Related
So just picked it up yesterday. Been using it and decided to give it a run. Phone has not been rebooted since I powered it on.
Phone has it's faults but preforming pretty well. Not disappointed by how it runs. Just other stuff.
bignazpwns said:
So just picked it up yesterday. Been using it and decided to give it a run. Phone has not been rebooted since I powered it on.
Phone has it's faults but preforming pretty well. Not disappointed by how it runs. Just other stuff.
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Click to collapse
Out of curiosity, what are you disappointed with?
filthyfnj24 said:
Out of curiosity, what are you disappointed with?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finish on the phone. The bumper after a few hours put about 6 scratches on it. The finish is way way to soft and thin. Under a microscope it's paint not anodized. Extremely poor finish.
15w charger huge step back.
Microscopic battery. Only good thing about being thinner is the old z force bumper fits and helps get rid of that little lip that the turbo battery pack as at the edge. So the feel is closer to the Incipio.
Shatter shield is fused to the display. However it looks like Moto put a stock screen protector on it. Under a microscope I can see a thing layer over the display looking around finger print reader and mic hole. Can't confirm it but I will try it if I ever have to send this in for warranty work.
3gb of ram. At this price point this phone to make up for the tiny battery should come with a battery mod or at least 6gb of ram. Something there is no excuse for that tiny battery.
Camera. WTF no ois? I need to test more to see but I tossed on the modded pixel camera app and I hope the camera is not that bad. But no ois is pretty fail.
Phone worth retail price? God no. I got it for $200 off and a free projector. So since I'm already deep into the Moto mods that's a good deal. But even that deal is a hard sell unless your like me with 4 batterys,. Speaker mod, car dock ect.
bignazpwns said:
Finish on the phone. The bumper after a few hours put about 6 scratches on it. The finish is way way to soft and thin. Under a microscope it's paint not anodized. Extremely poor finish.
15w charger huge step back.
Microscopic battery. Only good thing about being thinner is the old z force bumper fits and helps get rid of that little lip that the turbo battery pack as at the edge. So the feel is closer to the Incipio.
Shatter shield is fused to the display. However it looks like Moto put a stock screen protector on it. Under a microscope I can see a thing layer over the display looking around finger print reader and mic hole. Can't confirm it but I will try it if I ever have to send this in for warranty work.
3gb of ram. At this price point this phone to make up for the tiny battery should come with a battery mod or at least 6gb of ram. Something there is no excuse for that tiny battery.
Camera. WTF no ois? I need to test more to see but I tossed on the modded pixel camera app and I hope the camera is not that bad. But no ois is pretty fail.
Phone worth retail price? God no. I got it for $200 off and a free projector. So since I'm already deep into the Moto mods that's a good deal. But even that deal is a hard sell unless your like me with 4 batterys,. Speaker mod, car dock ect.
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Click to collapse
Interesting about the finish. I've had 3 of these phones, the first was Att, then the T-Mobile and now a Sprint model. Judging by your 4g icon I'm assuming you are on Verizon (all carriers use a different LTE icon) and that's the only one I haven't handled. Despite being the same phone each one I've had has varied in terms of fit and finish.
The Att had the plasticy touch issue right around the fingerprint scanner, but otherwise was solid, probably the best. The T-Mobile had what looked like little chips missing around the bezel after only a day of use and the sim/SD slot was not flush, it was too recessed. The Sprint model I'm using now is pretty good, but the buttons have a little up and down play the others did not. Point being, Motorola has been incredibly inconsistent with their quality control.
My wife has the original z force on Verizon, and while that phone does feel more substantial naked, I can understand Motorola's decision to go thinner and lighter. Her phone becomes a brick with just about any mod (we have the JBL, style shell and Moto power pack)
As far as the battery is concerned, I will never complain about having a bigger battery. That said, I am happy with the battery life of this phone. The first couple days on each model were the worst, but they eventually settle in. I typically get through a full day with over %50 left and if I'm ever low I have a charger in my car and the power pack in the glove box.
I would have to agree on the price, with it's shortcomings this phone is not worth the MSRP (but I don't think any phone is) However, if you can get it for a good deal (I bought the T-Mobile model outright for $550 and sold it for about the same, and I'm paying $16.50/month for 24 months with Sprint. I paid Att's ridiculous asking price of $809 plus sales tax like a dummy, after I found out the bootloader was locked I returned it the next day) it's an awesome phone. While I do wish it had a headphone jack, notification led and better water resistance, these are all trade offs for a shatterproof screen. I knew that coming in and weighed the pros and cons. After having my last phone crack, shatter shield is worth the trade to me.
filthyfnj24 said:
Interesting about the finish. I've had 3 of these phones, the first was Att, then the T-Mobile and now a Sprint model. Judging by your 4g icon I'm assuming you are on Verizon (all carriers use a different LTE icon) and that's the only one I haven't handled. Despite being the same phone each one I've had has varied in terms of fit and finish.
The Att had the plasticy touch issue right around the fingerprint scanner, but otherwise was solid, probably the best. The T-Mobile had what looked like little chips missing around the bezel after only a day of use and the sim/SD slot was not flush, it was too recessed. The Sprint model I'm using now is pretty good, but the buttons have a little up and down play the others did not. Point being, Motorola has been incredibly inconsistent with their quality control.
My wife has the original z force on Verizon, and while that phone does feel more substantial naked, I can understand Motorola's decision to go thinner and lighter. Her phone becomes a brick with just about any mod (we have the JBL, style shell and Moto power pack)
As far as the battery is concerned, I will never complain about having a bigger battery. That said, I am happy with the battery life of this phone. The first couple days on each model were the worst, but they eventually settle in. I typically get through a full day with over %50 left and if I'm ever low I have a charger in my car and the power pack in the glove box.
I would have to agree on the price, with it's shortcomings this phone is not worth the MSRP (but I don't think any phone is) However, if you can get it for a good deal (I bought the T-Mobile model outright for $550 and sold it for about the same, and I'm paying $16.50/month for 24 months with Sprint. I paid Att's ridiculous asking price of $809 plus sales tax like a dummy, after I found out the bootloader was locked I returned it the next day) it's an awesome phone. While I do wish it had a headphone jack, notification led and better water resistance, these are all trade offs for a shatterproof screen. I knew that coming in and weighed the pros and cons. After having my last phone crack, shatter shield is worth the trade to me.
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Click to collapse
i can definitely say that the camera needs alittle work with the black and white lense....
bignazpwns said:
Finish on the phone. The bumper after a few hours put about 6 scratches on it. The finish is way way to soft and thin. Under a microscope it's paint not anodized. Extremely poor finish.
15w charger huge step back.
Microscopic battery. Only good thing about being thinner is the old z force bumper fits and helps get rid of that little lip that the turbo battery pack as at the edge. So the feel is closer to the Incipio.
Shatter shield is fused to the display. However it looks like Moto put a stock screen protector on it. Under a microscope I can see a thing layer over the display looking around finger print reader and mic hole. Can't confirm it but I will try it if I ever have to send this in for warranty work.
3gb of ram. At this price point this phone to make up for the tiny battery should come with a battery mod or at least 6gb of ram. Something there is no excuse for that tiny battery.
Camera. WTF no ois? I need to test more to see but I tossed on the modded pixel camera app and I hope the camera is not that bad. But no ois is pretty fail.
Phone worth retail price? God no. I got it for $200 off and a free projector. So since I'm already deep into the Moto mods that's a good deal. But even that deal is a hard sell unless your like me with 4 batterys,. Speaker mod, car dock ect.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has 4GB of ram not 3. Also the international variant has a 6gb ram.
bignazpwns said:
So just picked it up yesterday. Been using it and decided to give it a run. Phone has not been rebooted since I powered it on.
Phone has it's faults but preforming pretty well. Not disappointed by how it runs. Just other stuff.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a pretty fast device, but I've hit 4GB of RAM during heavy browsing sessions (160+ tabs open in Firefox Nightly. I'm a HEAVY multitasker) FTR, my HTC U11 with 6GB RAM doesn't have that issue. I've yet to hit that phone's limits, despite trying.
jdrch said:
It's a pretty fast device, but I've hit 4GB of RAM during heavy browsing sessions (160+ tabs open in Firefox Nightly. I'm a HEAVY multitasker) FTR, my HTC U11 with 6GB RAM doesn't have that issue. I've yet to hit that phone's limits, despite trying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can confirm EU versions with 6GB RAM have no RAM issues while on my old Moto Z with 4 GB RAM I had to restart it quite often since of my heavy use, otherwise it would begin to continually swap and so lag & increase battery consumption...
New
Here's mine
My antutu test today
Sprint version
here it is off of my AT&T variant moto z2
Thought I'd share my initial impressions on the Oppo Ace2 since it has not gotten much coverage. I also owned the Red Magic 5G for a week before selling it.
I'm coming from a Oneplus 6 and have owned a lot of other Android devices, off the top of my head these include the Nexus 4, OnePlus One, Asus Nexus 7, Samsung Tab Pro 8.4, Galaxy S7 Edge, Huawei Nexus 6P, LG v20, Lenovo ZUK Z2, Mediapad T5, Red Magic 5g etc.
Let's start with the Red Magic 5G. I ordered this a few months ago off tradingshenzhen, it got to me fast enough and the price was fair, but their customer support was not very good (I will not be ordering from them again cause of this https://i.imgur.com/2qd4zPM.jpg). They'll get your phone to you and offer one year warranty but don't expect them to be nice or helpful in the event you dont like your phone or have any issues.
Either way, here my notes on the phone:
Software
I got the Chinese version of the phone. I found the software experience to actually be very good despite this, ignoring the fact that there were some chinese apps that I didnt understand. I'm sure if I removed these few apps I would have had a very good software experience. The software felt very smooth and stable. There were some pretty cool features, but not a ton. Experience felt close to stock android, but lightly skinned with the right theme after some setting up. It didnt come with play store, I just had to install the playstore from apk, chrome and google keyboard then I had an experience not all that different from my OnePlus 6. My red magic 5g got a lot of updates in the time I had it, with big change logs, I'm not sure if global rom users will get that same experience since these types of phones seem to get better support in China.
Display and Body
This is where my mind was blown. That 144hz screen is beautiful and smooth. This was definitely what I loved about the phone most. However, I had my gripes with this screen. For one the, bezels were huge, and the corners were too rounded (meaning less screen). They were so rounded that it was distracting to me, almost as much as having a notch.. This might be a gross exaggeration but I hope it gets my point across. As for the large bezels, it feels like they used the "gaming phone" identity as an excuse to cut corners here with bezel size. It bothered me that there's so much potential screen space being wasted with those large unused bezels. Now the body has very nice comfortable shape, so I don't have anything against that, but it is kind of big, and it is pretty heavy. It felt very premium and nice in hand, but at the same time, it was not comfortable to one hand for long periods of time, it's size and heft also made it a little unwieldy for one handing. This is the main reason I ended up selling this phone. I would often find myself going back to my oneplus 6 instead of using my new phone cause it was just way more comfortable to use with one hand.
Battery and Misc
Microphone was good according to those that I called, speakers sounded fine to me, werent bad at all. They were stereo speakers, one bottom firing and one in the ear piece, which was nice. Battery was meh. For a 4500mah battery phone, it died very fast. Battery felt about the same as my much older oneplus 6 in it's current state.. Around 6-7 hours of screen on time with regular use (not gaming). With gaming I got around a little more than half that. It charged at a decent speed, not slow but not astonishingly fast. My Red magic 5g benchmarked around 595k on Antutu, so it was very fast. The fan was barely audible in it's intelligent mode or whatever it's called. Personally I think the fan is pointless, and that good thermal design makes a much bigger difference. I loved having the shoulder triggers for gaming. playing games like codm, pubg, etc were great experiences. I sunk hours into these games even though I dont tend to really do any smartphone gaming. I don't really like that manufacturers are trying so hard to make phones into "gaming phones" cause they are still just phones at the end of the day. If anything I would like to have a good value flagship (or flagship killer) with shoulder triggers, it doesn't need to be a "gaming phone". For instance, I think the oneplus 8 (or pro) but with a flat screen + shoulder triggers would be the perfect and ideal phone for me.
I also ordered the Realme X2 Pro but the seller (realme's aliexpress store) cancelled this order due to shipping issues. Then I ordered the Poco F2 Pro but GearBest hadn't shipped it out even after 3 weeks so I cancelled the order. Finally I ordered the Ace2 off Giztop and this was a much better experience. Order placed Friday, shipped out Monday, then received next week Monday (today). The Ace2 was discounted to $589.99 and I got a further 4% discount with the GTRE4 code. Shipping was $30 (DHL) and duties/brokerage was $37, so I paid a grand total of around (roughly) $632. Not bad. The shipping, handling, duties and fees all together were still less than Canadian tax (13%). Canadian retailers sell phones like the Poco F2 pro for around $580 (USD), after taxes that's $655, not even including shipping costs. Much better to wait a little for longer shipping and buy from outside of Canada it seems. So let's talk about this phone.
First and foremost, I'd like to note I do get buyer's remorse (like I did with my red magic 5g), but I've never had any issues post-purchase rationalization. If I don't like something, I don't try to justify it, especially where phones are concerned and having owned so many different devices, both good and bad. For example, the LG V20 was my most expensive purchase and easily the phone I hated most out of all the devices I've owned. I had already paid for it, so I stuck with it even though I hated it for at least a year, before finally getting my current oneplus 6. The LG V20 was so bad that I thought my much older nexus 6p was wayyy better, I wanted to go back to it so bad but I had already handed it down to my mom. While I liked the red magic 5g, I didn't like it enough to keep it and ended up selling it at a loss. My point here is, that these are just my opinions, but I do try to be as unbiased as I can be. I bought the Ace2 knowing that I would sell or return it if I didnt like it, like I did with my Red Magic 5g, so I didnt have my hopes high or any plans to keep it if I wasnt happy with it.
Setup
The unboxing experience was very basic, like any other Chinese smartphone so I will skip this part, but it does come with a pre-applied screen protector and a surprisingly nice clear case. I thought it would be a cheap clear case that looked nasty on the phone.
First thing I did was update the phone's firmware, then do a full factory reset. I set it up fresh, uninstalled what chinese bloat I could (there was a lot), installed playstore with the first apk I found, then using that I installed chrome + google keyboard. After turning on the app drawer, and dark mode I felt I had a very usable experience similar to what I had on my oneplus 6. I hate migrating phones, but the experience here wasnt too bad, I downloaded and used oppo's phone clone app from my oneplus 6, it connected the two phones with direct wifi and copied 30 gigs of data over in around 15min. I did not get much control in what gets copied over but it was still a very simple and hassle free process that I could appreciate.
Software
I'm going to start with this phone's biggest weakness. So the software is.. a mixed bag. Say what you will about the design, but ColorOS and oppo launcher are really well optimized. ColorOS has really come a long way from what it used to be. I tested a bunch of different launchers on this phone but I ended up going back to the oppo launcher cause it was just wayyy smoother and responsive. I wish that's all I had to say about the software but there's a lot more to say.. like how bloated this phone comes. Just random chinese apps everywhere. Most of them can be uninstalled off the bat, but the rest need a little more work to get rid of, including ADB and a little research. I actually think I would have liked coloros a bit more than oxygenos had this been a global version and came with less bloat. It's just a big hassle that I'm sure nobody wants to deal with after getting a new phone. The software experience here is great- if you're chinese. If you're not, you have a whole lot of work to do to get it somewhere good. On the other hand, I thought coming from oxygenos I thought this would be a complete downgrade, but much to my surprise there are a lot of things it actually does better. There are way more features, yes I mean useful ones, it feels smoother and more responsive for some reason (the animations are way quicker and smoother). I think ColorOS isn't actually that bloated once you get rid of the apps you don't need (using ADB where you need to). OxygenOS is great and used to be way ahead of it's time, but I feel the other choices available have caught up while OxygenOS hasn't really gone anywhere. My OnePlus 6 barely gets updates and is slow to get them when it ever even gets any. I've noticed that's a common occurrence with OnePlus devices, you get a lot of quick updates when your device is still a new release, but then it gets put on the backburner as new devices come out.
Display
This display is amazing, it's breathtaking. Side by side with my oneplus 6 it looks and feels like an upgrade in every way. The colors are better, and the smoothness is so satisfying, every bit as much as the 144hz display I had on my red magic 5g, which further leads me to believe anything above 90hz isn't really worth the price premium and battery cost. The punch hole was a little distracting at first since I wasnt used to it, but I quickly got used to it and dont even notice anymore. It's a very small punchole and is a nice upgrade from the big notch my oneplus 6 had. I would rather have this punch hole then the huge top bezel (and lost screen space) the red magic 5g had any day. I didn't realize this until I had the red magic 5g in my hand and wish I realized this sooner. The whole point of notches and punch hole I think is to give us more screen where we used to have bezel, and this is something I appreciate a lot more now. One of the biggest things for me here is that the screen is flat. I'm soo glad that I didn't have to compromise with curved edges. After owned an s7 edge, I never want to deal with that again. I know they aren't as bad as they used to be, but I still think it's silly to have to compromise with how the light reflects off of curved edges, the accidental touches or touch rejection, finding screen protectors that work, etc. If flat screens are cheaper I dont see why more manufacturers dont choose to go this route on their budget flagships at least (looking at you mi 10 non pro and oneplus 8 non pro).
Body
This phone is very solid and quality feeling. It doesn't have any super outstanding premium feeling that a higher end flagship might give you, but it does not feel cheap at all. The body is your typical metal frame, gorilla glass 5 sandwhich build. I have to say though, I love this two tone color on the back. It's like a black/navy type color that looks really elegant and sexy in my opinion. I hate oreo shaped camera modules but this is the one phone that I think it actually looks good on because of it's simple minimalist design. My favorite part of this phone is the weight and size. It's almost the same as my oneplus 6, in both weight and size, but has a larger screen. To me, that's amazing, because looking at all the new SD865 phones released this year it felt like I was going to have to give up the light weight and compact size of the oneplus 6 to upgrade to a "better" phone. It's one of the smallest and lightest Snapdragon 865 phones available and it IS the smallest and lightest one available with a flat screen, which exactly what I wanted. It just feels soooo comfortable in hand compared to anything else I've recently used. They really nailed the comfort aspect with this phone. I had no idea this was going to matter so much to me until I used the red magic 5g for a week (which isnt even that big or heavy for a gaming phone, there are worse offenders out there like the black shark 3). I can see why some people really want smaller phones now. For me, I like having a big screen, so it's not smaller phones that I want, but phones that have better screen to body and weight ratios.
Sound
Now here's where I found a nice surprise. Good stereo speakers. Never thought I would ever care about having this. I'm a headphone guy, and phone speakers always suck anyways so why would I care (so I thought). These are by far the best phone speakers I've ever heard, and they somehow blew me away even though I've never cared about how good the speakers on a phone were. They get very loud, and they sound very full. Even at the loudest volume setting where I expected the fidelity to deteriorate, it still had nice clear, smooth, full sounding stereo audio. I saw someone on reddit asking for a phone recommendation with good stereo speakers, apparently it was a must for him, and I didn't get why until now. I no longer feel the need to grab my headphones when I want to watch a youtube video, the stereo experience on this is just much better. There is still a con to be talked about however, no headphone jack. Having a headphone jack would have been nice, and even cooler if the phone came with a nice DAC (pretty much the only thing LG does right in their phones). Not a huge deal for me, I would be using bluetooth or a USB DAC anyways if it didnt come with a good internal DAC but it does make things less convenient in a pinch.
Battery and Performance
Well, it has a snapdragon 865, haven't had a single hiccup yet. Phone is blazing fast as expected. Coloros is well optimized too. Battery is good too, I will report screen on times soon. Much better than my red magic 5g so far from what I can tell. The main star of this show though is that 40w wireless charging and 65w wired charging. Charging cable that it came with is kind of short but the phone charges so fast I don't think it matters. 4000mah might seem small compared to alternatives, but coloros is surprisingly very efficient with it, even with 90hz on and all the chinese bloat it came with. Im surprised they managed to fit a battery this size and a 40w wireless charging coil in such a compact and light phone (relative to similar spec phones).
Closing thoughts
I think this is what the OnePlus 8 should have been, and I hope for others that this is what the Realme X3 pro is going to be if not better. There are a lot of things more expensive oneplus 8 is missing out on here, like the 65w charging, wireless charging, flat screen, etc. The only thing I think it has going for it is that it seems like a nicer build/quality phone with better software. I think the Poco F2 pro on the other hand is a solid contender because it actually comes with global software, has a huge battery + great screen on time, has a decent camera and will have a big developer community. I ultimately ended up passing up on this phone because it doesnt have 90hz, wireless charging, 65w charging, doesnt support very many frequencies, has a slower face unlock and cause its a pretty heavy phone (so not as comfortable), but this phone will make sense as a better choice for many others that have different priorities. Pick what suits you and your needs best. All in all, this is a very underrated phone that doesn't get talked enough about outside of Asia. I think if you're interested in the Ace2, feel it fits what you want well at a price that you think is good that you shouldn't be afraid to buy it. It's a great phone and it's worth it. Just note that you may need to do some extra work to make the software experience good for you because of the chinese bloat (as you would need to with any chinese rom phone anyways). Not to say that the software is bad, it's very good software that's just marred by all the extra chinese stuff it comes with that most of us probably dont want or need.
If there's anything more you guys would like to know about any of the phones that I own or have owned please let me know. I'll try to answer them the best I can. Would love to see some form of an Ace2 community grow but I won't be surprised if it's just me even months later.
Inspiring
I think that based on your detailed review (That I read before on reddit) I’m convinced to purchase this phone, the only android experience I’ve had was an old samsung s7 edge so I’m convinced that the ace 2 will be smooth, so one question: can you guide me on how to debloat the phone once I get it?
I'm just about to pull the trigger on this beautiful foldable, the only thing I'm worried about is that I use my device the most for watching movies, youtube and twitch.
That black bars kinda bother me.
The other thing is about the durability over time of the screen because I think it will eventually brake after some years of folds. Am I wrong?
Please help me decide beetween this and Oppo Find X2 pro. (I don't care about the price tag as I want to keep the new device for at least 4 years and enjoy it the most)
About my second choice is because I want to fully enjoy a QHD 120hz display and I'm not worried about the battery life for many reasons.. (I had that device and was perfect for me but I experience some pink tint issues so I asked for a refund)
I don't really like do the lottery and hope for a better screen with Oppo or Oneplus screen.
I hope someone can help me.. thank you in advance,
Alessio
You're going to get black bars because of the screen ratio of the device when unfolded. You get smaller black bars when watching in landscape unfolded, but then the camera hole punch cuts into the video content. In portrait you get bigger bars and smaller content, but the hole punch is within the top black bar.
As for durability, I've read Samsung have tested for a certain number of folding/unfolding which equates to opening the device 100 times a day for 5 years. I can't remember where I read this and can't find anything when Googling.
It's supposed to be rated for 200,000 folds. Check out the Fold 1 Forums and ask folks about durability. The Fold2 is supposed to be a lot better.
Sent from my SM-F916U1 using Tapatalk
I've had mine for 2 days now. My previous phone was a Galaxy S20 Ultra which I'm now putting up for sale. Before getting the Z Fold 2, I also bought a Surface Duo, used it for a day and hated it, so I returned it.
It has been a learning curve with the Z Fold 2 because it's such a different device. Still not sure I love it but it's definitely growing on me. The weirdest thing was getting used to the small cover screen but I am now used to that.
I will say that the hardware is fantastic although it is a more fragile phone because of the folding screen and lack of water and dust proofing.
I don't think I'm going to have issues with the screen as long as I don't fold with something in it or press it too hard. The black bars don't bother me - that's just a result of the screen having such odd aspect ratio. The screen is a beauty. I still can't believe Samsung pulled this off. Yes the crease is there but really not an issue.
The only other issue I have with it is how slick it is since my case hasn't arrived yet but I expect that to not be an issue with a case.
I think if you decide to go for this phone, you'll like it a lot as long as you are willing to go through the learning curve of the new form factor. Worst case scenario you can always return it for a refund.
I saw it as a brilliant yet highly flawed device when I got it. Now I cant use a regular phone anymore, they're completely ruined for me. I would have preferred the device be wider because I still don't like the front screen to this day and a little wider would be all it takes to fix it. That inner screen though, shes a beauty. The internet is so much easier to browse in that format, games look fantastic, videos are unfortunately not as good as they could be thanks to the idiotic placement of the inner camera. Yeah, I know why the decided to put it there and I disagree with the decision. This phone is all about that screen and the stupid placement makes videos smaller than they should be or puts a hole in them. Neither should have been happening because it hurts the phones best attribute. As I said; flawed. I cant however go back, regular phones seem ridiculously limiting now.
I upgraded from the OG Fold and love the 2, Marked improvement all over.
The hinge is also a lot stiffer with the added functionality in the Fold 2
Watching content doesn't bother me, you get used to the black bars and it's still a much bigger viewing area than a regular phone.
My only concern is you wanting to keep it for 4 years, this is obviously new technology so no one is going to be able to say whether it can last for that length of time. I had the fold one near 9 months and never had 1 issue with it, no issues with the screen or folding.
I go with a Note. They will last 4 years and are dust/water sealed, add a good case and you're good to go.
If you charge the battery wisely (40-65% charges) you may get 4 years out of it too.
The 10+ is a proven performer and comes loaded with Pie if you prefer that OS as I do. It's got 2 OS upgrades so it should take it to 11 at least.
The 20U may have some minor issues but it seems like a solid Note.
Both support massive SD cards and are fun, fast, responsive machines with drop dead gorgeous displays.
Samsung has over extended its self both technically and financially on the Fold devices I think to spite all the glowing reviews.
Browse the forums of other current Samsung models here to get a better idea of just how small the niche is for this device. Its novelty alone will make it harder to get online tech support for. Samsung online/phone support sucks; some of the worst I ever experienced.
I blew off upgrading to the 20U because Samsung didn't give me anymore bang for the buck than my 10+.
In addition to that was Android Q with its scope storage is a performance hit not seen with Pie. It will also render legacy apks I use a lot most likely unusable.
If the Notes don't provide enough real estate, the Fold 2 be your only choice for now. The next generation should be better.
Lol, Samsung claims the conformal coating on the Fold 2's PCBs are it's waterproofing. Pure hogwash; all the switches and micro connectors are vulnerable.
I would never even consider a smartphone without water and dust sealing. Even my ancient first flip phone had them.
10 years latter it's still functional...
blackhawk said:
I go with a Note. They will last 4 years and are dust/water sealed, add a good case and you're good to go.
If you charge the battery wisely (40-65% charges) you may get 4 years out of it too.
The 10+ is a proven performer and comes loaded with Pie if you prefer that OS as I do. It's got 2 OS upgrades so it should take it to 11 at least.
The 20U may have some minor issues but it seems like a solid Note.
Both support massive SD cards and are fun, fast, responsive machines with drop dead gorgeous displays.
Samsung has over extended its self both technically and financially on the Fold devices I think to spite all the glowing reviews.
Browse the forums of other current Samsung models here to get a better idea of just how small the niche is for this device. Its novelty alone will make it harder to get online tech support for. Samsung online/phone support sucks; some of the worst I ever experienced.
I blew off upgrading to the 20U because Samsung didn't give me anymore bang for the buck than my 10+.
In addition to that was Android Q with its scope storage is a performance hit not seen with Pie. It will also render legacy apks I use a lot most likely unusable.
If the Notes don't provide enough real estate, the Fold 2 be your only choice for now. The next generation should be better.
Lol, Samsung claims the conformal coating on the Fold 2's PCBs are it's waterproofing. Pure hogwash; all the switches and micro connectors are vulnerable.
I would never even consider a smartphone without water and dust sealing. Even my ancient first flip phone had them.
10 years latter it's still functional...
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Click to collapse
Do you actually own a Z Fold 2?
The render legacy apks unusable was laughable, that's for sure. He does not own the phone, he's been here trolling for quite a while.
krabman said:
The render legacy apks unusable was laughable, that's for sure. He does not own the phone, he's been here trolling for quite a while.
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Q renders (or soon will) many legacy apks unusable not the Z. Not so funny if you're running Q...
It's a prototype. I build prototype$ not buy them.
I am however fascinated in this product in more ways than one... Samsung gro$$ly overextended themselves on this product line and the game they're playing isn't low poker.
TheMountain said:
I'm just about to pull the trigger on this beautiful foldable, the only thing I'm worried about is that I use my device the most for watching movies, youtube and twitch.
That black bars kinda bother me.
The other thing is about the durability over time of the screen because I think it will eventually brake after some years of folds. Am I wrong?
Please help me decide beetween this and Oppo Find X2 pro. (I don't care about the price tag as I want to keep the new device for at least 4 years and enjoy it the most)
About my second choice is because I want to fully enjoy a QHD 120hz display and I'm not worried about the battery life for many reasons.. (I had that device and was perfect for me but I experience some pink tint issues so I asked for a refund)
I don't really like do the lottery and hope for a better screen with Oppo or Oneplus screen.
I hope someone can help me.. thank you in advance,
Alessio
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Sorry i'm late to the party!!! So i came from a Find X2 pro to the Fold 2 and honestly i love the fold 2. I work at a Machine shop and my fold 2 has been perfectly fine (im not saying its the most durable phone on earth , but it definetly feels like its gonna be just fine). if there were any major drawbacks id say the lack of cases that protect the hinge spine , and the crappy rubber inner screen protector (which has been removed),and the cameras (comparing to the Find x2 pro directly) .
overall the black bars while watching youtube i can live with cause it has so much real estate on the inner screen that it quickly became something i dont notice anymore.
The cameras are good not the best but good, the find x2 pro camera was fantastic.
My main issue has to be cases, i currently have 6 cases (araree bonnet wallet,spigen thin fit,gkk thin fit,2xchinese "leather back" cases,ringke clear) and the Araree bonnet is the only one that protects the spine yet its awkward to use when folded(back of case digs into finger when holding 1 handed and cover hanging is a minor annoyance) when open the case is ok. all the other cases yeild the same result , when closed they protect the front & back but leave the spine exposed when folded. so its a catch 22 in the case department.
I also applied a Dbrand teardown skin "ultramatte" and its awesome cause the black back of the phone was a fingerprint haven.
So im sure ive rambled enough haha, but i would honestly say overall even with the drawbacks id take the fold 2 over the find x2 pro if i had to choose again.
also i ordered the Spigen Tough Armor (which seems like it will be a good case protecting the spine/hinge and not being "in the way"when used folded like the araree bonnet)
Either way both phones are really good im sure you'll be happy with either
krabman said:
The render legacy apks unusable was laughable, that's for sure. He does not own the phone, he's been here trolling for quite a while.
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Click to collapse
Sounds about right. He doesn't own one and is here just trolling away.
I'm not sure what the point of going to a sub section and complaining about a phone you don't own and aren't going to buy is but it happens often enough here. I completely understand the posts where people say they are disappointed about a device as it comes out, are moving elsewhere, and the why. These posts can be useful to those on the fence. To go back to this device I still think while flawed it's an amazing piece of kit and more than any other phone I've ever encountered; one you really have to use to fully get. It's unfortunate the entry fee is so steep as to make test driving one unreasonable for most.
Honestly I have had every note that Samsung has made and my secondary device is a note 20. I am now spoiled I have had my zfold 2 a month and I can't go back to a regular phone ever again. I'm a fold loyalist from now on
randy2 said:
Honestly I have had every note that Samsung has made and my secondary device is a note 20. I am now spoiled I have had my zfold 2 a month and I can't go back to a regular phone ever again. I'm a fold loyalist from now on
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Well said... I had the fold1 and now the fold2 and can't imagine going back to a "normal" mobile phone again... regardless of brand.
randy2 said:
Honestly I have had every note that Samsung has made and my secondary device is a note 20. I am now spoiled I have had my zfold 2 a month and I can't go back to a regular phone ever again. I'm a fold loyalist from now on
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I'm a Note loyalist but I've been playing with the ZF2 at Best Buy and am in love with it. Can't decide if I can give up my SPen though.
Mr. Orange 645 said:
I'm a Note loyalist but I've been playing with the ZF2 at Best Buy and am in love with it. Can't decide if I can give up my SPen though.
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Next year, the fold 3 is replacing the note line and getting a Spend.
DJW35 said:
Next year, the fold 3 is replacing the note line and getting a Spend.
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Yeah, I knew that was the latest rumor. It's one reason I'm considering the Fold 2 now. Might as well grab it, because it will have a higher trade in value next year when I get the Fold 3, LOL.
Add
DJW35 said:
Next year, the fold 3 is replacing the note line and getting a Spend.
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So they are saying.
So far the durability has been lacking and the price is higher than I pay for a laptop.
The Fold sales have been dismal thus far... if that tells you something.
Sparkling reviews, all of them.
What's wrong with this picture?
I don't share Samsung's enthusiasm and they grossly overextended themselves trying to develop this technology. Their other expensive phones suffered as a result and during a worldwide economic downturn at that. Brilliant.
The Edsel was a similar money sinkhole released during a recession. That ended well.
I call snake eyes.
Break away in a wide track Pontiac GTO... :laugh:
* And maybe tri-fold phone. Oh my... hold on to your hats:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/mspowe...old-smartphone-bandwagon-with-new-patent/amp/
Apple sounds amused, maybe nervous:
https://www.patentlyapple.com/paten...-continue-to-work-on-a-next-gen-tri-fold.html
blackhawk said:
Add
So far the durability has been lacking and the price is higher than I pay for a laptop.
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Without a shadow of a doubt the Fold 2 is the best mobile device i have owned in over 20 years of owning a mobile. Durability is perfectly fine (for me), battery life is excellent, (i get 9hrs SOT with the 90hz app) and the main foldable screen is amazing with or without the factory fitted film protector.
The front screen is still slightly too narrow to make the device 100% perfect but perhaps next years Fold3 will resolve that outstanding issue...
I can't imagine ever going back to a "normal" candy bar style phone ever again.
Yes foldable devices are currently hugely expensive but as an early adopter I accept i have chosen to pay more than the average consumer would. Hopefully (!) In a couple of years Samsung will be able to sell a fold5 for 100 or 200 £$€ more than the equivalent S23 Ultra price.
I love this device . Best phone I ever owned . opening up to a tablet still feels like magic after months of owning it .but I'm thinking about selling it .why you ask ? Because I just had to pay 150 to get the inside screen replaced . I opened it up a week ago with a crack going down the left side of the screen .no issues with the lcd just the thin glass was cracked .I baby this phone .I don't take it out the house often .never gave dropped it or abused it in any way . And honestly would have felt better about the crack if I knew how it happened . But there it was and a week later I'm getting my fold 2 back tommorow . Now what to do ? Keep using it for who knows just for it to" magically "crack again and have to pay over 500 dollars to get it fixed again . I'm tempted to just trade it to someone for another phone plus cash . thoughts ??
I fully understand your thoughts. I think the novelty and excitement of having big screen at hand anytime I want is now gone. I am finding myself cleaning the inside screen every night, even if I didn't open the screen at all that day, I am just paranoid just to see the dust sitting on it. And there is dust all the time. The constant cleaning of fingerprints makes me mad. I did dropped my phone already when I had it for just 2 weeks, from about 2 feet to carpet floor!!! and the front screen cracked in the corner immediately. I have dropped my phones from that height before and nothing ever happened. Samsung replaced the screen next day for $130.00. I have owned every single Note phone from Note 1 and never was so scared about dropping the phone, scratches on the body or dust on the screen. I am really getting tired of it. Right before the Z Fold I bought Note 20 Ultra that I still keep just in case. I do compare the 2 phones often, and I do miss the S pen a lot. So, I think of selling the Z Fold as well. On top of this, there is no good protective case for the Fold at this time and given the design, I don't see good working functional case in the future. I am using Leather Flip Cover now, it's ok, but not perfect.
I have Book cover on the Note and it works much better. The size of the screen on Note 20 Ultra is not that much smaller than opened Z fold screen anyway. And the seam in the middle of the inner screen has now developed 2 weird bumps that starts to bother me. Well, tough decisions, since it looks like Samsung will probably kill the Note line in the future and go the Fold way anyway..
Update . Traded my z fold for a OnePlus 8 pro and a iPhone 12 pro max today so far no regrets and I'll get another fold one day . Fun device while I had it
Very difficult to go back to the regular screen for me personally
Me using 12 pro max too. So dont regret anything
juggamonkey said:
Update . Traded my z fold for a OnePlus 8 pro and a iPhone 12 pro max today so far no regrets and I'll get another fold one day . Fun device while I had it
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The oneplus 8 pro is the bomb. I've had one for a while and keep going back to it over my Note 20 Ultra. I've just recently re-entered the Fold 2 community because samsung is offering $1000 for my old Note 10 plus. Couldn't turn it down, lol.
juggamonkey said:
Update . Traded my z fold for a OnePlus 8 pro and a iPhone 12 pro max today so far no regrets and I'll get another fold one day . Fun device while I had it
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Hope you adapt to and enjoy your new device.
The Sammy Fold series continues to be a disaster. Betaware that forces the customer to suck up Samsung prototyping experimental issues of their imperfect folding technology.
Plus no SD card support, not water or dust proof and as a bonus it spontaneously self destructs, a real masterpiece (as Pappy Boyington would have said).
I don't fault you one bit for bailing; a wise move.
carlitos66 said:
I fully understand your thoughts. I think the novelty and excitement of having big screen at hand anytime I want is now gone. I am finding myself cleaning the inside screen every night, even if I didn't open the screen at all that day, I am just paranoid just to see the dust sitting on it. And there is dust all the time. The constant cleaning of fingerprints makes me mad. I did dropped my phone already when I had it for just 2 weeks, from about 2 feet to carpet floor!!! and the front screen cracked in the corner immediately. I have dropped my phones from that height before and nothing ever happened. Samsung replaced the screen next day for $130.00. I have owned every single Note phone from Note 1 and never was so scared about dropping the phone, scratches on the body or dust on the screen. I am really getting tired of it. Right before the Z Fold I bought Note 20 Ultra that I still keep just in case. I do compare the 2 phones often, and I do miss the S pen a lot. So, I think of selling the Z Fold as well. On top of this, there is no good protective case for the Fold at this time and given the design, I don't see good working functional case in the future. I am using Leather Flip Cover now, it's ok, but not perfect.
I have Book cover on the Note and it works much better. The size of the screen on Note 20 Ultra is not that much smaller than opened Z fold screen anyway. And the seam in the middle of the inner screen has now developed 2 weird bumps that starts to bother me. Well, tough decisions, since it looks like Samsung will probably kill the Note line in the future and go the Fold way anyway..
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im using Spigen thin armor pro for protection... best case i had so far and super sturdy... costs $90 tho.
I have a a Note 9 and I've been spending a lot of time debating the Note 20 Ultra vs the Fold 2 but can't make my mind up, I'm not considering the S21 since it loses micro SD and integrated S-pen but doesn't have anything like the folding screen to make up for it. Some users seem to find the appeal of the Fold 2 wears off but others find they can't go back to normal phones.
I've always loved the idea of the Fold and can live with the higher cost if I like the phone but it makes it pricey if I change my mind plus I lose the sd slot and spen and I am concerned about durability as there's a few posts about damaged screens like this one. I do appreciate that problems on forums are going to be exaggerated though.
I'm keen to hear on any other Fold 2 experiences.
Johnmcl7 said:
I have a a Note 9 and I've been spending a lot of time debating the Note 20 Ultra vs the Fold 2 but can't make my mind up, I'm not considering the S21 since it loses micro SD and integrated S-pen but doesn't have anything like the folding screen to make up for it. Some users seem to find the appeal of the Fold 2 wears off but others find they can't go back to normal phones.
I've always loved the idea of the Fold and can live with the higher cost if I like the phone but it makes it pricey if I change my mind plus I lose the sd slot and spen and I am concerned about durability as there's a few posts about damaged screens like this one. I do appreciate that problems on forums are going to be exaggerated though.
I'm keen to hear on any other Fold 2 experiences.
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The Note 9 is a good phone; I'm considering getting one.
The whole Fold series is problematic at best; born to die for sure.
The technology is far from where it needs to be.
A pretty thing if you can afford it and the high maintenance it will incur plus the sad lack of the SD card slot.
The 10+ running on Pie was Samsung's last good Note offering. The 512/12 4G is a rock solid platform with good battery life.
Problem is they're hard to come by and holding their value a bit too well.
At first I was irritated by the fixed 60hz display but now feel it is a blessing as the display is huge, drop dead gorgeous and as easy on the battery as a display this size can be.
I find no worrh while incentive to upgrade in hardware or firmware for the foreseeable future.
Pie is superior to Q in a number of ways. Both 10 and 11 are Android platforms I wish to avoid.
I'm not willing to take the performance hit or part with some of my favorite overlay apks.
Screw 10 and 11... and as for Goggle I want to deep six ditch them worse than FB.
Johnmcl7 said:
I have a a Note 9 and I've been spending a lot of time debating the Note 20 Ultra vs the Fold 2 but can't make my mind up, I'm not considering the S21 since it loses micro SD and integrated S-pen but doesn't have anything like the folding screen to make up for it. Some users seem to find the appeal of the Fold 2 wears off but others find they can't go back to normal phones.
I've always loved the idea of the Fold and can live with the higher cost if I like the phone but it makes it pricey if I change my mind plus I lose the sd slot and spen and I am concerned about durability as there's a few posts about damaged screens like this one. I do appreciate that problems on forums are going to be exaggerated though.
I'm keen to hear on any other Fold 2 experiences.
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Click to collapse
I can only tell you from my experience, the fold 2 is a terrific phone IF:
- You are OK with dealing with a thick device
- You will need a case. Its glass and expensive, and with a lot of actual opening and closing maneuvers there is always a chance of slipping out of hand (well only happened twice for me, but still)
- Formfactor hinders case designs, I am using the slim armor pro which has awesome protection rating but 2 main Issues. One, it's expensive and difficult to find in my country and 2, it makes the phone bulky still.
- front screen is narrow but then that makes it easy to reach with one hand. I really don't have a problem here.
- no SD card support, I used to use a 400Gb card with my note 20 ultra, to store pics and videos. But with fold 2, I just realised I have almost 140GB free from a total of 256GB. No gimmicky 8k Video here (I never really enjoyed it in note 20 U, 4k with stabilisation was far superior). I also used to offload apps onto the micro SD card but each time the app updated, I had to manually move the apps again. I think 512GB Would suffice if you really need an sd card. It's my use case and yours could obviously be different.
But all things said, I love the phone. Every single person notices it and goes "WHAAAAATT??? AWESOME"... Some relate it to the Nokia communicators though (being narrow and thick)
About the fragility of the phone, well after I have started using the slim armor I have never babied the phone... heck I even dropped it more than a couple of times (in closed position). I have realised that the phone really isn't that flimsy... may be I got one from a good batch coz I hear horror stores, but that's where the warranty comes in ( well in my country samsung warranty is a lengthy process BTW).
Foldables and rollables will be a thing soon but they will remain top of the line for a few years.
I am an artist myself, I use the S pen to sketch and draw and for me spen is super useful, it's a shame that fold 2 can't use it. But I have a Samsung tab s4 just for that (was cheap and serves my purpose). IF you can wait for a few more months, I hear the fold 3 will support spen and if s pen is really important to you, why not get the note 20u now (prices have dropped) and get the fold 3 later? You could be saving quite a bit.
For what it's worth:
I was uncomfortable foraging into experimental phones again as I had the Note Edge. Tons of "nay sayers" then and it transformed future phones...
I am pleased I own this device!
There have always been voices against innovation as it begins its assent until it proves worthy in their personal experience.Same with the Z Fold 2...
Yes it's an expensive device, not as fragile as expected, bulky and heavier than my N10+, no "attached" Spen, though an absolute joy to use as it fits my needs: leaving ALL devices behind save this one for business and pleasure.
It's been in the 2-piece best designed case i could find since I pulled it out of the box (heard good things about Spigen though didn't want m o r e bulk) and have been using a wonderful stylus that duplicates most of the Spen without the cool tricks. I use a ring holder device stuck to the back which absolutely helps with weight and balance. Don't miss the SD card as got weened off dependancy owning a Note 5; great for convenience though many solutions abound (using a 1TB external drive). Since enrolling in Samsung's Device Buy Back Program this phone is more of a "lease" until the Z Fold 3.
Maybe I am blessed with no issues in the first month of ownership though most issues with phones are "operator errors" I've found in my experience owning mobile phones since 1991. Your mileage may vary... good luck. Peace
Thanks for posting your thoughts.
I can manage without an SD card and an S-pen but they are handy features and I have to accept I'll lose the notification light and headphone socket but it makes paying a good chunk of money for a new phone a bit less desirable when losing these. I'm generally happy with the Note 9 and the reason I'm considering these phones is to get the ultrawide lens, I was about to buy one for my camera at around £1300 but then started thinking maybe the money would be better spent on a phone with an ultrawide lens instead. I tend to find I like to leave the super telephoto lens on the camera and then just use the phone for normal wide angle shots since they tend not to benefit so much from the dedicated camera and I have a slightly older ultrawide setup I can use for property shoots or whatever.
Johnmcl7 said:
Thanks for posting your thoughts.
I can manage without an SD card and an S-pen but they are handy features and I have to accept I'll lose the notification light and headphone socket but it makes paying a good chunk of money for a new phone a bit less desirable when losing these. I'm generally happy with the Note 9 and the reason I'm considering these phones is to get the ultrawide lens, I was about to buy one for my camera at around £1300 but then started thinking maybe the money would be better spent on a phone with an ultrawide lens instead. I tend to find I like to leave the super telephoto lens on the camera and then just use the phone for normal wide angle shots since they tend not to benefit so much from the dedicated camera and I have a slightly older ultrawide setup I can use for property shoots or whatever.
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Click to collapse
Hey man... the cameras on this device are good though the Note 10+
Johnmcl7 said:
Thanks for posting your thoughts.
I can manage without an SD card and an S-pen but they are handy features and I have to accept I'll lose the notification light and headphone socket but it makes paying a good chunk of money for a new phone a bit less desirable when losing these. I'm generally happy with the Note 9 and the reason I'm considering these phones is to get the ultrawide lens, I was about to buy one for my camera at around £1300 but then started thinking maybe the money would be better spent on a phone with an ultrawide lens instead. I tend to find I like to leave the super telephoto lens on the camera and then just use the phone for normal wide angle shots since they tend not to benefit so much from the dedicated camera and I have a slightly older ultrawide setup I can use for property shoots or whatever.
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Click to collapse
Hey man, here's hoping you create the perfect lens set up for yourself! ;-) I don't know if it's my eye or the zf2 camera specs, seems my N10+ was a better shooter. Oh well...
BTW, I had spoken with ZF2 concierge regarding Edge Lighting +, (Good Lock and selfie camera light notifications), and he said with the new update coming it would be turned on for the unlocked Samsung devices. Hmm. We'll see. Peace
From what I've read that sounds right about the Fold 2's camera not being quite as good which also should really point me more towards the N20 Ultra.
Johnmcl7 said:
From what I've read that sounds right about the Fold 2's camera not being quite as good which also should really point me more towards the N20 Ultra.
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I have both note 20 U and zf2, I don't know why people think note 20 ultras cameras are better, quality wise?.. IMHO, they both are neck and neck.. ofcourse you miss 5x zoom, totally useless 24fps 8k and the ever so lovely DOF from the 108mp camera but that's it... quality wise they are both great... you would find it difficult to vote one over the other in a blind test..
Here, have attached few pics from one of my vacation trip recently taken with zf2.. the pickup one, increase brightness and go into a dark room... look at the stars.. I think these are good results..what do you think?
The Note 20 Ultra has better camera sensors than the Z Fold 2, I assume it was one of the compromises made on the Fold to keep the already high cost down. The dark shots posted don't really show much as they're severely underexposed which avoids using a higher iso setting which is an area the Note 20 is better at.
Johnmcl7 said:
The Note 20 Ultra has better camera sensors than the Z Fold 2, I assume it was one of the compromises made on the Fold to keep the already high cost down. The dark shots posted don't really show much as they're severely underexposed which avoids using a higher iso setting which is an area the Note 20 is better at.
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Dark shot wasn't shot in night mode, I used pro mode. I opted for that look. Yes you are correct n20U has bigger sensor but I don't care about the technicalities here. As a user who owns both (uses both with no partiality AT ALL, After all I paid for both), I don't see any perceivable difference except for the ones I mentioned in my previous post. All I am trying to say here is, if camera quality is your criteria then let it not be. There are other things I noticed while using both. One, the fold is a thick boy and you will notice it
in your pocket. And the weight is also much more than note 20U (your pinky finger will feel it on extended use when closed).. but the inner screen kind of makes up for it. Second, there is always this thought of fragility associated with fold2. I mean I know by now that it is pretty robust, still if I am passing it to a friend to look at, I tell them to be careful with the inner screen. Third, the cases for the zf2 are very very limited, I didn't have a case for 2 months and I can't tell you how scared and careful I was. and lastly, not many people will tell you this, but if you are watching anything more wider than 16:9, note 20 has the bigger picture than zf2 as note 20 u is taller than zf2 so in landscape mode, the almost square zf2 is restricted by the screen width in the x axis.
I use both the phones on a daily basis, and Let me tell you my honest opinion, as a phone n20u is awesome, but the moment you open the zf2 you are in bliss.
OP I respect the fact that you sold your phone and got a device that made you feel more comfortable. For anyone else interested, I'm coming from the OG Fold that I babied for months until I got comfortable with it. After having for almost a year, I was using Dex and upon disconnecting the HDMI cable the edge hit my screen and killed a few pixels. I should have had it folded shut and it never would have happened. I ended up getting it replaced under warranty as there was no other damage to the phone. They concluded it was just some dead pixels even though I told them what happened.
So now I've had my Fold 2 for a month. I love it even more and I do not set it down unless it's folded! But I will keep the insurance on my phone for the first time in many years. This is one of the few phones that it may actually be worth carrying the insurance, and that, along with the durability of the first Fold for over a year of use, gives me the piece of mind to carry this phone as a daily driver.
Johnmcl7 said:
I have a a Note 9 and I've been spending a lot of time debating the Note 20 Ultra vs the Fold 2 but can't make my mind up, I'm not considering the S21 since it loses micro SD and integrated S-pen but doesn't have anything like the folding screen to make up for it. Some users seem to find the appeal of the Fold 2 wears off but others find they can't go back to normal phones.
I've always loved the idea of the Fold and can live with the higher cost if I like the phone but it makes it pricey if I change my mind plus I lose the sd slot and spen and I am concerned about durability as there's a few posts about damaged screens like this one. I do appreciate that problems on forums are going to be exaggerated though.
I'm keen to hear on any other Fold 2 experiences.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've owned both, N20U and Fold2 at the same time. I traded in my Note 9 for an N20U. At the time, I was daily driving my Note 10 Plus. I traded in my Note 10 Plus for my Fold2. The battery life on my N20U was actually shorter than my Note 10 Plus. Disappointingly so. At 1440 or 1080 with adaptive, I was averaging 4.5H of SOT whereas I was averaging 6H on my Note 10 Plus. Anyhow, I ended up buying a Fold 2 for the novelty of it.
Pros
The folding and unfolding does not get old. It is magic each and every time.
Battery endurance (I'm averaging 5.5 to 6.5H of SOT at 1440 adaptive within 20-24H of usage in between charges).
Camera's are good.
Cons
Inner display cover is gross. It almost feels like you are using an old Windows phone with a resistive touch screen.
Camera's are not Sammy's best (N20U) and for the cost of the Fold, you want the best camera possible.
Dumb aspect ratios.
Fragility of design will always plague your mind.
I gave my N20U to my wife and she loves it as much as I love my Fold2. It is far from perfect, however it works for me and I am genuinely pleased with my overall experience.
I daily my Fold2. I've dropped it face down, closed and onto my hardwood floor without injury. I put it into my linty jean pockets with no issues. I'm not careless with it, however I've stopped babying it weeks ago and it is holding up just fine.
Hope this helps
I spotted a good deal on a brand new fold 2 and decided to give it a go, so far I absolutely love it. I'm still getting the hang of using apps on the outside and inside but it's such a lovely device to use when it's open it's worth the compromises.
Thanks for posting all your opinions on the two devices.
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Nice review details! Kudos
Thanks for sharing, I find myself in a somewhat similar situation. I have an S21U for personal use and an iPhone XR for work that I traded in for the Pixel 7 Pro.
I can definitely relate to the weight difference. I didn't like it at much first but now I've noticed it's a bit easier to hold laying in bed on my back. I'm always dropping the S21U on my face
I've never used an optical fingerprint scanner before so right now the light is oddly amusing /fun for me, but it will probably get old after a while.
So did you keep your iPhone or did you trade it in?
early days here and teething problems I think will be worked out. screen is definitely an improvement over the 6. my main concern tho is the tele lens. so far i'm finding it not as good as the 6p tele lens, which I absolutely love.
Love your review thank you first one I read
does it do usb-c to hdmi output?
Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info, shared. Thanks.
Could you crank up the brightness to the max, use the phone for some 15 mins like that and share the battery drain experience? Various reports like THIS ONE suggest that under direct sunlight the battery drains abnormally.
Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there. Nice review. I totally agree with you on two points. I managed to fiddle with a 7 pro at a local target store (a day before launch if you can believe that they had the demo station set up).
The hollow feel while typing on it's screen is something I'd never felt before. It made me send back the 6pro last year and keep my OnePlus 8 pro as it felt like a more solid device. The 7 pro felt the same. I wonder why the hollow feel? Is it possible that it's a feature? Maybe the screen has more give so that it's less susceptible to cracking if dropped? Who knows...
Also agree about the speakers. I blared some YouTube music on the demo phone in the store like a weirdo (Motown) and wasn't exactly impressed. Especially when compared to the 14pro (wife's phone).
I want to love the new 7 pro but am shying away. OnePlus isn't exactly wonderful right now and my 8 pro is aging but I feel like I need more to make the jump
For me it was simply time to make a change from my Note 10 Plus. It's a 3 year old phone and it shows, particularly the camera which wasn't the best when the phone was released and is well behind the times now. I fully expect the feel of the 7 Pro to be less premium (one aspect in which the Note 10 Plus shines and still does) but it looks to me like this is the best Android device out there right now, especially for this price. And I hate iPhones.
Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
innit said:
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Pixel 6 Pro did that all the time, its annoying.
One thing i have noticed it my P7P runs much cooler than my P6P did.
galaxys said:
Nice review details! Kudos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
grangermoch said:
Thanks for sharing, I find myself in a somewhat similar situation. I have an S21U for personal use and an iPhone XR for work that I traded in for the Pixel 7 Pro.
I can definitely relate to the weight difference. I didn't like it at much first but now I've noticed it's a bit easier to hold laying in bed on my back. I'm always dropping the S21U on my face
I've never used an optical fingerprint scanner before so right now the light is oddly amusing /fun for me, but it will probably get old after a while.
So did you keep your iPhone or did you trade it in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to have it on my one plus 7 pro and I loved that but after the speed of the s21 s sensor I'm a bit disenchanted with optical sensors for now. My iPhone is for work so that's staying but the main question is will I be upgrading from my s21 ultra or returning this new pixel. So far I'm not fully sure..
whatsisnametake2 said:
early days here and teething problems I think will be worked out. screen is definitely an improvement over the 6. my main concern tho is the tele lens. so far i'm finding it not as good as the 6p tele lens, which I absolutely love.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must check that out and see what it's like. What are the differences? Was the 6p wider?
liggerz87 said:
Love your review thank you first one I read
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate that thank you
apoklyps3 said:
does it do usb-c to hdmi output?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me check it out and get back to you
Virgo_Guy said:
Good info, shared. Thanks.
Could you crank up the brightness to the max, use the phone for some 15 mins like that and share the battery drain experience? Various reports like THIS ONE suggest that under direct sunlight the battery drains abnormally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah sure. I'll do that this morning
bacon612 said:
Hey there. Nice review. I totally agree with you on two points. I managed to fiddle with a 7 pro at a local target store (a day before launch if you can believe that they had the demo station set up).
The hollow feel while typing on it's screen is something I'd never felt before. It made me send back the 6pro last year and keep my OnePlus 8 pro as it felt like a more solid device. The 7 pro felt the same. I wonder why the hollow feel? Is it possible that it's a feature? Maybe the screen has more give so that it's less susceptible to cracking if dropped? Who knows...
Also agree about the speakers. I blared some YouTube music on the demo phone in the store like a weirdo (Motown) and wasn't exactly impressed. Especially when compared to the 14pro (wife's phone).
I want to love the new 7 pro but am shying away. OnePlus isn't exactly wonderful right now and my 8 pro is aging but I feel like I need more to make the jump
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you that's a good question, oddly it's something I noticed on the iPhone too, it's like theres an air gap between the sreeen and the actual panel or something so maybe the more give thing is a good call. Either way it's a very small gripe but it's one that's honestly making me consider returning. That along with the weight does not make this feel like a 1k phone to be perfectly honest.
I too want to love it.. But I just don't so far and I don't see any good alternatives left if I send it back
Beefheart said:
For me it was simply time to make a change from my Note 10 Plus. It's a 3 year old phone and it shows, particularly the camera which wasn't the best when the phone was released and is well behind the times now. I fully expect the feel of the 7 Pro to be less premium (one aspect in which the Note 10 Plus shines and still does) but it looks to me like this is the best Android device out there right now, especially for this price. And I hate iPhones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm fully with you on that. Part of me wishes I didn't have the s21 ultra to compare as I'd probably be less disappointed. I absolutely hate Samsungs android software, but their phones are better build for sure.
innit said:
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points! I'll be honest the status bar is also driving me mental. I'm used to full immersive everything on the Samsung so this status bar and tbh the ui in general really vexes me. The little black bar for the pill also does my head in. Why don't we have status bars that have a gradient so we know it's there but it's not a literal banner plastered across the top of the phone. Another point that I'm trying to decide if I can live with. Must check out points 2 and 3 and report back.
MrBelter said:
My Pixel 6 Pro did that all the time, its annoying.
One thing i have noticed it my P7P runs much cooler than my P6P did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a positive at least. I never had a P6P so I appreciate peoples input that ran them last year.
Apologies if it seems like I have a negative bias towards the phone having only had it a day. But the cost of smartphones Is so high these days that I don't expect perfection but there are certain things for me that are absolute deal breakers and unfortunately the pixel ticks quite and amount of those for me. Gonna run it for a few more days and see can I live with the aspects I don't like or is it time to return it and struggle on with the s21
Bxperiaz3 said:
Yeah I'm fully with you on that. Part of me wishes I didn't have the s21 ultra to compare as I'd probably be less disappointed. I absolutely hate Samsungs android software, but their phones are better build for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an S21 Ultra but, ironically given the subject at hand, it stopped working after a fairly innocuous drop and Samsung refused to fix it because I'd previously rooted it (despite removing the root and it being back to a factory image). As a result I swore I would never buy another Samsung and I'm sticking to that, the only reason I have the Note 10 Plus is that a friend upgraded to a iPhone 13 late last year just after my S21 broke and he let me have it on a deal that was too good to refuse (£200), especially given that Samsung had just replaced the screen and battery for him so it was effectively brand new. My son is now getting it to replace his crappy old Poco M3 but I'm done with Samsung and their hateful Knox e-fuse.
I've just gotten a notification from the Royal Mail that my 7 Pro is due for delivery today rather than Monday which is a bonus.
innit said:
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The display on the 6Pro and 7Pro is edge bonded meaning it's attached to the frame underneath around the edge. This makes it easier to replace but it gives it that "hollow" feel. Most phones today, Samsung etc are mid frame bonded,they're bonded to the frame half way up the display as well as around the edge also, so they don't have that air gap underneath and feel more "solid". The edge bonded display despite being easier to replace have the disadvantage of trapping heat in the phone because of the air gap.
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
JamesR913 said:
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Beefheart said:
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not getting truly top hardware with the Pixel though, it's only an LTPO 1.0 display for eg so there's a trade off for price.
Beefheart said:
I had an S21 Ultra but, ironically given the subject at hand, it stopped working after a fairly innocuous drop and Samsung refused to fix it because I'd previously rooted it (despite removing the root and it being back to a factory image). As a result I swore I would never buy another Samsung and I'm sticking to that, the only reason I have the Note 10 Plus is that a friend upgraded to a iPhone 13 late last year just after my S21 broke and he let me have it on a deal that was too good to refuse (£200), especially given that Samsung had just replaced the screen and battery for him so it was effectively brand new. My son is now getting it to replace his crappy old Poco M3 but I'm done with Samsung and their hateful Knox e-fuse.
I've just gotten a notification from the Royal Mail that my 7 Pro is due for delivery today rather than Monday which is a bonus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah even with the better build most new phones can't handle any sort of a drop. Nice, let us know how you find it.
Batfink33 said:
The display on the 6Pro and 7Pro is edge bonded meaning it's attached to the frame underneath around the edge. This makes it easier to replace but it gives it that "hollow" feel. Most phones today, Samsung etc are mid frame bonded,they're bonded to the frame half way up the display as well as around the edge also, so they don't have that air gap underneath and feel more "solid". The edge bonded display despite being easier to replace have the disadvantage of trapping heat in the phone because of the air gap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes perfect sense, Thanks for clearing that up. Makes me like the pixel even less now that that's been confirmed
JamesR913 said:
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a sim in mine yet but that would be another deal breaker. Similar to you I only have small complaints so far. But I have more than I was expecting..
Beefheart said:
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah in a way I agree, phones absolutely shouldn't cost that much. What's a shame though is the phone feels physically cheaper and that's a bit of a deal breaker considering it was still over 1000 euros.. My s21s camera system is so poor it still makes sense to upgrade, plus a few quid back when I sell the old phone and the pixel watch but I have to say I'm still a bit let down. I absolutely despise apple software but there's no denying when I unboxed the 14 pro I was far more impressed with the quality
Batfink33 said:
You're not getting truly top hardware with the Pixel though, it's only an LTPO 1.0 display for eg so there's a trade off for price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah and it sort of shows tbh. If I could have the s21 ultra with the software advantages of the pixel 7p right now that would be the ideal hybrid.
Bxperiaz3 said:
Yeah even with the better build most new phones can't handle any sort of a drop. Nice, let us know how you find it.
That makes perfect sense, Thanks for clearing that up. Makes me like the pixel even less now that that's been confirmed
I don't have a sim in mine yet but that would be another deal breaker. Similar to you I only have small complaints so far. But I have more than I was expecting..
Yeah in a way I agree, phones absolutely shouldn't cost that much. What's a shame though is the phone feels physically cheaper and that's a bit of a deal breaker considering it was still over 1000 euros.. My s21s camera system is so poor it still makes sense to upgrade, plus a few quid back when I sell the old phone and the pixel watch but I have to say I'm still a bit let down. I absolutely despise apple software but there's no denying when I unboxed the 14 pro I was far more impressed with the quality
Yeah and it sort of shows tbh. If I could have the s21 ultra with the software advantages of the pixel 7p right now that would be the ideal hybrid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd pay the extra for a truly flagship pixel with all the latest hardware. Yes phones are way overpriced but it would be nice to have Pixel software on a phone with the quality build of an iPhone or Samsung. An Sd8+ Gen 1 (or gen 2) Pixel would be amazing.
It's arrived, and it doesn't feel less premium at all. Maybe that's me and, being an engineer, I know weight doesn't equate to more premium. I love the feel of it, solid.
In terms of opinion, I've not got much else at the moment, still setting it up.