Discussion
Shiv_P said:
I find myself missing it less and less generally as I have 'modes and routines' (a basic version of tasker) which automatically set the phone to vibrate at work, alert at home and in the car, mute at the cinema etc...
I really like Modes and Routines, in theory, but the reality is I turn the alerts off all the time so I can't find a use for them. I pretty much have the ringer off all the time and put my wife on the Do Not Disturb exemption list so she knows to call 3 times if it's important.numtumfutunch said:
Arrrghhhh, in no need of a new phone but am now tempted
512GB Ultra direct from Samsung for £1119 using the wifes Bluelight card, plus £150 for an ancient phone festering in the man drawer (have triple checked eligibility and is all good) and £300 to spend at Adidas which isnt spectacularly useful but I could certainly make use of it for some new running kit.......
Thats less than 700 quid with man maths and my current phone is worth 2-300 quid second hand too
If the £300 voucher was with another retailer other than Adidas Id be in like a shot, shell suits are cool again yeah??
Cheers
They offered me £280 for my S20+, or £150 for any cracked screen Samsung phone. I sent them an S8 that was so badly cracked you could barely tell that it was working. They accepted that no bother. So by the time I've eBayed the S20+ the overall price will be pretty low.512GB Ultra direct from Samsung for £1119 using the wifes Bluelight card, plus £150 for an ancient phone festering in the man drawer (have triple checked eligibility and is all good) and £300 to spend at Adidas which isnt spectacularly useful but I could certainly make use of it for some new running kit.......
Thats less than 700 quid with man maths and my current phone is worth 2-300 quid second hand too
If the £300 voucher was with another retailer other than Adidas Id be in like a shot, shell suits are cool again yeah??
Cheers
I think the price makes more sense if you just work towards the monthly figure, use Samsung Flex to pay for it and keep it for three years. So long as you don't crack the screen or screw the battery it'll be 3 years before they have something worth upgrading to anyway and you won't need to pay the final fee on the phone as you can just send it back and take the S26 Ultra++.
I've been paying about £30 a month for mobile phones for about 20 years now, currently paying £8 a month to O2 for 30Gb of data and unlimited calls and texts, so £22 a month for the phone is my £30 without any inflation over 20 years. Can't remember what the monthly ended up at, but it was comparable with that. That's my man maths.
Still tempted by this. My OnePlus 8 Pro has a really badly cracked screen which Samsung can give me £150 for.
I went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
I went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
redrabbit29 said:
Still tempted by this. My OnePlus 8 Pro has a really badly cracked screen which Samsung can give me £150 for.
I went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
It is quite big, I've got used to it now having had the S22U and then the S23U. The S23U is actually a bit nicer to hold because it's a slightly different shape than the older model. I find it fairly ok for one handed use but i suppose it depends on what you use it for and how big your hands are. It can get a bit uncomfortable if you're holding it for a long time (I've noticed my hand starts to ache a bit if I have a long Duolingo session or something like that, but not sure if that's the phone or if it would happen with any phone. I have the standard Samsung leather case on mine which makes the angles a little softer and not much bigger.I went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
If you're worried about the size, does the Ultra do much that the the plus can't that you particularly need (i.e. the stylus etc)? A couple of iPhone based friends were commenting on my phone the other day and I was showing them the various features but I found it quite hard to justify why I like having the stylus. Guess it's something that you just get used to having but probably if I didn't have it I'm not sure I'd miss it that much.
My wife has a Pixel (I used to have one back when it was Pixel 4) and seems to like it, but I had a go after using the Ultra and it feels like a toy in comparison.
bloomen said:
I can forgive the moon stuff as long as they're open about it.
Elsewhere not so much.
I remember what I think was a Panasonic phone with a full blown travel zoom lens on the back. Or rather a phone stuck on a camera.
Can't imagine any major manufacturer will sacrifice sleekosity for that but maybe one outlier will.
However the rest of the functionality might be terrible.
The Ultra does of course take many a great pic, it's the extra outlay vs improvement and how they've gone about it that doesn't work for me.
Elsewhere not so much.
I remember what I think was a Panasonic phone with a full blown travel zoom lens on the back. Or rather a phone stuck on a camera.
Can't imagine any major manufacturer will sacrifice sleekosity for that but maybe one outlier will.
However the rest of the functionality might be terrible.
The Ultra does of course take many a great pic, it's the extra outlay vs improvement and how they've gone about it that doesn't work for me.
Edited by bloomen on Friday 14th April 11:13
JagYouAre said:
redrabbit29 said:
Still tempted by this. My OnePlus 8 Pro has a really badly cracked screen which Samsung can give me £150 for.
I went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
It is quite big, I've got used to it now having had the S22U and then the S23U. The S23U is actually a bit nicer to hold because it's a slightly different shape than the older model. I find it fairly ok for one handed use but i suppose it depends on what you use it for and how big your hands are. It can get a bit uncomfortable if you're holding it for a long time (I've noticed my hand starts to ache a bit if I have a long Duolingo session or something like that, but not sure if that's the phone or if it would happen with any phone. I have the standard Samsung leather case on mine which makes the angles a little softer and not much bigger.I went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
If you're worried about the size, does the Ultra do much that the the plus can't that you particularly need (i.e. the stylus etc)? A couple of iPhone based friends were commenting on my phone the other day and I was showing them the various features but I found it quite hard to justify why I like having the stylus. Guess it's something that you just get used to having but probably if I didn't have it I'm not sure I'd miss it that much.
My wife has a Pixel (I used to have one back when it was Pixel 4) and seems to like it, but I had a go after using the Ultra and it feels like a toy in comparison.
redrabbit29 said:
Still tempted by this. My OnePlus 8 Pro has a really badly cracked screen which Samsung can give me £150 for.
I went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
Having had an 8 Pro as well Id say the 2 are broadly comparableI went into a phone shop yesterday just to see what the Samsung S23 Ultra was like in physical form. Heavier than I expected. The size was what I thought it would be like - quite big and not really usable in one hand.
The thing that really put me off was the corners and shape. It seemed quite uncomfortable to hold.
Has anyone else noticed this and how did it all pan out long term? The phone guy said the Google Pixel 7 Pro is another good option (mixed reviews) and also the Samsung 23 (not ultra)
Ive had the S23 Ultra for a week in a Spigen Liquid Air Case and have zero regrets. Naturally Ive already dropped it as I did its predecessor in the same case a number of times and alls well
If youre really bothered about using it one handed theres a mode which squishes the screen into the right bottom corner which is pretty good however I now use the phone more than a tablet or laptop and am very happy to have a bigger screen for functionality
Im really, really happy with the Ultra despite my frustrations at the Samsung transfer app not porting passwords for apps...... Grrrrrr......
The screen is superb and cameras sensational
Cheers
Bought my S23 Ultra yesterday and it arrives Tuesday morning.
I will trade in my very smashed up OnePlus 8 Pro for the £170 discount. I'm also keen to use the £300 Adidas vouchers it mentions.
Today I received my Spiegen case, plus phone protector screen thingies. With the price of the phone I think I'll ring my insurer (Tesco) and add it to my policy so it's specifically covered.
I also got a wireless charger from Amazon. I tried it on my old phone but it doesn't fast charge, only slow charge.
I will trade in my very smashed up OnePlus 8 Pro for the £170 discount. I'm also keen to use the £300 Adidas vouchers it mentions.
Today I received my Spiegen case, plus phone protector screen thingies. With the price of the phone I think I'll ring my insurer (Tesco) and add it to my policy so it's specifically covered.
I also got a wireless charger from Amazon. I tried it on my old phone but it doesn't fast charge, only slow charge.
redrabbit29 said:
Bought my S23 Ultra yesterday and it arrives Tuesday morning.
I will trade in my very smashed up OnePlus 8 Pro for the £170 discount. I'm also keen to use the £300 Adidas vouchers it mentions.
Today I received my Spiegen case, plus phone protector screen thingies. With the price of the phone I think I'll ring my insurer (Tesco) and add it to my policy so it's specifically covered.
I also got a wireless charger from Amazon. I tried it on my old phone but it doesn't fast charge, only slow charge.
OnePlus 8 Pro will not support fast charging via Qi, they use their own proprietry standard so will only charge at 5W on a regular wireless charger.I will trade in my very smashed up OnePlus 8 Pro for the £170 discount. I'm also keen to use the £300 Adidas vouchers it mentions.
Today I received my Spiegen case, plus phone protector screen thingies. With the price of the phone I think I'll ring my insurer (Tesco) and add it to my policy so it's specifically covered.
I also got a wireless charger from Amazon. I tried it on my old phone but it doesn't fast charge, only slow charge.
I forgot just how annoying it was getting a new phone set up, even when transferring all my data over. I have Nova Launcher on now, all my banking apps re-connected, stuff like that
The most annoying bits are all the stupid notifications I am trying to silence overtime. I am someone that doesn't like notifications except for basic email, whatsapp and 1-2 others.Also surprised by how much junk Samsung sticks on the phone - coming from OnePlus I wasn't sure what to expect.
So a few times there have been things like "Don't forget to sync this"... or "You have to do this..."
Got a phone screen protector on now, and a case. The size is OK but holding it is a little uncomfortable.
The most annoying bits are all the stupid notifications I am trying to silence overtime. I am someone that doesn't like notifications except for basic email, whatsapp and 1-2 others.Also surprised by how much junk Samsung sticks on the phone - coming from OnePlus I wasn't sure what to expect.
So a few times there have been things like "Don't forget to sync this"... or "You have to do this..."
Got a phone screen protector on now, and a case. The size is OK but holding it is a little uncomfortable.
+1 to ^ !
Just when you think that you've blocked the notifications for things, something else comes along and gives you an alert.
I've been a bit hesitant to delete some of the bloatware apps but will probably have another review to see what can be deleted (and what we're actually able to remove!)
Just when you think that you've blocked the notifications for things, something else comes along and gives you an alert.
I've been a bit hesitant to delete some of the bloatware apps but will probably have another review to see what can be deleted (and what we're actually able to remove!)
I uninstalled anything I could, disabled anything beyond that, and I fully lock down my notifications so I probably spend the first week with any new phone killing any notifications that aren't phone, message, email related, or that need to alert me like alarms, security system, Tile etc. There's always a few that slip through the net though, that arrive months later and you think 'I'm sure I didn't sign up for that!'. I am sure when some apps update it re-enables them, or certainly for new app installs they sometimes default to on.
I use a launcher called Minimalist Phone, which I love, and it catches any other notifications that you haven't specifically allowed in a filter before you nuke them all in one go.
I use a launcher called Minimalist Phone, which I love, and it catches any other notifications that you haven't specifically allowed in a filter before you nuke them all in one go.
Had my S23U for about 2-3 weeks and used to size and weight now. I like how solid it feels.
I've surprised myself by using the S Pen quite a few times, probably about 10 times. Sometimes when I want to write something like one word or a number but don't want to unlock and find app. Another example when I wanted to draw on an image
I've not received my £300 Adidas vouchers yet though
I've surprised myself by using the S Pen quite a few times, probably about 10 times. Sometimes when I want to write something like one word or a number but don't want to unlock and find app. Another example when I wanted to draw on an image
I've not received my £300 Adidas vouchers yet though
I've made the switch after years of iPhone, to a black S23 Ultra 512GB. Main reason being the offers on, and the promise of an extra £150 for recycling a phone with a duff battery. But that didn't work out, ended up with £278 for a 12 Pro Max 128GB I'd owned from new - case, screen protector etc from day one, but pulled it up on a scratch by the charge port.
The camera is incredible, the fact they now do a lovely brown leather case helped too (£27.50 on Amazon half price) - then there is the battery life, which on both charging speed and longevity, blows me away.
The Galaxy Buds Live are great too, totally wiping the floor with my 1st gen Airpods, for just £69!
The camera is incredible, the fact they now do a lovely brown leather case helped too (£27.50 on Amazon half price) - then there is the battery life, which on both charging speed and longevity, blows me away.
The Galaxy Buds Live are great too, totally wiping the floor with my 1st gen Airpods, for just £69!
Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff