How do Android phone skins compare across the brands?

[Time Waster]

The only VERY basic, simple, non tech advice I can give is, if you take lots of photos, get an S rather than an A model.
I had an S10 - pretty old - and took literally 1000s of photos with it. Then 'upgraded' to an A14 (on the advice of a 'salesperson') and the photo quality was noticeably poorer.
So, I've gone back to my old S10 and am currently saving for an S-something newer.

The salesperson conned you there!

The A70 I got shared some of the same tech as the S series, I think I read the camera was the same sensor just the app behind it was not as fully tricked out as the S. It was described in reviews (widely not just one source) that it was close to the S series in performance. In fact the A7x series was ended after the A71 I think because there was not enough differentiation in their range. They had cheap (A0x) mid (A3x and A5x) then high (Sxx). The A7x was from what I read taking some sales from the S series so was dropped. When I got my A70 (within the first month of release in the UK) it cost me something like £370 whereas I think the S10 came out that year for £800 I think. The A50 I think back then cost only just below the A70. It certainly was good for a number of years.

 

[Time Waster]

What's a "phone skin"? I've never heard of such.

AIUI Android is supplied as a base OS but the brands affiliated to Android then have to put a user interface (UI or Skin) over the top. The google devices always had a skin that was very simple and close to the bare OS but others put more and more in their skin to give their users a "better" experience. IIRC you cannot use android without a skin. It is this reason that when Google releases a new version of android their more basic devices get it first. They do share the OS behind it with the other brands but with testing and development of the skins they often take longer to upgrade.

 

[Drago]

AIUI Android is supplied as a base OS but the brands affiliated to Android then have to put a user interface (UI or Skin) over the top. The google devices always had a skin that was very simple and close to the bare OS but others put more and more in their skin to give their users a "better" experience. IIRC you cannot use android without a skin. It is this reason that when Google releases a new version of android their more basic devices get it first. They do share the OS behind it with the other brands but with testing and development of the skins they often take longer to upgrade.

I like puppies.

 

[derrick]

I love my Huawei, but someone else does not.

 

[PaulSB]

I changed from a Moto, which was fine but was getting quite slow and had battery issues, to a Samsung A52s about three years ago. I'm happy with Samsung and will probably stick with the brand when I next change.

I can't comment on much of the thread as it's beyond my technical competence. I would say this. I knew of Samsung's supposed "bloatware" and much of what I read made me nervous of buying the brand. My experience is apart from a little extra care in the initial setup, for example using Google contacts not Samsung, there is no issue with "bloatware" whatsoever. I've never been aware of or impacted by anything Samsung may or may not have done to Android.

The company posted a £170 billion turnover in 2024, this is a company that has no reason to risk irritating the bulk of its customer base.

Overall, my view would be unless one has a deep working knowledge of these matters don't fret about it. Bloatware has no real impact on the average user. I think it's just something techie folk like to chat about.