For months now, we have been receiving increasingly ominous snail mail letters and emergency texts that our phones will no longer work on January 1^st, 2023. Well, specifically, my husband’s phone will no longer work because it is a 3G and Verizon will no longer support third generation wireless technology.

He has delayed buying a new one because the old one “works just fine”, but also because his favorite brand is LG; and this one is going to be his last.

It distressed him to learn last year that LG has discontinued making smartphones. His current phone, the LG G6, is four and a half years old and I am certain he would stick with it if Verizon wasn’t going to shut down 3G service.

I own a Samsung Galaxy S9. I was behind the times when I even purchased it almost three years ago. The 10 was aging and almost obsolete. The Galaxy S11 would be introduced 3 months later. I’ve never been on the phone fast track.

Well, we decided we should buy new phones together and switch to a new carrier all at the same time. We were living big.

We entered the store (with Dennis gripping his LG pretty hard) and typed our name into the electronic kiosk near the front entrance and saw we were 8^th in line. Using our time productively, we perused the android models, most of which were Samsung.

Finally, it was our turn, and Brandon walked over to the display area to explain the various models. There were both Galaxy S21 and S22 models available.

“How can that be?” I asked Brandon. “The 11 came out 2 1/2 years ago. How did we just skip to the 20’s?”

He laughed and said, “Apple came out with the iPhone 13 in 2021. I guess Samsung just skipped a few years ahead, building in a comfortable distance.”

This is a good place to ask why aren’t we considering Apple? Partly, I think it’s based on the fact they we started out with the android IOS and remain loyal, and partly, we like supporting the underdog.

After much discussion, and a little lamenting to Brandon on why LG stopped making smartphones, Dennis and I decided to each buy the Galaxy S22. They tout it as an “everyday powerhouse.” I will add, however, that it disappointed me to learn that Galaxy phones no longer have a headphone jack. It looks like I’m heading to wireless in order to listen to my music app.

We weren’t surprised to learn they didn’t have them at that location, but Brandon ordered them and said they would ship them to our house. Dennis chose black, and I eagerly chose “Bora Purple” which looked a lot like lavender. If we would like, we could return to receive help in transferring the old data to the new phones. Yes, please.

The phones arrived just in time for us to get over to the store and complete the transfer. We live in Central Florida and Ian was about to hit. We knew we would sit inside for 36 hours (as long as the power held, which it did) and we could use that time to familiarize ourselves with our S22s’ as well as either log into or download a long list of apps. It is mind-boggling how much of our world is inter-connected now with our phones.

There were some hiccups. Dennis almost only uses a voice-to-text feature because his vision isn’t strong and it’s difficult to type out messages. With mounting frustration, he handed me the phone, and I eventually figured out that I could download a different keyboard with this vital feature. Luckily, this also solved the issue of an ugly black and yellow keyboard. The download bumped the odd Bee theme.

My transition was much smoother since I stayed within the Galaxy line of phones. Everything remained the same, although I needed to log back into every app and grant permission to and for just about everything, maybe even saying yes to buying life insurance. I’m not sure.

Together, we reviewed how to listen to voicemail, how to take a screenshot and how to actually turn the phone off.

He and I did part ways with one particular Samsung feature. Her name is Bixby, and she is the equivalent of Apple’s Siri. I’ve had Bixby ready to assist me for three years now and I never bothered turning on the app. I don’t know, her services just didn’t speak to me.

Dennis, however, was giddy to learn about Bixby. Now he asks her to turn the phone off, give him the time, temperature and when the football game is on next Sunday.

I’m also hearing happy comments including:

“The battery life is much better with this phone.”

 “Everything runs faster.”

“The fitness app is great. It pauses when you stop walking.”

“Taking photos is easier now.” (The LG had the photo button on the left side. Awkward.)

I’m happy he seems to have let LG go (is that what it stands for?) and is ironically going to get quite attached to his S22. The process is well underway.

That is the way of the world, I guess. Change is good. In fact, change is inevitable. It’s just infinitely more fun when the new is better than the old.

Maybe I should think about that. “Hey Bixby, what should I make for dinner?”