager
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Dude, how is discrimination on hardware beneficial to anyone?

I pay the same price (or even higher) in some countries to get an inferior product (in this case cpu).

 

The fact of the matter is that Samsung does it because people/buyers are spineless and wont boycot or voice their opinions outside a random YT comment.

 

Regarding apple's software "discrimination". Ok, I understand what you mean. But having apple pay or apple news is dependent on whether the banks in your country are interested in supporting that kind of payment system. News channels too.

So when it comes to those types of differences.  Its more logical to blame your lazy country for not being tech oriented. (But I still understand you)

 

However,  hardware discrimination is not acceptable. If both CPUs perfomed the same I wouldn't mind. Except that there is a significant difference on all fields.

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SjorsK
Maestro
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Dude, how is discrimination on hardware beneficial to anyone?
In japan there is a special (expensive propitiatory chip) in the phones for public transport created by Sony. Including this effectively means the prices of the phones have to rise. This for obvious reasons not beneficial for any country but Japan.

Same goes antenna's. Not every country uses the same antenna's and same hardware so it might be beneficial to pick hardware that is optimised for the region/country.

To be absolutely clear: I'm not defending the worse performing CPU.

I pay the same price (or even higher) in some countries to get an inferior product (in this case cpu).

Regarding apple's software "discrimination". Ok, I understand what you mean. But having apple pay or apple news is dependent on whether the banks in your country are interested in supporting that kind of payment system. News channels too.

So when it comes to those types of differences. Its more logical to blame your lazy country for not being tech oriented. (But I still understand you).

Actually my country is one of the frontrunners if it is about tech adoption in daily life :smiling-face: Its just that its a relatively small market. Same issue was there with Siri and other voice assistants :winking-face: Every bank has (and pushes) their own wallet app but Apple was blocking the app so the banks had to adjust to market demand.

In fact, nobody here uses cash anymore... Ever :winking-face: In fact, I can't recall when I last used cash in a store.

News has nothing to do with banks, so I don't understand that.

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ukmercenary
Journeyman
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@sjorsk No if you read it none of the password mangers are working correctly. I never had any issues with BitWarden on IOS why is that do you think?

 

Many apps just work better with IOS prime example is Virgin Money Credit Card app supports touch ID but can't support Andriod finger print unlock due to the fact there are so many manufatures out there this is a prime example of Apple just working as there is a standard.  There are no hardware standards on IOS.  I am almost certainly going to go baack to an Apple device.

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