After a couple of years of trying to get my dad to switch from a battered and bruised iPhone 8, I wondered to myself why. If it ain’t (too) broke, don’t fix it, but I thought about what would be the oldest phone I could actively consider using daily.
This is not a question intended to be detached from reality, and even saying it out loud feels like the ultimate first-world problem. There are millions of people who will make do and mend or use a phone for almost a decade. Being completely honest, were I not testing out the latest technology on a regular basis, I’d almost certain I’d be in the same boat.
When doing an inventory check recently, I picked up the Galaxy S23 Ultra, and I’ll be honest, it felt great. I figured this could be the phone for my dad, but alas, he has found switching from the button-centric iPhone 8 to on-screen buttons a little tough.
Instead…I felt a kinship with the device. It was my “main” phone for almost 18 months from launch until the Pixel 9 series launched, and I switched over as my carrier deal came to a close. It probably isn’t a shock that it felt great. Maybe it helps that Samsung hasn’t really done much to properly differentiate the Galaxy Ultra devices for a few years, but the point still stands. It’s fast, smooth, has a superb camera, and although a little dinged up, I still love using it. I’d argue it’s Samsung’s best device of the past 5 years.
