I am disappointed that One UI 7 will be dropping support for Windows DeX. I very much hope that One UI 7 is not a downgrade. DeX is a really great feature that sort of guarantees my loyalty to Samsung.
I know that DeX itself is not being discontinued, but the suggested alternative is Link to Windows, which I don't use. I am leery of Microsoft, which spams me continuously to use OneDrive, and I certainly don't want to make calls or answer texts on my computer when my phone works perfectly well for that.
DeX is not perfect but it's one of the super-cool features that sets Samsung apart, so I hope that this is not the beginning of neglecting it.
I know it's usually frowned upon to mix topics like this, but the other feature that woos me is camera zoom. I think it was a mistake that Samsung got rid of the 10X zoom lens on the new Ultras, even if the 5X lens is 50 MP.
The array of cameras on the Ultras is good, but doesn't fully make sense. What makes the least sense is that the worst camera is for one of the most popular zoom settings, 3X. On my S23 Ultra this is the worst lens, and on the S25 Ultra it is the lens with the worst specs.
Given that the 1X lens is a very high quality 200 MP lens, it makes no sense to even have a 3X lens at 10 MP. I try to avoid using it when possible as it produces the worst pictures. The 1X lens at 3X zoom has better colors and light sensitivity and just produces better pictures overall, even at 3X.
I've thought about what would be neat in terms of lenses, as I think these are a real missed opportunity. Skip the 3X, add a 4X at 50 MP and revive the 10X but make it 50 MP. I could come up with alternative arrays all day long.
Of course, it would be incredible if there was a deep zoom that was 200 MP, but I understand that budgets and price points do matter.
What I simply cannot understand is the total waste of space and waste of time that is the relatively crappy 10 MP camera on phones where the other lenses are superior, given that 3X is such a popular zoom.
It takes awhile to engineer and test camera setups on a phone, so I wouldn't expect Samsung to go back to the drawing board and start with all new cameras in one iteration. The phone takes great pictures. I just think that a small adjustment with the two greater zoom lenses could make a huge difference.
I take zoom pictures all the time, but even for those who don't, the zoom is a big wow-selling-point, and like DeX it helps to differentiate the phone from some of the competition. (At a phone store I was told point-blank that the Ultra is the best phone on the market, period. But it has to keep earning that, as the competition does not stay still.)
In sum, the less special Samsung feels to users, the less reason people have to stick with the company. That's my take, from a consumer and to some degree a business standpoint.
I will add while I'm here that Samsung as a company wows me. It makes some truly amazing products. As just one of many examples, its solid-state drives not only have great performance and reliability but also great efficiency. Between that and its prowess with screens and chips, it's well-positioned to make great phones. In fact, it would be nice if the company still made regular cameras -- those artifacts from history that believe it or not some people are still using!
I could offer feedback all day on this phone, even on the cameras and camera app, and I will never understand the logic of the phone's autocorrect. It does insane word replacements, for example recently replacing the word "garlic" with the word "rules". That's typical. Maybe One UI 7 will address that, but more so than addressing it I think I'd settle just for understanding it!
In any case, great phone, a few disappointments, a couple of major suggestions.
Thanks.
Edit: I followed this link, not realizing that it's the EU site. I'm in the US, but I think that all my comments still apply!
