I decided to get a new (to me) phone to ease the camera buying bug (Hi Peter!!) and to get something faster, more up-to-date security and OS-wise, and to resist the temptation of getting the absolute latest given the new releases from Google and Apple.

I got a Samsung S20+/512 GB on Swappa. "Mint". Black. I put it in a Spigen case (no screen protector yet). Still running on Google Fi.

It looks new and acts new. Was fairly easy to transfer things with Samsung's "Smart Switch". I did have to backup and restore my SMS messages manually as I use Signal and it has its own storage/encryption system. (Basically, one does a backup, saves a 30 digit key, transfers the backup to the new phone, installs Signal, it finds the backup, enter the key, and you're done.) I had to do a similar backkup/restore to get Pimlical to find my calendars, contacts, etc. I copied the backups to my Synology box via Wifi (works on the LG even with the SIM removed) then to the new phone.

I use Nova Launcher as my launcher and didn't bother to save and transfer the settings, so I had to spend a while re-creating my home screen.

It took about a day, off and on, to get everything configured and updated.

Obvious questions:

1) Why the S20+? Isn't it too big? It's about 10 mm longer than my LG V35, but it's actually narrower. It fits my shirt pocket better (especially when I'm also carrying pens, etc.). The regular S20 is substantially narrower than the V35 and I was thinking that it might be annoying to use as my eyes get older.

2) Yes, it's fast. But I haven't noticed any 5G indications yet and haven't done any CPU and network benchmarks yet.

3) 120 Hz screen? That only works with the display set at 1080p, and it eats the battery according to reviews, so I haven't bothered with it. The display is very nice - I'm running it in "Natural" mode (rather than "Vivid" which is more surrealistic). It can run at 1600x720, 2400x1080, and 3200x1440.

4) OS version? It spent a lot of time updating to Android 10, One UI 2.5, October 1, 2020 security update.

5) Annoyances? a) It was easy for me to figure out how to silence all the various notifications on the LG on Android 9. There are still things going off on 10 on the S20+ that I haven't quite figured out how to shut off. b) the Samsung phone app doesn't seem to have a "mute" button. There are various mute gestures, but I just want a button. I installed the Google phone instead. c) The in-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor seems to work Ok, but it's not as fast as a real button on the back. The face unlock seems to work well, but doesn't work when I'm wearing a mask (of course). d) the "running apps" list shows cards of the running apps and lets you pin them in RAM (to keep them from being unloaded), but you can only do that for **3** of them. (The LG didn't seem to have any limit and only has 6 GB of RAM compared to 12 for the S20+...) Below the cards it shows 4 gigantic icons of seemingly random apps - I can't figure out what they are, why they're so big, and why they're there (I'll actually have to do some reading I guess). e) The battery life has been much lower than I expected compared to the LG. It's at 41% at the moment, 3:33 screen on time, been off the charger 11+ hours. Using the "Optimized" power plan. It seems to be trying to understand my usage to figure out ways to increase the uptime. (The battery was completely dead when I received it, so I'm sure it's going to get better over time.) I'm not worried about running out of juice with it - it's just surprising at this point.

6) Camera? I've only played with it briefly. It/they seem pretty good, especially compared to the V35. Note that many reviews complain about excessive smoothing of faces, dog fur, etc., but that the "Pro"/manual camera settings are excellent. I haven't figured out how to make those the default. (The Pro settings even let you save RAW with Jpegs.)

7) Cost? Vendor? $742 including tax (free shipping), https://swappa.com/bp/maroonmobile

Recommended.

[eta:] What about the lack of a 3.5 mm jack? Yeah, it doesn't have one. I've got some wireless Sony earbuds that I should be able to use with it without issues. The aftermarket audio adapter box for the Monsoon system on my VW generates a slightly annoying engine-speed-related buzz when I use the 3.5 mm interface with my LG. I've considered replacing the head unit with someone more modern with a USB interface, but it's more time than I want to invest in my 17 year old car at the moment...

Cheers,
Scott.

I've had decent luck with the Google phone on Fi - I get very, very few spam calls. And since almost nobody calls me anyway, it's not much of an issue. ;-)

I just noticed that the Samsung camera will save to the internal storage exclusively if RAW is selected. That's annoying. (I've got a 256 GB V30 memory card that should be fast enough, but I guess it thinks it isn't.) There's no indication in the settings that that is what it's doing (it indicates all camera storage will be on the SD card as that's what I've selected).

Cheers,
Scott.