memes

I used to riot every phone I had. I'd install the Cyanogen dailies and loved customizing my phone.

Now I have an $1800 foldable Samsung phone (Fold 3) I bought 3 years ago, and I won't go back. Yeah, it was super expensive, but why should I spend thousands on my desktop computer I use once or twice a week at most, but then go cheap on the device I keep on hand all day every day?

The biggest reasons to root for years were unlocking things like wifi tethering that are now built into the devices. I haven't felt the need to root a phone since like 2012. The things I miss about older phones (headphone jack, IR blaster, SD card slot, interchange batteries, etc) are all hardware that can't be fixed with root, and I wouldn't trade all those features for the user experience of my Fold.

I can use my outside screen for quick tasks, my inner screen for more intense use, and I can wirelessly connect it into my laptop or desktop and get a full desktop-style interface through Samsung Dex (the least-advertised killer feature of Samsung phones, BTW).

It has enough horsepower to run any app I need. The battery life is mediocre if I use the inside screen a bunch, but that's to be expected with this size screen.

I'm happy with my Samsung because they make excellent phones. Do I need all these bells and whistles? No. But I like having them and am in a place where I can buy a nice phone every few years.

And, for the first time I'm entirely, 100% satisfied with my phone 3 years into ownership and am not even considering upgrading any time soon. If I make this phone last 5-6 years it'll average out to being pretty affordable compared to my old phones I'd get for cheap and replace every 2 years.