Time for a new Samsung phone - which to get?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:32 PM, Sheryl said:

My priorities are:

 

- stability/reliability

- long battery life

- dual SIM is must, triple would be great if any have them

- lots of storage space and by that I mean free storage space not space already used up by pre-installed apps that I cannot uninstall.

-phone will work on US phone networks (turned out my J7 was not compatible with some, which was a problem when back in the US).

-pricewise, not more than mid-range

 

Sheryl, with phone stuff, a lot of the choices come down to a balancing act between how fancy/advanced the features you want on the phone vs. what price you're willing to pay for them.

 

For starters, I think, you need to decide whether you want/need a 5G capable model (which is going to be more expensive generally) or you can get along with the regular LTE versions (which generally are going to be less expensive).

 

AFAIK, pretty much all of the Samsung models sold in Thailand are dual SIM, so you don't have to worry about that much... unlike the U.S., where almost all of their models unfortunately are only single SIM versions. (Which is one reason I usually end up buying my mobile phones here).

 

For Samsung, their A and M series models tend to be their middle of the road versions in both price and features, with the mid-tier model numbers (A and M series 20s and 30s) having better feature sets and somewhat higher prices than their 0X and 1X series models), but less than their 4X, 5X etc. higher series models.

 

I used to own a J7, and if memory serves, it was a 16 GB ROM and 2GB RAM model. These days, for my use, I max out the capacity on the later Samsung A6+ 32 GB ROM model I have, and so any new purchase would be 64 GB or higher for me.. But that depends a lot on how many apps and other stuff you keep on your phone now, or plan to for the future. These days, I think 32 GB ROM and 2 GB RAM models tend to be the low end minimums for Samsung.

 

US mobile network compatibility can be another bugaboo, especially with some of the Chinese brands, and the lower end Samsung models, especially the A0X versions. In my experience, those tend to have LTE bands focused on Asia, and lack common U.S. LTE bands. But by the time you get up to the A3X and higher Samsung series models, they come with more LTE bands in their hardware and should work well in both countries.

 

I tend to use T-Mobile or other carriers that use the TM network when in the U.S., and they use the following LTE bands for their service, with LTE bands 2, 4, 12 and 66 being their primary ones, AFAIK (whereas the main Thai carrier LTE bands tend to be 1 and 3).

 

I think Samsung models A3X series and up should tend to cover both sets of LTE bands, but you really have to check any individual phone model you're considering to make sure.

 

 

 

If you were using AT&T based services when back in the U.S., you can find the same kind of info for them, and make sure any phone device you buy here is compatible with at least some of the LTE bands they use.

 

AFAIK, 5G band compatibility between Thailand and the U.S. tends to be a bigger problem. As best as I can tell, most of the 5G bands used by the main Thai mobile carriers are different from the main 5G bands used by the major U.S. providers. So finding a 5G phone model that covers both could  be a challenge (though they'd still likely have basic LTE compatibility in both countries, even if they didn't for 5G).

 

[Boomer6969]

1 hour ago, mokwit said:

For me: Because with iphones processing is limited to what chip is in the phone whereas with andrioid you access the processing power of Google's servers.

Are you editing 8K vids on your telephone?

[Sheryl]

20 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Sheryl, with phone stuff, a lot of the choices come down to a balancing act between how fancy/advanced the features you want on the phone vs. what price you're willing to pay for them.

 

For starters, I think, you need to decide whether you want/need a 5G capable model (which is going to be more expensive generally) or you can get along with the regular LTE versions (which generally are going to be less expensive).

 

AFAIK, pretty much all of the Samsung models sold in Thailand are dual SIM, so you don't have to worry about that much... unlike the U.S., where almost all of their models unfortunately are only single SIM versions. (Which is one reason I usually end up buying my mobile phones here).

 

For Samsung, their A and M series models tend to be their middle of the road versions in both price and features, with the mid-tier model numbers (A and M series 20s and 30s) having better feature sets and somewhat higher prices than their 0X and 1X series models), but less than their 4X, 5X etc. higher series models.

 

I used to own a J7, and if memory serves, it was a 16 GB ROM and 2GB RAM model. These days, for my use, I max out the capacity on the later Samsung A6+ 32 GB ROM model I have, and so any new purchase would be 64 GB or higher for me.. But that depends a lot on how many apps and other stuff you keep on your phone now, or plan to for the future. These days, I think 32 GB ROM and 2 GB RAM models tend to be the low end minimums for Samsung.

 

US mobile network compatibility can be another bugaboo, especially with some of the Chinese brands, and the lower end Samsung models, especially the A0X versions. In my experience, those tend to have LTE bands focused on Asia, and lack common U.S. LTE bands. But by the time you get up to the A2X and A3X Samsung series models, they come with more LTE bands in their hardware and should work well in both countries.

 

I tend to use T-Mobile or other carriers that use the TM network when in the U.S., and they use the following LTE bands for their service, with LTE bands 2, 4, 12 and 66 being their primary ones, AFAIK (whereas the main Thai carrier LTE bands tend to be 1 and 3).

 

I think Samsung models A2X series and up should tend to cover both sets of LTE bands, but you really have to check any individual phone model you're considering to make sure.

 

 

 

If you were using AT&T based services when back in the U.S., you can find the same kind of info for them, and make sure any phone device you buy here is compatible with at least some of the LTE bands they use.

 

AFAIK, 5G band compatibility between Thailand and the U.S. tends to be a bigger problem. As best as I can tell, most of the 5G bands used by the main Thai mobile carriers are different from the main 5G bands used by the major U.S. providers. So finding a 5G phone model that covers both could  be a challenge (though they'd still likely have basic LTE compatibility in both countries, even if they didn't for 5G).

 

Very helpful, thanks.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Very helpful, thanks.

 

 

PS - Samsung has an  "official" online store on Lazada TH these days, so you can buy from there knowing that you're getting a legit / new / fully warranteed model... unlike some other dodgy online sellers out there...  And they seem to be having a mid-month online late right now thru the 19th....

 

I was looking this morning, and believe I saw various Samsung A2X and 3X series model phones in the 6-8,000 baht range, and some similar M23 5G and M33 5G models in the 6500 to 7000 baht range. The M series models tend to have full HD regular LCD screens, whereas the comparable and higher A series models often have the more expensive and crisper Super AMOLED screens.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/shop/samsung-official-estore/Mobilecategory.htm?wh_weex=true

[owl sees all]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:03 AM, scubascuba3 said:

I dropped my Samsung J7 once in the condo and it died screen cracked all over and went black, after that i decided to avoid Samsung, Motorola and Xiaomi both much better value

I'm the same Scuba scuba. These Samsung devices are so prone to be dropped.

 

Have a Samsung camera that was dropped (not by me I add) and I've yet to find an agent to fix it. Contacted Singapore Samsung and asked if it I could send it to them. They gave me the link to the Samsung Thai www. Absolutely hopeless. Still not fixed it after seven years.

 

Don't want to talk Samsung down though. Took lovely pics when it was working.

Edited July 16, 2022 by owl sees all

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Sheryl, here's an example of what I was talking about above in terms of US vs Thai LTE band compatibility...  And one of the advantages of shopping at a place like the official Samsung Store on Lazada is that they tend to list the details of each model's LTE band specs in each listing, whereas 3rd party small shop carriers often don't.

 

The Samsung A22 is a perfectly good dual SIM model for Thailand listed at 5,800 baht on sale right now, with a 128 GB ROM and 6 GB RAM... However, if you scroll down into the detailed specs, you'll see the following re its LTE bands capability:

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/samsung-galaxy-a22-6128-gb-i2505316715-s8865435293.html

 

 

As you can see above, it has the main LTE bands 1 and 3 most commonly used in Thailand, along with Band 40, which is another common Thai band. So it would be a perfectly fine phone for Thailand.

 

But it does NOT have LTE bands 2 or 4 or 12 or 66 that are the primary bands for T-Mobile in the U.S., so this model would be a bad choice for wanting a U.S. compatible phone that would work well on T-Mobile based networks there. And the same for the A 13 and A23 models.

 

But if you flip over to the Samsung M22 model for 5,150 baht with 128 GB ROM and 6 GB RAM, you'll find a model that has BOTH the common Thai and US LTE bands. (And same with the similar but slightly higher specced M32 model).

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/samsung-galaxy-m22-6128-gb-i2835032441-s10345463179.html

 

 

Those are the kinds of things I think you need to watch out for, when looking for a phone that is both Thai and U.S. compatible.

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[OneMoreFarang]

6 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Is there  reason no one mentions Iphones? I am genuinely puzzled, as for me anything tablet shaped must run IOS and have an apple logo.

It seems many people who buy apple are apple fans. They buy everything from apple just because it's apple. And enough of them line up at midnight to buy the next gadget in the morning.

For many of us outsiders that seems to be a strange bunch of people. And for me that is already reason enough not to buy apple.

Additionally it seems many of their products are very expensive. Now it's easy to buy a reasonable phone for 5000B or less. So why spend double or triple or more?

[TravelerEastWest]

On 7/15/2022 at 8:58 AM, owl sees all said:

A couple of things to consider that have not yet been.

 

What is the test result if the phone is dropped from the standard test height onto concrete from 1.5 metres?

 

If it is put underwater, as in dropped down the loo or inadvertently washed with the clothes in the WM; will it still be OK?

Great questions!

 

Also which is easy to use and has automatic updates?

[MrJ2U]

The new Samsung Galaxy 22 line has Android updates for 5 years bringing your phone up to Android 16.

 

Great phones, newest technology and brilliant screens.  Great camera!

 

Best phone I've had.

 

My wife prefers Apple.  She's got the new 13 Max.  Excellent also.

 

Both are around 30,000 baht to start. You won't need a laptop with these phones. 

[FriendlyFarang]

22 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

Is there  reason no one mentions Iphones? I am genuinely puzzled, as for me anything tablet shaped must run IOS and have an apple logo.

 

While I can [barely] tolerate Dell and Windows for stuff with keyboards. 

 

 

Probably because the title of this topics is "new Samsung phone" and Samsung doesn't produce iphones.

[JimmyJ]

47 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

The new Samsung Galaxy 22 line has Android updates for 5 years bringing your phone up to Android 16.

 

Great phones, newest technology and brilliant screens.  Great camera!

 

Best phone I've had.

 

My wife prefers Apple.  She's got the new 13 Max.  Excellent also.

 

Both are around 30,000 baht to start. You won't need a laptop with these phones. 

"Best phone I've had."

 

What is the Model name and number?

[vinci]

there are so many phone out there, you can start with an Samsung A-series, its a mid level phone

[MrJ2U]

1 hour ago, JimmyJ said:

"Best phone I've had."

 

What is the Model name and number?

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. 

 

CPU: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (US), 

 

AVOID CPU: Exynos 2200 (UK)

 

"Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review"

 

"The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra delivers a built-in S Pen, brighter display and lots of camera upgrades in a sleek design."

 

https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/samsung-galaxy-s22-ultra

[TravelerEastWest]

I like iPhones - easy to use and strong 

[Harry2]

I have had to make a similar purchase decision and went for the new Samsung M33. This is a 5G phone, has Android 12 already installed, 8Gb memory and 128GB storage - still showing 83GB after OS & Apps installed. Has dual SIM slots on the SIM tray plus another separate slot for a SD card. Samsung say they will provide 2 further Android updates & 4 years of security updates. I found their migration App worked well moving files & apps from my Moto phone. Priced at B6990 from Samsung Shop on Lazada.

 

Week 6 and all working as it should, fast responses on screen & battery averaging over 2 days. US usage you would have to check, I had a query & an English speaking Samsung rep phoned me back within 90 minutes.

[sometimewoodworker]

8 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

The new Samsung Galaxy 22 line has Android updates for 5 years bringing your phone up to Android 16.

Is that a guarantee?
 

My Samsung had updates for 2 years, only a total of 3 Android versions.

[MrJ2U]

44 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Is that a guarantee?
 

My Samsung had updates for 2 years, only a total of 3 Android versions.

"The company confirmed today that select Galaxy S, Galaxy Z and Galaxy A series smartphones in addition to Galaxy tablets will get four generations of One UI and Android OS upgrades. The company also confirms that select Galaxy devices will also receive up to five years of security updates."

 

https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s22-s21-and-more-get-four-years-of-os-updates/

 

[sometimewoodworker]

1 hour ago, MrJ2U said:

"The company confirmed today that select Galaxy S, Galaxy Z and Galaxy A series smartphones in addition to Galaxy tablets will get four generations of One UI and Android OS upgrades. The company also confirms that select Galaxy devices will also receive up to five years of security updates."

 

https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-galaxy-s22-s21-and-more-get-four-years-of-os-updates/

 

So if you buy at the wrong time (like now probably since A v 12 is almost a year old) you may get 3 years of Android or less if you don’t have a “selected” phone.

[MrJ2U]

7 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

So if you buy at the wrong time (like now probably since A v 12 is almost a year old) you may get 3 years of Android or less if you don’t have a “selected” phone.

Samsung said up to Android 16.

 

By then I'll be ready for a new phone anyways.

 

I've had plenty of top end phones and this particular Samsung has really impressed me.

 

I also paid 45,000 baht for it so it better impress me! 

 

That said you can get an excellent phone 8,000-15,000 baht. 

 

I like taking pictures of the family and holidays.  Camera is great!

 

I like high end gadgets.   Perfect for me as I'm always using the phone. 

Edited July 17, 2022 by MrJ2U

[ozimoron]

2 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Is that a guarantee?
 

My Samsung had updates for 2 years, only a total of 3 Android versions.

 

4 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

So if you buy at the wrong time (like now probably since A v 12 is almost a year old) you may get 3 years of Android or less if you don’t have a “selected” phone.

For this reason I will always buy an Android phone below $500 (way below) every 3 years. If you really needed the extra power of an expensive phone you'd also know exactly why. This built in obsolescence is a curse.

 

Serious photographers will still get much better use from a stand alone camera. Video watchers will normally use a tablet. Serious gamers will use a desktop rig.

[MrJ2U]

13 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

So if you buy at the wrong time (like now probably since A v 12 is almost a year old) you may get 3 years of Android or less if you don’t have a “selected” phone.

You'll probably get a discount.

 

  Samsung flagship phones are premium.  

 

There's plenty of mid tier Samsung phones that are great.

 

It's really up to your budget and ultimately what features you want. 

[mokwit]

I've learned more in this thread than in my entire mobile buying career.

 

 

[Excel]

Just now, mokwit said:

I've learned more in this thread than in my entire mobile buying career.

 

 

Not surprised as ASEAN has more experts in every field than anywhere else on earth possibly. And on the very slim chance that a subject is introduced where no expert is available, have no fear, someone will come along pretending that they are. ????

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

17 hours ago, Harry2 said:

I have had to make a similar purchase decision and went for the new Samsung M33. This is a 5G phone, has Android 12 already installed, 8Gb memory and 128GB storage - still showing 83GB after OS & Apps installed. Has dual SIM slots on the SIM tray plus another separate slot for a SD card. Samsung say they will provide 2 further Android updates & 4 years of security updates. I found their migration App worked well moving files & apps from my Moto phone. Priced at B6990 from Samsung Shop on Lazada.

 

Week 6 and all working as it should, fast responses on screen & battery averaging over 2 days. US usage you would have to check, I had a query & an English speaking Samsung rep phoned me back within 90 minutes.

 

Ha!!  After shopping around the past few days, I also bought an M33 (the 5G version) from Lazada. It's due to arrive at home today.  And fyi, the LTE band specs indicate  it should work great with any TMobile compatible carrier in the U.S.  I didn't check about AT&T, because I don't use them.

 

Interesting re Sheryl's original question -- as someone who used to use a J7 model the same as her, I didn't know what ever happened to the affordable J series Samsung had, nor did I much understand what the supposed differences were (other than price) between their current A and M series lines.

 

After reading up some, turns out the current M series line is considered the successor to their now discontinued J series line. From what I read, the M series line is mainly targeted at the India and SEA markets, and mainly is sold online as opposed to in Samsung retail stores elsewhere.

 

Again, from what I read, the A and M series comparable models often have identical or very similar specs on the various key features like screen size and pixels, ROM and RAM, cameras, etc. But the A series models may have fancier build features and apparently come with some enhanced Samsung software features. But all of that, for the A series models, at considerably higher prices compared to the M series models.  So, it was an interesting read about all of that!

 

PS - For Americans, right now is a good time to make a mobile phone purchase in Thailand, because the exchange rate right now is the best it's been in years, around 36 baht to the dollar last time I checked. So that kept the total USD price of my M33 5G under $200 U.S., which is kind of the general target I shoot for.

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

also, fyi, here are the current primary LTE bands used by AT&T -- again, they're ones that are NOT found on a lot of the lower-end models sold in Thailand. So you have to be careful in making phone purchases that you want to be TH and U.S. compatible:

 

 

https://www.att.com/support/article/wireless/KM1008740/

 

 

Here's another look at that same kind of info for various U.S. carriers, which also calls out the MAIN LTE bands each use (meaning those that are most widely available on their networks). LTE bands 2, 4 and 12 seem to be primary in the U.S. in general as noted by the BOLD notations below.

 

 

https://www.phonearena.com/news/Cheat-sheet-which-4G-LTE-bands-do-AT-T-Verizon-T-Mobile-and-Sprint-use-in-the-USA_id77933

 

 

 

Edited July 18, 2022 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[MyFriend You]

On 7/14/2022 at 6:25 AM, shdmn said:

Will it also work in Philippines/Vietnam?  I would like a dual SIM with 5G that works in all 3 countries.  It's harder to get 5G support in all 3 than for 4G/LTE.

 

Finding phones that support all the bands I want is the hardest part.  Specs for all the different country variants are not always accurate or easy to find in one place.  

 

I wish there was a website where I could type in the countries I want it to work in and it will come up with all the options and what bands it supports.  Yes, I know there are a few websites that kinda sorta do that but they are not always up to date and accurate so I don't always find them that useful.

Its made in Vietnam, works in Thailand, can';t vouch for PI but assume it will.  My wife traded the A71 for the A73 since it has two sim's

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

10 minutes ago, TunnelRat69 said:

Its made in Vietnam, works in Thailand, can';t vouch for PI but assume it will.  My wife traded the A71 for the A73 since it has two sim's

 

Samsung Philippines has their own EN language website... And from what I've seen there, they have full specs listed in EN for all the Samsung models they sell there, including the LTE and 5G bands available in each.

 

It's a handy site to be aware of... because the Samsung models sold in TH are pretty much identical in terms of hardware to the Samsung models sold in TH... both SEA variants... So it's an easier info source to access, compared to the Samsung Thailand website that's primarily in TH, AFAIK.

 

 

[phetphet]

A lot of the Samsung models come with different size memory.

 

So for instance  you can often buy exactly the same model, but with say 64Gb, 128Gb, 512Gb. Unlike Apple phones, Samsungs usually have a slot for a memory card, so you can add more yourself.

 

The Samsung A33 5G Dual SIM looks a pretty good mid range phone to me, but you have to decide what features you need.

 

See here for more info.: https://www.expansys.in.th/samsung-galaxy-a33-5g-dual-sim-369169/

 

 

 

 

[mokwit]

A word of caution on Asian models - getting it into English isn't via the normal menu selection - in the end I had to hand it over to someone decades my junior and it took her a while to switch it to English - it is there but not readily available.

 

Same with Samsung TV just bought - only Asian languages on startup - with this one don't know if English is even there somewhere.

[CharlieH]

12 minutes ago, mokwit said:

A word of caution on Asian models - getting it into English isn't via the normal menu selection - in the end I had to hand it over to someone decades my junior and it took her a while to switch it to English - it is there but not readily available.

 

Same with Samsung TV just bought - only Asian languages on startup - with this one don't know if English is even there somewhere.

Never had any issue, its right there on the language selection, on evey Samsung we have. (5 of them)