Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBest new budget phone by far!
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2022
I was looking to pickup a budget phone around 3-400 dollars. When I started doing some research, I noticed this deal, where I could get a top-of-the-line phone from 2 years ago for less than half price. Spec-wise, this device is equivalent to the s22 ultra with very minor exceptions (EXTREMELY minor, like camera and variable refresh rate).
Comparing this device to all the current budget phones from Google, Apple, Samsung, Nord, Moto, TCL, etc., this device seems to be the best value for the price. Between the refresh rate, battery, AMOLED HDR display (boasting 1400 nits of brightness) , stereo speaker audio, 12gb ram, security/software updates (for at least another couple of years at the time of writing), this phone is absolutely killer.
The refurbished part scared me at first, as I normally buy all my devices new, but I have no complaints here. My device genuinely feels brand new.
My only complaints about this phone are mostly personal problems rather than the phone being faulty. For example, I kind of hate how clear the front-facing camera is. I may need to get new glasses or something, but the picture is more detailed than looking in the mirror. When I take a selfie, I see all the disgusting blemishes in high detail (I'll work on being less ugly, but regardless, it maybe something to note if you take a lot of selfies, you may need some software to blend the photos a little better).
Another complaint is the jarring effect of the main camera trying to switch focus. I don't take very many pictures, but if you're trying to take a fast picture, that might be an issue.
The display does not allow for 144hz and 1440p at the same time. It's kind of a bummer, but I'm just excited to finally leave my 60hz life behind.
Opening a couple of games, this phone performs extremely well, but I did find it odd that it did not allow for higher graphics options on games like Genshin Impact or Diablo Immortal, since it defaulted these games to high graphics rather than highest (not that I play waifu simulator or Diablo Immoral, but I did need to benchmark my credit card somewhere).
Lastly, this may be just my shipment, but the cord did not work for transferring data from my old Note 8 to the S20. Fortunately, you can transfer everything wirelessly, and the cord I got works for fast charging. It's just an odd issue worth noting.
Overall, I'm extremely happy with this device. I don't normally write reviews, but here I am writing a book on my experience with it, so maybe that's a testimony in itself. Hopefully this helps someone on-the-fence about picking this one up.
Edit: this was purchased from Edge Cellular