KPH tech blog

Hello all, it’s been a while. My current contract ends in December, so, naturally, I’ve been researching the heck out of phones since July (sound familiar?).

I’m typing this blog post on my Galaxy S9 Plus, a phone which I’ve loved for the past 2 years, but which is starting to show signs of slowdowns. There’s little to no external wear and tear, as I’ve always kept it in a leather flip case, so it still feels like it’s in brand new condition.

What I mean by wear & tear, are things like occasional slowdowns, drops in framerate within intensive games such as Asphalt 9, and generally the feeling of using the phone.

It’s still a more than capable device, with support for Micro SD cards, a 3.5mm headphone port, and a fairly decent battery life – even after nearly 2 years of constant use.

My Galaxy S7, on the other hand, at this stage in its life didn’t fare too well, and by August 2018 I was more than ready to switch – with the battery life having taken a severe hit after the Android 9 OS update.

My Galaxy S9 Plus, so far, hasn’t experienced anywhere near the level of troubles I ran into with the S7, so I’d be more than happy to keep it as my main device going forward.

However, as any Android user knows, after a certain amount of time, devices become unsupported by OS & security updates – normally 2 years – and my S9 Plus is nearing that time.

Impressively, it got the Android 10 update earlier this year, and has continued to be supported by regular, monthly security updates throughout 2020.

But, unfortunately, my S9 Plus has just missed out on the recent announcement by Samsung that all its devices will now be supported with 3 generations of OS & security updates – which will take effect from the Galaxy S10 onwards.

It’s a shame that my S9 Plus has just missed out on the Android 11 update, but it doesn’t necessarily mean this is the end of the road for my phone. Going forward, if I chose to keep this as my main device, I would most certainly be switching to a SIM-only plan for possibly another 6 months, and hopefully on a 30 day rolling contract.

Why 6 months? Samsung tends to reveal it’s flagship devices in March every year, so by June/July 2021 I’d have a better selection of new devices from which to choose a new phone.

Also, because Apple releases its new iPhone’s in September, in June or July every UK network tends to reduce or heavily discount their existing stock with a Summer Sale, so you’re sure to bag a great deal. In 2020, even flagship phones like the Galaxy S20 benefitted from discounts: where it would normally trade from £45+ per month on contract, at one point it came down to as low as £29 per month.

For me personally, that would be a significant saving, but because my contract ends/renews in November, I was unable to take advantage of those deals without a heavy buyout cost on my existing plan.

I also noticed that a lot of those deals were better than the deals available during Black Friday & Cyber Monday 2019, although I’m holding out hope for this year’s BF/CM sales.

But, getting a SIM-only deal for 6 months – on a 30 day-rolling basis – would allow me to take advantage of those exclusive summer deals in Summer 2021

This is just the beginning of my considerations. I’ll upload more soon.

– Chris JK.