Maybe I should’ve specified that it was unlocked via the official “OEM Unlock” switch provided by Samsung. Yes, there are Samsung phones that can be unlocked, though you’re right, many cannot be (usually US versions).

Yes, and up to not long ago, also completely different hardware (exynos vs snapdragon). US samsung devices usually cannot be bootloader unlocked. Rest of the world usually can. No idea why.

I’m writing this from a samsung with unlocked bootloader.

Google Maps, their traffic data has no rivals, unlike gmail which has plenty of good competition. It’s the one thing I couldn’t easily replace yet.