I find it curious that no one has discussed this fascinating topic. It’s interesting how some people love a certain brand because their phone has been smooth, has excellent battery life, and performs amazingly well, while others with the same brand absolutely hate it due to completely opposite experiences. And this happens with all brands (Samsung, Xiaomi, Apple, Google, OnePlus, etc.).

Personally, I have a POCO X3 NFC that’s been with me for 3 and a half years, and its durability has been incredible. Of course, it’s starting to show some issues due to age, but considering it’s lasted over three years, it’s amazing! Who would’ve thought this about Xiaomi, a brand that many distrusted back in the day? Meanwhile, there are cases where Samsung or even higher-end phones don’t last as long as mine.

Is it just luck?

What similar experiences have you had?

Right now, airtag is the gold standard because, every iPhone participates in the network and user does not have any choice. Google being google was extra cautious while rolling it out.

In order to better locate lost devices, please consider joining find my device network, even if you are not tracking any devices or tag. It can be very helpful for somebody else.

Go to Settings and search for Find My Devices -> Find your offline devices and select "With network in all areas"

I've had a Pixel 7 for 2 years now and it's given me enough issues with 3rd party launchers crashing, terrible onscreen fingerprint reader and mediocre performance that I'm not sure I want to go the Google Pixel route again. I've received a second replacement phone so I know it's not the phone it's self.

I had a OnePlus 7T that I loved and have been looking at the OnePlus 12 but people are saying they're a shadow of their former glory.

What's the go to android options anymore? Is it just Samsung and Google? I know Motorola is still in it but they don't have a phone I'm super interested in.

Years ago, if you wanted to have a decent experience browsing the web, or multitasking, you had to get a flagship phone.

Nowadays, even budget phones are more than enough to easily handle everyday tasks. I have had a Pixel 4a for a few years, and it can handle everything I throw at it just fine. I browse the web, use Google Maps, Waze, various apps, edit videos, and it handles everything just fine. In fact, I got a Pixel 8a recently and I can't really tell much of a difference between the 4a and the 8a in terms of pure speed, both are fast.

Maybe the 8a opens apps 5 milliseconds faster, but it does not make much of a difference for me.

Modern flagships are so powerful. Looking at the Snapdragon X Elite, it has almost as much processing power as a modern laptop. It's great, but I have to ask myself: "What would I use it for? Using it for email and scrolling through Instagram would be such a waste".

I realised, I simply do not need a modern flagship phone. Too much processing power that I will not use.

I suppose the only reason I would get one is for the cameras. But even in that area budget and mid-rangers are catching up because smartphone cameras have hit a performance ceiling.

Another could be the battery because the CPU will simply not be used much.

If you are planning on getting one of the modern flagship phones, what is your reason for buying one? And how will you use all that power?

Had this phone for a bit now and as a phone with massive battery (10100mAh) and night vision camera it is surprisingly good, though 33W fast charging only means it takes a few to fully charge when empty, and reverse charging another device is slower still.

DOOGEE make a lot of marketing material on the pages for this phone and the S200 X (diff colours, 512GB storage the only differences I can see) so I wanted to put the IP69K and MIL-STD-810-H compliance to the test.

For ref, IP69K means a phone should be capable of withstanding high pressure dust and water jets from ingress, and DOOGEE label it as having an "underwater camera" - These features are nothing new, and whilst previous Samsung Galaxy S phones aren't K rated, they can be submersed to a claimed 1.5m of water for 30 mins.

The MIL standard is outlined here: https://keystonecompliance.com/mil-std-810-h/

Given the testing criteria shown, I fully expected the S200 to be able to withstand being rolled over by a car tyre at slower than walking speed on flat tarmac all day long given other rugged phones on YouTube are being driven over by dirt bikes and thick tread off-road trucks into Earth etc.

So here is what i found: https://youtu.be/UlG52KieVkI

The phone itself still works, power button etc all work, just the screen is not usable.

A bit disappointing but not totally unexpected because whilst the S200 feels nice in the hand and robust, I always felt the front bezel surround, the protective bit, was a bit too thin, it'#s barely a whole mm of raised frame and it seems the screen succumbed to pressure at the top the most which caused the internal fracture.

It is of course a £300 phone so only so much can be expected I guess, but then again why market it as MIL-810 rated, an armour shield case on a regular phone may well survive this exact same test better due to having a much taller lip surrounding the front of the phone, for example.

Just a small follow-up to my post from last week about the Samsung phone and laptop ecosystem, I tested all of the Samsung PC apps on a non-Samsung PC, and put together a list for those that are wondering which apps are exclusive to Samsung PCs, and which apps are available on non-Samsung PCs. I was surprised to see that a decent amount of apps worked, which makes me wonder why they aren't all exclusive (or widely available).

There are scripts floating around online that spoof Windows registry keys to get some apps working on non-Samsung PCs. I was able to get Samsung Notes and Live Wallpaper working with this script. I was also able to get Samsung Studio (and Samsung Studio for Gallery), and Galaxy Book Experience working with this script. Your mileage may vary, and use these scripts at your own risk.

Disclosure: I have a Galaxy Book5 Pro on loan from Samsung.