I thought we should restart the brand discussion with something more popular to give this community relaunch a bit more oomph. So, Samsung it is.
I've never really used a Samsung phone much before, despite them being so popular in the States. Have friends who used them, they usually look nice and high quality, and the Galaxy S Active are the only high-end phones I know that doesn't shatter when you look at them wrong without a case, so, props to Samsung.
There are may reasons I don't like Samsung phones: Hardware fuse disabling Knox on bootloader unlock, Exynos vs Snapdragon models, the mandatory Bixby button, the Galaxy Note 7 that really blew up. To me, Samsung phones are trying so hard to go against what makes Android good, which is the customizability to do whatever you wanted. Android is everything; Samsung is just Samsung.
Personally, I think Samsung is only worth buying at the very high end for the Galaxy S series. I've heard that A series have gotten better, but there always seems to be better choices from Moto/Pixel/Chinese brands on Amazon that it's not worth considering their low tier offering.
What should we do next week? I'm thinking Microsoft, just to make fun of them for the very idea of making a Surface Duo 2.
The best samsung phones are the 2 year old used flagship phones. All the power, features and longevity without the high sticker price. S21 Ultra is amazing at a fraction of the cost of new.
Only issues I have with it, is the battery starting to get a bit shit, but that's undoubtedly my own fault leaving it to charge to full every night with super fast charging on. And, the plastic on the back at the top left edge is cracked due to me dropping it more tines than I should have. However, I fixed this by actually getting a rubber case.
I've still got the original factory applied screen protector, and it's only just starting to show signs of scratches on it, and ever so slightly starting to peel on the top left corner.
It's a beast. I had an S10 5G (same physical size as the 21 ultra) and it was great. Only reason I upgraded was I had to swap carriers. But these classics are so powerful and sharp versus new, economy models.