To make a long story short (SPOILER ALERT), I made a vow to my wife that I would never again use anything except an iPhone. Keep reading for the whole story and let me know if you agree with my decision in the comments and if you will be using the #NeverSamsung hashtag.
My first smartphone was a Motorola Droid X. Back then I was on a two year upgrade schedule with Verizon. I know that’s reaching back to the dark ages of the smartphone, but it’s important for this editorial to state that I didn’t start out with an Apple iPhone. My second device was the iPhone 4S. It was smaller than the Droid X and somehow that was ok because I had Siri, but I digress. I then decided to try out the Motorola Moto X. It was impressive to me because it enabled “OK Google” from a locked screen across the room. It was built in the United States, and it was customizable using Motorola’s Moto Maker website. Two more years went by and I tried the iPhone 6 Plus. Its primary allure for me was the camera even though I had already taken many great pictures with the Moto X and even the iPhone 4S.
Then T-Mobile happened. Well, they had been around for quite a while at that point but their coverage left a lot to be desired. But something changed and they were getting better. The Un-Carrier movement had begun and T-Mobile was offering me a way to get out of the grasp of the Verizon death grip. So I jumped ship from the Verizon Edge plan to T-Mobile’s Jump on Demand. And I’m very glad I did. T-Mobile replaced my iPhone 6 Plus with an identical phone but bumped me up to the 64gb model instead of my 16gb that I had with Verizon. Then they gave me unlimited data. Let me tell you I was in love. Paint the town that magenta shade of pink and everything! For those that don’t know, T-Mobile’s Jump on Demand (only available by calling and asking for it now I believe) allows customers to trade their phone up to three times per year.
Last year I decided to try out Samsung’s flagship, the Galaxy S6 Edge, knowing full well that another iPhone was on the horizon and I could use one of my jumps to get back to an iPhone if I used the Samsung for a few months and just didn’t like the phone. The battery life was the primary reason I decided to get the iPhone 6S Plus when it released. This brings me up to current day and here’s where Samsung lost me.
The Note7 was supposed to be the best phone of 2016. The specs had it all: A gigantic battery, a super fast chip, lots of RAM, that super AMOLED display, waterproof, S Pen, and on and on. So I just had to try it out, right?! I pre-ordered it within the first few days of it being announced and waited impatiently for its arrival. Coral blue was my new favorite color and I was all set to try this new flagship out and use it for the long haul. Maybe even never go back to Apple. Yeah, that thought actually crossed my mind.
I was so excited when my phone arrived that I almost forgot to snap some images of it as I unwrapped it like a kid on Christmas morning. The S Pen was amazing! The screen, OH MY it was awesome. I’d have to get used to Android again but that’s not a big deal, I was born to adapt and overcome minor obstacles. I was in love with this new device on day one. Day two came and that honeymoon feeling left mighty quick as I scrambled at lunch to find a way to get the micro USB to USB-C adapter to charge the phone in less than an eternity. My shiny new coral blue Note7 was quickly turning into a shiny and very expensive paperweight. That evening I ordered a spare cord from Amazon, determined to make things work out with my new love. It would stutter a little and lag but I just knew an update was coming soon to fix that. The camera left a lot to be desired because for some reason it liked to blur details even in daylight scenes. But the quality was acceptable and I could overlook a few typos from the lag and the excessive blurring of a few lines.
Then, BOOM, out of the blue these magical Note7 devices started blowing up all around the world. I felt like I was holding a ticking time bomb up to my head every time I answered a call. “At least if I am on the phone when it happens, hopefully I won’t feel anything,” I told myself multiple times. Every lag made me wonder if it was going to explode in my hand. I thought, “The multiple quick charges it took to make it through a day couldn’t be good for a battery that likes to explode.” These were all real worries for me. A recall was announced and I took my little time bomb to a T-Mobile store for a “loaner” device.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge entered the scene. “Maybe it won’t go into thermonuclear meltdown,” I thought. But do you know what was still there? The lag, the poor battery life — even though it had a larger battery than the Note7, and the poor picture quality. Within a week I was over it. I knew I had to trade this device in for something else. I know, I’ll get the new iPhone 7 Plus! Well I won’t go into graphic detail but at the T-Mobile counter it was explained to me that the Plus model wouldn’t be available for a few weeks in the stores. “Fine,” I said. “Give me an iPhone 6S Plus.” Heck, I would have taken an iPhone 5S because it took better pictures, had a longer battery life, and didn’t stutter when I sent a text message like the Note7 and the S7 Edge.
Needless to say I am currently the happy owner of an iPhone 6S Plus. The same model I had 4 weeks ago. After living with a Note7 for two weeks and a S7 Edge for another week I am a very happy iPhone owner. My wife is a real trooper. She stuck by me through all my ranting and complaining and even comforted me when my phone was dead and hers still had 60% battery left at 5pm. But she made me promise one little thing when I left the T-Mobile store with this current iPhone last week. “You can never again trade an iPhone for anything but another iPhone, got it?”
“Yes ma’am”, was all I could muster in complete agreement with her. She was right, and I knew it.
I’ll have an iPhone 7 Plus in a couple weeks after I get to hold one and look at all the colors in person. Then when next year’s iPhone comes out I’ll jump to it. But I will not be trying out anymore Android phones. At least not as my primary device. Samsung, and subsequently Android, has permanently lost me as a customer. I’m an Apple guy now, got a sticker on my car and everything.
#NeverSamsung
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