deleted XDA post from 2016-03

Hello. Because this thread turned into a notable discussion, I created an XDA-Forum Account to say something here. This is my first post at XDA. :)

Before you read this: [Color="RED"]I am not here to join the battle between minimalists and power users. I am on the neutral side. I'm not here, to fight against anybody. [/Color]

 

@Akw6190 But please everybody, try to understand him.

First of all, power users did never expect Samsung to lose any features. But that happened almost a year ago. I can understand how shocked and disappointed power users (especially worlds most powerful power user, who is the OP of this thread) must have been. It might be, that some of you see her posts as whining, and to be honest, the OP seems really to want a true all in one phone, where nothing is missing. But as @XxXKINGMAKXxX already said, it's [hardly] possible really to have everything without one exception. [b]But it is not impossible.[/B]

However, I can also understand, that there are minimalists here, [i](UpInTheAir, Ebs512, Akw6190 JasonJoel, leo9891 and not to forget, BarryH_GEG.)[/I] that don't need some features, that exist on the phone. Some features, like AirView and Gestures were possible superflous for them, because they pretty much never needed them. On the other hand, it's actually possible, not to use a feature, that exists on the phone.

 

If a feature is actually present, and you don't need it, you're never forced to use it. It's just there, and who knows, who likes this feature? Every feature which is considered as bloatware for minimalists might be useful to a minority of users. (Let's say 3 %).

But if a power user, who likes a feature, is unable to use it, because that feature does not exist on the phone, he's completely unable to use it. That's because the feature is simply not present.

 

[SIZE="4"] so-called ”junk features“:[/Size][HIDE]

I can hardly imagine, that some additional features (for example in the quick toggle panel or in the menu) make the device's user interface confusable.

Some features in the S6 have not been removed, but moved to different places. In my opinion, it's good to have those features at both places so that you can access them quicklier from more different places.

In [URL="http://youtu.be/QqYsIRU5rQU?t=18m15s"]this video,[/URL] Hyun Yeul Lee proudly shows off that they've removed features.

 

00:18:30 ”…and simpler to use“ — Most of us would not be confused, even if a phone had twice as much features as a Note 3. It's just getting used to. Power users can't have enough features. Also tolerant minimalists could ignore features that they do not like to have on their smartphones. But in 2015, the real victims of the power users were the [B][i]intolerant[/I] minimalists[/B]

00:18:34 ”…and reduced the stuff from the menues and settings! *smiling*“ — That's a death sentence for a power user. However,

00:18:38 ”Plus: we swapped out abstract icons and replaced them with clear, consize text“ — Yes, but if you mess up the language settings, then you're toast. That's also the case with the icons in the context menus. They're removed since TouchWiz NatureUX 3.0. I'll come to this point later. I will also upload screenshots.

00:18:45 ”We've removed everything, that got in the way of you having the best experience; no more unnecessary alerts and notifications or struggling with hard use and hard to find features“ — Those alerts can be important! If they're annoying, just tick [i]☑Do never show again[/I]. (*but I think that there's a way to reset dismissed messages).

00:20:10 ”Don't you love it?“ — Well, if this was a question about loving a minimalized user interface, then power users would NOT love it at all. Maybe minimalists would do it.

 

[B]No feature is completely useless. There will always be many people, who use features, that seem useless to minimalists.[/B]

They could also have given minimalists the possibility to switch between ”Power Mode“ and ”Easy mode“ (hiding advanced features and entries in the settings) or to hide some toggles from the quick toggles of the drop down menu.

Actually, the drop down menu has been deteriorated significantly on the S6. Here's why: [HIDE]You can't drag down with two fingers and show all quick toggles. And if you tap ”Edit“ to view all toggles, holding them will not call the advanced settings. You can only move them. (And the primary area is still limited to ten items.) That's very annoying. [/HIDE]

[/HIDE]

 

[SIZE="4"]About glass design[/Size]

[HIDE]Glass might look great, but has some major disadvantages:

[LIST][*][B]Less shock resistant[/B] — Buy a case; Glass does not cushion the shocks as good as faux leather (N3/N4) or hyperglaze (S3/Note2)

[*][B]Higher generation of heat[/B] — Glass will cause the device to heat up itself faster, because heat does escape slower through glass

[*][B]Vulnerability[/B] — Glass can shatter whereas faux leather does not. Faux leather can actually take scratches, but not as fast as glass and aluminium.

[*][B]Surface[/B][List][*]Glass is more susceptible for footprints, fingerprints and fat or whatever [*]Glass does slide out of your hand — Even faster than the [i]hyperglaze[/i] which is known from the S3 and the Note 2 from 2012.

[/LIST]

 

Five years ago, when I saw Samsungs plastic phone in comparison to the iPhone with the glass back, I did not note, that the iPhone had a glass back and Samsung had plastic. I did wonder, why many people were whining about ”inferior plastic“…

The purpose of glass is to be transparent, so that it's possible to look through it. That's why it's impossible to cover the screen with faux leather, because nothing would be visible then. But a transparet back panel is not needed. So there's no reason to use glass for it.

As already mentioned, I'm not here to start battles between minimalists and power users. I'm just talking about the real facts.[/HIDE]

 

 

 

As @hella356 already mentioned, they could really make more variants of the device, to ensure, that both sides of the destiny are satisfied.

Alternatively, they could have removed features from their mid-class devices (e.g. Galaxy A) instead of the flagship line. I thought that flagships have the purpose of having more features and capabilites instead of a ”better“ design.

 

@UpInTheAir: do you really think, that she gets paid for her post? That's not what I think, but it's a funny imagination ;) I'd rather think that he suffers from autism. That's more logical :)

 

The OP was demanding something, that is not impossible, but also not easy. Maybe some other power users want it too: [HIDE]As far as I can understand:[QUOTE][i]A successor phone has to cover the complete feature range of the predecessor. He also wants 100% (not 99,99%) of all smallest details and near-to-useless-features to be included (Random Examples: ) QVGA/QCIF Video recording (which is nearly useless, but who knows), ability to disable shutter sound in camera app (as known from Galaxy Fit), ability to switch between user interfaces (which would also affect the native Android UI elements, such as the loading animation of Android Lollipop/KitKat; 720×480 Pixels (As known from S2), Physical shutter button (Omnia 2), One-Handed Mode with contacts and apps (S5) and Golf Shooting Mode (Note 3), and every, every, every other feature.[/I]

Additionally, some other limitations should be removed. Random examples:

[LIST]

[*]Quick toggle panel: Only up to ten priority items, which can be accessed without pressing [Strike][i]show all toggles[/Strike] Edit.[/I]

[*]Settings: Quick settings: Maximum number of quick settings is nine items. That's a limitation.

[*]Camera: Ability to specify recording framerate seperately from the resolution. (Comparable with clock time setting: You can set minutes and seconds seperately from each other.)

[*]Camera: Burst shots limit.

[*]Clipboard: No 20 items limit

[*]Calculator: No limit like 10^308 or 2^1024

[/LIST][/QUOTE][/HIDE]

 

 

Some feature suggestions for Samsung: (I know that it's very unlikely that they read this thread, but I just wanted to say that)[HIDE]

[u]1. Quick toggle / notification panel[/U]

[u]2. User Interface costumization and appearence[/U]

 

 

[/HIDE]

 

----

Hello.

In my opinion, a Smartphone successor has to cover the complete feature range of it's predecessor.

The Note 3 had the most software/hardware features and the most sensors. I know, only the minority of people use temperature/humidity measurements, but that's no reason to remove those sensors. Not everybody has to use them, but who knows, when you'll need them?

Additionally, features are good. More features and UI elements (such as icons in the context menus or more setting possibilities and more options in the settings, in applications, and in the notification toggles) are welcomed by power users.