The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 that powers it is horribly power inefficient. I have an S22+ that has the same SOC and a bigger battery that the S23 FE and the batter life isn’t great.

That said, everything else about the SOC is great, and the FE series phones are usually a killer bang for the buck. If you can live with the poor battery life grab it on a good discount then it’s worth it.

I have a Plus. Here are the reasons I chose it over the Ultra:

• The screen on the Ultra is too big for me. Screen size of the Plus is perfect for me.
• The Ultras have a curved screen which I have always hated on phones. I understand other people like a curved screen, and that’s great for them, but it’s not for me.
• Dont need the S Pen on my phone. I have an Tab S8+ with S Pen. If I’m taking written notes, I want a more “paperlike” feel, which a tablet gives me.
• The Ultra camera is overkill for me. I also think it’s overkill for most people who aren’t doing “professional” photography with their phone.

At a certain point having the “best phone” doesn’t matter of you’re not going to use all the features it provides. I know that I don’t need those features, and the Plus fits my needs perfectly. Why spend another $300 on a phone I don’t want and won’t use all the features on?

They probably won’t know. At the store they’ll do a physical inspection of the device. As long as there are no visible issues you should be fine.

Its possible that there will be a more serious inspection after the store send it off, but again, not likely to be an issue. The phone works.

An old SGH-A737 back in the mid 2000s

That’s unlucky! Still, much better than potential alternatives. Glad you got it back in a better state!

That sounds like an overheating problem, which the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 that powers the S22+ had a bit of an issue with. This might be a worse case of it than was typical though…

Get true wireless earbuds, like everyone else is saying. Now there are solid options at the <$100 price point too. Some even at the <$50 price point. And there’s no cable to get tangled up and caught on stuff. I don’t know how I lived without true wireless before, honestly.

The performance isn’t a concern for me because the phone is my “work phone” so I only use it for half a dozen apps. My daily driver is an S22+.

I know I would lose wireless charging, which is the main reason I’m hesitating. I’m also not in a rush and am considering the S23 FE since it came out yesterday, but that much performance for a device that I use for a couple hours a day is hard to justify. Especially since I can get the A54 for ~$200 with a trade-in.

I’ve been seriously considering replacing my S20 FE work phone with the A54 5G. It looks like a solid phone and will be a significant upgrade from the A50. Plus, brand new so 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security updates.