4 hours ago, isaanistical said:

Just seen this - many thanks for posting. Now, for the real Gold Star, all you need to do is tell me how to take advantage of the offer without the proof-of-purchase I binned on returning from the oh-so-unhelpful service centre a few days after the warranty had run out! (Who in hell keeps receipts for more than 2 years?)

 

If they let me, I would replace the screen - it was absolutely superb until it went wonky.

 

Probably worth trying the service centre anyway - they may be willing to process any claims that come in during the time window they've given. This lawsuit has been a year or more in the making and got quite a bit of coverage last summer but it seems like Samsung is not really publicising the outcome. It's similar to an earlier case with Samsung India where they did offer new screens for phones with the same issues but until now Samsung Thailand had been refusing any compensation claims. 

A Samsung will definately last longer compared to an iPhone that will be obsolete after 6 or 7 years as Apple will not provide the updates after that period usually. 

 

I have 2 phones. An Apple and a Samsung. Delighted with the Samsung but I am always very cautious on social media and avoid even clicking to watch a video on FB due to the many hacks on Android Operating Systems. 

 

No arguing with myself and me when it comes to online safety, nothing yet to beat an iPhone. 

15 minutes ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

A Samsung will definately last longer compared to an iPhone that will be obsolete after 6 or 7 years as Apple will not provide the updates after that period usually. 

 

I have 2 phones. An Apple and a Samsung. Delighted with the Samsung but I am always very cautious on social media and avoid even clicking to watch a video on FB due to the many hacks on Android Operating Systems. 

 

No arguing with myself and me when it comes to online safety, nothing yet to beat an iPhone. 

They are both being built with a lot of the same parts.  Samsung makes a lot of money supplying parts for iPhones.

8 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

Probably worth trying the service centre anyway - they may be willing to process any claims

Oh don't worry - I am setting my wife on them today! I'll also check with BigC where it was bought, and Bangkok Bank (no, seriously) whose card I used.

Y'all are gonna laugh but I'm now feeling a push towards the S25 plus.

Why?

As I said before, I can afford it.

With 7 years of promised support,  the extra cost over the A56 can be rationalized as trivial on a monthly basis.

But what is really making the difference is what I hope to get from the AI translation features.

I did a little bit of research and apparently it works really well including English/Thai which has got to be more of a difficult one.

Not only the during a phone conversation part but the live conversation feature is said to be much less clumsy than using standard google translate.

So why the plus over the more budget FE?

I think the plus is better future proofed.

Also I prefer bigger phones over the petite S25.

 

15 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

But what is really making the difference is what I hope to get from the AI translation features

I believe this (and other AI features) is only Free until end of this year, no idea of the cost after that. 

18 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

I believe this (and other AI features) is only Free until end of this year, no idea of the cost after that. 

Aha.

That's definitely a detail I need to check out. 

I recall something related to that but I thought the paid part was for AI content creators, etc. and assumed the translation part was baseline.

Thanks for alerting me to this possible big issue.

 

20 minutes ago, SamSpade said:

I believe this (and other AI features) is only Free until end of this year, no idea of the cost after that. 

so you would be paying google to do their development work for them. Hmmm.

 

I want nothing to do with AI, I have my own I and it's not A. The mere fact you can't delete/dsable the thing says all I need to know.

6 minutes ago, isaanistical said:

so you would be paying google to do their development work for them. Hmmm.

 

I want nothing to do with AI, I have my own I and it's not A. The mere fact you can't delete/dsable the thing says all I need to know.

Well I'm not a Luddite but I do understand caution with new tech. I'm using basic AI daily now though. 

11 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Aha.

That's definitely a detail I need to check out. 

I recall something related to that but I thought the paid part was for AI content creators, etc. and assumed the translation part was baseline.

Thanks for alerting me to this possible big issue.

 

My initial findings are that the translation features are permanent with the purchase of the phone and not part of an add on paid service.

For Thai, you probably need to download a pack for that, and here's another feature, you don't even need connectivity to use it. 

On 8/31/2025 at 2:40 PM, Jingthing said:

OK, I hit the wall with my old A71 which has been great until recently.

I was planning to replace this year anyway so the acceleration in timing isn't a big deal at all.

What happened was that I got the dreaded vertical green line on it. Then tried all the suggested troubleshooting things short of a factory reset with no luck.

Starting over from factory reset is a huge hassle and I strongly suspect that it's a hardware problem (phone drops, heat, age) that wouldn't fix it anyway.

So now it's time for shopping.

It's got to be a Samsung for me.

I had assumed it was time to go for a flagship this time but started to do some basic research and so far it's all pointing me to the mid range A56.

Probably makes sense as I've been very happy with my mid range A71 and can't blame it because it's aging out now after a very long time for phone.

I can afford a flagship but on the other hand why throw out money for features I won't really use (or need) and also there is the stress of carrying around something that expensive.

Of course the price comparisons depend on the market so that can influence decisions. In other words if something  higher end is not much more money in your local market, it might make more sense to spend more.

I'll probably buy on Lazada from a trusted seller as that's been fine for before.

So this topic is for people in my boat.

Wanting/needing a new Samsung phone choosing among current models in THAILAND. Or recent buyers.

Also for those have bought an A56, are you loving it?

 

Look at the specs. I like a headphone jack and expandable storage. I downgraded based on that. Love my OPPO A98. Strong battery and works very well.

 

Fruit phones are way too expensive and use incompatible software. Samsung does not work any better than other androids but is also way expensive.

 

Anything over 5k will work for you, but compare the specs. Read GSMArena reviews and think about what you actually use. 

37 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

I like a headphone jack and expandable storage. I downgraded based on that. Love my OPPO A98. Strong battery and works very well.

Interesting. That's a big heavy lump, but I agree that an external sd card is far preferable to everything stuck on board. (Lack of a headphone socket is easily overcome with a USB cable, but why should we have to find one?).

Did you find the "ColorOS" workable?

5 minutes ago, isaanistical said:

Interesting. That's a big heavy lump, but I agree that an external SD card is far preferable to everything stuck on board. (Lack of a headphone socket is easily overcome with a USB cable, but why should we have to find one?).

Did you find the "ColorOS" workable?

The OS is just an OEM mod to Android. It works fine, no issues. The high end phones are pushing bluetooth earphones  but you can't recharge them on a long flight. Most of the heavy is in the battery, it lasts a long time.

2 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

high end phones are pushing bluetooth earphones 

Yes but. High-end headphones perform better (ie the audio quality is superior) on wire than wireless. I can tell the difference on my own expensive cans.

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Y'all are gonna laugh but I'm now feeling a push towards the S25 plus.

Why?

As I said before, I can afford it.

With 7 years of promised support,  the extra cost over the A56 can be rationalized as trivial on a monthly basis.

 

Maybe.  But the way they hook you is to come out with a new feature in a year or 3 that you just gotta have.

 

Crafty bastards those Koreans.  They know they'd go broke if everyone hung onto their phone for 7 years.

 

 

2 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Maybe.  But the way they hook you is to come out with a new feature in a year or 3 that you just gotta have.

 

..... and they have largely run out of such features - eg folding phones, 5g, etc. The novelty has worn off.

 

Which is why they are all punting "AI" as a saviour for mankind, instead of just a dodgy privacy-busting gimmick. Working a treat for the sheeple at present, but they will soon enough realise their mistake. 

 

I would like a fully flexible phone that bounces, withstands a drop, and doesn't mind getting (accidentally) thrown in a washing machine. I'd buy that..........

11 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

The high end phones are pushing bluetooth earphones  but you can't recharge them on a long flight.

 

With my Jabra BT earbuds, you get seven hours of play with noise cancelling on. You can then recharge them from the case three times. It takes about ninety minutes each time. I'm good with that, as after seven hours I like to give my ears a rest.

18 minutes ago, cjinchiangrai said:

The high end phones are pushing bluetooth earphones  but you can't recharge them on a long flight.

 

Also if you have a car that allows you to input a phone with an AUX jack, you're okay if your phone has the phone jack, but if it only has bluetooth and the car's bluetooh is absent or not working, then you can't connect that phone to your car infotainment. Unless you use an adapter maybe.

1 minute ago, Cameroni said:

 

Also if you have a car that allows you to input a phone with an AUX jack, you're okay if your phone has the phone jack, but if it only has bluetooth and the car's bluetooh is absent or not working, then you can't connect that phone to your car infotainment. Unless you use an adapter maybe.

-And you can't get another headset at  7-11 when you lose your earbuds.

6 minutes ago, isaanistical said:

.... and they have largely run out of such features - eg folding phones, 5g, etc. The novelty has worn off.

 

There's always 6G, Starlink compatibility, FLIR, night vision and high zoom cameras.  Or some new variation of NFC.

 

That's just off the top of my head.

 

And with many (most?) airlines banning in flight use of power banks, I'm forecasting some heavy phones with humungous battery capacity.

3 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

and the car's bluetooh is absent or not working,

Why bother with a car, get a horse. You could run out of gas with a car. If the horse gets hungry, you just let it feed from the next feld and it's good to go again. You can't trust modern technology........

 

For all other who still drive a car with carburator and no bluetooth, get a bluetooth dongle and then you have no need for a headphone jack.

The S25/+ has the same processor as the Ultra. Fastest Snapdragon processor atm. Jing, you will be good for a long time with that one. Stay away from anything exinos (inhouse made by Samsung)

13 minutes ago, CHdiver said:

Why bother with a car, get a horse. You could run out of gas with a car. If the horse gets hungry, you just let it feed from the next feld and it's good to go again. You can't trust modern technology........

 

For all other who still drive a car with carburator and no bluetooth, get a bluetooth dongle and then you have no need for a headphone jack.

 

Comedy is not your thing clearly.

 

It's perfectly possibly that a car's bluetooth is not working for some reason, or its usb. So you'd stand there with your USB dongle and look stupid whilst a perfectly good AUX jack is laughing at you.

4 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Comedy is not your thing clearly.

 

It's perfectly possibly that a car's bluetooth is not working for some reason, or its usb. So you'd stand there with your USB dongle and look stupid whilst a perfectly good AUX jack is laughing at you.

 

What if the aux jack isn't working?

Bring along some printouts of the lyrics so you can entertain yourself, maybe?

5 minutes ago, JayClay said:

 

What if the aux jack isn't working?

Bring along some printouts of the lyrics so you can entertain yourself, maybe?

 

AUX jacks always work, they're not finnicky like Bluetooth.

11 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

AUX jacks always work, they're not finnicky like Bluetooth.

 

No they don't. For starters, they have physical connections which can come lose or disconnected.

1 minute ago, JayClay said:

 

No they don't. For starters, they have physical connections which can come lose or disconnected.

 

Ok, so almost always. And if an AUX jack can malfunction then bluetooth and a usb can malfunction too.

5 minutes ago, Cameroni said:

 

Ok, so almost always. And if an AUX jack can malfunction then bluetooth and a usb can malfunction too.

 

I never said that they didn't. However they don't have moving parts so don't suffer wear and tear in the same way an audio jack can.

 

You AUX is a backup for when Bluetooth fails.

I suggested that printing some lyric sheets might be for the best if you want to be totally prepared.

On 8/31/2025 at 3:57 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Ditch the Samsung, time to move on

It's still the best phone out there by a long shot, especially the galaxy Ultra 24 or 25. Those smartphones completely blow away their Apple counterparts. 

Just now, spidermike007 said:

It's still the best phone out there by a long shot, especially the galaxy Ultra 24 or 25. Those smartphones completely blow away their Apple counterparts. 

 

They blow away Apple, but if you put a Vivo Xfold 5 Pro next to those, arguably the Vivo is better.

 

Charges way faster for a start. More screen real estate.