Today, after an abnormally long and hyped wait, the Samsung Galaxy S10 was released. People who pre-ordered should have started receiving their devices, and stores should begin having stock.
Featuring 2-3 rear cameras, as close to 100% of the front of the device being screen as seems humanely possible, and blue light reduction the S10 comes in three varieties: the S10e (paired down version), the S10 standard (my personal choice), and the S10+ almost-phablet. So I was thinking to upgrade to the new phone, but unfortunately since the CRTC did away with contracts, essentially the two choices are buy unlocked or mortgage the phone through more expensive ($115-$140/mo) phone plans.
The price is probably what I see keeping this from being the "iPhone killer" Samsung and most Android fans were hoping for. After all, a fully loaded Galaxy S10+ is a whopping $2,209.99.
Which made me wonder: how much is a fully loaded Chevrolet S10 setting you back these days? The answer? $2,200. Yep, that's right: the phone costs you more than an (admittedly old with high mileage) pickup truck. And while Samsung doesn't offer financing in Canada, in the US is does.
Bonus coverage: Reviewers get so much cool hardware to look at, are they giving sensible reviews for midrange devices?
If you’re used to apps opening in 0.1 seconds and suddenly they take 0.5 seconds to open, you might feel this phone is slow and laggy, while someone that’s used to a 4-year-old phone that takes 3 seconds to open an app will think it’s blazing fast. Who is right then? Well, both are, it’s all a matter of perspective. And this is where the issue lies.
Missing features are also a lot more impactful to those that have come to rely on them. If you have a wireless charger on your desk at work and your nightstand at home, using a phone without wireless charging is forcing you to revert to older habits, making the phone feel almost ancient. Meanwhile, most users interested in mid-range phones probably won’t use wireless charging for at least a few more years.
It’s hard to give a price to each feature so you can fairly judge if the cheaper phone comes at the right price. Are camera lenses $150 a pop? Is wireless charging worth $100? What about the headphone jack that is now present in more budget devices than flagships? While you can often find the price for each hardware component, those don't translate 1:1 to the cost of the whole device.
Why We Seriously Need an iPhone Killer Sidebar: Like most non-Apple fanboys, I sort of detest the hipster magnets from Cupertino. I understand how they got popular, they make computers (and phones) for babies. People are idiots and really appreciate a single button (I still cannot get over that) that just dumbly does the things they are allowed to do. But there are serious implications to this that impact us all. I was at a party down in Summerside a few years ago where we were sharing some stuff with each other using Bluetooth. I had a Samsung S4, another guy had a Blackberry, K'mpec had an LG Android phone, and Martok actually had a Windows Phone, I think there was another non-Samsung Android user too. Anyways some girl (it's always some girl) wanted to 'tooth with us but we couldn't get her phone to connect. We were having troubles for the longest time until some Apple fanboy at the party helpfully advised us that Apple can only Bluetooth with other Apples. Except that's not how he phrased it: he instead said "Android isn't compatible with Apple Bluetooth". But that's got it exactly backwards: Apple is the thing not compatible with EVERYBODY ELSE. I heard the same thing about chargers a while ago too, a girl said she didn't have a "Samsung charger". I was very clear explaining to her that she was totally wrong: it's not a "Samsung charger" it's a MicroUSB charger and its a standard across all cellphones that don't have a picture of half finished fruit on the back. When you go to Bianca Amour's and see "Samsung" written on Micro USB chargers you should blame the Apple people. And that's before we remember Apple doesn't even let you sideload apps.
