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Hi people of XDA, I think I'm going to buy this phone tomorrow, and I want to hear your impressions after use.
I've used it in a local dealer, but I'm afraid of that glass breaking, I've read so much about it... and I've seen people have been careful with it, and it still breaks... What about gaming performance and heat? Have you played intensive games where the phone was very hot? Has anything happened to glass?
So are there any cons that you know? I'm stunned by phone's look. Ex Arc owner hiihihi
I'm really happy with my phone! The battery is amazing and it handles games like a champ. No heating problems or cracked glass, but I'm using a case so don't know if it would be the same without it.
My only complaint would be low audio output with headphones because I like my music loud.
My only complaint is theres still no built in call blocker and unlike my note 4 theres no caller name readout, so you know whos calling you.
Yes the phone could be louder in headphones but atleast It is a improvement on previous Z series and even the Xperia S & T.
The DSEE HX really helps with loudness, as does using the MDR-NC31EMs or my Beats Mixrs.
Happy but there is a small part of me that wishes i went with the compact version! Dont get me wrong, I much prefer the larger screen and its obviously better if watching videos / youtube or even just web browsing. However its a tad awkward to use one handed when on the move outdoors because of its size where as the compact felt much better in hand and felt alot less likely to drop/slip from my grip (when i tested it out in store)
I expected a little more from the camera especially when it comes to detail but none the less its a good camera. Battery life is excellent to so all in all iam happy
Oh and for the person that mentioned 'call blocker' . Theres an option to send a choosen number to voicemail which is pretty similar to blocking the number i think. Also if you use the textra app you can now block incoming sms
If you like installing custom ROM's, i'd avoid Sony. That said, my thoughts;
The phone is very fast, and has a super bright screen, although it's much too blue. Speakers are loud but inconsistent. Camera is good but not amazing.
Compared to my previous phone, M8, i'd say this is faster with much better battery life, but speakers, camera and screen, as well as the puny LED flash which is useless make this phone a little disappointing.
Disclaimer : I am very very picky, so while this phone isn't of the quality of the M8, the glass won't break on it's own, and you won't regret it unless you've had an M8 lol.
Playdough96 said:
I'm really happy with my phone! The battery is amazing and it handles games like a champ. No heating problems or cracked glass, but I'm using a case so don't know if it would be the same without it.
My only complaint would be low audio output with headphones because I like my music loud.
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Do you mind if I ask you what case you are using? Thanks.
Hustlervanz said:
Do you mind if I ask you what case you are using? Thanks.
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http://www.krusellcases.com/uk/p_krusell_product.aspx?i=265580
Bought this one from a store here in Sweden the first day i got my phone. There were no other ones and it looked good and sturdy. Good price too.
Another minor flaw thats a little annoying for me also is that iam finding auto brightness to be crap! The display is too bright in dark settings and to dim in bright settings unless i manually adjust!
I've had it for one week, and I'm very satisfied. I changed from a Z and everything is much better, lighter, brighter screen (I can see it under direct sunlight), usable in wet conditions.
The only bad thing I can say about it is that I can't root it without unlocking the bootloader, at least for now (I like to remove all the Google and Sony bloatware).
I've had my 6603 model for two days. Maybe the honeymoon is still going, but I really love this phone. I did manage to scratch the rear glass already. No cases in USA yet and Amazon backorders them into November after you buy one that shows " in stock". After the past year with Nexus 5, and looking at how the Nexus 6 is whale sized the Xperia Z3 was the only semi stock device I could find that met my needs/wants. I'm thrilled with it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
NFC not working
The phone is great! apart from the NFC only working sporadically.
It only works if i push on the back where the NFC makes contact. It used to work fine for the first week so not sure why the NFC module isnt making contact to the main board.
Anybody else having this issue?
I bought my first Sony smart phone and its Z3 last week. Till now its working great and i have seen no issues just one when using 3G or LTE signals get dropped. Same issue is coming in nexus 5 too. Other than this its very very fine smart phone. Look and feel is good Battery time is awesome and most importantly there in no lag. I switched from galaxy S4 so i am feeling this difference a lot.
I have the phone for a week or 2-3 now and still happy verry with it. Biggest downside is no root and the camera could be a bit better... Coming from a Z1 (and Lumia 930 in between) just about everything is an improvement, screen, build, speed, the whole package. Just hope development will set off soon for the Z3 (again, root mainly).
The phone does get hot when playing games (even candycrush) but that's just what phones do. No issues with glass so far here *knocks on wood*.
I've had this phone since September 26th. I came from an iPhone 5 (i know, I been missing out) and i'm kinda amazed!
There are a few things though:
1. As mentioned by someone before, i'm having issues while it's switching between 3- and 4G. And additionally while it's switching from WiFi to 3/4G. There are spots possibly up to ~15 seconds without any connection.
2. I'm using a cover, but the back got scratches inside the cover, by miniature particles, so I'm guessing it's not too scratch resistant.
3.First I set it up following the set up instructions, and setting everything up with syncs and whatnot. I wasn't too impressed by the battery life when I had it like that, so I did a factory reset and set it up a bit more cautiously, switched stamina mode on and boom, easily the best battery life I ever had!
Over all I'm loving the phone though, reading the news in the shower every morning, no worries about whipping it out in the rain, watching tv-series on the metro in wonderful quality, without noticeable battery drops. No crashes yet, the ps4 remote play to come. The list is long!
I guess what I'm saying is that having had an iPhone since my HTC desire was pensioned I secretly missed android all along, and what a great device this is for a comeback ?
Great phone.. Coming from an LG G2, I miss the thin bezels.
Also miss development for it.
No regrets. Z1 - Z2 - Z3
hi, as the title says, im currently looking for a new phone, but im still confused, which one is better, the sony Xperia Z3 or the HTC one M8. Maybe you guys can give your opinions here and help me decide which one is better
thanks
azirr said:
hi, as the title says, im currently looking for a new phone, but im still confused, which one is better, the sony Xperia Z3 or the HTC one M8. Maybe you guys can give your opinions here and help me decide which one is better
thanks
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Before this gets locked, i'd say, I preferred my M8. Speakers, build quality, camera and screen. Z3 is waterproof though, and a nice shape.
azirr said:
hi, as the title says, im currently looking for a new phone, but im still confused, which one is better, the sony Xperia Z3 or the HTC one M8. Maybe you guys can give your opinions here and help me decide which one is better
thanks
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I've used the m8 for about 3 months and the Z3 for maybe 3 weeks now and while they are close I'd have to say the Z3 is the better phone in many areas. The camera is no contest, the phone is just as snappy and the UI is great. The m8 has better speakers but the Z3 for most purposes is just as good. The battery life is much better on the Z3 and in my opinion the screen is a lot nicer and that extra real estate though not that much on paper is certainly noticeable. I love the camera shutter button and don't miss the IR from the m8 since I have no problem reaching for the remote control one foot away from me. The sound is louder through headphones on the m8 which is my only gripe really. Both feel very premium, I wouldn't rate one over the other, they're just two different types of premium (metal vs glass). The glass feels great, though the m8 is more comfortable to hold, but when the phones are past a certain threshold for size I think comfort in hand is all relatively the same anyways, aka I have no problems handling this phone and didn't think the m8 was significantly better other than mild comfort from the curve. That's about it, if I had to recommend to any friends I would hands down tell them they're getting better bang for the buck with the Z3 especially after the ps4 screen share update arrives. If you have any other comparison questions just ask away!
Jonathan-H said:
Before this gets locked, i'd say, I preferred my M8. Speakers, build quality, camera and screen. Z3 is waterproof though, and a nice shape.
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oh sorry, i just found out the device suggestion thread. thanks for your suggestion btw!
ladelfm said:
I've used the m8 for about 3 months and the Z3 for maybe 3 weeks now and while they are close I'd have to say the Z3 is the better phone in many areas. The camera is no contest, the phone is just as snappy and the UI is great. The m8 has better speakers but the Z3 for most purposes is just as good. The battery life is much better on the Z3 and in my opinion the screen is a lot nicer and that extra real estate though not that much on paper is certainly noticeable. I love the camera shutter button and don't miss the IR from the m8 since I have no problem reaching for the remote control one foot away from me. The sound is louder through headphones on the m8 which is my only gripe really. Both feel very premium, I wouldn't rate one over the other, they're just two different types of premium (metal vs glass). The glass feels great, though the m8 is more comfortable to hold, but when the phones are past a certain threshold for size I think comfort in hand is all relatively the same anyways, aka I have no problems handling this phone and didn't think the m8 was significantly better other than mild comfort from the curve. That's about it, if I had to recommend to any friends I would hands down tell them they're getting better bang for the buck with the Z3 especially after the ps4 screen share update arrives. If you have any other comparison questions just ask away!
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thank you for your very informative suggestion, im more leaning to z3 now after reading your sugestion! do you know what earphone around below 50$ that suits with the z3? since the bundled earphone is just sucks from what i heard.
While I don't own a m8 my cousin does but I do own a Z3 for a week now and apart from the louder/bassier stereo speakers (Z3 is still good enough) and the louder audio in headphones on the m8 (again Z3 is still good enough especially when using DSEE HX and the noise cancelling headphones and also has better Equalizer presets).
The Z3 is the better phone imo especially for camera/video, battery life, screen, look/feel/design is subjective but I much prefer the Z3 in this department and it is waterproof too and that has come handy in the last week alone.
I'd agree on getting the Z3 (although this is the Sony thread). Both are well built and have quality screens, but I prefer the larger battery and camera over the M8's. Although the speakers could be better, I believe there was a mod called DSEE HX that amplifies the speakers on the Z3. Overall, it relies on what your needs are. They both look good so you wouldn't lose either way. As this is based on opinions, I'd go for the Z3 because it is the newer model and its design is so sleek. Sense is pretty, but I'm all about Sony's stock look and feel. If those don't really matter to you, I guess you would decide whether or not you take more pictures or listen to more music.
RCJ89 said:
While I don't own a m8 my cousin does but I do own a Z3 for a week now and apart from the louder/bassier stereo speakers (Z3 is still good enough) and the louder audio in headphones on the m8 (again Z3 is still good enough especially when using DSEE HX and the noise cancelling headphones and also has better Equalizer presets).
The Z3 is the better phone imo especially for camera/video, battery life, screen, look/feel/design is subjective but I much prefer the Z3 in this department and it is waterproof too and that has come handy in the last week alone.
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Richie5767 said:
I'd agree on getting the Z3 (although this is the Sony thread). Both are well built and have quality screens, but I prefer the larger battery and camera over the M8's. Although the speakers could be better, I believe there was a mod called DSEE HX that amplifies the speakers on the Z3. Overall, it relies on what your needs are. They both look good so you wouldn't lose either way. As this is based on opinions, I'd go for the Z3 because it is the newer model and its design is so sleek. Sense is pretty, but I'm all about Sony's stock look and feel. If those don't really matter to you, I guess you would decide whether or not you take more pictures or listen to more music.
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thanks for your opinion guys! i think i have made up my decision now
What did you decide? I'm trying to decide if the z3 camera and battery life are enough of an improvement from my m8 to switch. I generally love the m8, but I HATE the camera. All my pictures are washed out with tons of glare from any light source.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
I just trade up my Htc m8 for the sony Z3 by using my T-mobile jump program.. I am really luving this phone man ?.I love how you really have alot of options..my biggest worry is dropping the phone and breaking the glass front or back...i really do not like covers on my phone..i think it take the beauty out of them..beside i pay
the extra $10 a month issuance ?
Sent from my Sony xperia Z3 using XDA Free mobile app
This thread had helped me make my decision to grab a Z3 today. I was on the fence in using Jump! to switch from my M8. I'll be going to T-Mo during lunch. Thanks to everyone for the input here.
I had an m8, I switched it for the z3 and I did everything I could to get it back again. Android development for z3 hasn't even begin, speaker quality is bad, the ui feels outdated and less responsive, camera besides x reality treatment in viewing is slow and inconsistent, the price is too high. Get an m8 which is superior in almost every aspect (m8's camera is mediocre too) or a z2 which is much cheaper and offers almost the same.
morfini said:
I had an m8, I switched it for the z3 and I did everything I could to get it back again. Android development for z3 hasn't even begin, speaker quality is bad, the ui feels outdated and less responsive, camera besides x reality treatment in viewing is slow and inconsistent, the price is too high. Get an m8 which is superior in almost every aspect (m8's camera is mediocre too) or a z2 which is much cheaper and offers almost the same.
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You don't think the camera is much better? It seems like it wouldn't take much to beat the m8 there.
I wish I could try it out and get my m8 back if I didn't like it. Tmobile doesn't allow that though.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Had M8 and now have Z3. Both are great phones. Camera isn't that bad on the M8. Especially if you just use it for social media.
Things I miss on the M8 are the IR Blaster and Blinkfeed.
Things I don't miss on the M8 are the power button on the top of the phone and the inability to swipe or double tap screen to unlock while sitting on a flat surface. You have to move the phone or it has to be in your hand on the M8. Z3 does not require that. Also, the curved back makes it rock if you wanna use the phone on a hard surface.
They both feel very comfortably to hold. Although the M8 was a bit slippery when it was brand new. Both have great speakers, and screen. Build quality is equal to me but the Z3 is a bit lighter so the M8 has little more of a solid feel in your hand.
Oh, and one of the most important thing. The battery life is a lot better on the Z3. After the first charge, I got over 6.5 hours of screen time. I expect it to get better after a few more charges. Most I could get out of the M8 was barely 5 hours.
There are tips in m8' s topic which make its camera decent even for printing photos.. It can even get better than z3's in some aspects in my opininion. Z3 has indeed better battery life, and x reality engine can make colours pop out from the screen, if you like such an effect. That's it for me, everything else is better on m8. And keep in mind that z2 is now much cheaper.
Erckul said:
This thread had helped me make my decision to grab a Z3 today. I was on the fence in using Jump! to switch from my M8. I'll be going to T-Mo during lunch. Thanks to everyone for the input here.
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If you go to buy, ask to test the device first, they will open the packaging for it.
Look for the following:
-Frame being bent outward or toward LCD <- Mine had that
-Light bleed between frame and LCD <- Mine had that
-Pink spots in camera <- Mine had that (barely noticeable but diffuse)
-Pressure test to ensure, water tightness
-Test speakers as some are getting major stereo mismatch in loudness.
I unfortunately, could not test, and since I preordered, I cannot exchange in store had to mail mine back.
Info
azirr said:
hi, as the title says, im currently looking for a new phone, but im still confused, which one is better, the sony Xperia Z3 or the HTC one M8. Maybe you guys can give your opinions here and help me decide which one is better
thanks
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when you ask about Z3 in z3 forum it means more will vote for z3
1 important thing i can say about Xperia devices is durability
beside this there is more ram and awesome camera and better design
:good:
definitely z3 for me. the last time i had a htc one m7, it died on me after just barely after a year. i was also having a lot of software issues with it. purple tint, battery depleting fast and auto shut down. that was my last htc phone.
z3 got my attention with the battery life.
thanks for all of your opinions guys!! helped me alot. im going for the z3 but its not available yet in my country, so i have to wait for a couple more weeks to have it
I have both a Z3 D6603 and a HTC M8 Developer Edition. I really like the UI on the Sony a lot. Its a tough choice. The Copper color Z3 is awesome and a nice change from the gold devices by all the rest.
I do like the extra battery, more ram, and x-reality on the Z3, however; I can convert my m8 to a GPE and get Android L much quicker than we will get it on the Z3. By the time the Z3 gets Android L, then HTC will launch it as well (both promise within 90 days of release) and I can throw that on my m8.
I am more concerned with the lack of development on the Z3 and Sony's DRM Bootloader crap. I know the device was just released but so has a boat load of other devices and which ones with ultimately get the Dev Love ?
Hi guys!
I know this is great phone but im sure there must be some weakness, could you guys tell me why not to buy this phone?
I'm currently weighing it up, to me the device is ideal but my only worry is the cracking glass back. That's a concern I have at the moment. Also it's niggling that a new z4 is just around the corner or so we are told.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No IR blaster
Glass front & back (more fragile)
No removable battery
Loss of functions if you root
It's a bit chunky
Lack of custom rom support
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app
To me the device is perfect !
The only weakness is the glass back. I Dropped it today and got a little crack on the back. Nothing serious though, it is just a small crack that is hardly visible.
An other feature that I don't like but I believe some will consider it as an advantage is that when you open the last picture you took from the camera app and swipe left and right it will show all the pictures on your album even the pictures you didn't took with the camera (like internet download for example).
Thanks! the info, if u guys could recommend a phone instead Z3 what would it be?
[This is just curious im gonna buy this phone since i cant buy htc for now i dont want samsung either i could chose g3 but ik dat z3 is way better]
Maybe a LG G3 or Iphone 6
The Z3 is a well rounded phone and does well in all aspects, only let down by the "auto" mode of the camera. If you can live with that minor flaw definately buy it, its what the M8 should have been.
The alternatives that I would pick are the:
M8 (Cleaner audio output via jack and speakers, and free one time glass replacement if it breaks)
LG G2/G3 I personally like my G2 better than the G3, the G3 takes great pics and has the best audio scores audio scores (hardware testing of the jack input) but let down by lower contrast, power hungry QHD screen when compared to the G2.
I would recommend the GS5/Note4 but I just hate TouchWiz too much.
My mom has an iPhone 6, its good but overrated, battery life definitely sucks compared to the Z3, and is too locked down to iTunes for my taste.
M8 or G2/G3.
G3 would be my choice. Cant get it, as I have company phone and therefore didn't get the choice. It was either Z3 or S5
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app
Well first and foremost you cant carry the phone nude why is that well because it sometimes moves on its own when I keep it on my computer table almost like magic and I had to replace the back glass because of a crack that I have no idea how it sustained the dam crack. There is a purplish spot in my camera pictures I have cleaned and cleaned the lens without any progress sony people say its a software issue and adjusted my camera settings but its still not gone. The front glass has a small scratch on it already I am still waiting for the screen guard but getting a scratch so early is just sad seems this glass is not all that tough. Compared to my M8 it is an upgrade but not by much the speakers of my M8 are still better (Bass), I had wrongly thought that the Z3 was louder based on the vibrations that I could feel compared to the M8.
That is about it all in all its a camera upgrade from the M8 not a thing more or less specially considering the Asian M8 had the 2.5Ghz 801.
Note: I also wanted to add low light shot performance of Z3 is just a bit shy of the M8, yes the higher ISO does add more noise but its a great trade off "Pixcilation vs Noise"
I'd go M8 or S5 if you don't mind Samsung skin.
hello guys i want to buy a new device am coming fros the galaxy s2
and im considering buying a z2 or z3 or lg g3
i know the z3 is not very different from the z2 but is it good to buy it ??or the lg g3 ??
plz help me am really confuse right now
Go for the z3, you will not be disappointed. The performance and battery life superb.
Sent from my D6653 using XDA Free mobile app
woozydevotee said:
Go for the z3, you will not be disappointed. The performance and battery life superb.
Sent from my D6653 using XDA Free mobile app
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how does it stand copare to the HTC ONE M8 ??
M8 Advantages
More durable, excels in drop tests as screen is well protected with big bezels and speaker grills
HTC gives free glass replacement in first 6 months, if you damage/drop it.
Better Speakers and aux out audio.
HTC Sense is generally considered the best looking Android UI
Z3 Adavantages:
Bigger, brighter, more power efficient screeen
Better battery life
Much better camera
Waterproof
Lighter, Thinner
Close to stock android UI
Overall though the Z3 is more "well-rounded", but just be sure to be careful with it as its comparatively much more fragile. I would say go for the Z3. This based on my experience as we have an M8, Z3, GS4 and an iPhone 6 in our family.
Haha - I came to this forum to ask exactly this question! I have an S4 and am thinking about a Z3. I have always ended up rooting and using a custom ROM on my androids - is it easy to unlock the bootloader and root the Z3? (If nothing else, so that I can do nandroid, Titanium, Greenify and BetterBatteryStats).
Are there stable Lollipop ROMs that don't hurt battery life?
Is there no Samsung TouchWiz style bloatware?
Is the battery life as good as they say?
Do most people use magnetic charging to avoid opening the microUSB port?
If it is a bit fragile, do people use slim cases rather than risk using it "naked"?
Thanks in advance - apologies for not trawling through all the other subforums for answers.
-Battery life really is great, I don't need to compromise with autosync/location, I even leave them on, this the first phone that lets me be more carfree and still gives a lot of hours
-As for bloat, no there is not much, but then again the galaxy is the heights of bloatware lol.
-As for fragility, yes get a case. I use glass protectors on both sides but am still careful as I don't use a case. Remember glass protector wont save you from corner impacts.
-As for unlocking it should be pretty easy, I can't however as mine is a carrier version phone.
-Magnetic charging depends on people, I just use USB but many also use the mag port.
abhinav.tella said:
...
-As for bloat, no there is not much, but then again the galaxy is the heights of bloatware lol.
...
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Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I didn't experience galaxy bloat - the day I got it, I unlocked, rooted, backed up (just in case) and had it CyanogenModded
Oh, and I find that the devs at work have a Z3 for testing, so I will try and get a trial on Monday.
The difference between Z2 and Z3 is slim... the Z3 is slightly smaller, has a bit better screen while the Z2 has basically same hardware, bigger battery (yeah it differs) and is quite cheaper. So the Z2 is the better deal.
Is it worth buying an S7 now in mid 2017? What do you guys think? I really have to upgrade to a new device. I passed on OnePlus5 because of the jelly effect, and all sorts of problems. The S7 is not flawless I know that, but I'm curious what recent users, or previous users think about it. Would you recommend buying it? I hope you guys can help me with this. Thanks in advance
ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.
RiTCHiE007 said:
ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.
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Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir
I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.
Tados99 said:
Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir
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I have this Spigen Rugged Armor case, highly recommended
https://www.spigen.com/collections/galaxy-s7/products/galaxy-s7-case-rugged-armor-black
Takes 2 seconds to put on and take off
The S7 is a fine phone, but not exceptional. I had a Xiaomi Mi5 before it and I replaced it because of the rubbish software releases when it moved to Nougat. The Mi5 was lighter and sexier. the S7 is heavy and reliable like a family car but nothing really leaps out. Video is good, Stills camera is remarkably not sharp. S7 comes with the usual lorry load of bloatware. I use one of the battery saving modes.. its no where near as good as the Mi5 was on battery. so there you go, Strong and Stable
the\downslash\ said:
I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.
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I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.
Tados99 said:
I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.
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Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.
the\downslash\ said:
Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.
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Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!
Tados99 said:
Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!
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Yeah, it cold be find to find a brand new one right now... In that case, the S7 is probably your best option. You might consider some of the other last-year-flagships as well, such as the HTC 10. Anyway, good luck with your purchace.
It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.
Androidlover99 said:
It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.
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WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!
Tados99 said:
WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!
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No problem! Just saying my honest opinion on the phone, if you need anything just ask!