Yes, Samsung tends to load a lot of apps, sometimes almost duplicate variants of Google apps that do the same task.

Yes, I was referring to HTC Thunderbolt from the article. My current phone itself has relatively low battery life and it annoys me. One would have needed to charge the Thunderbolt phone probably twice a day

Not all phones listed are equally bad though. Nokia Pureview suffered from bad camera quality but I can live with that. What probably is unlivable is exceptionally short battery life, like on the HTC one. Still, an interesting opinion piece, if nothing else.

I was talking about the real entry level stuff, most likely the predecessor of the phone mentioned in this article. It had 4+64 GB combo and I think, the starting point. Of course, Samsung mid level phones are good. Four OS upgrades is quite good.

Unless Samsung removes the 3.5 mm jack and microSD slot as well, it won’t equal the iPhone!

Though seriously, I have a spare Samsung A series phone lying around. I used it for couple of weeks and it was unstable(like it often froze and restarted in the middle of something). I dunno if it was happening because I was using Goodlock modules on that phone which Samsung doesn’t officially support. But it was lackluster. The audio jack was barely outputting loud enough sound via IEMs( same set plugged into other Android phones produced louder sounds).

I know this is supposed to be an entry level handset and I appreciate that Samsung is giving 4 years worth of security updates(many mid level Chinese OEMs won’t give that), but the hardware is a little too underwhelming.

Is this what Google thinks people want than stuff like editing Playlist covers, removal of Samples, et al? I want my music player to be lean and simple, not a boggy useless mess.

What the article doesn’t mention is that the watch also has a LTPO display and the refresh rate can dial way down (especially in AOD mode) to conserve battery life.

Wired review.

Atleast in charging standards that Oneplus and that some manufacturers use called SuperVooc, two battery cells are charged simultaneously. Whilst fast charging is inherently bad for the battery, it’s not that bad as it’s made out to be.

Samsung isn’t under any sort of pressure. No one is forcing their hand to give updates. Their entry level phones still get 2 years only. Mid level 4 years. Where Samsung loses is price competiveness. Emerging markets are very price conscious. Chinese OEMs offer way better bang for buck than Samsung ever does. Heck, for a random mid level price, a Chinese OEM will give OLED screen, 120 Hz display (which Samsung has only for Flagships) and way faster charging(with an actual charger; and no, I don’t believe Samsung gives a darn about the environment by not bundling chargers, they only do so so they can sell their massively overpriced chargers).

Ironic that the entry level Lumia 520 was more modular than these attempts.

I wouldn’t hazard that. The average Joe is not going around installing random apps from third party sites until they are actively looking for it, like modded games or stuff and get a virus in the process. Many such reported apps have very low download counts on Play Store and in fact, just fly under Google’s radar. Google tries to present Play store as a safe walled garden but often fails.

I also thought they had stopped making phones until I saw this review. But looks like their smartphone division is a shadow of its former self now. I think it is their only smartphone released this year, and there are no update promises either. There is a 3.5mm jack and micro SD slot which is good to have at this price point, but nothing really distinguishes this phone. I am not sure if this is an international release or just available in certain markets only.

I think Asus Zenfone was an option for that. But for the newer updated model, even they went for a larger screen.

Realme tested a 320W charging brick recently. It charged the battery in under 4 mins.

There are two models, the base and Plus one. Motorola claims that the latter had it’s sound tuning done with help of Bose and apparently, reviews praised it’s sound quality. However, the ANC is mediocre and atleast one feature(spatial head tracking to give more realistic audio) is limited to Motorola phones only.

Their case is lighter and more compact than mine Sennheiser one(but then, the Momentum series is incredibly bulky). I think Nothing also has decent series of earbuds in the same price range though their flashy looks might not be for everyone.

I had one too. Great specs and battery life but piss poor software support.

IIRC, top 4 out of the 5 vendors in India were Chinese with the outlier being Samsung. Nothing also has a factory in South India(Chennai, I think) which is why their products are almost available in India from Day 1 but they don’t have much market share.

How else can they sell you their Moto Buds?

What do you mean you don’t want Shorts inserted in your music player?

They are sold directly. They don’t have a very significant market share but they are still a player.