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finding a phone that is not huge and decently spec'd

This is another one of those which phone questions.
Situation is I need to buy a new phone in the next few weeks for my Europe trip. I want good battery life, a decent gps and it should be comfortable to hold in my hand. Other than those criteria I just want decent responsiveness and good ROM support. I've seen the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3, HTC One X in the shop, they are horribly big. The GPS is important because I want to do sports tracking, it needs to be accurate even when there are few cell towers around. My galaxy S certainly had a few problems and I'm not really a Samsung fan after owning it.
So far this is what I see. I may be wrong on some of these points, but none of these phones really suit me.
HTC One S
Has GLONASS and GPS, Snapdragon S4 (28nm) if I can find the right model
4.3", good enough I guess
Pretty good battery life
Camera seems good (f-stop 2.0)
but..
Jelly Bean support months away?
No hardware home button
No SD card slot
Have to waste time hunting down the S4 model, as I don't want an old S3 chipped phone.
HTC One V
Cheap!
Good Camera
but...
No dual core
No GLONASS
only 512MB ram
It's hardly an upgrade from the galaxy S besides the better GPS
Galaxy Nexus
Good ROM support
Cheap
but....
Camera is not great
No hardware home button or SD card slot
It's big(ish)
Galaxy S3
Has SD card slot
GLONASS + GPS
Quad Core
Jelly Bean confirmed
but...
It's samsung so the GPS antenna is probably ****
It's HUGE
battery life probably not great?
iPhone4s
Apparently android manufacturers are incapable of making phones that are not huge. Put up with iTunes and but have a phone with a decent GPS, cemera and physical size. I think this is actually a better option than the Galaxy S3 to be honest.

keyo said:
This is another one of those which phone questions.
Situation is I need to buy a new phone in the next few weeks for my Europe trip. I want good battery life, a decent gps and it should be comfortable to hold in my hand. Other than those criteria I just want decent responsiveness and good ROM support. I've seen the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy S3, HTC One X in the shop, they are horribly big. The GPS is important because I want to do sports tracking, it needs to be accurate even when there are few cell towers around. My galaxy S certainly had a few problems and I'm not really a Samsung fan after owning it.
So far this is what I see. I may be wrong on some of these points, but none of these phones really suit me.
HTC One S
Has GLONASS and GPS, Snapdragon S4 (28nm) if I can find the right model
4.3", good enough I guess
Pretty good battery life
Camera seems good (f-stop 2.0)
but..
Jelly Bean support months away?
No hardware home button
No SD card slot
Have to waste time hunting down the S4 model, as I don't want an old S3 chipped phone.
HTC One V
Cheap!
Good Camera
but...
No dual core
No GLONASS
only 512MB ram
It's hardly an upgrade from the galaxy S besides the better GPS
Galaxy Nexus
Good ROM support
Cheap
but....
Camera is not great
No hardware home button or SD card slot
It's big(ish)
Galaxy S3
Has SD card slot
GLONASS + GPS
Quad Core
Jelly Bean confirmed
but...
It's samsung so the GPS antenna is probably ****
It's HUGE
battery life probably not great?
iPhone4s
Apparently android manufacturers are incapable of making phones that are not huge. Put up with iTunes and but have a phone with a decent GPS, cemera and physical size. I think this is actually a better option than the Galaxy S3 to be honest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I myself own a Galaxy Note, which is the biggest on the market, and LOVE the huge screen, infact my only problem with the phone is now every other phone feels like some tiny kids toy.
Really you will not get any better than the S3 and you will get used to the biggest screen (my phone before the note was a desire s which was only 3.7") I would really recommend the S3 you will not be disappointed!
I never had problems with GPS on my note, and the battery life is great as the yes much bigger screen but also much more space for a larger batter so it balances out

keyo said:
Apparently android manufacturers are incapable of making phones that are not huge. Put up with iTunes and but have a phone with a decent GPS, cemera and physical size. I think this is actually a better option than the Galaxy S3 to be honest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is driving me crazy as well. The point of a phone is to be portable, something small I can put in my pocket and hold comfortably in one hand. 4-4.3" is the sweet spot, anything larger is just to darn big. On Verizon the only phone I've seen recently that looks decent with a normal sized screen is the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE with a 4" qHD screen and an S4. Of course you probably want something thats GSM for Europe.
Everybody seems to be giving it bad reviews for its screen size, but I think its a selling point. I'm holding out to see if a normal sized Nexus device comes out, or at least something from Samsung.
The Droid Incredible 4G LTE is in the middle next to the iPhone left and Galaxy Nexus right.
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GNexus has the best support on xda.

The photo above shows it pretty clearly, the nexus is unfortunately oversized. I'm quite keen on the htc one S, despite it's few flaws it seems to be the most well-rounded. I just don't know if I can rely on it getting updates? I'm not so sure on the motorola, I'm buying from either New Zealand or Europe so these american models are not familiar to me.
Google will no doubt come out with another huge phone this year to rival the nexus. This is quite frustrating, remember the big brick phones from the 90's, I don't want that. Apple, while being a assholes, seem to be making pocket friendly hardware at least.

Maybe the atrix? Great specs but the rom support is slow, down to the fact we still haven't got ics from motorola, but we have a stable ics rom which lacks video capture and a few minor things
And its perfectly sized in my opinion
Sent from my MB860 using xda app-developers app

The gnex's 4.65 inch measurement is a little misleading. That's including the on screen buttons so in reality it is more like 4.3 inches. I came from a Droid incredible which was 3.7 and I would never go back to that size. The nexus size is perfect. No problems fitting in pockets.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

keyo said:
..I'm quite keen on the htc one S..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I LOVE my One S. The only thing that bugged me was no hardware menu button. Fixed that with a mod (remap recent apps to menu, and long press home to access it), and all is well.
I have the Gradient Blue model, so I can't give any feedback on the black model's micro arc oxidation issue.
Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

The iPhone's screen is perfect in size... if you want to strain your eyes. My D2 has just a slightly larger screen and it is in no way sufficient. To each his own though. I'd think being able to view websites without having to pinch to zoom all the time would be nice.
If you want something smaller but that's good all-around I'd look at the Xperia U. If you can deal with something a little larger I'd look at the HTC Rezound, the Xperia P or Ion, or the Nexus.

So the HTC One S seems good, as long as it will be getting jelly bean, at least a community one?
Xperia phones are nice too, a little cheaper and perhaps let down by the camera a little. But well worth considering, thanks for the suggestion.
Something interesting I discovered here is the motion blur. GSMArena has a video comparison page. The HTC phone is quite bad, compared with The galaxy S models. Anyone know why this is? More quality means more blur? I recorded a game of table tennis with my galaxy S and it was very good quality in terms of seeing the ball. I have my doubts that the HTC One S would be able to do the same.
Could I expect less motion blur if I switched to 720p?
http://www.gsmarena.com/vidcmp.php3?idType=2&idPhone1=4574&idPhone3=3621&idCamera2=30001

EEK! There's a monster coming straight for us... and its called the Optimus G Pro

Engadget: LG Optimus G Pro coming to AT&T on May 10th
Not only does it have a removable battery and SD card slot (same as the Galaxy S4)... but it also has:
- IPS LCD display for better sunlight visibility than AMOLED
- 32 gb of internal memory standard for the lowest model
- A programmable "q button" that allows you to map any function you want to have happen when you press it
And of course all the basics of a high end superphone nowadays
- 5.5 inch 1080p display
- 3140 mAh battery
- Snapdragon 600
- 13 mp camera
- IR Blaster
- 2gb RAM
- LTE
Here's a video I found from ATT :
#%&! ... I'm not sure which one to order now

ap3604 said:
Engadget: LG Optimus G Pro coming to AT&T on May 10th
Not only does it have a removable battery and SD card slot (same as the Galaxy S4)... but it also has:
- IPS LCD display for better sunlight visibility than AMOLED
- 32 gb of internal memory standard for the lowest model
- 5.5 inch 1080p display
- 3140 mAh battery
- 13 mp camera
#%&! ... I'm not sure which one to order now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Techradar did a feature on it and found it to be a bit of a tacky version of the note.
Concerning IPS, I much prefer amoled now that it's avialable with more accurate colours. Before, IPS had the advantage but now the colour accuracy on the galaxies (e.g.movie mode) is good enough. Combine that with the beautifully inky blacks, and I never want another IPS display again. (except the one on my macbook

Except the rip off design and the lack of Spen on that big screen, anything on Optimus G Pro is great.
______________
Edit: Oh, I forgot about the horrible update from LG

Personally, I won't go anywhere near LG devices unless it's Nexus to be honest. And it's a competitor to Note II (or rather Note III) than S4.

tuxonhtc said:
And it's a competitor to Note II (or rather Note III) than S4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally don't care what someone says its a competitor for.
With those specs it's simply a competitor for best phone of early 2013, which is what I care about.

ap3604 said:
I personally don't care what someone says its a competitor for.
With those specs it's simply a competitor for best phone of early 2013, which is what I care about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jesus Christ it's a 5.5'' phone, hence it's a competitor for the "phablet" (hate the term, but whatever) category rather than ordinary smartphone. Hence my comment.

tuxonhtc said:
Jesus Christ it's a 5.5'' phone, hence it's a competitor for the "phablet" (hate the term, but whatever) category rather than ordinary smartphone. Hence my comment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jesus Christ all flagship phone screens are starting to be at least 5+ inches anyways, hence every smartphone is turning into a "phablet" (I hate the term too). So no, it simply is competing with all the other giants of 2013... including the Galaxy S 4.

ap3604 said:
Jesus Christ all flagship phone screens are starting to be at least 5+ inches anyways, hence every smartphone is turning into a "phablet" (I hate the term too). So no, it simply is competing with all the other giants of 2013... including the Galaxy S 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. they have 5.5'' screen and the flagships are </=5 inch. Big difference. The target audiences are different. Anywho, whatever.

LG is mostly known to be great regarding its swift updating policy

gee2012 said:
LG is mostly known to be great regarding its swift updating policy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see what you did there...
As for the android version, it comes with 4.1.2 and while I'm sure both Samsung and LG are going to make it a point to try and update handsets to the latest android versions... I really don't care as that's the whole reason I come on xda anyways (so I don't have to rely on the manufacturer for updates)

i'll be sticking with the s4.
thinner, lighter, still an enourmous battery. dont need all that size in the screen.. although the LCD would be an upgrade if u ask me. AMOLED is nice, but i prefer the brightness for sun viewing.

Don't get neurotic about having the absolute "best" phone, ferchrissakes. Guess what? That bling new piece of latest and greatest shiny you just plunked down your cash for? It's always going to be second best in a few months. Use your device and enjoy it, and maybe learn to not give a rat's ass if it isn't the absolute newest on your block.

burhanistan said:
Don't get neurotic about having the absolute "best" phone, ferchrissakes. Guess what? That bling new piece of latest and greatest shiny you just plunked down your cash for? It's always going to be second best in a few months. Use your device and enjoy it, and maybe learn to not give a rat's ass if it isn't the absolute newest on your block.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed.
I'd actually go one further and say the tell-tale sign that you're 'with' the right device is that you're NOT that desperate to upgrade as soon as something new comes out. During my iphone-phase I was always excited when the new model came out - I know now it was partly due to the marketing and partly because I was never completely happy with them.
Even when better phones than the gs3 were coming out I was happy sticking with it until an upgrade that REALLY appealed to me came along (s4).

fade2green514 said:
... although the LCD would be an upgrade if u ask me. AMOLED is nice, but i prefer the brightness for sun viewing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have a preference for LCD over AMOLED as well (although both can be great). The outdoor visibility is a big deal for me so I'm not sure which one to get
Also the 32 gb of internal memory on the standard lowest $199 w/ 2-yr contract model isn't too shabby
burhanistan said:
Don't get neurotic about having the absolute "best" phone, ferchrissakes. Guess what? That bling new piece of latest and greatest shiny you just plunked down your cash for? It's always going to be second best in a few months. Use your device and enjoy it, and maybe learn to not give a rat's ass if it isn't the absolute newest on your block.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an upgrade coming up so of course I'm going to chose the best phone for me at the time.
1) Removable battery
2) Outdoor screen visibility
Those are the top 2 features I'm looking for in my next phone and I'm not sure which phone to go with yet (LG Optimus Pro or Galaxy S4).

tuxonhtc said:
Not really. they have 5.5'' screen and the flagships are </=5 inch. Big difference. The target audiences are different. Anywho, whatever.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. It's so cool that Samsung was able to push the max screen size to 5" in basically the same package as the SIII. But the jump to a 5.5" screen is a big overall package jump. To me, that's just no longer a phone, but falls firmly in the phablet market.
Not putting down the phone, or what features are important to individual buyers. But it's not in the same place in the market as an S3/S4, HTC One is, IMO.

The Optimus G Pro is competition for the Note series, not the S series.

ap3604 said:
I have an upgrade coming up so of course I'm going to chose the best phone for me at the time.
1) Removable battery
2) Outdoor screen visibility
Those are the top 2 features I'm looking for in my next phone and I'm not sure which phone to go with yet (LG Optimus Pro or Galaxy S4).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What makes you think that Optimus G Pro has better outdoor visibility? S4 has great outdoor visibility from what I gather. And even Note II scores better than G Pro when it comes to outdoor visibility. Although Note II isn't bad when it comes to outdoor visibility, S4 kicks Note II up the butt and is just marginally worse than the One. Brightness is not the only thing that's a decisive factor in outdoor visibility.
Here's the outdoor visibility chart:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s4-review-914p3.php

ap3604 said:
Jesus Christ all flagship phone screens are starting to be at least 5+ inches anyways, hence every smartphone is turning into a "phablet" (I hate the term too). So no, it simply is competing with all the other giants of 2013... including the Galaxy S 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
competing by the specs yes
by the sales heck no
by the updates ultimate no

fade2green514 said:
i'll be sticking with the s4.
thinner, lighter, still an enourmous battery. dont need all that size in the screen.. although the LCD would be an upgrade if u ask me. AMOLED is nice, but i prefer the brightness for sun viewing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, brightness is ONE of the factors that helps in outdoor visibility. AMOLEDs have higher contrast ratios, so despite much lower brightness, it can still have good sunlight visibility. Not HTC One good obviously, but still good.
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tuxonhtc said:
Again, brightness is ONE of the factors that helps in outdoor visibility. AMOLEDs have higher contrast ratios, so despite much lower brightness, it can still have good sunlight visibility. Not HTC One good obviously, but still good.
[/IMG]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well this is good news, i'll have to take a look at it when i get it. DAMN SUN! lol
oh and +1 thanks!

Stylo 2 Plus first impressions (T-Mobile)

My frustration with the GPS on the Stylo boiled over yesterday, to the point that I smacked the phone hard enough that it would no longer talk to the SD card. I was looking for an excuse to trash it anyway, so I went down to my local T-Mobile store, as I was thinking about the Stylo 2 Plus.
I had a look at the phone, and discovered that the Stylo 2 Plus does NOT put the GPS/NFC antenna on the back cover. :highfive: If there had been an antenna on the cover, I wouldn't have bought it, no way, no how.
I went ahead and bought one, brought it home, and set it up. I'm happy to say that the GPS on the Stylo 2 Plus is vastly better than the original Stylo. It locks on in under five seconds, where the old one often would take a minute even when GPS Tools was showing signal bars.
Keep in mind that it uses a Nano SIM, so if you're moving over from an old Stylo you'll need to call customer service to move your account to the supplied SIM.
Upgrades vs. the old Stylo:
1080p screen (vs 720p)
8 MP front-facing camera (vs. 5 MP)
Octa-core CPU (vs. quad-core)
GPS that actually works well
Phone senses when the pen is removed
Downgrades:
Main camera lacks laser autofocus
I don't have root/TWRP
The camera seems to have some sort of image stabilization, but it's not clear whether it's digital or optical. The camera app is still dumbed-down, but that's really not a big deal for me; if I'm going to be taking any pictures that need more than full-auto point-and-shoot, I'll use my Lumix for that.
So far, battery life seems to be every bit as good as the old Stylo was, The phone is noticeably more responsive (particularly when bringing up a Google News "AMP" story in Firefox). There's also less bloatware, and much of it is removable (except for Lookout, which I disabled).
The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the bottom edge instead of the top, and the sound is quite good through my Sennheiser earbuds.
I'm not sure I'm going to bother rooting this one. It was enough of a hassle keeping the OS current on my old Stylo that I'm inclined to just leave it alone unless I find a compelling reason to try.
The model display shows LG-K550 is the model number, but "MS550" is stamped inside, so I'd assume the MetroPCS version has identical hardware.
Overall, I'd say it's a worthy successor to the original Stylo, and admirably fixes the worst issue with the old model.

Bobby Tables said:
My frustration with the GPS on the Stylo boiled over yesterday, to the point that I smacked the phone hard enough that it would no longer talk to the SD card. I was looking for an excuse to trash it anyway, so I went down to my local T-Mobile store, as I was thinking about the Stylo 2 Plus.
I had a look at the phone, and discovered that the Stylo 2 Plus does NOT put the GPS/NFC antenna on the back cover. :highfive: If there had been an antenna on the cover, I wouldn't have bought it, no way, no how.
I went ahead and bought one, brought it home, and set it up. I'm happy to say that the GPS on the Stylo 2 Plus is vastly better than the original Stylo. It locks on in under five seconds, where the old one often would take a minute even when GPS Tools was showing signal bars.
Keep in mind that it uses a Nano SIM, so if you're moving over from an old Stylo you'll need to call customer service to move your account to the supplied SIM.
Upgrades vs. the old Stylo:
1080p screen (vs 720p)
8 MP front-facing camera (vs. 5 MP)
Octa-core CPU (vs. quad-core)
GPS that actually works well
Phone senses when the pen is removed
Downgrades:
Main camera lacks laser autofocus
I don't have root/TWRP
The camera seems to have some sort of image stabilization, but it's not clear whether it's digital or optical. The camera app is still dumbed-down, but that's really not a big deal for me; if I'm going to be taking any pictures that need more than full-auto point-and-shoot, I'll use my Lumix for that.
So far, battery life seems to be every bit as good as the old Stylo was, The phone is noticeably more responsive (particularly when bringing up a Google News "AMP" story in Firefox). There's also less bloatware, and much of it is removable (except for Lookout, which I disabled).
The 3.5mm headphone jack is on the bottom edge instead of the top, and the sound is quite good through my Sennheiser earbuds.
I'm not sure I'm going to bother rooting this one. It was enough of a hassle keeping the OS current on my old Stylo that I'm inclined to just leave it alone unless I find a compelling reason to try.
The model display shows LG-K550 is the model number, but "MS550" is stamped inside, so I'd assume the MetroPCS version has identical hardware.
Overall, I'd say it's a worthy successor to the original Stylo, and admirably fixes the worst issue with the old model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have stylus 2 version boost mobile much better only cost me 90 bucks ebay brand new works great

Bobby Tables said:
[*]1080p screen (vs 720p)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know, the phone still has 720p resolution. At least my Stylo 2 Plus from T-Mobile.
Unless I'm crazy and it's actually 1080p and just reporting 720p.
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Bobby Tables said:
you'll need to call customer service to move your account to the supplied SIM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also activate a replacement SIM via "Chat," though not all reps have the "tools" to do so and will "suggest" that you call. I end the chat and immediately ask if the rep can activate a SIM to save time. If they can, they'll send a confirmation code to your phone via SMS that you enter into the chat and then they can activate it immediately. I prefer this way rather than over the phone because of frequent language obstacles and the (my) having to read a 16-digit serial number to them and hope they get it right. With "Chat", I can copy and paste and I know they'll input the correct SIM serial.
As a note, you used to be able to activate a replacement SIM entirely online, but they removed that apparatus and now require human intervention about a year ago for some reason.

Any USB OTG on the new Stylo 2? My original T-mobile Stylo with Marshmallow (stock 20g) is missing OTG, so I have to use my old Sony Xperia Z for my Flir One Android thermal imaging camera and my SDR receivers (RTL-SDR and SDRPlay).

ecarlson said:
Any USB OTG on the new Stylo 2? My original T-mobile Stylo with Marshmallow (stock 20g) is missing OTG, so I have to use my old Sony Xperia Z for my Flir One Android thermal imaging camera and my SDR receivers (RTL-SDR and SDRPlay).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No OTG support.

Is the camera better quality?

Without root you can change your resolution with ADB. I did it on the first Stylo and made it 1080p. Ran slower of course so I set it back to 720p. I got the idea from a thread about the LG G4 and how it ran better at a lower resolution.
And no, I'm not talking about my DPI.... but I do change that on my devices.

Just got a Stylo 2 Plus (MS550 MetroPCS model) off craigslist yesterday, did the full run of unlocking the bootloader/installing TWRP/rooting/installing Xposed/modules/enabling adoptable storage/etc and I have to say I'm very impressed with this device overall. It's still somewhat laggy I suppose even with 8 freakin' cores but that's too be expecting given the way stock ROMs always run.
Now that we have the unlocked bootloader and all the other things I certainly hope someone takes enough of an interest in it to do a proper CM build. I saw some posts from others that said one person was looking into it, doing some preliminary work but so far nothing major has been announced. Would love to get a custom kernel with some proper governor support since by default - and I don't know why they do this - LG sets the damned CPU to run at 960 MHz minimum constantly which is ridiculous and a waste of power. Yes I know this phone has awesome battery life already (mainly because of the 1280x720 LCD display more than anything else) but even so wasting power for no good reason and not allowing the Snapdragon 430 to drop down to maybe 300 MHz (I don't honestly know what the minimum is because I can't get any apps to read the hardware info properly) is just stupid.
I'm sitting here staring at the phone and I've got CPU-Z running and it's got 960 MHz on 4 cores and 1094 MHz on 2 others with the final 2 being offline aka "stopped" at the moment. I mean only CPU-Z is running (apps that I start up) aside from system services and they certainly don't require that kind of horsepower at idle. I know from experience of using other devices with the low and mid-range SoCs that they rarely ever clock up and down across the full range possible but it's because of the manufacturers of the smartphones and their crappy frequency handling that mucks things up.
Love the newer slimmer design over the original Stylo, but I note according to some posted information that the other variants sold outside the US have 3GB of RAM and can have the 1920x1080 panel in them so I'm wondering if it might be possible to find a parts supplier with one of those and do a panel/display assembly swap at some point. Mind you I actually like 1280x720 because it's faster in terms of response but I wouldn't mind a 1920x1080 panel in this Stylo 2 Plus if I can make it happen.
Definitely worth the money I paid for it ($80), unlocked it using the unlocking app, using it with T-Mobile's $30 plan, no issues noted. My only gripe at this moment is the lack of OTG support, that really bugs me pretty severely and it's the one thing right now that I am disappointed in not having (I use that extensively with other devices and SDR hardware with the SDR Touch app for radio monitoring). Would be nice to hack that capability but that's a foregone conclusion.
But absolutely a great product overall, and for some reason the sound quality is pretty awesome; I have all my CDs trancoded to Opus format and on the Stylo 2 Plus playback with GoneMAD is quite nice indeed so far.
Here's to someone making a custom ROM based on CM 13 or 14 a possibility.

MrObvious said:
Is the camera better quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, as bad or worse. Laser autofocus has been removed, so it struggles to focus even in good light.

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus Designs have been confirmed by 3rd Party Designer

The samsung s8 and S8 Plus is there now
Mod edit link removed
Samsung is about to release its new flagships later this month : Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus
As a elite design company , we have got their design confirmed .
there are the details about the design and dimensions
About Samsung S8 Plus
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The wide 73.37mM
The Length 159.69mm
the height 8.1 mm
this time , the sensor/home button is at the back
About Samsung S8
The wide 68.05mM
The Length 148.91mm
the height 8.03 mm
this time , the sensor/home button is at the back

I thought this was pretty much common knowledge?

The design doesn't change enough for me, I don't think I'll buy it. And removing front fingerprint sensor isn't such a great idea, I was hoping this sensor could be under the screen at the front : It would have been a great news

3.5mm jack and scanner on the back as expected. What's the slot / button on the top of the S8?

kirinalin said:
3.5mm jack and scanner on the back as expected. What's the slot / button on the top of the S8?
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Click to collapse
i am guessing sim/sd card slot

BigBen60 said:
The design doesn't change enough for me, I don't think I'll buy it. And removing front fingerprint sensor isn't such a great idea, I was hoping this sensor could be under the screen at the front : It would have been a great news
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the physic home button is gone

ill wait on something a bit more evolved this is going the road of an iphone minimal changes dont like the edge rounded screen on both options maybe S9 or an HTC maybe

Didn't anyone notice there is NO DUAL CAMERA in this render!!!!! It's fake and if it's not I will hate picking up my phone to unlock it every time as I love hitting the button when its laying on the table at work or home to unlock. Supposed to have a Dual camera on the back!!!! I hope they surprise us with an on screen option or I'm keeping my awesome S7 EDGE!!!

iteam said:
Didn't anyone notice there is NO DUAL CAMERA in this render!!!!! It's fake and if it's not I will hate picking up my phone to unlock it every time as I love hitting the button when its laying on the table at work or home to unlock. Supposed to have a Dual camera on the back!!!! I hope they surprise us with an on screen option or I'm keeping my awesome S7 EDGE!!!
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Click to collapse
there is no dual cameras

dallasmanic said:
there is no dual cameras
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Click to collapse
Well it's all heresay at this point. I have read in multiple places flush mounted dual cameras are equipped and if not its old technology. And will not compare to the iPhone 7 dual camera rival and others.. We'll see at the release. The so called fingerprint scanner on the back was rendered in Photoshop, it has been proven.. We don't know what's up their sleeve. Bet the so called backside scanner is another camera lens... If not the phone is not up to future standards especially after the note 7 disaster Samsung has to deliver on its new flagship. Just my research and 2 cents....

iteam said:
Well it's all heresay at this point. I have read in multiple places flush mounted dual cameras are equipped and if not its old technology. And will not compare to the iPhone 7 dual camera rival and others.. We'll see at the release. The so called fingerprint scanner on the back was rendered in Photoshop, it has been proven.. We don't know what's up their sleeve. Bet the so called backside scanner is another camera lens... If not the phone is not up to future standards especially after the note 7 disaster Samsung has to deliver on its new flagship. Just my research and 2 cents....
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Click to collapse
I haven't seen anything special with dual camera phones yet. I have had 2 myself and nothing compares to the Galaxy S7 or Pixel in terms of image quality. The iPhone takes nice photos but not in comparison to the top android phones on the market. Dual lens has its perks but in terms of image and video quality, it's the quality of the sensor and camera that counts, not how many of them there are. Good software is also very important. Xiaomi for example have terrible camera software and image processing that doesn't get the best from their cameras. Their dual camera phone isn't great either.
It's not old technology, that's nonsense! Do you see top SLR and digital cameras with a dual lens setup? It's an added bonus for certain situations, gives a few more functions but it doesn't make it better than a phone with a single camera on board. S8 will doubtlessly have the best or one or the best cameras ever seen on any phone.

Highspeed123 said:
I haven't seen anything special with dual camera phones yet. I have had 2 myself and nothing compares to the Galaxy S7 or Pixel in terms of image quality. The iPhone takes nice photos but not in comparison to the top android phones on the market. Dual lens has its perks but in terms of image and video quality, it's the quality of the sensor and camera that counts, not how many of them there are. Good software is also very important. Xiaomi for example have terrible camera software and image processing that doesn't get the best from their cameras. Their dual camera phone isn't great either.
It's not old technology, that's nonsense! Do you see top SLR and digital cameras with a dual lens setup? It's an added bonus for certain situations, gives a few more functions but it doesn't make it better than a phone with a single camera on board. S8 will doubtlessly have the best or one or the best cameras ever seen on any phone.
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Click to collapse
I get what your saying. I just saw a lot of talk about dual lenses on the back. It's definitely about the software along with the lens setup no doubt! Everything may be a ploy at this moment to fool apple and lg and others launching before the S8, Samsung needs to deliver especially after the note 7 disaster... We'll find out on March 29th! S7 edge is my favorite phone so far out of the 20 phones I've owned

iteam said:
I get what your saying. I just saw a lot of talk about dual lenses on the back. It's definitely about the software along with the lens setup no doubt! Everything may be a ploy at this moment to fool apple and lg and others launching before the S8, Samsung needs to deliver especially after the note 7 disaster... We'll find out on March 29th! S7 edge is my favorite phone so far out of the 20 phones I've owned
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Click to collapse
Yes I hope so, it would be a bit boring if there is nothing else to it. I hope for a surprise or two during the 29th of March announcement. If it's just as the leaks suggest, it'll still be great. I'll be slightly disappointed that we know everything already though.
They really do need to up their game. These devices cost a fortune! With the rise of cheap but powerful Android phones, competition ​from Apple and crazy things going on in the world right now that could slow down consumer spending, they need to make a statement and convince people to part with their money. I don't think they can absorb another failure. Phones are now so powerful and are packed with so many features, it's becoming more difficult to stand out. I don't see much of a future for 1k devices unless they think of something new. With only minor upgrades, people will start holding on to their current phones for longer.
Fingers crossed, we might not know everything yet!

this gonna be the most beautiful design i ve ever seen!
i loved Note 7 but i think the detail in this design is awesome.

Geeks Empire said:
this gonna be the most beautiful design i ve ever seen!
i loved Note 7 but i think the detail in this design is awesome.
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Click to collapse
I am still at a loss, why people buy phones based on beauty.
Having previously owned a G5 which has its button at the back I can say its not a good idea, its just annoying, e.g. 90% of time my phone is on my desk with screen facing up, to press the home button as is on the S8 I would need to pick up the phone, its impractical.
I have the same issue with phones been made slim as well, they harder to pick up, they get hotter, it restricts battery size, all for looking more pretty.
The first thing I do when I get a new phone is to buy a gel cover which makes it less slim and gives it raised edges. Modern smartphone design I just dont understand how people like it.

chrcol said:
I am still at a loss, why people buy phones based on beauty.
Having previously owned a G5 which has its button at the back I can say its not a good idea, its just annoying, e.g. 90% of time my phone is on my desk with screen facing up, to press the home button as is on the S8 I would need to pick up the phone, its impractical.
I have the same issue with phones been made slim as well, they harder to pick up, they get hotter, it restricts battery size, all for looking more pretty.
The first thing I do when I get a new phone is to buy a gel cover which makes it less slim and gives it raised edges. Modern smartphone design I just dont understand how people like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It s not based on beauty but when there lots of same or nearly same specifications and features design can become more important.
There is same chipset on flagships and software is Android with some extra features and optimization. All flagships have great camera and display is qhd, fhd or 4k and all nice for our eyes so design become something different and I love to have beautiful everything around me ...

iteam said:
Well it's all heresay at this point. I have read in multiple places flush mounted dual cameras are equipped and if not its old technology. And will not compare to the iPhone 7 dual camera rival and others.. We'll see at the release. The so called fingerprint scanner on the back was rendered in Photoshop, it has been proven.. We don't know what's up their sleeve. Bet the so called backside scanner is another camera lens... If not the phone is not up to future standards especially after the note 7 disaster Samsung has to deliver on its new flagship. Just my research and 2 cents....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
those 2 cents work on me

Fingerprint on the back isn't a nice place... how to unlock your phone when it's on a table.. could be an option to double tab the screen, but you still need to use that fingerprint on the back..

Which version?

Hi everybody!
I'm going to change my Asus ROG 2 perfectly working, i own it since two years now...I have always preferred Android stock like phones because of speed of UI, but this time i cannot find a phone with such a big screen i need so i want to buy a note 20 ultra. My problem is I'm from Europe and we have the exynos version, i could get the Snapdragon version from Hong Kong or USA paying extra fees and buying it new, instead i can get the exynos version used for cheaper. My question is which version so you suggest? I saw a lot of videos and read a lot of opinions but till now i haven't decided yet, can you share your experiences and give me your opinion to make the right choice? (I know the Snapdragon 865 is old, but i cannot find an 888 or an 8 gen1 phone with a screen like that, cameras like those, SD support and S-PEN) thanks!

Snapdragon, new. Get the 12gb ram version.
Consider a new Note 10+ too, $800. They have a higher display color rendering index*, better form factor and functionality, come loaded with Android 10 rather than 11. Some performance hits but better better quality and reliability.
As far as I know all the Snapdragon heatsinks are copper phase vapor. The inferior graphene heatsinks were used on some of the Exynos versions at least on the N10+.
Make sure it's compatible or can be made so with your carrier.
Samsung has just done nothing but drop the ball since the N10+. The N20U is the only other Samsung I would even consider. It's spen is on the left side unlike the righty N10+, it has expandable storage like the N10+.
I bought my second new N10+ about 4 months ago. No regrets. My original heavily used 2.5yo N10+ looks and runs like new with the only repair being a replacement battery. The current load will be 2 yo in June, still fast and stable with minimal maintenance.
*all variable rate displays degrade the color rendering index and white point somewhat compared to fixed rate on a top quality display. They are much harder to calibrate and there's calibration variance because of this.

blackhawk said:
Snapdragon, new. Get the 12gb ram version.
Consider a new Note 10+ too, $800. They have a higher display color rendering index*, better form factor and functionality, come loaded with Android 10 rather than 11. Some performance hits but better better quality and reliability.
As far as I know all the Snapdragon heatsinks are copper phase vapor. The inferior graphene heatsinks were used on some of the Exynos versions at least on the N10+.
Make sure it's compatible or can be made so with your carrier.
Samsung has just done nothing but drop the ball since the N10+. The N20U is the only other Samsung I would even consider. It's spen is on the left side unlike the righty N10+, it has expandable storage like the N10+.
I bought my second new N10+ about 4 months ago. No regrets. My original heavily used 2.5yo N10+ looks and runs like new with the only repair being a replacement battery. The current load will be 2 yo in June, still fast and stable with minimal maintenance.
*all variable rate displays degrade the color rendering index and white point somewhat compared to fixed rate on a top quality display. They are much harder to calibrate and there's calibration variance because of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, i bought my rog 2 instead of a note 10 because of the exynos sold here in Europe, the point about note 10 is that now is quite old, unfortunately IMHO there's no custom rom for any note that fully integrate the S-PEN, so it can be risky to get an old note 10 with old version of Android, and also other features like battery, cameras and a smaller display with the refresh rate set to 60hz can be a little bit disappointing, anyway thanks for you suggestion I'll go be a look back to it...Thanks!

Guybrush.d said:
Well, i bought my rog 2 instead of a note 10 because of the exynos sold here in Europe, the point about note 10 is that now is quite old, unfortunately IMHO there's no custom rom for any note that fully integrate the S-PEN, so it can be risky to get an old note 10 with old version of Android, and also other features like battery, cameras and a smaller display with the refresh rate set to 60hz can be a little bit disappointing, anyway thanks for you suggestion I'll go be a look back to it...Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Battery life is good*. Lol the display isn't small.
The cams are more than enough although tge N20U laser AF be nice. Reports of poor rear cover cam lens seal on N20U.
The 10+ spen has more longer latency than the N20U.
Anything that's Pie or above is reasonably secure. CPU cycle sucking scoped storage and forced encryption is fully active on 11 and up; this isn't an advantage.
*Been streaming a bunch of vids so usage is a bit higher. SOT 7-12%@hr (brightness >50%), tap on AOD >.5%@hr
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blackhawk said:
Battery life is good*. Lol the display isn't small.
The cams are more than enough although tge N20U laser AF be nice. Reports of poor rear cover cam lens seal on N20U.
The 10+ spen has more longer latency than the N20U.
Anything that's Pie or above is reasonably secure. CPU cycle sucking scoped storage and forced encryption is fully active on 11 and up; this isn't an advantage.
*Been streaming a bunch of vids so usage is a bit higher. SOT 7-12%@hr (brightness >50%), tap on AOD >.5%@hr
View attachment 5547625
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Click to collapse
Well thank you again, I'll try to search for a Note 10 Snapdragon also then...

Guybrush.d said:
Well thank you again, I'll try to search for a Note 10 Snapdragon also then...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome. It's a tough decision. Samsung just didn't do as nice a job with the N20U in my opinion although the 20U's hardware is an upgrade for the most part.
5G is also a consideration. I didn't want it want 5G in part because of battery life and my grandfathered unlimited service plan. The 20U will likely have a better 5G implementation than the 10+. I also knew setup for a 2nd 10+ be a snap, lol twins. A new 10+ was $400 cheaper from a trusted vendor.
Regardless be careful when buying as there's a lot of devious sales tactics and outright scamming going on now. I noticed that. Best to talk to the seller first by phone... no joke.
Do what suits your need best. These will be the last Notes for at least 6 months or longer. It's best to physically handle both to get a better idea of what they are like; pictures only go so far. Both have those gorgeous squared corner displays, outstanding.
Get a 256/12gb Snapgragon variant regardless of the model.

blackhawk said:
You're welcome. It's a tough decision. Samsung just didn't do as nice a job with the N20U in my opinion although the 20U's hardware is an upgrade for the most part.
5G is also a consideration. I didn't want it want 5G in part because of battery life and my grandfathered unlimited service plan. The 20U will likely have a better 5G implementation than the 10+. I also knew setup for a 2nd 10+ be a snap, lol twins. A new 10+ was $400 cheaper from a trusted vendor.
Regardless be careful when buying as there's a lot of devious sales tactics and outright scamming going on now. I noticed that. Best to talk to the seller first by phone... no joke.
Do what suits your need best. These will be the last Notes for at least 6 months or longer. It's best to physically handle both to get a better idea of what they are like; pictures only go so far. Both have those gorgeous squared corner displays, outstanding.
Get a 256/12gb Snapgragon variant regardless of the model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My biggest problem is Samsung politic to sell only exynos version here in Europe, we must pay for a device that has a worse performance than the snapdragon version. Another point are the versions they product, 4/5 version of the same phone, that's not nice...Another point is the custom fees, very often happen that if i try to buy something from foreign countries, the fees price is higher than buy the same phone here. I'm looking for the note 20 ultra since July 2020 i found chinese shops (Hong Kong) that sell the 12/256 dual sim version (SM-N9860) that can be the right model for me, the problem is the price is fluctuating since then around 1000$ US and for me is too much
for a 2 years old phone so i'm trying to wait as long as i can and see if the price rise down, expecially with the samsung s22 announce. I have been tempted to get this last one, also if it hasn't a micro sd slot, but like always we got the exynos version and somebody found that display has some issue, so i went back to the note 20 ultra, thank for your suggestion i will keep it in mind. Ciao.