Has anybody here switched from [no Root] Samsung [Galaxy]?

[muzicman82]

Hi all,

I've had my Samsung Galaxy S8 for 2 years now and am eligible/ready to upgrade. I could wait a little longer, although my wife broke her S8 and needs a new phone now. I try to keep us on the same hardware. The S10 is a tempting upgrade, but it's expensive, and I think it is larger than the S8, and I really don't want larger.

I swore that the S8 would be my last phone with a locked bootloader that I can't root. That said, I really like Samsung's build quality. I realize the consensus is that the Pixel 3 takes better photos (but not better video). I miss all of the possibilities that come with being able to root.

I'm wondering what everyone here thinks if you've been in the same situation in the past.

Lastly, I'm reading that the Pixel 4 is expected next month, and I think I may hold out for that in hopes of better hardware specs.

Thoughts are very welcome.

 

[J M L]

I switched from a no-root Galaxy S8 to a Pixel 3 a few months ago. I grabbed the Pixel 3 when it hit a discount, because I knew I didn't want to pay the PIxel 4 release price. My main reason to do the upgrade when I did was because I had an unbranded S8, which meant on AT&T I didn't get to use VoLTE or wi-fi calling. The lack of wi-fi calling was a problem for me. Both work on the Pixel 3 as well as they work on any other phone.

I got so used to no-root on the S8, that I haven't bothered to root the 3, so I can't speak to that aspect.

As for a comparison between the phones.

• Advantage S8
  • Fantastic screen (however you feel about the curve)
  • Samsung Health stuff, including the blood O2 sensor
  • The magnetic thing to use non-NFC payment terminals
  • Tested by me water proofness
• Advantage Pixel 3
  • Somewhat faster
  • Fantastic camera
  • much better speakers
  • fewer bugs
  • Google updates

Some of those are real close. The Pixel 3 screen is good, just not S8 levels. The S8 camera is good, just not Pixel 3 levels. To me, Samsung Pay and the pulse Ox sensor were fun toys, but I could go months without using either.

The most striking difference to me was the improved speaker quality on the Pixel 3. That was certainly one of the weak points of the S8, but also something that was a surprise to me, because I'd not seen it mentioned in reviews.

The S8 and bluetooth in my primary car never got along, though it worked just fine in the secondary car. The Pixel 3 works well in both cars.

There are some other features on the S8, like iris scanning, that I never used, so I don't miss at all. In all, the Pixel 3 is probably better, but mostly because Samsung is so bad at timely updates and bug fixes. For example, they went through the entire Android 9 beta and one or two post-release updates before fixing the bug of Hiya call blocking turning off after reboot.

 

[zul8er]

I am still running an S7 edge. I just bought a Pixel 3 last night at a discount. Got the S7 the day it was released. My S7 is lucky to get 4 hours of battery life with very minimal usage. I bought the Pixel 3 because I am tired of Samsung crap. My back glass is shattered and slowly falling apart because of a phone mount, and my front screen is cracked from simply tipping over from its side.

Been wanting to go back to the pure Android experience since the HTC ION (MyTouch for the Tmobile users). I will never go back to Samsung cheap crap ever again.

 

[BBobby]

I bought the S9 in March from Cricket for $350 brand new, a week before the S10 came out. I love the phone, but i decided to pickup the Pixel 3, got it on a deal at bestbuy for $399 unlocked The day Android Q came out.
1. Yes, the display on the S9 is great, but i do not miss the curved display, as it made it hard for me to type, i never really got used to where to press to type letters close to the edge, so i am glad of the Pixel 3's flat dislpay
2. The stock android, really, is not very different from the One UI interface. But i do prefer the stock android experience except 2 things: Can't swipe down anywhere on the screen when at the home screen to bring down notifications (i guess i could install nova launcher, but i really like the Q gestures, as it makes one-handed operation so easy). The other thing is when entering a pin to unlock the screen, i have to press the "enter button", which samsung One UI got me spoiled by when the last number is pressed it unlocks the phone
3. Dolby Atmos on the S9 was killer! No comparison with the Pixel 3. I kinda miss that
4. Pixel 3 is simple, powerful, no extra gimmicks, i like that!
5. Camera, clearly the Pixel is superior

 

[jco23]

i agree with JML - came from the S8. my reason for leaving was all of the samsung bloatware (experience?!?!), that stupid bixby button, screen size, and did not like the touchable screen going over the edges. I consistently had troubles with that. also, the speaker was too small and placed on the bottom edge, so sound quality was poor.
but the device was beautiful, and worked fairly well. I did not root as my reason to do would be to remove ads, but I got around with SABS. with the pixel 3, you can just set the VPN to dns.adguard.com and block all ads without having to install any apps (although, blockada was pretty effective).

hope this helps.

 

[mookiexl]

Once you go stock Android you never go back.......NEVER

 

[muzicman82]

Hey all!

Revisiting this now that the Pixel 4 is out. I know that specs aren't everything, but they kind of seem behind.

Now I'm still torn. I checked out the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, but I don't want a plus sized phone... And the bootloader is still locked.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[BBobby]

Hey all!

Revisiting this now that the Pixel 4 is out. I know that specs aren't everything, but they kind of seem behind.

Now I'm still torn. I checked out the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G, but I don't want a plus sized phone... And the bootloader is still locked.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Pixel 3, friend. You will still get updates for at least 1-2 years, if not more. The pixel 4 has better specs, but the pixel 3 will hold up well, plus it will have the same software experience