AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

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Err
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AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

Post by Err »

I'm now running Android Pie on my S9+. Aside from the Icons, I haven't noticed much of a difference. My apps seem to run okay and it kept my previous settings. AT&T installed a couple of apps like smart wi-fi switching that I quickly disabled. I've found that anything that messing with WiFi setting can screw up the two games I actually play on my phone and cause me to disconnect.

My biggest beef is that my phone notified me at 4 am. I don't turn on Do No Disturb because if anyone needs to call me in the middle of the night, it's probably important. You'd think that updates would only notify you during business hours for your time zone but you know installing that update was more important than sleeping.

To add more salt, just as I was getting back to sleep at 5:30 the school decided to text that there was a delay.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

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Follow-up: I don't know if it's a placebo effect but the new update seems to be kinder to the battery. I don't have any benchmarks before the update. However, by the time I leave work, I'm usually between 50 to 60% or less. Today, I'm setting at 78%.

I had to go through and disable another program AT&T reinstalled with the OS update. It's called Device Help. It was no helpful that it sent me a notification at 6 am on a Saturday morning informing me that it was there and should set it up.

There is now a Dark Mode Option that I really love. Instead of the white backgrounds in menus and native phone apps, it's now black with white or colored text. It's nice to glance at my phone in a darkened room and not be blinded.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

Post by FlyingPenguin »

I allowed my Pixel 2 XL to upgrade to Pie a month ago (been available for quite a while but I kept putting it off).

I too have seen a bit of a battery improvement, especially at night (maybe it uses less power in "Do Not Disturb" mode?). I forgot to connect it to the charger a couple of times over night and was surprised to find it hardly used any battery.

I like the dark mode (also coming to most Google apps). I like the new Call Screen feature (only available to Pixel users I think).

Initially I didn't think I'd like the new way the volume works where the volume buttons default to media except when on a phone call (then it's handset volume) and there's no quick way to change the ringer volume (although it's easily muted to vibrate with a tap) but now that I've used it for a month, I think it's brilliant. No more fighting to guess when the volume control switches to media.

The automatic screen brightness is actually usable in Pie (I have never been able to use it in any previous Android version). It does include some AI so if you give it time, and you override the brightness setting when you don't think it's right, it eventually learns your tastes in brightness.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

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I'm still on Oreo version 8.x, on my Samsung S9 and I'm on Verizon. I've noticed that Verizon is slow to roll out system updates.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

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Loving the Pixel 3 over here. No complaints. Battery lasts 2 days per charge.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

Post by Err »

Executioner wrote:I'm still on Oreo version 8.x, on my Samsung S9 and I'm on Verizon. I've noticed that Verizon is slow to roll out system updates.
It's hard to believe AT&T pushed the update out before Verizon. Typically Android 10 would be out before we got 9.

You should get it soon. Check the manual updates.

I'm still seeing great battery life. On my 80 mile commute, I listen to music or podcasts the entire time with PowerAmp. By the time I get to work, I'm usually at 90% battery. Since the Update, I've been arriving at 95%.

I do have push notifications disabled for most of my apps, my e-mail doesn't automatically sync, and I don't have Bixby set up. So far, this is the best Android OS I've used.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

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I wish there was a way to get rid of Bixby. Give consumers some options. I'm sure some like the app, but I prefer not to have it or use it like Cortana on Win10 and the others like Alexa. I recently deleted the Samsung music app since they were pushing Spotify every time I started the app, and there was no way to stop it each time you started the music app. After the 5th time of say NO I don't want to sign up for Spotify, I deleted it and went with a paid app called Rocket Player.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

Post by FlyingPenguin »

That's my problem with Samsung I can't stand their apps. I miss when they used to offer pure android versions of Samsung phones unlocked.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

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Most of Samsung's apps are redundant. I think the only way to disable the Bixby button is to set it up first. However, you need to set up a Samsung account which I'm not doing. I don't need yet another service that has my personal info that I don't need. If I want a personal assistant, I'll use google's.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

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Yes I have the Bixby button disabled, and now I have a worthless button that does nothing. I also find myself going back into apps and disabling Bixby over and over again since it self activates. This is the same crap as MS Cortana. You have no options to completely disable it if you don't want to run it, so it's always running as a service.
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Re: AT&T Pushed out Android Pie (9) for Samsung S9 and S9+

Post by Losbot »

I learned about Bixby on my parent's Samsungs. UGH! Annoying as hell.
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