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Generally I’d pay a little more for almost everything, unless I’m absolutely sure the cheap thing I’m about to buy has been a staple in the community and got recommended a tons. I found midrange priced stuff to be the sweet spot that give you a lot more quality and longevity compared to the cheap stuff, while not landing on the other end of diminishing return and overpay for something that’s overkill for my needs.
I switch from a Pixel 3 to a S23 and it’s really nice. The new Snapdragon 8 gen 2 is solid, with great battery life and doesn’t heat up even when doing intensive task. I also change almost all the stock app to Google’s so it’s basically just like using a Pixel now, abet with some restriction (no google recorder app because that’s pixel exclusive lol).
I was worried about “Samsung bloat” too but I have to say the new OneUI is rather nice.