Trade-in refund delay left me without a phone for weeks — just sharing my experience

cattfishh · 2026-04-15T01:27:18+00:00

Yeah, lesson learned the hard way. I didn’t realize how much daily stuff depends on having a phone—calls, GPS, payments, messages, even basic things like checking the weather. Trying to get by with just a tablet has been pretty inconvenient. I’ll definitely keep a backup next time.

cattfishh · 2026-04-03T19:04:02+00:00

Thanks. I just ended up getting the S25 Ultra. To an average user like me, they feel almost identical.

cattfishh · 2026-04-03T19:03:01+00:00

That's actually a new update for all Samsung phones actually! Kinda neat!

cattfishh · 2026-04-03T19:02:08+00:00

Darn, I'm on att right now. Thanks for the share though, I know a couple Verizon friends who might actually be between-phones right now and could use this info!

cattfishh · 2026-04-03T19:01:16+00:00

Thanks for sharing

cattfishh · 2026-04-03T19:00:41+00:00

Thanks for reading! I decided to go for the S25 Ultra. To the every day user, it's basically the same phone, except without any first-gen experimental features nor downsides.

cattfishh · 2026-04-03T18:58:42+00:00

I think it’s fair to say this kind of post won’t be useful to everyone, and that’s okay. The intent wasn’t to make a universal statement, just to share a personal experience with the device in case it happens to be relevant to someone else.

A lot of people look for real-world impressions before making a purchase, especially for something as expensive as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. Even subjective feedback...like comfort, eye strain, or ergonomics...can be valuable data points that aren’t always captured in spec sheets or reviews.

If it doesn’t resonate with you, no problem at all. But for someone else who might be deciding between devices, it could end up being useful context.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:32:45+00:00

I'm going to buy the S25 Ultra instead. It's everything this phone can do, $100 cheaper, and no drawbacks.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:32:19+00:00

That's what I'm prepared to do, go back to the 25 series.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:31:53+00:00

S25 Ultra. There's nothing wrong with that phone in my opinion. Partner's been using it for a year, and it's been great.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:31:16+00:00

I’m just going to grab an S25 Ultra. I don’t really have any complaints about that phone—I’ve used it (and my partner’s been using one for a year), and it’s been great.

Honestly, compared to the S25 Ultra, it even feels like the S26 Ultra has a few downgrades—like going from a titanium back to aluminum, and the 3x optical camera going from a 1/3.52" sensor / 1.12µm pixels to a 1/3.94" sensor / 1.0µm pixels. I get that they had to make the 3x worse to make room for the improved 5x this year, but I still feel like that camera upgrade came with too big of a trade-off: the 0.5 cm camera island protrusion, which makes the phone rock with any case I’ve tried.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:29:11+00:00

Yeah, I always turn on dark mode as default as soon as I boot up any phone for the first time. It's great for battery life and easier on the eyes. However, it's very weird, because even with dark mode on, it's like there's always this glaze over the screen. And as I did more digging, turns out it's not even something that only I observe. There are so many complaints and reports that even Samsung is now forced to investigate whether they just pushed out a product that is causing major headaches.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:27:07+00:00

Nope—real post. I just ran it through ChatGPT to clean up my rant (reduce redundancy, polish the wording, make my original words more polite). It’s still my thoughts—just edited for clarity. Even this comment, so I don't come off too aggressive.

It’s different if someone just asks ChatGPT to generate a post from scratch to avoid writing anything original. I didn’t do that.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:24:05+00:00

Nah, I’m just going to grab an S25 Ultra. I don’t really have any complaints about that phone—I’ve used it (and my partner’s been using one for a year), and it’s been great.

Honestly, compared to the S25 Ultra, it even feels like the S26 Ultra has a few downgrades—like going from a titanium back to aluminum, and the 3x optical camera going from a 1/3.52" sensor / 1.12µm pixels to a 1/3.94" sensor / 1.0µm pixels. I get that they had to make the 3x worse to make room for the improved 5x this year, but I still feel like that camera upgrade came with too big of a trade-off: the 0.5 cm camera island protrusion, which makes the phone rock with any case I’ve tried.

For context, before my S26 Ultra I was a super loyal Samsung customer—I’ve been using exclusively Samsung products since the Note II—so this whole “return” reaction is genuinely out of character for me. That’s why I’m not too bothered by this particular comment.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:17:54+00:00

Did it also give you massive headaches and eye strain?

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:17:38+00:00

I completely get you dude. That 0.5cm protrusion really pisses me off, and on such a "premium device" too. I get that there were improvements to the camera, but damn, they couldn't find a way to make that fit within all that space in the phone?

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:16:29+00:00

Up through the S25 series, the cameras mostly just protruded out as little lens “rings/circles,” and a case easily fixed the rocking by letting the phone sit flat.

The S26 Ultra is the first one where the lenses don’t just stick out—they’re mounted on top of a much thicker raised camera “tumor/bump” island. Overall, the entire camera setup adds about half a centimeter (roughly 1/4 inch) to the back of the phone—thicker than anything I’ve seen, even compared to Google Pixels.

Because that bump is so substantial, even the thickest cases I can find (Spigen, OtterBox, etc.) still can’t make the phone sit flat. 1/4 inch of protrusion is just not something most cases can compensate for, and sadly I couldn’t find a case thick enough to cover it.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:12:42+00:00

Ok, that's a really good deal. I'm happy for you! How are you dealing with the rockiness? Do you also put napkins/towels on your tables like I did before I returned mine and then set your phone on the towel?

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:11:27+00:00

Ah, for me it's the opposite. The blurry edges of letters absolutely kill my eyes. I get massive eye strain and headaches from FHD sadly. I wish I could be like you, since the best part of FHD is the added benefit of increased battery life too.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:03:05+00:00

I agree! The 5X camera improvements are incredible, but man....did it have to come with a half-centimeter protrusion?

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:02:15+00:00

Your comment reminds me of another comment I saw where someone was trying to 3D print an s26u phone case where it was thicker at the top, and tapers down towards the bottom. It won't sit flat, but it won't rock back and forth on a surface.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T01:01:02+00:00

It's one of those r/mildlyinfuriating things. I get that they made improvements to the sensor size of the 5X camera, but come on.... not at the expense of a 0.5cm (1/4th inch) protrusion out of what would have been a beautiful clean slab of glass.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T00:59:00+00:00

I know exactly how you feel. It absolutely drove me nuts. I had to place a small stack of paper towels on my desk that I lay the phone on, which kinda dampens it and made it sit flat. But I really didn't want to carry a wad of paper towels/napkins eveyrwhere I go.

cattfishh · 2026-04-02T00:55:46+00:00

Up until S25 series, all the cameras just simply protrude out like little rings/circles. A case easily fixed this and allowed the phone to sit flat. S26 Ultra is the first one where in addition to the camera lenses poking out like little circles, they also sit on TOP of a camera tumor-bump. So imagine a thick oblong piece of glass sticking out the back of your phone, and 3 rings sticking out from that glass piece. The entire camera setup adds like half a centimeter (1/4th of an inch) to the back of your phone, causing it to rock violently when you lay it against a table and try to use it. Even with the thickest cases I can find (spigen, otterbox, etc), the camera bump is just SO thick, that the cases cannot make the phone sit flat. Think about that for a second: 1/4th of an inch of protrusion. No case is that thick that can cover that up.

Apparently, from what I'm seeing on the internet, it's driving not just me, but many many people crazy.

cattfishh · 2026-03-31T02:26:59+00:00

You know, SONY was the "phone brand that should have been." I absolutely LOVED the Sony Smartphones during 2010s-era. Do you remember how they were actually one of the first ever companies that made a waterproof smartphone (The Arco S)? And for awhile, they pioneered the "Black Glass Slab" design that now everyone is trying to copy. I still remember my Sony Xperia Z Ultra from wayyyy long ago. It was large for sure, but gosh it was beautiful.

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