Different Samsung Telephones to Think about
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
If you happen to do not see a Samsung telephone talked about on this information, that may be as a result of it is not offered within the US and is slightly more durable to supply for testing. However listed below are a number of different Samsung telephones I’ve tried to contemplate.
Samsung Galaxy A36 5G for $400: The Galaxy A36 (6/10, WIRED Review) would not fairly measure as much as its friends from Nothing and Motorola. Efficiency is simply too uneven, and that is not acceptable at this worth. It is manageable—it is not so gradual that it’ll frustrate—however you are able to do higher. In case your wants are very minimal, it is an OK telephone, and the digital camera system is nice, with day-long battery life, a pleasant AMOLED display screen, and 6 years of software program updates.
Samsung Galaxy A16 for $200: Samsung’s Galaxy A16 nonetheless would not attain the highs of the Galaxy A14, and that is largely because of sluggish efficiency. Certain, Samsung is promising six years of software program updates, however that exceptional replace window would not matter when the telephone is frustratingly gradual, and also you wish to throw it out the window. If you happen to barely plan on utilizing this system however need one thing from a dependable model that can keep safe, the Galaxy A16 is ok. Its efficiency simply is not aggressive with different equally priced telephones.
If you happen to’re trying to avoid wasting money, it is high-quality to purchase Samsung’s Galaxy S23 range or the Galaxy S23 FE from 2023, so long as the costs are deal decrease than the unique MSRP. (They’re exhausting to seek out at most main retailers.) These telephones will nonetheless get help for some time, they usually’re fairly nice. I do not suppose it is price shopping for something older.
Ought to You Put money into Samsung’s Ecosystem?
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
Samsung is without doubt one of the few smartphone producers that may match Apple in its {hardware} ecosystem. Not solely does the corporate make smartphones, however it’s also possible to broaden your expertise by including on a Galaxy Watch7 smartwatch, Galaxy Buds3 Pro earbuds, Galaxy Ring fitness ring, Galaxy Tab S10+ tablet, and even a Home windows-powered Galaxy laptop.
There are specific perks to this, too, like how some options on the Galaxy Ring and Watch7 are solely accessible when paired with a Samsung telephone, and its earbuds will routinely change between Samsung units primarily based on what you are utilizing. There’s not a lot in the way in which of unique options when utilizing a Galaxy telephone with a Galaxy laptop computer, however options like Quick Share allow you to speedily ship images and paperwork between your units.
Once more, it is not needed, and these different units may not be the proper ones for you inside their respective classes, however if you happen to’re chasing {hardware} parity, you’ve that possibility with Samsung.
What Is Galaxy AI?
{Photograph}: Julian Chokkattu
With the Galaxy S24 sequence, Samsung launched “Galaxy AI,” a collection of synthetic intelligence options, a lot of that are powered by Google’s Gemini large language models. These allow good options that could be useful everyday, like real-time translations throughout telephone calls, real-time transcriptions in Samsung’s Voice Recorder app, the flexibility to summarize lengthy paragraphs of textual content within the Samsung Notes app, or change a sentence’s tone with the Samsung Keyboard. Within the Galaxy S25 sequence, Galaxy AI expanded to incorporate Gemini because the default voice assistant and the flexibility for Gemini to work with a number of apps concurrently. It additionally debuted Drawing Help, which helps you to sketch or enter a immediate and get an AI-generated picture.
You could find many of those options by heading to Settings > Galaxy AI to toggle them on or off.
What Is Samsung DeX?
Courtesy of David Nield
Samsung’s DeX (brief for “desktop expertise”) launched in 2017, and it is a technique to plug in your Samsung telephone to an exterior monitor and set off a desktop model of the Android OS, all fully powered by the telephone. You could find an inventory of compatible Samsung phones here, and you will want a monitor, mouse, and keyboard, plus a cable to attach the telephone to the monitor. (You may also forged DeX to pick out screens wirelessly.)
When in DeX mode, you possibly can resize Android apps and have all of them open in separate home windows. It is a correct computing platform, although you most likely will not wish to use this as a everlasting laptop computer substitute or something of the type. It is nice if you happen to’re visiting one other workplace, or understanding of a espresso store or airplane (in case you have a conveyable show). We have now a complete information to setting up and using DeX here.
How I Check Telephones
I have been reviewing smartphones for a decade, however considered one of my earliest good units was a Samsung Galaxy Captivate, which I acquired for “free” from my service on the time. After working throughout faculty, I lastly saved sufficient money for a Galaxy S3, my first flagship. I’ve spent years utilizing Samsung telephones in my private life and started reviewing them for work not too lengthy after.
With every Samsung smartphone, I all the time put my private SIM card inside and spend so long as I can (a number of weeks) utilizing the telephone as my very own. I do digital camera testing and examine the outcomes with equally priced units, I benchmark efficiency and play graphically demanding video games to see how they fare, I check out all the brand new options, and even take calls to ensure that ol’ operate nonetheless works high-quality.
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