I have the s9. Love it. Had s6, s7+, and s8 ultra previously.
It’s a media consumption device, 100%. Well, that and some gaming.
I watch video and read on it 90% of the time.
S9fe didn’t exist at the time, but I’d have gotten the better screen anyway.
On a phone, its hard. I went from an s22 ultra to an s22 base, and I missed the screen size. I also missed not having shitty battery life.
On a tablet, no problem. I just went from an s8 ultra to an s9 base, and like it much better.
I realized that wireless buds are freaking awesome and never gave a shit about the 3.5mm again.
I had the s22. My friend still does.
Verdict: the battery suuucks.
I have an s23 ultra now.
At this point, it entirely comes down to OS preference and ecosystem.
Both the 15 pro max and the s23 ultra have awesome battery life, killer cameras, and great screens.
The ultra has the pen, and a 10x telephoto, if those things are a big deal.
I use the galaxy watch 6. I fail to see anything the apple watch can do that it can’t, although the watch ultra is badass looking from a purely aesthetic standpoint.
Buds 2 pro are excellent.
Given that she has a whole apple ecosystem, I’d probably go with 15 pro max, although I think the 23 ultra is a slightly better phone overall.
The AI features won’t be subscription based… Now. They will let us use them for a number of years, get used to depending on them, and then make it subscription.
I am an American living in china. I fully expect any AI features to be entirely useless for me, as Samsung does not allow me to run the American software on my Chinese devices.
I mean hell, Bixby has been around for a decade… Completely useless. I ask it the weather… It tells me there is no weather module installed, and best I can tell, there’s no way to do so. Play a song on Spotify? Can’t do that.