Having the phone in my possession for about a month and coming from the amazing device (for the money I bought it from an official store for 499€) Xiaomi mi 10t pro (8-256), I have the following to say:
About a week ago, I was ready to give the phone three stars because I had made a mistake in the battery settings (and I didn't remember) the option it has for power saving, resulting in the phone having occasional freezes, of course, but not showing that it is a flagship. I was quite disappointed, as I believe other owners who have not changed the setting on the S21 and S22 and have such problems. But since I changed the setting, the phone is flying. Even the fingerprint has improved. So, let's start with the positives:
A) The screen is top-notch, as Samsung has accustomed us, with a high refresh rate and amazing touch control. The brightness instantly reaches high levels in the sun. Excellent automatic brightness adjustment. The always-on display function is one of the best with excellent customization.
B) The photos and videos are up to par with amazing shots in both. I attach a night photo of the moon and I couldn't believe my eyes. The night mode is very good in all cameras. Excellent video stabilization even in 4K 60 frames per second. No one will be disappointed in this area.
C) However, the big advantage of the phone is its software. Samsung has done an excellent job here, without any freezes, without anything missing, and with full customization. There was nothing I searched for and couldn't find. I inform you that when I bought the phone, it came with Android 12 and One UI 4.1 out of the box. Samsung promises updates for another three years, which is very good. For users who don't know, they should try, for example, Bixby routines and they will understand.
D) Connectivity is excellent in everything: Bluetooth, WiFi, NFC, Android Auto, etc. Everything works flawlessly. Because I also have a Samsung smartwatch, specifically the 4, they communicate perfectly.
E) Since beauty is subjective, I won't talk about it, although I really like it. However, the build quality and materials are at top levels, and this is objective. The phone comes with IP68 certification, wireless charging, and reverse wireless charging.
NEGATIVES:
A) One of the points that did not satisfy me is the battery life and its charging. Compared to my previous phone, it's day and night. With light to medium use, it will easily last a day, but with heavy use, in the late afternoon, you will need to charge it again. For an average user, no problem. And the charging takes quite a while, no comparison to my previous device.
B) The second point that disappointed me is the fingerprint on the screen. As I said at the beginning of my review, I come from a phone where the fingerprint was excellent. If I hadn't tried the previous phone, I would think it's quite good. I haven't put a screen protector (tempered glass), I left it with the factory-provided protective film, and I imagine that if I put a tempered glass, things will get much worse, so I don't put it.
C) The price I bought it from a large chain is 835 euros, which I consider excessive for a one-year-old mobile phone, hence the 4-star rating. However, the new Samsung device, the S22 Plus, was priced at around 1,100 euros with minimal upgrades, which is why I preferred this particular one. I am always referring to official prices, and that is because now you can find it much cheaper in Skroutz stores. There it is worth it.
NEITHER POSITIVE NOR NEGATIVE
A) The sound is quite good quality but not at maximum volume.
B) It does not have a memory card slot, but for me, this is not a problem because I have the device with 256GB.
C) It does not have an audio jack and especially an infrared port, which was very useful to me with my previous phone.
When I was about to buy the phone, I did not pay attention at all to what processor it has, whether it was Snapdragon or Exynos, because their differences are very small, even for a power user. My previous phone, which I mentioned at the beginning of my review, had the top-of-the-line Snapdragon 865 at the time, and this one has the Exynos 2100, two processors that are very close and have absolutely no difference in everyday use, no matter what you do, even if you play heavy games.
Overall, I am very satisfied with the phone (except for the fingerprint sensor), and if someone buys it from a Skroutz store for around 650 euros, it is truly value for money. What the future buyer should pay attention to, whether it is from this series or the next one (S22), are the device settings, which can truly transform the phone for the better.