18 ms·

I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung always wanted to do things their way

• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• juliand 6y ago
  I am a s10+ user and recently I ditched all the different google version of my phone apps. I decided to use samsung's version of the calculator, calendar, files and contacts apps. They seem solid enough for me and some of them present better integration with the Samsung ecosystem . Those apps are also integrated with different third party providers including google . I still despise bixby but I'm very satisfied with the rest of the phone.
  • mindentropy 6y ago
    Google Keyboard is the worst. It is so laggy and there is no way to adjust the keyboard keys for fat finger people.
    • dotancohen 6y ago
      Recommend another keyboard that will let me switch quickly between the five languages that I have installed, supports swipe in all those languages, has cursor navigation, and does not promote the use of emojis in conversation, has rich set of characters including diacritic marks for Hebrew and Arabic. If it pops up my selected text as an autocomplete selection that would be nice too. I would be willing to pay for such a keyboard. Alas the free Google keyboard does all that. For me, the only feature missing is language selection when attaching a hardware bluetooth keyboard. I have to switch to the default Samsung keyboard to be able to switch languages from the hardware keyboard.
  • _trampeltier 6y ago
    At least the Samsung Gallery app works just fine if you block the network access with a firewall. The Google Gallery app does strange things and is not usable at all behind a firewall.
  • durnygbur 6y ago
    > I am a s10+ > very satisfied with the rest of the phone. The plastic glass of the back camera in my Samsung s10 cracked in the first 2 months of using the phone, it cracked from laying it on flat surfaces.
    • juliand 6y ago
      Mine has remained intact even without a case (with the usual wear of course, but no cracks).
• xpressvideoz 6y ago
  Yeah, I like the Samsung UI. I think it's brilliant to have the scroll area in the below half of the screen initially, to make it easy to touch the first few items of the list. I even like some of their apps. Samsung Health is, in my opinion, infinitely better than Google Fit. The latter doesn't even let me delete mistakenly input data. I'm not sure what Google's strategy on this app is.
  • TechniKris 6y ago
    This. AOSP feels so annoying to use, while OneUI is incredibly comfortable, especially showing its advantages on large screens. I swear, I often wish more apps would follow OneUI in their design, that's how comfortable in use it is. I'm using a mix of Samsung's navbar gestures and "One Hand Operation" GoodLock module gestures and my thumb barely ever needs to reach outside of my "comfortable grip" reach area on my 6.4" Galaxy A50, even when accessing notifications/quick settings drawer. And I could go on and on about how good their hardware is in the midrange shelf, though it seems to me flagship pricetags usually don't seem to bother HN users. Also: if you use a Samsung, try out GoodLock apps, they're great. I don't think any other manufacturer supports completely changing things like the recents tab or sound controls without rooting or installing custom ROMs.
• perryizgr8 6y ago
  > I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung phones work well, they have one of the best cameras, the best screens, the best batteries, usually the most features. LG phones are famous for boot-looping. > different (shitty) UI It is a matter of opinion. I much prefer Samsung's UI over the garbage that is google's, and even slightly better than iphone. > Samsung versions of all the core Google apps (but worse) Every Samsung app that replaces a google app is 2x better. The browser is faster, better than chrome. The contacts app is so much better. The dialer is like 10 years ahead. Gallery is at least 10x faster and less buggier than google photos. I always try to delete as much google bloatware from my phone as possible, and use the samsung apps. > the stupid bottom button placement What button? There are no buttons on Samsung phones for the past 3-4 years. The navbar is fully customizable (unlike google), and hidable. > non-remappable Bixby button Similar to the non-remappable squeeze button on pixels and siri button on iphones?? And the bixby button is remappable with an app nowadays. > aggressively killing apps for power management Samsung is hardly the worst offender here. And I can't blame them for trying to fix the clusterfuck that google has created with android. > Do people actually like all those Samsung annoyances? I can't speak for others, but your "annoyances" are useful features for me. The alarm app turns on my bedroom lights in the morning automatically. Bixby routines automatically cranks the brightness and enables auto rotate when I play a video. Samsung health auto-tracks my sleeping schedule and tells me which apps are keeping me awake. Samsung browser blocks all ads and has an automatic dark mode for every website. Samsung pay lets me pay with my phone at any credit card terminal, not just the ones with NFC.
  • m-ee 6y ago
    I’ve owned 5 iPhones so far and never seen this Siri button.
    • perryizgr8 6y ago
      It's on the right side. Hold it and it will start siri.
      • 6y ago
• sanxiyn 6y ago
  I greatly preferred TouchWiz to stock Android UI. It's a matter of preference.
  • vinay427 6y ago
    TouchWiz bears minimal resemblance to Samsung's newer UIs, to be fair. Most seem to find the newer OneUI iterations to be significant improvements because they make for a far more full-featured device than stock Android with a more consistent UI experience and without the slowdowns that people complained about with TouchWiz. I'm curious how you'd find it as someone who preferred TouchWiz.
  • dotancohen 6y ago
    I loved the UI on my 2012 Samsung Note 3, cannot stand the UI on my 2019 Samsung A50. Which of the two would have been TouchWiz?
• ekianjo 6y ago
  > tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung bought more ads, maybe?
  • vanshg 6y ago
    Ding ding
• dmitriid 6y ago
  > Samsung versions of all the core Google apps Because everyone wants to own as much of the stack as possible: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/09/owning-the-stack-the-legal-war-for-control-of-the-smartphone-platform.ars http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/09/owning-the-s... Samsung doesn't want to become a yet another interchangeable and disposable phone body manufacturer for Google.
• blackoil 6y ago
  Google Apps aren't gold standard. I own a Samsung phone I have replaced launcher (MS launcher) /SMS (SMS organizer). Contacts and Phone app maybe Samsung's but they never troubled me. Only Settings search is unexplicably slow which annoys sometimes. In terms of hardware/updates Samsung is good enough. Only Chinese phones may give better value for money but they come with too many software quirks, which I don't like.
  • reader_mode 6y ago
    OnePlus has decent value and while being Chinese it doesn't have a lot of quirks and is geared towards western markets. Motorola also has some decent phones in the budget category. Pixel a series are also great value. I got a Samsung last generation and gave Samsung ecosystem a go (smart watch, buds, TV). They do great hardware but they should just leave software alone - tizen os is a major PITA on TV and Watch (lacks apps, Bixby is retarded). I had one plus before this and I'll probably go back if I stay on Android - software is just much better
    • blackoil 6y ago
      Yeah Oneplus is a good option, but their pricing is now ~flagship, while I stick with low-mid end. Right now I'll go with A52 if I have to replace my phone. I don't use Bixby/Google and have ungoogled my life by lot, maybe one of the reason
      • gambiting 6y ago
        I mean, the 9 starts at £629 which is actually really cheap for the specs. The only way to get the Snapdragon 888 any cheaper is to go for something like Oppo or Xiaomi, which are not available everywhere. And yes, their prices have been increasing over the years, but 3 years ago I paid £550 for the 5T, so now paying £629 for the 9 doesn't seem like such a huge leap.
      • reader_mode 6y ago
        OnePlus has a Nord line which is in line with A52 I think ?
• trabant00 6y ago
  Because at large people don't select their phone based on what you mention. What does matter I believe is marketing. I think most importantly is Samsung's image presence vs LG. Can't remember the last time I've seen a TV advert for LG. Or a billboard in the city center, or youtube hype from influencers, etc. While Samsung is everywhere. Second is the cool factor. LG has none while Samsung have this as a priority. From the design of the phones to their special physical presence in malls. People often ask me (as an IT guy) to recommend a phone. But they always have their mind made up by the time they ask and Samsung is the choice. The other options don't look as good, are considered a risk vs a known, and are also seen as a budget choice for those who can't afford a Samsung. Sometimes I feel they would be even ashamed of having people see them with anything "less".
  • deanCommie 6y ago
    Samsung absolutely decimated the other manufacturers in marketing - including Google. I remember seeing GQ articles that were interviews with celebrities that was kind of a "30 questions" thing where each celebrity was asked the same set of questions. One of them was: "iPhone or Samsung?" It didn't matter that the answer to every single one (in that issue) was iPhone. It didn't surprise me that celebrities would be 100% iPhone users. But as a discerning high-end android buyer gravitating between flagship Google Nexus devices, HTC, and LG, the implication that the alternative to iPhone was "Samsung" was BEWILDERING to me.
    • arkitaip 6y ago
      When 6-year-olds use Samsung as a synonym for Android, you know that Samsung's marketing is crushing it. Which is a shame considering how poor their overall software quality is.
      • benibin 6y ago
        I'm sorry but how a 6 years old know anything about phone brands?
        • 6y ago
• donmcronald 6y ago
  LG G6 is my favorite phone ever. I like it physically, it’s waterproof, it has a headphone jack, it has a fingerprint reader, it has NFC, it does NOT have a notched camera, and Spigen made an awesome inexpensive case for it. And I bought mine for $360 CAD (about $240 USD) at the end of its cycle. That’s hard to beat. Samsung makes crappier, more expensive phones IMO. It’s a sad day for the phone ecosystem :-(
  • bartvk 6y ago
    I have a Spigen case too, but for my iPhone. It's this really simple black case, and I haven't been able to discover a single disadvantage. It's sturdy but not too thick, it wraps tight but not overly, etc. I'd like to get a new case, just for variety's sake, but they're bound to be worse -- so I don't.
  • nomay 6y ago
    LG has arguably the best design in the Android pact, it's elegant and slick, while Samsung looks like things cobbled together to the sole purpose of avoiding patent wars with Apple, and Huawei is just Frankenstein.
  • WarOnPrivacy 6y ago
    I was one of those with G6's broken sim tray issue. I think that was the only manufacturer issue I ever had with an LG phone.
• pjmlp 6y ago
  Because using stock Android is like the phone version of year of Linux Desktop. It is so ugly from UI/UX perspective, that almost everyone ends up installing a theme anyway. Then Google only does the minimum in features, and their software is crap. For many years, if you wanted proper music software, Samsung phones with their custom real time audio SDK were the only option on Android ecosystem. Same applies to the quality of Vulkan drivers.
  • Xplune13 6y ago
    I may be in a minority here but that simple UI/UX design is the one of the main features that gravitate me towards stock android. I like the simplicity of that UI and all other themes look like chaos on my screen (that's just me). One point that I agree on is Google should definitely add useful features in their stock android. The sweet point is something like Oneplus's OxygenOS. It is close to stock android with added features and some UI tweaks (though they're going off that route lately). But, from UI perspective I think it is atleast top 2 for me (other one being OxygenOS).
    • distances 6y ago
      I don't think you're in minority. Parent is one of the few people I've heard to prefer something else over stock.
      • pjmlp 6y ago
        I guess you need to spend more time away from FOSS friendly bubble.
  • stevenhuang 6y ago
    Stock Android UI is ugly? Now that's a first. I've harbored the suspicion those who prefer "theming" their phones are not detail oriented. That or they're fine with the trade-offs. For example I've always noticed inconsistencies and jankiness with anything that's not close to stock Android. Be it Samsung's TouchWiz or others, all are like a cheap veneer of dross over stock Android. They all just feel so tacky.
• ksec 6y ago
  On a global level, 1. LG are crap at discovery ( Sales and Marketing ) and distribution. Something which despite HN is a forum from VC and Startup, pays very little attention to. 2. LG's phone QA were never really as good. This has been the case since pre-Smartphone era. 3. LG WOLED, something they tried to get it work on Smartphone but never worked and their AMOLED panel were inferior, which sort of have a knock on effect on their brand. 4. They were just never as aggressive as Samsung, I dont mean Samsung Electronics and LG electronics, I mean the whole Samsung vs LG. I guess someone from Korea can chime in on that because I know LG is competitive in South Korea. 5. Samsung are great at making Smartphone. Their whole Business Model. If you think you know Flywheel because you know Amazon. Take a look at Samsung. 6. On a Hardware level, Samsung is way ahead of LG on Spec. Which is what nerds and Tech reviewers likes to focus on. UI and Software tends be subjective. And stock Android is like the year of Linux on Desktop. 7. You would have thought they could built some synergy with LG OLED from TV. Nope.
  • puritanicdev 6y ago
    > LG's phone QA were never really as good. They are still abysmal to work with. I'm working on a webOS TV app and some of the updates require their certification, and their QA team is unbelievable...
    • toyg 6y ago
      I had an idea for one of those but absolutely bailed when I saw the joke of an “approval process” they had. I remember something like having to fill in a presentation (!)... The only item missing from the list was “fly to Korea and take the team out for dinner”.
      • puritanicdev 6y ago
        Yeah! We have to create the app presentation each time we submit for certification, and if even one of the text elements from presentation differs from the app it's cert failure... I mean, what the hell LG?! One time they've sent us cert feedback for another (big) application, instead for our app. All that with their presentation file, login details, and other stuff.
• whakim 6y ago
  LG phones have often suffered from a number of issues: really poor displays (bad calibration and/or poor power profiles due to LG's in-house displays lagging far behind); poor camera hardware and software (Samsung has definitely made a number of missteps in this area, but LG blew it generation after generation); and bad battery life. I agree that Samsung has the upper hand (and gets the benefit of the doubt) through massive mindshare, but it's not as if LG has been churning out better quality phones year after year and not getting any traction.
  • kolinko 6y ago
    +1. It was over a decade ago, but my mom bought an LG „smartphone” back around 2009. It had a touch screen so bad that you could barely hit proper numbers on the number keyboard. For me, the reputation of them as a phone manufacturers was gone from then on. How can you sell a product to people that essentially doesn’t work? Ditto with their laser projector recently - movies stuttering on a $2500 machine, and speakers worse than on my laptop :/ Their TVs are still good though :)
• thweoru23434 6y ago
  Sony phones too seem to be quite underappreciated. The Xperia X line came with amazing built-in noise-cancellation, which only required a special purpose made $20 NC31E earphone with a 5-pole connector. The performance of this combo to my surprise was amazing! It matched WH-1000XM4 and Bose QC20 in home-office environments. Not having to carry around yet another earphone that needs charging was radical. Sadly, the whole line failed, and the feature was removed in the following series. People think that "survival" is proof of aesthetic and functional superiority (we've seen this in all sorts of things - from programming languages/OSs to philosophies to races to religions). It is not.
  • NathanielK 6y ago
    I love this combo! Since the NC31E were pack-in earbuds, they were dirt cheap on the grey market. I purchased my pair for ~20CAD just before Covid. They work well with my XZ1 compact. After the XZ1, they removed the special 5 pole jack so new Xperias lack the feature. The implementation is clever too. The wired-noise cancelling doesn't require extra chips. Sony used the built in noise-cancelling feature on the Qualcomm audio chips. The chips also support a "transparency mode" like feature, but there is no convenient way to use it in software. > Sony phones too seem to be quite underappreciated. Their phones are excellent, but their not available at all in many marks (they left Canada recently). Xperias are very expensive. For example, the Xperia 10ii costs twice as much as the Moto G8. Both phones have the same SDM665 SoC and budget eMMC storage. On paper, many people would cross shop them. Since I've owned my XZ1c, I've come to appreciate the durability of Sony phones. I've dropped it, caked it in grease and batter, and generally abused it with no case. It works fine, just some chips in the paint. Based on this I would recommend Sony. They use thick Gorilla Glass 6 and even the cheaper models are IP68 rated. Cell phone durability doesn't translate well to a spec sheet or tv ad very well though.
    • kayxspre 6y ago
      Sony also doesn't quite catch on in Thailand, and they (somewhat) exited this market for years now. When I need to get a replacement for XA1+, I have to chase around some carrier retailers known to have one, cause it's just won't be around ordinary phone retailers anymore. Sony was quite a justified spec of its time (though the low battery capacity is my biggest complaint), but more players have emerged with a more competitive spec, and I also have to switch accordingly.
• lordoftheknow 6y ago
  Samsung phones always had problems and shiny screens. Don't know why people raved about such silly gadgets. LG phones were darn good.
• p2detar 6y ago
  You’re missing something. Samsung has a large enterprise customer base. Apart from Google’s semi-working enterprise stuff, theirs is probably the only successful Android enterprise solution to date. Samsung Knox is not to be underestimated. They really did a marvelous job there and Google borrowed a lot of ideas from the Knox standard. I agree about the UI stuff though.
• Der_Einzige 6y ago
  Samsung always had better screens and cameras than anyone else. That's all they needed. They still have the best screens today. They still have the best cameras besides apple today.
  • dotancohen 6y ago
    You should see the RealMe cameras. The marco mode is fine enough to photograph the hairs on a spider's legs. I've not used an iPhone to compare it too, but the device costs about 1/5 the price of an iPhone locally.
  • noisem4ker 6y ago
    OLED screens are the single most important reason I've chosen Samsung since 2011. They were the first manufacturer adopting and developing them, and they maintained a consistent edge over the competition.
  • literallycancer 6y ago
    Sharp has very nice screens but beyond that it's HMD garbage and bricks easily if you root it. Good hardware is worthless if the software sucks or even if the phone is obscure (meaning no support, no mods).
• cageface 6y ago
  At least in the places I've been in Asia distribution is a huge part of it. Samsung phones are available in every shop and they have their own dedicated stores in the bigger shopping malls.
  • kiwijamo 6y ago
    I've noticed the same here in New Zealand. My local mall is not a particularly large/important mall but it still has a Samsung store. Even if that wasn't there, all the carrier stores sell Samsung. All the electronics stores sell Samsung. Hardly any LG mobiles to be seen!
  • herbst 6y ago
    The asia ive seen was at least 50% oppo shops and 30% fake apple shops and only like 20% for everything else. Thailand, cambodia and malaysia about 5 years ago that is.
• mywacaday 6y ago
  I had two Motorola phones back to back and really liked them, hardly any bloatware, performed well and the second one had a impact resistant screen that wasn't glass, didn't need a case and tooke some awful banks but never cracked even though it had some dents.
  • throwawayboise 6y ago
    I've always had Android phones since my first smart phone, and they have always been Motorola. Totally happy with them.
• dsego 6y ago
  My LG G3 was a decent phone but I never once received any Android update.
  • donbox 6y ago
    My 4 year old Samsung J2 is still going strong (for me).Received an update in Jan 2021, Its still on Android 9
  • onli 6y ago
    The G3 did receive multiple Android updates. See here: https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g3-6294.php https://www.gsmarena.com/lg_g3-6294.php - they updated it from 4.4.2 to 6.0. If that did not arrive for your phone it might have been your carrier blocking it. The G3 can also run Android 10 via LineageOS 17.1, it is an officially supported device, see https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#lg https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/#lg. I don't know whether it will get 18.1/Android 11 though. LineageOS 17.1 worked well with the G3, I did test that recently.
• csomar 6y ago
  Samsung is very aggressive in marketing and penetrating markets. If you make a very good phone, it won't sell without 1. letting people know your phone exist and 2. making it possible for people to buy your phone. Samsung aggressively installed itself in even the most remote places. When you go through a small city (my parent's home) and find that Samsung has an official office with actual Koreans in it, it makes sense that people from that place will conduct business with Samsung. Same can be said with Apple. For example, Apple is aggressive when it comes to international warranty. In my opinion, they understand that a good size of their products are sold/smuggled in the black market. When you offer international warranties, it gives you an advantage over other brands since now the Apple product is as cheap as Samsung's. Where I live, the official-partner Apple store is basically a warranty repair shop. Most people buy their products off-market.
• Gustomaximus 6y ago
  Generally I felt LG was stuck between Samsung and cheaper Chinese brands. Samsung flagships had slightly better specs for people that wanted the latest and greatest. Also they were well known so had purchase inertia. While people wanted budget and willing to try something new went the Chinese brands where for a little less phone, or not sometimes, it's cheaper. Also LG would release at high prices and then drop not too long later chasing volume. I always felt they needed to sacrifice margin for a few cycles to get volume and release at the soon to be markdown price. Kinda how pixel phones have shifted on their last release. Same goes for Sony who have some decent phones too. G5 was a great phone though wasn't it.
• onli 6y ago
  I saw a video about that by one of those tech youtubers, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW3wNsTLCEw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW3wNsTLCEw. Many good points imho: 1. LG did not have one thing they stood for. At a time it was repairability (the LG G5 and LG V20 is one of the best older Android phones with an exchangeable battery), sound quality, supporting modules to extend the phone (but almost never releasing any), one release had a great camera, last year they released one with a cross display. There is no common theme, no follow up on their experiments. Quick, what's the newish LG Velvet about? Even I don't know, and I read the reviews (checking again: There is nothing special). 2. Product names suck, with them all colliding together over time. Samsung also does that a little bit, but not as much with their S line. 3. Repeatedly releasing phones at high prices, putting them in direct competition with almost flagship phones, and cutting them a week after release by several hundred dollars. Instead of cutting the price immediately and getting better reviews by thus being in competition with cheaper and worse other phones. 4. Not supplying reviewers with review models, at least in the US. No surprise really. I would have loved a modern G5 at some point in the future. But now LG is gone, and the phones they released in between had nothing to do with what made the G5 and V20 good anyway.
  • jfd98njkdgnh 6y ago
    This is part that is aggravating to me. I know you are right, but why does it have to one thing. A discerning consumer should be able to determine if a given product works for its use case.
    • onli 6y ago
      I thought that argument was strong. If a brand or at least a product line has one characteristic, it can find customers that value it and it becomes their goto choice. Without that, the product has to find new customers each time. Gets ridiculous with cult-like followings as with Apple, but in essence it does not have to be a bad mechanism.
• Black101 6y ago
  I dont like my LG G8 ThinQ... the fingerprint sensor stops working constantly until I reboot and I had to send it twice for repair because the USB-C plug was defective... and although I dont use it very much, the 1/8 audio port is also defective (too loose and the wire falls out very easily). And in addition to that, I cant install LineageOS.
• Jefff8 6y ago
  I'm not especially pro-Samsung, and I'm just one consumer and I'm sure that for every unhappy one, there's someone who loves LG or loathes Samsung, but I will never buy any LG product at all if there's something else available which is about equivalent. They sold me their top-end phone, years ago, for a top-end price, on the basis that they would update Android in the next three months. It was a nice phone, but three became six, which became a few years - three or four or five. Eventually they did offer the option, of course by then I was not using the phone, but I tried to upgrade anyway, and my phone would not upgrade. There was no support when I asked apart from 'download it and it should work'. So in answer to your question, it's not about Samsung, it's about LG for me - and they destroyed all credibility with me - I don't believe claims on build quality, I don't believe claims about support, I don't believe any of their advertising. And I actively advise friends not to buy their products, when asked.
  • varispeed 6y ago
    I have a Samsung phone that used to be their top of the line. I have never updated it because I know the next update disables call recording. I believe any subsequent phone has non-working (probably not in every region) call recording so that is a deal breaker for me. It seems like they got lobbied by insurance companies who scam people over the phone (they promise options that turn out to be a lie) and you can't really prove it unless you record them. Call recording saved me few times from losing money. You can also record calls with your parents, so you can listen to them forever.
    • sumedh 6y ago
      > It seems like they got lobbied by insurance companies who scam people over the phone I always wondered why Android disabled call recording.
      • ChuckNorris89 6y ago
        IIRC Google claimed something along the lines of "for your own privacy and security".
• asadkn 6y ago
  It sort of depends on the bubble you live in. In the US, things might be very different, but in rest of the world, Samsung isn't the only known Android phone manufacturer. Xiaomi is a well-known and rising (now the #3). Huawei was the a big player but losing ground. Oppo is well known: https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile https://gs.statcounter.com/vendor-market-share/mobile
  • herbst 6y ago
    This. Samsung always was only one of many options here in central europe. Never appeared to be the “main choice“ either, except from people who look for the cheapest phone replacemt with their carrier and end up with a galaxy light product
• Causality1 6y ago
  There's a lot to love about LG phones. They're way better on features than Samsung, and friendlier to people who want to use a custom ROM or root their phone. Their POLED screens killed it for me, though. I haven't seen a single phone that didn't have horrifically uneven colors, usually with the bottom half of the screen shifting to green. I kept hoping they'd fix it, and I bought and subsequently returned a V30, a V35, and a V40 before giving up on them.
• SyzygistSix 6y ago
  Do you recall what you hated about the S4?
• danielbln 6y ago
  I hated my S3 back in the day and loved the S6, S7 and S10E (my current phone). The UI has been de-bloated significantly over the years in my opinion and is actually sleek and pleasant to use. To each their own.
• herbst 6y ago
  Could this be an mostly american thing? I only ever witness this sentiment online. IRL most people i know dislike samsung because of their shitty android modifcations and mediocre hardware. Even oppo seems way more popular right now here in switzerland
• hanniabu 6y ago
  > the stupid bottom button placement Are you talking about the home button? I actually love that and it's the reason I got the S4 and then S7. I've been putting off buying a new phone because all the new phones are digital buttons and I really like having the physical ones.
  • cassepipe 6y ago
    I love it too and that's also the reason I am sticking with the S7. Its fast. It's popular enough so that if it ever becomes obsolete, I'll easily switch to LineageOS. And I never had to buy an expensive new phone, second hand cheap s7 are everywhere. Disparition of physical buttons is a good example of "backwards progress" : another area where it drives me crazy is all those induction hobs that have touch buttons that never work properly when wet (which happens all the time it's a kitchen ffs). I get it, it's easy to clean, but it's a pitn to use.
• norswap 6y ago
  Counterpoint: I have a rather good experience with Samsung. I bought flagships devices some time after their releases (I had S2, S4, S8 and now a S10e from work) and they lasted me a long time (S2 and S4 both lasted for four years). The big advantage is that they were powerful devices with a removable battery and a SD-card slot. Downside was a tendency to overheat a bit (this was particularly bad on the S2 at some point, though I recall subsequent software updates helped a lot). In all cases, the devices kept being updated to the latest android while I was using them. The Samsung Android additions are pretty much useless except maybe one or two good ideas, but they also don't get in the way. I just spend 30 minutes to disable things when I get my phone. Also I don't know if you've looked at real stock android (e.g. fire an emulator from Android studio for instance) but that stuff is real ugly (shouldn't be a big consideration - it can be themed quite easily, but I felt I needed to make this point).
  • jfd98njkdgnh 6y ago
    I genuinely enjoyed my S2 ( I9100 ) and I only given it away to my sister since she kinda annexed it during my trip to the old country. It was a solid device for the time. Since then I also used asus zenfone ( interesting features there ) and now LG v20 ( prolly last android phone with changable battery ). I honestly don't get why people are so addicted to a brand. I used to drive Acura when 2004 models were still good. I wouldn't buy one today. Still, LG failing does seem like a marketing loss. My experience with their hardware was not bad.
• dghughes 6y ago
  Quirks like this? Set up you Samsung account ...ding! Set up you Samsung account ...ding! Set up you Samsung account ...ding!
• marcodiego 6y ago
  > Do people actually like all those Samsung annoyances? No. > Why is Samsung considered the flagship of flagships? Because hardware is reasonably good in a scorched earth kept by and endless race to the bottom that is the android landscape.
• SketchySeaBeast 6y ago
  I had an S4 then a G4 and then a S8 and never looked back. I'm now on the S20+. The jump from the S4/G4 to the S8 was such a massive one it felt like it was a whole new experience. The only thing that would convince me to switch from Samsung is if Google got its act together and built a real flagship complete with all the bells and whistles. Samsung, for me, just works. It's a bit obnoxious to have doubles of apps, but otherwise I don't have a lot of problems. It's funny you mention Bixby key because none of those phones you listed have one - I supposed you could argue the S20 does, but the first thing I did was remap (using Samsung's built in controls) it back to the power button and I was on my way. I'm only reminded that Bixby is a thing when people complain about it.
  • BlameKaneda 6y ago
    I've had an S8 for two years. For a phone that's four years old, it's by far the best and most performant one I've had. Past phones I've had seemed to slow down noticeably, but with the S8 you barely notice it at all. I'm hoping to hold onto it for a few more years, and after that I'd love to continue down the Galaxy line.
  • gregmac 6y ago
    I've also had an S8 for the past 2-3 years. I remapped Bixby button (home button, or double click+hold for flashlight, even when locked). I also use almost none of the Samsung apps. I use Novalauncher which is better than any other launcher I've tried: lets me hide everything I can't otherwise uninstall, and with ability to set grid spacing/sizing lets me have a single (non-scrolling) page of "all apps I care about" I can swipe up to get to. Totally happy with it.
  • datagram 6y ago
    This mirrors my experience. I had an S3, and my experiences with that and having to deal with the S4 for work turned me off of Samsung entirely. Later on I ended up upgrading from my HTC One M8 to a refurbished S8 (it was one of the only phones on the market that was small enough for my tastes), and honestly I love it. All the flashy aesthetic stuff I had scoffed at Samsung for (curved screen edges, etc) ended up feeling really great once I was using the phones, ignoring Bixby gives me a free extra hardware button, the Samsung apps stack up pretty nicely against the stock Android ones, UI themeing works better than it ever did for me on other phones, and accessory availability is excellent due to their popularity. Honestly, more phones should start adding extra remappable hardware buttons.
• ideamotor 6y ago
  LG was the best Android option. Glad I switched to Apple. I still miss the back button though, yikes. Samsung is particularly bad. I swear folks buy their phones because they oversaturate the colors on their screens.
• drtz 6y ago
  My anecdotal experience: My wife and I both had LG phones, Nexus 5x, for about 9 months before they stopped being usable. Dealing with poorly made equipment and terrible warranty service was more than enough to ensure I wouldn't be buying any more LG products. While I don't like a lot of their software, my experience with Samsung's hardware, and their warranty service for that matter, have been much more pleasant. edit: On a somewhat related note, I recently bought a new Samsung TV. True to Samsung form, the software is terrible but the hardware has been very solid.
• aceazzameen 6y ago
  Yes, because I don't find Samsung annoying. Back in the Nexus days and a few years after, stock Android was king. Since then, Samsung cleaned up TouchWiz and then made OneUI with an even better accessible UX. I say this with the caveat that no phone UX is perfect. I can see flaws in all of them. But right now, I prefer OneUI and it's level of out-of-the-box customization over stock. (Ex: You could hide the on-screen navbar and make all apps immersive with/without gestures) I'd even argue Samsung has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting of adding new features to Android. Google frequently adds features that were previously only available on Samsung (and sometime other vendors) for generations. I've noticed when Google adds the same features, I find the UX to be a downgrade from what I was used to. This is because Samsung then adds the Google flavor (more taps!) and removes their own. I'm still annoyed at the latest camera UX and multi-window. Then there's Samsung's hardware. The Wacom EMR S-Pen has become a must have for me. Also I've come to rely on Samsung Pay, which WAS the best mobile payment app (more on that later). Samsung has hardware in their devices that allows them to write to any magnetic strip reader on any POS system. This works everywhere NFC/Google Pay/Apple pay aren't available. All that being said, I like Samsung a lot less than I used to. As of last year, ads have suddenly clogged up their software. (Want to pay for groceries using your phone? Look at this ad first!) Also Samsung Pay is being removed from newer devices, probably to make room for 10 more camera lenses. Sorry, NFC is still not everywhere. Between the ads, removal of Samsung Pay, removal of features in general, and the lower screen resolutions of S20/S21s, I won't be upgrading to a new Samsung any time soon. There's also this homogenization of Android becoming more Apple-like and Apple becoming Android-like. At this point I'm seriously considering Apple, especially if they make a smaller Apple pencil to be used on phones.
  • screye 6y ago
    > Between the ads, removal of Samsung Pay This was so painful. Samsung Pay was genius. A perfect app at what it did. This is the same time Google released incomplete two feature god-awful google-pay apps. Now I'm hurting to find something as good as the old Samsung pay.
• gpspake 6y ago
  I'm kind of surprized that the Pixel line isn't considered the "flasgship of flagships" by more people given that it's literally the flagship first-party manufactured device by the OS creator. It's the closest thing to the iphone experience with android. If you use Fi, messages mimics imessages (in that you can use it online) and your service, device, and OS all come from the same company and you get the most out of the box google-intended Android experience.
  • SketchySeaBeast 6y ago
    > If you use Fi, messages mimics imessages (in that you can use it online) and your service, device, and OS all come from the same company and you get the most out of the box google-intended Android experience. That only has appeal to purists. Why would Joe Schmoe care that their phone is made by the same people who make the OS? And why would someone buy Android for the iPhone experience? To be clear that appeals to me, but I'm not the average consumer. And despite that appeal I have a S20+ because when it came time to upgrade Pixel was still stepping all over itself with poor battery life and weird features that I didn't need. The 5's now offers no "flagship" option, which are the phones that appeal to me. I hope that they can get things sorted for the next time I want to upgrade. Samsung has marketed well and makes high quality phones. It hit the ground running with Android and hasn't been afraid to reinvent itself (OneUI was a greatly improved experience).
  • officeplant 6y ago
    >If you use Fi, messages mimics imessages (in that you can use it online) To be fair that is available for all US carriers at this time. I've had RCS working on Mint(T-mobile) and now Visible(Verizon) for years.
• tryptophan 6y ago
  I personally found samsung software to be very feature rich and reliable. I never considered LG because they do not offer software support. You might get 1 year worth of OS updates and MAYBE 2 years of security. Meanwhile samsung offers 3 years of OS updates and 4-5 of security updates.
• emodendroket 6y ago
  The type of person who cares about stock Android is probably rare and anyway is just going to buy a Pixel or maybe an iPhone.
• thaumasiotes 6y ago
  > I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. > LG always seemed a lot closer to stock Android, and was good at staying out of your way. > Do people actually like all those Samsung annoyances? Why is Samsung considered the flagship of flagships? Build quality beyond the V30 is basically identical. Well, knowing them only through my purchases of a Nexus S, Nexus 4, and Nexus 5: The Nexus S is still around. The Nexus 4 suffered from battery inflation. The Nexus 5 suffered from a catastrophic failure that caused me to lose a year's worth of message history. So all I can say in response to the news "LG is getting out of the mobile phone business" is "good riddance, they should never have been there in the first place". Which one is "closer to stock Android" is a non-issue if you run stock Android anyway.
• Razengan 6y ago
  > I never understood why Samsung phones were constantly receiving praise by tech reviewers while LG got crapped on. Samsung pays for reviews [0] and engages in other scummy behavior that is given a pass anti-Applers see it as the sole champion against the Tall Poppy: [0] https://www.google.com/search?q=Samsung+paid+students+for+reviews https://www.google.com/search?q=Samsung+paid+students+for+re...
• screye 6y ago
  IMO, Samsung drastically improved their phones from S5 -> S7. (I have an S10e) The S7 onwards, Samsung phones have been superior to all other traditional android competitors at providing a fully rounded flagship experience. (vs Sony, Htc, LG, Xiaomi, Huawei, Pixel). The new OneUi 2.0+ experience has dramatically improved my impression of Samsung devices. Samsung phones now allow you to hide all the bloat away and the unremovable parts are quite pleasing. My phone hasn't lagged once in my 2 years of owning it and the basics (Screen, Camera, Battery, Smoothness, Updates) remain near the top of the line, despite its age. There is no reason for stock android to be considered superior to OEM skins. It just so happened that for majority of its iterations, OEM skins ruined more than their improved. However, when done well, an OEM skin can absolutely be superior to stock android. (HTC & Sony back in the early days of Android). I believe, One UI 3.1 is currently superior stock android. (As long as I can swap out the bearably terrible app drawer and remap the unbearably terrible bixby to google) Now the S20 devices are 3rd in line on Samsung's flagship ladder. Fold > Note > S20. So, if you are really craving top of the line, then the S20 ain't it. Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on the Z-fold-3 whenever it comes out.
• agentdrtran 6y ago
  The samsung of today is pretty far from the S4 days. They toned down the crap a lot starting on the S7 I think and personally I love a ton of Samsung-only additions. Some of the quirks are annoying but the amazing hardware+great additions balances it out.
• pkulak 6y ago
  Because tech reviewers don't know how to review software. They just measure camera megapixels and dynamic range, screen nits, processor speed, etc, then say it they like it or not.
• trynumber9 6y ago
  For the most part I like the Samsung software. At least the bits that I do use. DeX in particular is a nice option to have. I had a Pixel 2 and replaced it with an S20. I actually prefer the Samsung software over Google's customized Android. I may be the minority online but given the relative sales figures I suspect people like me may be more common than you think.
• ayoisaiah 6y ago
  I disagree with your take on the Samsung. While it's not perfect, it's the best (and sometimes only) option for most people who want an top end Android phone. Google sells it's phones in only a handful of countries, same with Oneplus, LG and Sony and all of them have their own compromises. So in many parts of the world, its either Samsung or a Chinese manufacturer like Xiaomi. I find Samsung apps to be much better than their Google counterparts. Samsung Health, Internet, Calculator and Notes are examples. Besides, they fit the UI really well along with the menus and other things. And whatever annoyances you've experienced can be tweaked since the UI is highly customisable (bar none). In terms of long-term support, Samsung also provides 3 years of upgrades and 4 years of security updates. That's the best from any company bar Apple and it extends to their midrange devices too.
  • skeletal88 6y ago
    I would love to buy a Sony, because my previous phones were Sony, but a year ago when I needed a new on no Sony phones were available, and now they are only making 21:9 phones, which I think is just absurd. They look so tall, that I would be afraid of putting them in my pocket, fearing they will snap in half. Where is a man supposed to carry these phones, which are so tall that they don't seem to fit in jeans pockets? I wish they would stop with that sillyness.
• m-p-3 6y ago
  I don't like Samsung's UI compared to LG, but in terms of hardware quality I've had bad luck with LG, with two phones (LG Nexus 4, LG G3) bootlooping before they reached two years. Never had that issue with Samsung (S5, S7). I switched to Motorola since, the UI is quite close to the Pixel and the price range is reasonable.
• fX0rObfoMN4 6y ago
  For a couple years LG phones commonly had issues that bricked them. That kind of reputations sticks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_smartphone_bootloop_issues https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LG_smartphone_bootloop_issues
• grawprog 6y ago
  I personally can't stand most Samsung phones. I've had a few, going back as far as an old white Samsung flip phone. They come with so much built in crap, they've by and large lasted less time than any other brand of phone I've bought and the price is always higher than equivalent phones from other brand. >LG always seemed a lot closer to stock Android, and was good at staying out of your way. Motorola was always my go to for that, but I picked up an LG for the first time since my very first cell phone back in 2005 and so far, I've been pretty damn impressed. It did come with a bit of extra prebuiltin crap, but it was actually possible to uninstall it, not just disable it like on Samsung phones. The unreprogrammable hardware button that does nothing but open Google assistant is kind of annoying, but I don't think that's an lg specific thing? Or maybe it is? I couldn't really tell when I was looking up if it could be changed to do something different. Fun fact just because: Samsung and LG also both make engineered stone for countertops, by and large the LG stone outsold the Samsung stone at the shop I worked at by a large margin. LG Cirrus was like the third most popular engineered stone we sold after caesarstone and silestone. We occasionally had some Samsung stone jobs, but they were pretty rare.
• creamynebula 6y ago
  I had a Samsung smartphone a few years ago and it was a terrible experience! After that I had phones by ASUS and Motorola, both good experiences.
• syshum 6y ago
  I wonder the same thing about Apple.... Does believing you're the last sane man on the planet make you crazy? 'Cause if that's the case, maybe I am.
• jmcnulty 6y ago
  I switched from Samsung to Pixel for the same reasons. Samsung's additional bloatware and their penchant for installing new things I didn't ask for drove me nuts.
• m4rtink 6y ago
  Consistent stylus support ( they call it S-pen) for one thing! Comming from PalmOS and N900 the lack of stylus support was the biggestregression to me on modern smartphones. Being able to take notes, draw simple pictures, use denser UIs again is just so refreshing! Also new stuff like on-hover translation overlay or stylus button actions. Really, Samsung is preatty much the only vendor that cares about stylus support these days andvthat's sad. Also if you want to draw on the go, the only usable mobile drawing tablets come from Samsung, unless you want to lock yourself into the overpriced dumbed down closed nightmare that is the Apple ecosystem.
• Al-Khwarizmi 6y ago
  I don't have much experience with LG phones, but my experience is exactly the same as you mention with Samsung vs. HTC, Samsung vs. Sony, and more recently, Samsung vs. Huawei. All of these four brands are or have been prevalent in my family and close friends and I have tried at least 4 or 5 of each. To me, Samsung's UI has always been the clunkiest and worst of all I tried, plus their phones have a tendency to degrade fast in terms of battery consumption and lag (I don't know if due to hardware or software updates). And yet, the press has always praised every Samsung flagship while often lambasting the competition. Honestly my hypothesis is that they just devote a lot of money to buy reviews.
• at-fates-hands 6y ago
  > Do people actually like all those Samsung annoyances? Switched to a Samsung A71 after having an Apple 7+. Gave my 7+ to my daughter who previously had a 6+. I'm about six months in and I'm going back to Apple or OnePlus. My iphone had a few quirks that I could deal with. Nothing major. The A71? OMFG every single day I'm dealing with constant issues with the phone: - finger print scanner is the worst I've ever had bar none. - All the Samsung apps continually turn on and fight with the Google apps for preference, even after I've turned them off - The Samsung apps constantly run and drain my battery. A brand new phone, with a non-power user and it can't make a full day on a full charge? Unreal. - I had to turn off all the notifications. It seemed like every 5 minutes a new system notification would pop up. Like: "Your wifi is unprotected! Use Samsung VPN to protect it!" Even when I'm already running a VPN?? There's a ton more that happen less frequently, but dealing with these every day has soured me completely to Samsung products. I had a OnePlus before my iPhone and loved it. Stock Android, no frills, battery lasted forever, no bloatware. I just can't use Samsung phones ever again - no matter how good their marketing is.
• TexasfoldsEm 6y ago
  Since getting my first LG I have not gone back. I just picked up an almost new LG v40 for 125 bucks on ebay and there is no need for nything faster in my opinion. It will be sad to see them go. I mean in a month or two you can get the v60 for 259 I bet. Probably not after they stop making their phones. I have two LG televisions in my home that are over ten years each and they still work perfectly also. In fact, I m using one for a monitor I am typing to right now.
• hharlequin 6y ago
  Knox and Dex are why I'm locked into Samsung. I like LG's new Wing and want it, but I'm too used to having my Knox security features (like secure folder) and Dex to lose them. Do I like everything Samsung does? Not really, but the things they got right, or closer to right, have me hooked.