Goodbye S23 Ultra

Hello Raffy

After over a month with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, it is time to say goodbye. Unlike past Android experiences, this time, I will miss this slick giant. It showed me how great things can be on the other side of Apple’s fence. Sadly, features like AirDrop, Universal Clipboard, and iCloud, to name a few, are too important for my workflow. I tried living with 3rd party solutions for transferring files and such, but every simple thing took far too long.

As an example, if I am writing an Instagram post on the Mac, in order to transfer it over to the S23U, I have to make sure it’s within an app that is synced with the device - like Notion. From there, I have to copy it to move on. Alternatively, with the iPhone, I paste it from the Mac in less than a second.

The same goes for video shots. As I am editing a video, I sometimes require quick reference shots of something. More often than not, I take out my iPhone, shoot a quick 4K60, and just AirDrop the file (without even standing up 😂). Meanwhile, with the S23U, I have to plug it in with a cable, wait for the app to load, pray that it finds the phone and doesn’t crash, locate the video file as there are no proper previews and then drag and drop it.

Kudos to Samsung, though 🙌🏻. The Ultra is a very polished device. I love how quick it feels; I dig how nice it is to work, browse and watch things on, awing at the gorgeous 4K display. The battery life is from another planet too.

At one point, I wanted to keep the S23U so much that I thought I could be a two-phone person - but…I can’t. In fact, I can’t be a two-of-the-same-device person at all. I don’t like having more than one computer, tablet, or phone. That’s one reason I am not OK with having a desktop, like a Mac Studio, and a laptop at the same time. I guess I am just weird like that 🤷‍♂️

Anyways, the S23U is now packed, looking for a new owner. I am now wondering which device I should try next 🤔

Useful app

If you haven’t heard of the Browser Company and the Arc Browser, you might want to sign up for a spot when it opens. I’ve been playing with this very unorthodox browser, and I have to say - I see a lot of potential in a world that hasn’t evolved much in the last 2 decades. I’ll just say that with the Arc Browser, you can organize to your heart's content.
P.S. I love the interface, too 😋

BREAKING NEWS

We have a new studio resident. Meet the miniature poodle Raffy 👇🏻

The name has an Arabic origin that means "exalted" but just between us, the kids named him after the spherical coconut–almond truffle Raffaello (google it 🤫).

Latest videos

While on the topic of the S23 Ultra, check out my DeX vs iPad experience. I know some people said it’s not a fair comparison, given that I am comparing a smartphone to a tablet, but the idea here was not to compare hardware, but rather software limitations 👇🏻

BTS

Till next time 🙂