Several weeks ago my company's IT department sent me an e-mail saying that I needed to upgrade the operating system (OS) on my smartphone. They provided instructions on how to do so. I gave it a shot but my phone had been upgraded to the latest version it would support and so I needed to get a new device. I contacted the IT department and looked at my choices.
I recently upgraded my personal phone to an iPhone 12 Mini and so even though my company would let me get an iPhone, I wanted to keep at least one Android phone. In the past I have always had a Sony Xperia smartphone but that wasn't an option this time around. My company has an account with AT&T and we try to keep costs down by upgrading to their free phones. Sure I could put in a special request but that takes time and I had until June to have the new phone in place before IT pulled my old phone off the company network. Thinking that most Android phones would be the same, I selected a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G. Samsung phones have come highly recommended and I figured it would be fine. Little did I realize that Android phones could be so different.
My new phone arrived and I had to go through the task of setting it up. That took about half a day. AT&T has an app that allows you to copy all of your information from the old phone to a new one. Unfortunately it doesn't copy applications, just call information, text messages, and your contact list. I had hoped to get all of my applications moved over too based on experiences with my personal phone. Instead I had to go in and add a bunch of stuff to the new phone.
My old phone had a nice case that protected the phone quite well and so I ordered one for the new phone. When I opened the case on the old phone, the screen came to life and allowed me to enter my password to unlock the phone. Unfortunately I didn't realize that I needed to get a Samsung compatible case to have that feature available on my new phone. I have spent an hour or so trying to figure out how to get that feature without having to install a special app. My Sony phone had that feature built-in and it didn't take any extra effort to get it set up and working.
I remember my Sony phone coming with a bunch of applications that I didn't really use. My Samsung phone came with a different list of applications, including a bunch of games. I don't play many games on my work phone and so I immediately removed them from the phone. Fortunately that wasn't too difficult. I am sure that if I had gotten the phone from Verizon, the preinstalled apps would be different and so I am not sure which of them came installed from AT&T and which ones came installed from Samsung. I just wish the list of preinstalled apps included those that I might actually need, like that unlock-the-screen one that my Sony phone came with.
Interestingly enough, I don't really use my work phone as an actual phone. I really use it to help log into the company VPN and read e-mail. Therefore I can't say much about how it works as a phone. I can say that the default installation for my e-mail program (Microsoft Outlook) is set up significantly different than on my old phone. I liked seeing the subject of my e-mails as they arrived. Now I just get a little icon that says I have new mail. I will have to play with the phone and figure out how to get it to behave like my old one.
It used to be that getting a new piece of technology such as a laptop or mobile phone was exciting. Now it is an exercise in making old stuff work on new devices and finding where your favorite settings have been hidden. If only Android phone manufacturers could strive for some level of consistency.
