Technology Android

[THEV1LL4N]

I think Google Photos has some really good editing tools, and Google purchased Snapseed a few years ago. I really wish they would enhance the photo and video editing features on Google Photos. Don't know how that would work (whether it'll be at system level, or through app updates, and on the web interface).

They could have a really good photo and video editing product (besides video on YouTube) that Android has lacked and where iOS has prevailed. I don't know why they don't use their resources to make a push forwards on an already good product.

 

[dilla]

More S10 leaks: https://allaboutsamsung.de/2019/01/exklusiv-bilder-des-galaxy-s10-und-galaxy-s10-plus/

I think we may end up switching carriers soon. Not because of anything about Sprint’s service but we’re paying $210/$234 after taxes and fees for four lines and it could be a lot cheaper since we’ve paid our phones off. But since we’re on an older plan from before Sprint began charging phones and service separately, we still kind of pay for our phones beyond the two year contract because it’s baked in to the price from our contract. Switching to the newer unlimited plans would make four lines $140 but video is limited to SD. Another $10 per line makes it 720P and we’d likely just do that for me and my sister’s line since we’re the only ones stressing video constantly. So $160 assuming we don’t get new phones, which would add monthly installments to our bill.

That’s for Sprint. Sprint has a 55+ plan, as does TMobile and Verizon. I think T-Mobile is cheaper and I’d put my parents on those plans. I was planning on leaving my parents family plan with my next upgrade and just getting my own plan with my own money but this might still save all of us money and would make me feel like less of a mooch. Plus my sister can’t pay for her own plan so it’d work out.

But it’s $70 for two lines of unlimited and I’d have each parent heave their own account separately and my sister and I would split up between the two of the. It’d be $140 total between the two separate accounts and wouldn’t have Sprint’s shitty video limits.

Going to T-Mobile would require a new phone, though, and I always said I was fine with the S7 until it died or really saw a good deal on the S10. So maybe bumping down to the new plans on Sprint is a good idea until a new phone becomes a better buy and then switching to T-Mobile when we all get new phones is a better plan.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

The hole punched screen design is absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt much better than the ugly notch design! It's not perfect, but it's a step in the right direction and better than the moving parts (i.e. motorised camera), and perhaps better than the slide-out mechanism such as the one featured on the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3.

 

[dilla]

Also, does @ARon still work at TMo?

 

[ARon]

Also, does @ARon still work at TMo?

No, that was very short lived

 

[dilla]

No, that was very short lived

Ah well. Have you kept up with TMo deals at all, still? Any idea what a good plan might be?

If we switch, the Netflix would a be bonus over the shit-Hulu Sprint gives us. And it'd be cheaper per month.

 

[ARon]

Ah well. Have you kept up with TMo deals at all, still? Any idea what a good plan might be?

If we switch, the Netflix would a be bonus over the shit-Hulu Sprint gives us. And it'd be cheaper per month.

Their basic plan is still good, I think it's called something One now. Obviously, the more lines the cheaper it will be. Their service is pretty top notch, they've made a lot of progress as far as that is concerned

 

[dilla]

Their basic plan is still good, I think it's called something One now. Obviously, the more lines the cheaper it will be. Their service is pretty top notch, they've made a lot of progress as far as that is concerned

Yeah they have, but I heard they're losing the Netflix on Us plan soon due to the price increase. Might be in a few months but they won't be able to do it, some are saying.

But in my area, they have some of the fastest speeds although my main concern is simple coverage and not necessarily the fastest speeds.

Otherwise, they're about $30 cheaper than Sprint per month with all four of our lines, and maybe less if ew go for that third line free deal they got going on.

 

[dilla]

So the S10 might pack 1 TB of storage. That's so dumb and I bet the cost of something that asinine will be baked in to the cost of all the models and not just the rumored "Pro" model it'll be on.

My S7 has removable storage; does the S9 not have it anymore? Same with the Notes?

And another site saying S10 production has already begun. It'll be incredible if they get the numbers correct and don't run in to long-term shortage issues after predicting which models will sell and how much. Otherwise I can see a flood of the "pro" versions being like $1300+ and just sitting on shelves until they're brought down $300 3 months later.



I wonder if the Pro models gets the Galaxy Buds for free: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre.../samsung-new-galaxy-buds-fcc-filing-s10-event

 

[masta247]

So the S10 might pack 1 TB of storage. That's so dumb and I bet the cost of something that asinine will be baked in to the cost of all the models and not just the rumored "Pro" model it'll be on.

My S7 has removable storage; does the S9 not have it anymore? Same with the Notes?

And another site saying S10 production has already begun. It'll be incredible if they get the numbers correct and don't run in to long-term shortage issues after predicting which models will sell and how much. Otherwise I can see a flood of the "pro" versions being like $1300+ and just sitting on shelves until they're brought down $300 3 months later.



I wonder if the Pro models gets the Galaxy Buds for free: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre.../samsung-new-galaxy-buds-fcc-filing-s10-event

I think they are referring to the highest SKU with the Galaxy S10 "Pro". Sort of like they released a 512GB Galaxy Note 9 for $1100. It's for the select few who need it. Most people will go for the standard model which will surely have much less storage and a lower price. I don't think Samsung would bake the cost of the higher SKU into their lower ones. They always make the highest models in very limited quantities, and they simply have to swap a single component on the motherboard that works the same way regardless (just has more memory modules on it), so it's very easy to make it. What's baked into the cost of the phone is if it has two different chipsets (Exynos and Snapdragon) as that requires a lot of extra work, partially mitigated by the fact that getting the Exynos chipsets probably costs them much less.

The S9 and the Notes have removable storage. The internal storage is much faster and can store any apps. I would in no way need that much storage, but some people do (or just want it). Anyone who ever wanted 1TB of built-in storage on their phone now will be able to have it. I assume they will market their desktop environment next to it (DeX), as some businesses could go for such set-up. For a casual user, this is obviously pointless, but probably 99% or so of the phones they make will have a much smaller, reasonable amount of storage.

When you think about it, more than 6/8GB of RAM on Android phones is also pretty pointless. Android Authority calls phones with more than 8GB of ram as devices from the "Nonsense land where Mr. Silly lives". With storage, some people actually might need more and they might at least use it.

As for the earbuds, the IconX were horrible. I hope they don't go that route. Samsung owns AKG now, the headphones that they bundled with the S8 and S9 were amazing for something you get for free, cheap to manufacture, and sounded much better than the IconX. They were by very far the best headphones that come with a phone.
Bundling $200 earbuds with a Smartphone means you could've had that phone for close to $200 less otherwise, and didn't have to sell useless earbuds at a loss. I'm really not a fan of bundles. I don't think Samsung would do it either.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I need 32GB RAM and 8GB storage.

 

[dilla]

I think they are referring to the highest SKU with the Galaxy S10 "Pro". Sort of like they released a 512GB Galaxy Note 9 for $1100. It's for the select few who need it. Most people will go for the standard model which will surely have much less storage and a lower price. I don't think Samsung would bake the cost of the higher SKU into their lower ones. They always make the highest models in very limited quantities, and they simply have to swap a single component on the motherboard that works the same way regardless (just has more memory modules on it), so it's very easy to make it. What's baked into the cost of the phone is if it has two different chipsets (Exynos and Snapdragon) as that requires a lot of extra work, partially mitigated by the fact that getting the Exynos chipsets probably costs them much less.

The S9 and the Notes have removable storage. The internal storage is much faster and can store any apps. I would in no way need that much storage, but some people do (or just want it). Anyone who ever wanted 1TB of built-in storage on their phone now will be able to have it. I assume they will market their desktop environment next to it (DeX), as some businesses could go for such set-up. For a casual user, this is obviously pointless, but probably 99% or so of the phones they make will have a much smaller, reasonable amount of storage.

When you think about it, more than 6/8GB of RAM on Android phones is also pretty pointless. Android Authority calls phones with more than 8GB of ram as devices from the "Nonsense land where Mr. Silly lives". With storage, some people actually might need more and they might at least use it.

As for the earbuds, the IconX were horrible. I hope they don't go that route. Samsung owns AKG now, the headphones that they bundled with the S8 and S9 were amazing for something you get for free, cheap to manufacture, and sounded much better than the IconX. They were by very far the best headphones that come with a phone.
Bundling $200 earbuds with a Smartphone means you could've had that phone for close to $200 less otherwise, and didn't have to sell useless earbuds at a loss. I'm really not a fan of bundles. I don't think Samsung would do it either.

I still can't imagine needing 1 TB on a phone. I don't think I'd need that much on a computer, assuming I'd use an external 4 times that size for backing up stuff and storing media.

Were the IconX really that bad? They seem to have good reviews, though they are $150-200. And while I don't think Samsung would add them to the cost of the phone if they came bundled, I could see some retailers giving them away as a bundle but as separate items. Best Buy gave me a Gear VR for free and I don't know how much they cost, but they're not cheap. Some carriers or other stores gave away those Gear watches. So for a pair of $150 headphones, it's possible retailers will do something similar. Samsung doing it would be a big deal and they'd probably want to do it to steal some of the hype from the AirPods. If they gave them away with an S10 purchase, someone that is looking for wireless headphones might think about a Samsung device, assuming they don't care too much about the phone itself. As in they don't have a loyalty to one OS or another and see a smartphone with wireless headphones included and a cheaper price than an iPhone alone and purchase an S10 instead. It happens; some might buy in to the status symbol of AirPods and might want those regardless of quality. But then there are others that see some modern headphones they would use in a cheaper package and go the S10 route while still not giving a shit about quality lol.

More info on this site here: https://www.91mobiles.com/hub/samsung-galaxy-s10-plus-official-press-renders-exclusive/

I can get over the aesthetics. A lot is made about the punch hole vs the notch and I didn't really have an opinion either way since I haven't really used one. I think what's going to make me upgrade are the features. I don't need more power or RAM but instead I'd rather have a smooth experience when using the phone, be it for browsing or social media or streaming. I get the feeling that even stock Android doesn't do that anymore without issues seeing as how I hear the gripes of Pixel users. It's always something but it actually tends to be hardware related, like something is buggy like the camera or some battery drain issues. Otherwise I'd consider a Pixel. But not at its current price and I'd rather take the Samsung device with Samsung's perks for being an owner.

I just remembered after mentioning Samsung perks. On my S3, all Samsung owners were given 50 or 100GB of free DropBox space if they signed in with their account on their phone. Man, those were the days when the perks were outrageous and companies gave away storage and other stuff because most other people didn't know about it and they were trying to rope them in. 100GB now is probably expected to be free on newer services, despite Apple and Google charging monthly for cloud services of the same size storage.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

I believe it was 50GB of Dropbox storage.

I think the Galaxy S10 looks really nice. I think the holepunch is much better than the notch, aesthetically. Much less obtrusive.

 

[dilla]

So someone just told me that that S7 was cdma and gsm compatible and all I had to do was get it unlocked from Sprint? Is that correct? I thought the S8 and onwards models were capable of being unlocked and then used on a GSM carrier if it was previously on a CDMA carrier.

 

[dilla]

He talks about he S10 FP reader being on the back, possibly. I thought most reports were saying the FP reader was going to be in the display.

Also, his projected/rumored prices are ridiculous. The "lite," entry-level model starts at $800ish? So not even the normal, base S10 will be safe from that $1000 threshold, if I heard him correctly? Never thought Samsung would try and price themselves like Apple and other OEMs and was one of the "good guys." They must really want people to hang on to their current phones.

 

[dilla]

It looks like Wear OS has come a long way from the crap it was when it was Android Wear. It looks like more watch makers are making more models and they’re very nicely designed.

My sister has an Apple Watch. I think it’s a Series 2 and I’m not really sure what the difference between Wear OS and WatchOS is and how they compare to each other but I’ve been seeing some sales on some of the watches.

Anyone using any Android watches?

 

[dilla]

More S10 stuff:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1094142376300425217

I've been using the Google Home app to control our automated/smart stuff, like outlets and bulbs and our Nest thermostats the past week. I don't know why I installed each service's app (WeMo, Nest, Kasa-TP-Link) and tried managing them all that way; Google Home does most of the functions all within one app. And since we've labeled the devices by appliance and by what room they're in, it's a pretty organized layout of everything.

Next on the list is home security. I saw a Samsung SmartThings starter kit for $100 and was about to get it but it turns out it is in partnership with a US security provider, ADT, and therefore only Samsung-ADT accessories would be recognized by the alarm company.

So any sensor that we want to use has to be Samsung-ADT compatible; it being Smartthings-compatible is not enough. It will pair with the main security unit, which has a built-in ST hub, but the alarm company won't be able to be notified (or simply won't respond) if a Smartthings compatible device senses movement or a break in. It has to be Samsung-ADT specifically.

Funny thing is, we have had ADT for 20 years but limiting us to one type of motion sensor, one type of water sensor, etc., just seems shitty. Again, Smartthings sensors will pair and notify us of movement, but if we have professional monitoring service from ADT, an ADT-Samsung Smartthings sensor would have to go off and not the other ST sensors. So dumb.

So now I'm researching Simplisafe and Ring. Nest is very pricey for what they offer so Simplisafe was more reasonably priced and they sell their proprietary sensors and hub, which isn't too big a deal because at least we can use their hardware without a professional monitoring, if we choose to do so. But Ring's monitoring prices are much cheaper. $100 for a whole year and unlimited Ring devices, including the doorbell and cameras. So recording of 30 days of video and professional monitoring is less than $10 a month. So it'll be a big investment upfront getting a pair of cameras and doorbell and then the security system starter kit, but it looks like the monthly fees and the convenience of arming while out of the house will be worth it.

lol also, our doorbell hasn't worked in years. It's one of those old systems that's hooked up to a house-wide sound system, so it plays the chime throughout the house where there's speakers. But it went to shit in 2011 or so and works occasionally. So now we're going to have a reliable doorbell for the first time in almost a decade lol. So ghetto that we lived so long without it and people had to knock after waiting for a few minutes after pressing the bell.

 

[dilla]

What do you guys think of this? https://www.gsmarena.com/xiaomi_mi_9_and_mi_9_explorer_prices_leak-news-35570.php

12 GB of RAM lol. That is so dumb.

Also, not that I want it, but I doubt it has all the bands for US LTE. But with the heat coming down hard on Huawei for their IP stealing, I wonder if this sets up Xiaomi to become a bigger player.

Unless all the Chinese manufacturers are in on this IP-stealing crap; then they're all screwed in the US.

 

[THEV1LL4N]

The Mi9 will be a great phone at a really good price, but the 12GB on the Explorer edition is unnecessary at present for just a mobile phone. If it was a device that would double up as a more powerful computing solution, then maybe there would be a case for it.

 

[dilla]

Looks like the Buds will be free for those who preorder the S10/+ before March 8th.

Whether they sound as good/bad as the AirPods, Samsung is trying to get their buds in to the hands of as many people as possible. And I feel like many casual users will opt for an S10 over an iPhone if it means getting the Buds for free. For those who don't care about brand or the sound quality and instead just want the lower price of the S10 as well as the convenience of good-looking wireless buds, I can see a lot of people being enticed by it.

Fold looks pretty neat but not ~$2K neat. If the trend catches on with other OEMs, I can see it being $1500 in 2-3 years. Still unattainable by most people but it wouldn't be gaming-laptop pricing either.

I still think I'll wait until the price drops a few months after release. I think I would buy my next phone outright instead of installment plans so it'll be much cheaper to get a discount by buying outright in a sale over the Summer than waiting on a "deal" from a carrier offering lower installments.

Also, I set up the Ring security system in my parents' house this week. Still no cameras or video doorbell yet, but that may be in the next month or so. Got a deal on 6 sensors, a motion sensor, and the keypad/base for $199 so I went ahead and got it for my parents and set everything up. It came with a range extender but I don't think we have an issue with that just yet.

I just learned about the Z Wave technology and didn't realize it was so commonplace with home automation now. I still don't understand it completely but one basic principle I think I understood correctly was that each Z wave device, including sensors, sort of acts like a signal repeater and like a range extender so long as the products are distributed smoothly around the house?

I think they'll just need a doorbell and one floodlight camera for monitoring part of the side of the house and then the driveway up front. I think that completes their security and monitoring set up, unless you count a smart lock as part of it. I really want them to get one for the two main entrances to our house but they seem hesitant. Keyless entry to the house, though....that's pretty neat.

Also, made a Discord. Here's the link: https://discord.gg/AvBtJk5

We can see if our discussions are more fluid on a chat service instead of the forums.