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Customer Review
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2022
I'm really happy with this phone! I upgraded from a Galaxy S20, so some of my comments will include that comparison.
Pros:
-MicroSD support! This is a requirement for me, and why I didn't really consider the S21 or S22.
-Headphone jack! I missed it on the S20.
-Replaceable battery! I hadn't had that since the LG G3.
-Notification LED! I can't say I was conscious of missing it, and wasn't sure I'd use it. But it's nice to be able to see charge status or if I have a new notification from across the room.
-Rugged, grippy build, with IP68. I actually like the plastic; I don't get the trend of slippery, fingerprint-magnet glass sandwiches (like the S20).
-Very fast and reliable side-mounted fingerprint sensor. I hate the trend of in-display fingerprint sensors that are slow, unreliable, and leave a smudge on the screen. (The S20 is horrible about this.)
-Gorilla Glass Victus+ for the display. It also has an excellent oleophobic coating - doesn't easily get smeared.
-Snappy, smooth performance with the efficient Snapdragon 778G. Gets warm occasionally but not hot and doesn't throttle. I don't notice a performance difference compared to a flagship (but then I don't do benchmarks or heavy gaming). (The S20 got really hot and throttled.)
-USB 3 with video out and Samsung Dex support. USB video out often isn't listed on specs sheets, but it's usually only on flagships, so it's nice to have it here.
-Great battery life. I can easily get 2+ days despite the not-huge battery (4050 mAh).
-The Wifi and LTE range and speed are noticeably better than on my S20! (My rural Verizon-partner carrier does not have 5G so I can't comment on that.)
-Extra assignable keys
-Reasonable price
-Software support equivalent to flagships (month security updates,, 4 Android updates, 5 years of security updates)
-Clear, sharp display without PWM according to notebookcheck - PWM is a dimming method that uses flicker. OLEDs and some LCDs use it - this doesn't - no flicker! So it's easier on the eyes than OLED if you're flicker-sensitive. I find it to be bright enough.
Cons:
-It is a rather big and heavy phone. Think S22 Ultra with a rugged case.
-The display is LCD, not AMOLED, and according to notebookcheck, the color accuracy isn't great. I admit that the colors aren't as vibrant as AMOLED - they don't "pop" as much. But I like the display anyway, and as noted above, it's sharp and clear and without PWM.
-Being LCD, there's also no Always-On Display. I adjusted by turning on Lift to Wake, plus the notification LED and really fast fingerprint sensor help.
-It has a notch for the front camera. It's a small waterdrop notch, but it's still my first phone with a notch and I don't love it. With the big bezels Samsung could have put the camera in the bezel instead.
-Big bezels (but I don't care).
-According the specs the cameras aren't as good as on a flagship. But they're good enough for me.
-Slow charging. 15W "Fast Charging" was fast 5 years ago with much smaller batteries. At least battery life is good, and charging doesn't make the phone hot, and the battery is changeable.
-The built-in mono audio is okay, but certainly not premium. Still, I can hear and be heard clearly and the volume is fine. The S20 certainly has better audio. But my friend said he could hear me better when I was on the XCover6 than on the S20, so maybe it has a better mic. Or maybe it was the better Wifi performance.
Other notes:
This model - SM-G736U1, USA Unlocked - is not identical to the European models reviewed on notebookcheck and YouTube, or the specs listed on GSMArena. The network bands supported are different. Also, some reviewed models have dual SIM slots plus dedicated MicroSD. This model does not. It has one SIM slot, one MicroSD slot, and supports e-SIM.
-It's hard to find a network bands list for the USA Unlocked model. I can confirm that it supports LTE Band 13, required for Verizon and Verizon partner support. I had to check this because a lot of Samsung Unlocked devices - like the A53 - do not support Band 13. My rural Verizon partner requires B13 and it works great. No 5G is available in my area so I don't know what it supports there.
That's a lot, hope it's helpful. Though I wish it had faster charging, I'm very happy with this phone.
Pros:
-MicroSD support! This is a requirement for me, and why I didn't really consider the S21 or S22.
-Headphone jack! I missed it on the S20.
-Replaceable battery! I hadn't had that since the LG G3.
-Notification LED! I can't say I was conscious of missing it, and wasn't sure I'd use it. But it's nice to be able to see charge status or if I have a new notification from across the room.
-Rugged, grippy build, with IP68. I actually like the plastic; I don't get the trend of slippery, fingerprint-magnet glass sandwiches (like the S20).
-Very fast and reliable side-mounted fingerprint sensor. I hate the trend of in-display fingerprint sensors that are slow, unreliable, and leave a smudge on the screen. (The S20 is horrible about this.)
-Gorilla Glass Victus+ for the display. It also has an excellent oleophobic coating - doesn't easily get smeared.
-Snappy, smooth performance with the efficient Snapdragon 778G. Gets warm occasionally but not hot and doesn't throttle. I don't notice a performance difference compared to a flagship (but then I don't do benchmarks or heavy gaming). (The S20 got really hot and throttled.)
-USB 3 with video out and Samsung Dex support. USB video out often isn't listed on specs sheets, but it's usually only on flagships, so it's nice to have it here.
-Great battery life. I can easily get 2+ days despite the not-huge battery (4050 mAh).
-The Wifi and LTE range and speed are noticeably better than on my S20! (My rural Verizon-partner carrier does not have 5G so I can't comment on that.)
-Extra assignable keys
-Reasonable price
-Software support equivalent to flagships (month security updates,, 4 Android updates, 5 years of security updates)
-Clear, sharp display without PWM according to notebookcheck - PWM is a dimming method that uses flicker. OLEDs and some LCDs use it - this doesn't - no flicker! So it's easier on the eyes than OLED if you're flicker-sensitive. I find it to be bright enough.
Cons:
-It is a rather big and heavy phone. Think S22 Ultra with a rugged case.
-The display is LCD, not AMOLED, and according to notebookcheck, the color accuracy isn't great. I admit that the colors aren't as vibrant as AMOLED - they don't "pop" as much. But I like the display anyway, and as noted above, it's sharp and clear and without PWM.
-Being LCD, there's also no Always-On Display. I adjusted by turning on Lift to Wake, plus the notification LED and really fast fingerprint sensor help.
-It has a notch for the front camera. It's a small waterdrop notch, but it's still my first phone with a notch and I don't love it. With the big bezels Samsung could have put the camera in the bezel instead.
-Big bezels (but I don't care).
-According the specs the cameras aren't as good as on a flagship. But they're good enough for me.
-Slow charging. 15W "Fast Charging" was fast 5 years ago with much smaller batteries. At least battery life is good, and charging doesn't make the phone hot, and the battery is changeable.
-The built-in mono audio is okay, but certainly not premium. Still, I can hear and be heard clearly and the volume is fine. The S20 certainly has better audio. But my friend said he could hear me better when I was on the XCover6 than on the S20, so maybe it has a better mic. Or maybe it was the better Wifi performance.
Other notes:
This model - SM-G736U1, USA Unlocked - is not identical to the European models reviewed on notebookcheck and YouTube, or the specs listed on GSMArena. The network bands supported are different. Also, some reviewed models have dual SIM slots plus dedicated MicroSD. This model does not. It has one SIM slot, one MicroSD slot, and supports e-SIM.
-It's hard to find a network bands list for the USA Unlocked model. I can confirm that it supports LTE Band 13, required for Verizon and Verizon partner support. I had to check this because a lot of Samsung Unlocked devices - like the A53 - do not support Band 13. My rural Verizon partner requires B13 and it works great. No 5G is available in my area so I don't know what it supports there.
That's a lot, hope it's helpful. Though I wish it had faster charging, I'm very happy with this phone.
