New mobile phone

Rocker

I was told by my phone service provider that I am due a new mobile phone in September.  And as per my plan, a Samsung A50 or similar is what I will receive.  I am quite happy with my iPhone 7 so my wife will get the new mobile when it arrives.

I Googled Samsung A50 to see what it was about.  An online video review of the A50 talked about the colour of the case, the camera, the radio/music player and how the current model differed from the earlier model.  No mention whatsoever of how it performs as a phone or text messaging or WhatsApp or it's use on the internet.

Does anyone actually use their mobile as a phone or is it a status accessory?

ICBM

They all do those things perfectly, hence there is no need to mention them or compare any more. The differences are in the other stuff.

UnclePsychosis

You won't find discussion of those for the same reason that PC reviews don't cover the performance of web browsing. Its a solved problem.

Would expect a brief discussion of call quality, mind you. 

spark240

Yeah  I notice this same thing on recent Samsung TV ads.....camera , camera, camera....thats it....no mention of memory, Apps, nothing.....just camera....if you have a fairly current phone there's just no reason to change it really...Im on iPhone 8 and its fine for me...when it comes off contract I will go to Sim only.

goldtop

Screen quality. Camera quality. Battery life.

steveledzep

spark240 said:

Yeah  I notice this same thing on recent Samsung TV ads.....camera , camera, camera....thats it....no mention of memory, Apps, nothing.....just camera....if you have a fairly current phone there's just no reason to change it really...Im on iPhone 8 and its fine for me...when it comes off contract I will go to Sim only.

^^ This.  Contract on my Samsung S7 Edge expires in November.  I'll go Sim only too.  The phone does everything I want and some more too.

m_c

I've got a Samsung Galaxy A50 (urgent purchase after killing my Nokia 6.1 after only a few months ownership!).

It works just like any other Android phone in terms of the basics. I don't think the A50 is as nicely setup as the 6.1 was, but that's more minor things, like blocking numbers involves an extra menu, and the A50 doesn't tell you any unknown caller info until after the call, whereas the 6.1 would mention the likely caller as soon as the phone rang.

Personally, if you're happy with the phone you've got, go sim only. I've been sim only for a few years, and now keep phones until I need/want to buy a new one. If you run the figures, you can usually buy a new phone cheaper than the cost of it on contract.

m_c

And if you want a concise summary of specs/features - https://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_a50-9554.php
Plus you can easily compare to other phones.

Wolfetone

ICBM said:

They all do those things perfectly, hence there is no need to mention them or compare any more. The differences are in the other stuff.

I would agree if you're comparing models at similar price points but comparing budget vs premium reveals a massive difference. 

The amount of ram and the size of the processor has a marked performance effect on smoothness of scrolling and video playback etc. I bought a low end Sony L1 as a temporary measure to replace a Sony XZ until it was upgrade time. The difference was like night and day.

mart

goldtop said:

Screen quality. Camera quality. Battery life.

Come on, if you’re going to write a haiku, you’re going to need a few more syllables than that.