but almost bought the S25 ultra yesterday and if I manage to get my hands on one I'll help if I can.

Been on Note phones since the Note 2 so any specific questions you have that also apply to earlier versions I'd be happy to help.

Was very worried when rumors were going around that they were discontinuing the Note line and was glad they incorporated the S pen into the Ultra line.

One issue that Samsung has apparently been aware of since at least the Note 5 is that magnets interfere with S pen function. Finding folio cases without magnets is almost impossible but I have found a possible one on Etsy if you're interested.

I figured with all the shit going on I better get it while I can. I also brought a new Gaming laptop for the same reason.

I look forward to hearing from you.

The S9 has no pen but the magnetic clasp in that Otterbox interfered with things like compass apps so I cut out the magnet. That got rid of the interference issue and the case works just fine without.

Like the OP, I'm looking at upgrading my phone also — probably with the S25 base model. This time though, I'll buy a decent regular S25 case and fashion my own folio case out of leather, then skive, glue and saddle stitch it to the new case.

It should turn out okay but if not, I may PM you for that Etsy source.

Got the Samsung 310a in 2021.... a while back I finally managed to slap it off the top of the computer where I keep it, it hit the corner of the desk on the way down to the second bounce on the floor.

Yeah, resulted in some tiny screen cracks, luckily just a minor annoyance rarely. Glad they are at the bottom of the screen rather than towards the top, that may make some difference... No plans to replace it for the time being, but I suppose I'm lucky that the cracks are tiny and of little concern--- it could have been much worse, I presume.

The S9 has been a great, problem free phone but is outdated, slow and worse yet, has been unsupported for a while now. The S25 is way more phone than I need but with luck, the service life will be similar. Also, Samsung claims it is now offering 7 years of support for their new flagships. We’ll see.

Like yourself, I have questions about this old dog learning new tricks too. If I follow through with the purchase, it'll be fun to see if I get on to its capabilities or will it become like so many other digital things with me these days: Learn just enough about it to do just enough. It's just a phone, right?

Good luck William769 - to both you and me.

Since I live alone and can't ask for help so I have found that YouTube videos explain a lot to me. I'm a tech moron and rarely use a cell phone but I do use a tablet and that helps my senior eyes see more clearly and I can stop the video so I can "catch-up" to what they are saying/showing.

Also, my tablets are Samsung and they suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Frankly, it has far more information than I needed (or even understood ) but would be, I think, a great help in getting to know your phone and finding things you might like.

Mine will be here today so we'll see if I have any useful tips.

I got my phones set up to use about two days ago. So far all I can do is phone calls & texts.

and my biggest worry was about S pen function and there's no problem there so far. Enjoy the phone.

but found a much better video that walks you through how to set up your phone to use lots of great features.

It shows so many features I wasn't aware of but was glad to find. This is really the best phone I've ever had.

Get your basic calling, texts, apps, etc, set up so you can use the phone.

Then just take it an app/feature at a time. If there's something that you think you want to explore, just start playing with it. It's not like the phone will explode if you press the wrong button. Worst case, you turn it off/on again.

I'm still using my S10+ and I love it. No decline in performance after all these years, which is crazy! Starting to have to monitor storage usage, but I still have about 15-18 gigs free.

Several horrid drops to the floor and cement outside, but no cracks. I hope you are using a Spigen phone case and screen protector with your new phone.

Ask for a detailed explanation of something, or a "How to", or like I sometimes do, "Can you explain this so a 7 year old would understand?"