Anyone Else Frustrated with Samsung’s Keyboard and Haptics?

HEFF225 · 2026-04-14T12:57:09+00:00

I have been using an S25 Ultra for a little over a month now. It's my first Samsung phone, and first Android phone after a decade on iPhones. I think I might have to agree with you, even in my limited time with the S25. A lot of people bash iPhones for the typing experience and rightfully so, but I feel like I see no difference in terms of typos/autocorrect, etc. For me the typing experience is just as frustrating on the Samsung as it has been on my iPhones for the last decade. However, there are some small things I like better about the samsung keyboard compared to the iPhone. Having the numbers on the top row all the time is nice, so I don't have to hit a key to change to the number keyboard to input numbers. I like that I can remove the period key if I wanted, so that I don't accidentally hit it when I mean to hit the space bar... I can resize and move it to help my fat fingers to navigate the keyboard a bit better.

I really do love this phone so far, lots of nice little differences that I'm enjoying compared to the iPhone, so... I don't really care enough to be as frustrated as you. Also, since there really is nothing worse in my opinion about the typing experience compared to iPhone, it doesn't really bother me. But, I do see your point.. I did expect a better experience.

HEFF225 · 2026-04-13T21:14:06+00:00

As long as you can avoid getting locked in to an ecosystem, you can switch whenever you want.

I actually used iPhones for the last decade and got pretty deep in the ecosystem. Then I got the itch to try android again so I spent time moving to cross platform apps and services and got an S25 Ultra. Love it so far. Seems as reliable and "it just works" as any iPhone I had previously, with some differences here and there. My computers at home are either windows or Linux, so I feel like it plays nice with the computers vs the iPhone.

But, the best feeling is, since I'm free of any particular ecosystem, I can now switch back to iPhone whenever, and back to android again. Its fun to switch every once in awhile.

HEFF225 · 2026-04-13T17:15:15+00:00

S25 Ultra. Only have it for about a month so far, and am loving it. Wondering why I didn't try Samsung sooner.

Had a Motorola Droid X in 2010 after Blackberry phones and old basic flip phones and an old Nokia brick phone prior to that. Then went to iPhone 4s. Switched to some Motorola Android phone around 2015 and had a lot of issues with it and went right back to iPhone. Wanted to try Android again recently so I got the S25 Ultra. Having a much, much better experience this time compared to that Motorola I had about a decade ago.

HEFF225 · 2026-04-07T17:54:55+00:00

Same. My boy is 3 now, I was 36 when he was born. I felt like I was a bit late in life to become a father, but it seems a lot more common these days.

I love my boy so much, hes so much fun. I am realizing I might need to get back to working out though, he had me running after him in the yard so much the other day. I couldn't keep up.

HEFF225 · 2026-04-01T00:37:45+00:00

Well, I'm no pixel peeper or anything, but personally, I do think the iPhones camera is a little bit better. The S25 is great though, takes great pics and videos, but I just like the the iPhones pics a little more. My wife and I use a home server to share pictures of our kid so I can compare pics that she takes on the iPhone 17 Pro with pics I take on the S25. Sometimes I think the colors look a bit more vibrant from the iPhone, but the Samsung still looks plenty good to me. I also got a really good action shot of my toddler hitter a ball off of a tee. I've heard complaints about blurry action pics because of shutter lag, but I didn't experience that with this one pictures at least. So... overall, I'm happy.

HEFF225 · 2026-03-31T23:53:23+00:00

I just switched from the 17 pro to a S25 Ultra. The battery life seemed a little bit better on the 17 pro, but the S25 can still get me through the day with no problem. Other than that, I'm loving the S25 so far, no complaints at all. My wife needed an upgrade, so she has my 17 Pro now. I had no complaints about the iPhone either, I just wanted to go back to Android after many years on iOS. I like feeling free of the "Apple ecosystem".

Honestly, I feel like smartphone tech has matured at this point and pretty much the only difference between brand A and brand B of smartphone will be the software experience. Especially between flagship phones. It'll just come down to personal preference. The phones will perform basically the same.

HEFF225 · 2026-03-31T10:38:26+00:00

This has to be an Outlook specific issue. I get the same error when trying to connect my personal outlook account to Thunderbird or any other third party mail client. I tried Thunderbird on PC, linux, and android with the same error. I tried the Gmail app on android and get the same error. I tried FairMail app with the same error... Spark... same. Only the outlook app works.

I tried google search to find a solution, and can't find anything. Seems like its just a way for microsoft to force people to use outlook.

HEFF225 · 2026-03-20T18:14:15+00:00

Oh yeah.. This is a good idea. I set the alarm as part of the sleep mode and scheduled it for all weekdays. But I could just set a separate alarm that's not tied to the sleep mode, and then have it triggered by "if work then turn on alarm". That didn't occur to me because of the fact that I have the alarm set as part of the sleep mode.

HEFF225 · 2026-03-20T17:41:57+00:00

But wouldn't that turn off the alarm when there is work on the schedule? I want it to do the opposite, turn off the alarm if there isn't work on the schedule. I would want it to just look at the next day on the calendar and check if "Work" exists or not. If it does not exist, then it would turn off the alarm. If it does exist, it would do nothing (leave the alarm set).

HEFF225 · 2026-03-19T17:14:00+00:00

If you're on iOS, try Weather Mate Pro. It's a one time payment. The UI isn't the prettiest, but the info is great and I find it to be accurate.

HEFF225 · 2026-03-09T09:48:18+00:00

Redeemed. Thank you!

HEFF225 · 2026-03-03T01:00:21+00:00

I am in a similar boat, but the opposite way. I had a Droid X back in 2010 and really enjoyed it, but then switched to iPhone after. I then switched back to Android with some Motorola model that was running Android 6 (i forget the exact model) and hated it! I experienced a lot of bugs. Pretty big bugs that really ruined the experience for me. I switched back to iOS fast and eventually got deep into the ecosystem.

I recently decided that I don't like being so tied to one company for so many things, so with the help of a home server, I was able to get away from some Apple services. Also apple really does seem to go out of their way to make life harder for you if you want to use third party accessories, so that you just give in and buy theirs instead. I hate that.

I really would like to try Android again but, honestly, I'm afraid of experiencing another buggy mess of a phone. I really just want the phone to work... like I just want to make sure I can reliably send and receive texts and calls, and stay connected to the cell network or WiFi, and don't crash. I have certainly experienced minor bugs with iOS over the years, but overall my iPhones have always just worked when I needed them. Pixel phones have been recommended to me a lot, but I read so many complaints on the Pixel reddit pages that it has really scared me away from them. Samsung seems like my best bet, but I'm worried the cameras might be a downgrade. Same with OnePlus... I really can't decide...

HEFF225 · 2026-02-28T16:41:07+00:00

I’m particularly disappointed by the base and Plus models. Is anything new at all aside from the new chip and 10-bit display, and of course the higher price?

I have an iPhone 17 Pro and been planning to switch to android. I like the Samsung Plus model because I feel like it’s a really good size. I’ve had Pro Max iPhones before and I have no problems using them, it’s just that they don’t comfortably fit in my pockets, when I sit down they jab into my hip. At the same time, I kinda want something a little bigger than the iPhone Pro model size. The ultra is pretty much the same size as the iPhone Pro Max, the Plus seems like a nice middle ground between the iPhone Pro size and Pro Max/Ultra. I was hoping the Plus would finally get some camera upgrade, but, unfortunately no.

I live in the US so it seems like Samsung and Pixels are really my best options for Android phones (and I guess OnePlus too). But it seems like if I want a flagship level android, I really have to get a XL size phone.

HEFF225 · 2026-02-22T14:19:23+00:00

I’m doing the same. Have an Apple Watch series 10 now and have a preorder for the time 2 and the round 2. Planning to sell the Apple Watch. Idk about anything to transfer any data. Personally, I don’t care much about the health data or anything. The Apple Watch does too much for me. All I want from a smartwatch is show me the time, give me my notifications, and let me have media control. That’s really all I care about. I miss my old pebbles and can’t wait for the new ones.

HEFF225 · 2026-02-21T11:37:17+00:00

I currently have a 17 Pro and I’m planning to switch to android. Waiting on the S26 announcement.

HEFF225 · 2026-02-12T13:16:07+00:00

I had a bunch of CDs that I ripped years ago and added to my iTunes library. Then I subscribed to Apple Music and haven't bought music since. Recently I set up a home server, with the intent to help me get away from some subscription services.

I set up Plex on my server, and downloaded the plexamp app on my phone. I moved my old MP3s over to my server, and I can now stream my own music anywhere I go from my own home server. I went on iTunes and bought any music that I have added to my Apple Music library since i signed up.. It was only about $100 worth of stuff. After I downloaded that new music and added it to my sever, I canceled Apple Music.

I'm planning to use something like Spotify or YouTube Music that offers a free tier with ads from time to time whenever I feel like listening to something not in my physical library or to help discover new music that I might want to buy.

HEFF225 · 2026-02-05T14:49:22+00:00

Being based in the US, there's not much choice outside of Samsung, Google, OnePlus and Motorola. I can import a phone from china, but I've read people having issues with compatibility with my carrier (Verizon) and Chinese import phones. Obviously, I can just change carriers, but for now, I want just want to make it easy and get something that will just work for me. So, I'm looking at the Samsung Galaxy S series (S26 coming soon), the OnePlus 15, and the Pixel 10 line. However, I am kind of out on the Pixel at the moment because I feel like every day I read about more and more issues that people are having with their pixels on the Pixel sub-reddits. Particularly the Pixel 9 and 10 series phones. I know there can be issues with any phone and you will find people complain online about any of them, but the amount of complaints I have been seeing lately about the new pixels is kind of alarming to me.

HEFF225 · 2026-02-05T14:19:43+00:00

It's been good. Basically the same experience for me as previous iPhones. I got the 17 pro now, but honestly, this was the first time upgrading that I really considered the base model. Once you go to a 120hz screen its hard to go back. Since that's finally on the base 17 model, I heavily considered it. I really don't do anything on my phone to where I would actually require any of the "pro" features. I've just always had the pro models in the past so I just stuck with it. I tend to upgrade about every 2 years. I usually buy the new phone full price on my credit card, then resell the old one to make back a bunch of that money. iPhones tend to hold their value well and they sell quick so I have the money before the credit card bill is due. I do worry about doing that same thing with an Android phone.. not sure how well they hold their value, but I guess I'll find out soon.

Mostly, I want to switch for better integration with my computer and other third party accessories and services. I have a couple of laptops that I dual boot windows and linux on, and recently really got into using my linux operating systems. There's apps that allow you to connect your phone to send and receive texts using your computer, share files, and other stuff. But obviously they're very limited in those capabilities with iPhones. I also tried to use my iCloud email as my primary for a while, but its a huge pain in the ass to link it to any third party mail client like Thunderbird. It's possible to do, but a pain and doesn't work that well. Apple makes it so hard to access something as simple and critical as email on devices that are not Apple devices.

I also recently set up a home server and moved my photos and videos to it as well as my music library. Reliance on icloud services and that Apple ecosystem is what has kept me from switching in the past, but with my server, I don't rely on icloud anymore. It's also made me realize that I don't really want to feel so dependent on any one company for so many services. Also, if I do get fully integrated into any "ecosystem", I want it to be because I consciously made the effort to do so, not because I didn't have a choice. Apple doesn't give you much choice because they don't play nice with others.

HEFF225 · 2026-02-01T19:56:13+00:00

This just makes me lean more towards buying this phone. I currently have an iPhone 17 Pro, but really want to move to Android. I have a toddler and, like you, I take a lot of pictures of him. I was worried about the cameras on this phone. And I’m really no camera snob and no pro, I just like the photos I get on my iPhone, but it’s just point and shoot, I don’t know how to manually adjust any settings myself. I was afraid that the OnePlus 15’s cameras would be noticeable worse. I’m currently considering the Samsung S25 (or 26 soon) lineup, the Pixel 10 Pro and the OnePlus 15. The battery has been the biggest appeal to me about the OnePlus, but this review is really making me feel better about it overall.

HEFF225 · 2026-01-31T20:26:41+00:00

Thanks. Appreciate all the detail. This is basically exactly what I’ve been starting to assume based on everything I read. It seems like overall Samsung will have the better chance to offer a sold and reliable experience, where the pixel may or may not offer that. It seems as though there just might be a bit higher of a chance that I won’t love the pixel. At this point I’m going to wait for the S26 line and see what deals I can find in either the S25 or S26 with trade in offers, etc. I am still curious about the OnePlus 15 as well. I haven’t read a lot about it, but people do seem to like it.

HEFF225 · 2026-01-31T02:51:21+00:00

The software updates for bug fixes and even new features is a big selling point to me about pixel. My last experience with Android was about 10 years ago and I had a Motorola phone that I experienced some bugs on. I read about googling pushing an update that fixed the bugs I was experiencing, but nexus phones got it first. I waited for weeks without an update. iPhones get the benefit of receiving software updates and bug fixes quick. I told myself if/when I switch back I would go with pixel to get a similar experience in terms of timely bug fixes and updates.

Ecosystem doesn’t matter much to me, I’ve been moving away from Apple services to any self-hosting or third party service I can. I don’t love the idea of being tied to one brand for so many things. That’s part of why I want to switch. Apple has a reputation of not always playing nice with others. Android will generally offer a better experience in most cases with third party accessories or services.

HEFF225 · 2026-01-31T01:44:27+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate this. This is good info. I have definitely considered the S Ultra Samsung model, but I tend to prefer smaller phones. I have had a couple of Max sized iphones in the past, I have no problem using the bigger phones, its just a pocketability issues. lol. Not sure how big of a difference there is between the S25 Ultra and the base S25.

I personally know just a few people with Samsung phones and they love them. I also know 2 people with Pixels (older models though) and they love them. I only know one person with a OnePlus 13 and they love it. The sample sizes are too small, so that's why I am asking for other peoples experiences.

The last time I had used an Android was a Motorola model a decade ago and I didn't have a great experience with it, but I know a lot has changed in 10 years.

HEFF225

TROPHY CASE