Came from 4 years of Android, 2 years ago... Today thinking of switching back.

[dashrendar]

Hi all,

Ah, where do I start?

I got my first smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 in 2011 and used it for 4 years. I liked it a lot. I'm a power user, so of course I rooted it and installed custom that lengthened its lifetime to up to 4 years.

I'm also a Microsoft fan. I've been using Windows since 3.1 and I love Windows 10. Two years ago I thought of going all Microsoft by switching to Windows 10 Mobile by getting a Lumia 950.

I liked the phone for it's all-around great features that you can't find in a single phone usually, at least at the time; great screen with great brightness, removable battery, SD card, one-handed operation, dark theme/mode, double tap to wake, iris scanner, camera button, wireless charging... This was all great when the phone had a decent market share, especially in Europe.

However, I'm dying because of the apps. I'm usually the power user in the house but it's frustrating when my wife can do more with her phone than I can: deposit checks, better updates for smart thermostat and home security system apps, lightning fast WhatsApp, better PowerAmp music player, refilling prescriptions through the camera, etc.

I'm seriously considering switching back to Android by getting a Samsung Galaxy S8, which looks to be a great phone. However, there are things I'm hoping to find alternatives for and things I'm going to miss. First of all, let me know of what you think of my decision and, second, have a look at this list:

AMOLED screen
The screen on my old S2 was great and it's gorgeous on the Lumia 950. I don't think I can go back to IPS screens.

Camera Button
I'll definitely miss this because I can take the phone out of my pocket, turn the camera on and start taking pictures with one hand. I can't do that with any other phone.

One-handed Operation
I love this in W10M. I know Samsung has their own implementation but I'm not sure how well it works.

Dark Theme
I also love this in W10M, and how the UWP apps follow suit. But all other apps stick to their native implementation because they've simply not updated to UWP model. Sucks.

In Android, I hate Nougat because it's all white all over your face. However, I recently learned about Substratum which has nice black/dark overlays/themes for the System UI and a set of popular apps. Will definitely be exploring this to save the life of my battery.

Double Tap to Wake
This doesn't exist in Samsung. However, with the Always-On display (similar to Glance in the Lumia) the home button is always on the screen and I think I can wake up the phone by pressing, tapping or holding that. That sounds good and close enough for me.

Iris Scanner
I hear the iris scanners in both phones are comparable, with perhaps the Lumia one being more secure/reliable. As for the fingerprint scanner, the placement is stupid on the S8 (as opposed to the S7) so I guess I'll be using the Iris scanner. Then again, I'm already used to it from the Lumia 950.

Wireless Charging
Great feature in the Lumia, and glad it's available in the S8 especially with support for QC 3.0 I think.

Microsoft Edge
I had already went all-in with Edge only because it's lightning fast. It's unfortunate it doesn't exist in Android so I might have to settle for Firefox. Don't worry, I don't think I'll ever switch to Chrome.

What do you guys think? Do you recommend I wait for this mystery surface phone, which sounds like it's going to be too big for my taste regardless. Or do you recommend jumping ship?

 

[prasanna moholkar]

If u want to switch to Android then r u think about Nokia 8/9 insted of Samsung????

 

[Impenneteri]

I already have moved on from Windows after 4 years (Lumia 720 and 930) and now into Android for the first time. I bought an LG G6. Regarding with double tap, G6 has the same feature and it also has Always On.

I thought I didn't need the apps but after using Android. I am really enjoying the thousands of apps I can use.

Windows 10 Mobile is better on system implementation but the lack of apps hurt it plus I got disappointed because Microsoft does not know what to with it and has no dedication. If they are not into it then so am I.

 

[xandros9]

Camera Button
- Sony's Xperia line might have one, but I don't remember off the top of my head.
- Most Android phones also have a shortcut where you can open the camera by double-tapping the power button.
- I believe you can double-tap the home button to activate the camera.
- Moto phones have a cool gesture where you can activate the camera by twisting your wrist twice. It's surprisingly reliable.

One-handed Operation
- Varies. I know my Moto Z Play has a nice one-handed mode, my Priv didn't, etc.

Double-Tap to Wake
- My BlackBerry Priv had this, not my Moto.

Iris Scanner
- Never used a 950 or any phone with it. Fingerprint scanner was the most biometrics I've used.

Wireless charging
- Yep, the Galaxy S and Note lineup are one of the few lineups to have wireless charging consistently.
- I think the LG Vsomething might have it.
- My aforementioned Moto has Moto Mods compatibility so I'm debating getting the wireless charging style shell but it ain't cheap.

Edge
- Chrome is superior but I use Firefox on my Android and PC, works for me.

I would not wait for a Surface Phone, same way I wouldn't wait for another BlackBerry 10 phone.

 

[dashrendar]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I forgot to add the AMOLED screen as a feature I must have. I am guessing this would reduce the number of options I can go with.

This also explains why I need to have a dark mode of some sort.

 

[fatclue_98]

Unless you have extra long thumbs, the S8+ is NOT a one-handed device. The 2:1 aspect ratio makes it narrow but very tall. No camera button and no tap-to-wake. The camera is indeed awesome and the performance is top-notch. The curved edge screen doesn't work as well as it did when I had my Priv simply because the phone is narrow. Icons on the outer edges don't always register properly and that's a real pain. I would absolutely suggest the Pixel XL over the S8+ as the cameras are very close, too close to call in fact, and the ergonomics is heavily in favor of the Pixel. If you use the fingerprint scanner, this alone is reason enough to avoid the Samsung. The fact you get a message to make sure your camera lens is clean before using the camera tells you that Samsung already knew the FP scanner was not located well. At all.

 

[Drael646464]

Hi all,

Ah, where do I start?

I got my first smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S2 in 2011 and used it for 4 years. I liked it a lot. I'm a power user, so of course I rooted it and installed custom that lengthened its lifetime to up to 4 years.

I'm also a Microsoft fan. I've been using Windows since 3.1 and I love Windows 10. Two years ago I thought of going all Microsoft by switching to Windows 10 Mobile by getting a Lumia 950.

I liked the phone for it's all-around great features that you can't find in a single phone usually, at least at the time; great screen with great brightness, removable battery, SD card, one-handed operation, dark theme/mode, double tap to wake, iris scanner, camera button, wireless charging... This was all great when the phone had a decent market share, especially in Europe.

However, I'm dying because of the apps. I'm usually the power user in the house but it's frustrating when my wife can do more with her phone than I can: deposit checks, better updates for smart thermostat and home security system apps, lightning fast WhatsApp, better PowerAmp music player, refilling prescriptions through the camera, etc.

I'm seriously considering switching back to Android by getting a Samsung Galaxy S8, which looks to be a great phone. However, there are things I'm hoping to find alternatives for and things I'm going to miss. First of all, let me know of what you think of my decision and, second, have a look at this list:

AMOLED screen
The screen on my old S2 was great and it's gorgeous on the Lumia 950. I don't think I can go back to IPS screens.

Camera Button
I'll definitely miss this because I can take the phone out of my pocket, turn the camera on and start taking pictures with one hand. I can't do that with any other phone.

One-handed Operation
I love this in W10M. I know Samsung has their own implementation but I'm not sure how well it works.

Dark Theme
I also love this in W10M, and how the UWP apps follow suit. But all other apps stick to their native implementation because they've simply not updated to UWP model. Sucks.

In Android, I hate Nougat because it's all white all over your face. However, I recently learned about Substratum which has nice black/dark overlays/themes for the System UI and a set of popular apps. Will definitely be exploring this to save the life of my battery.

Double Tap to Wake
This doesn't exist in Samsung. However, with the Always-On display (similar to Glance in the Lumia) the home button is always on the screen and I think I can wake up the phone by pressing, tapping or holding that. That sounds good and close enough for me.

Iris Scanner
I hear the iris scanners in both phones are comparable, with perhaps the Lumia one being more secure/reliable. As for the fingerprint scanner, the placement is stupid on the S8 (as opposed to the S7) so I guess I'll be using the Iris scanner. Then again, I'm already used to it from the Lumia 950.

Wireless Charging
Great feature in the Lumia, and glad it's available in the S8 especially with support for QC 3.0 I think.

Microsoft Edge
I had already went all-in with Edge only because it's lightning fast. It's unfortunate it doesn't exist in Android so I might have to settle for Firefox. Don't worry, I don't think I'll ever switch to Chrome.

What do you guys think? Do you recommend I wait for this mystery surface phone, which sounds like it's going to be too big for my taste regardless. Or do you recommend jumping ship?

If you are the type of user to use lots of smarthome stuff, and do things fill prescriptions with a camera or deposit cheques via a banking app (People still use cheques?), then yeah, you'll want an android. At least right now, UWP is still young, and it has its weak points.

Your going to miss stuff from win10m though. That's just the way it is. Little things you might not think of, like how win10m makes phone numbers into links automatically to dial, or inline replies/voice texting, the sort of things you notice when you are using different OSes.

But if you use a phone like you describe, you're definitely a niche app user, and win10m won't be enough for your right now.

There are some nice, faster/light browsers on android like UC, dolphin, opera mini etc. Dark mode you'll never be able to fully emulate.

I'd just find a decent android phone with features you like, and accept the loss.

You could probably get a blackberry dtek60 for a decent price. Think the blackberry hub would compensate for the android UI quite a bit. It's a pleasure getting a nicely collated and organised single place to get emails and texts. Plus bb hub intergrates well with outlook etc, if you use MSFT services.

Blackberry virtual keyboard is also very good.

 

[Zulfigar]

Just an FYI, you press on the home button like a normal button to turn the screen on, and it's always there (for instance if a game or program freezes, the home button is always there). Then again, with the always on display, you can always double tap that to do a couple things (like Media controls without turning the device on).

Yeah, the finger print placement does suck, but it does get better when you put a case on the phone (which, by all means, it is fully glass).

In all honesty though, if you're really interested in the Android ecosystem, just hold out for a couple months. You have the Google Pixel XL 2, LG v30, and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 looming around the corner.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I can answer some of these for you.

Google keyboard has one handed mode.

Sony Xperia phones have physical camera buttons and double tap to wake. The downside with Sony phone is that the fingerprint scanner doesn't work in the US but this can be fixed by installing an international ROM. There's also the lack of wireless charging and iris scanner. The other downside with Sony is the price. I personally like them but that's me.

More and more apps have dark modes and because you can theme the phone you can get a 'dark' theme if that's what you want.

With Android you always have ways to do things. So as long as you get the phone that suits you most you should be happy.

When/If MS ever gets their act together you can consider returning at that time.

 

[Drael646464]

BTW, if you did want an all touch blackberry android, there's solid evidence TCL/alcatel is making its idol 5/5s (it has an fcc registration).

With the last idol 4s, tcl made a blackberry android (dtek60), a regular android (4s) and a windows 10 mobile (4s pro), from more or less the same hardware with some slight changes in screen and chipset/ram configurations.

The blackberry version of this is rumoured as well (krypton), and I am sure it'll come given the keyone has had some success. You never know, we might even get a win10m version! (Shock horror!)

Alcatel IDOL 5 FCC approval leaks out back panel - Android News and Leaks

So if you wanted to wait for the next dtek, that should be a thing. Not that the old one is exactly ancient.

 

[mtbmike24]

Google pixel 2 will be my next phone. Just bought my wife a first gen and it's the best Android experience I have ever had on any phone by far. It's every bit as smooth as any windows phone I have had. It does not stutter and it's fast. I was not aware Android could run this smooth on any phone.

The unlimited cloud storage for high res photos and videos is pretty cool that you get when you buy one and the 2nd gen coming out in October is suppose to have the always on function as well as a camera update and a sd835 chip and less bezel. And speaking of the camera its really good and on par with my 950xl and you can quick launch the camera by double taping the power button and it's very fast.

 

[PerfectReign]

While I had and liked the S2 as well as my Note 2 (both rooted), I have not been happy with Sammy as of late. The S8 js just bizarre. I've played with it enough to know I do not want one and cannot recommend it. The Note 8 may be good but we shall see.

I switched to Iphone recently and have been mostly happy. MS apps just work better and the memory leaks i see in the WM10 and Marshmallow (I have an S6 also - piece of dog poo) are not present. Only major issue is the LCD screen which pales in comparison to the AMOLED screens.

Sent from mTalk on my 950xl

 

[agaskew]

Having switched myself from 950 to S8, I can tell you a few things:

- The S8 screen is brilliant, no two ways about it. I think it is the best screen I've ever used.
- You can set the unlock button like a camera button - two presses and the camera launches
- Dont use 1 handed operation, sorry
- Dark theme? Really? The S8 has a built-in "theme store" with direct access to any number of themes, many of which are free, and dark/black. There's no need for white everywhere
- There is no double tap to wake, but there is for example the fingerprint scanner. Pick up the phone and touch it - unlocked. I don't find the placement to be a problem at all, as I have a case with a recess for that part of the back of the phone, so your finger kind of slides in to the right place. Alternatively you can set up 'trusted' locations on your phone, so that when you're home, or in the car paired to Bluetooth, the phone doesn't lock.
- Iris scanner...haven't tried either, sorry
- Wireless charging...yep
- For browsing the built in 'Samsung Internet' browser is great, very fast. I don't like Chrome/Firefox on mobile much either.

The Google Pixel phones are also very very good.

My one big bugbear with any Android phone I've had is the Contacts management. Mine always end up as a bit of a mess, but on W10M I never had that problem.

 

[Jakoh]

I thought I didn't need the apps but after using Android. I am really enjoying the thousands of apps I can use.

Another app another dolla.

So thats a thousand dollas.

 

[dashrendar]

Hey all,

I grabbed the S8 yesterday. I got a good deal at Best Buy-$575 unlocked version.

I have to say it's a sweet phone. Beautiful screen. Very responsive. Lightning-fast Iris Scanner and from a further distance than the Lumia 950.

I was able to install dark themes (through Substratum) not just for the System/OS but also for many apps including Google apps and Facebook, without rooting.

I was surprised to find a Blue Light Reducer feature. I turned it on to run based on sunset/sunrise and it now works just like my Windows 10 desktop. Amazing how Microsoft didn't do this on our phones as a differentiator. Well, now it's no longer a differentiator.

One-hand operation also is implemented differently but it works well.

Double-tap to Wake is not formally supported but it can be mimicked through the Always-On Display. If you set it up to show nothing but the home screen button, double tapping that wakes up the phone. Also, the home screen icon moves every so slightly to prevent burn in.

I also installed Cortana but the only problem is sliding right on the home screen gives me Bixby. If that can be changed to Cortana I'm golden.

I think there's a way to remap the Bixby button to do something else.

I have to use/test it more, but I think the S8 is the best phone to move to if you're used to Lumia 950 since it has many of the same features, but improved.