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I've kept my eye on the G pro 2 for a while (was about to get the original O G pro, but waited for this to come out). So I'm well aware of the specs, features, reviews, etc. But what I want to know is a real world user's opinion of the device.
Is the phone pretty decent? Any frustrations or quirks to know before trying to get one?
Key questions:
*How is the Mic/voice quality? (sending and receiving during a voice call)
*How is the battery life(I know it depends on usage and habits of the user, but just overall, how would you rate it personally, compared to other current/comparable Android phones)?
*Is it relatively stable and responsive?
*What bothers you about this phone?
*Would you buy it again if you were in the market for a new phone right now?(tells me that you like the phone and are overall happy with it)
I plan on getting a F350(a bit confused with the S/L/etc. acronym endings, can any one shed light?) I want to use it on at&t's network. On paper, and seeing professional reviews, the G pro 2 seems like my phone (1080p 5.9" screen, expandable memory via microsdhc, user replaceable battery, decent camera, etc.) But I want to know, if in practice, the phone is stable/frustration free(relatively speaking), decent real world battery life (if it's competent/comparable at least.. ), hoping that this is not one of those, "you have to root it and install a custom rom in order for this phone to be bearable"- type thing.
My other considerable is the Sony Xperia Z2 (prices are right, even though the screen is smaller and the battery isn't "replaceable"). I didn't want the Samsung Galaxy series due to the smaller screens and bloatware they put on there(note's a great series, but simlar.. bloatware, plus really expensive).
Thanks! I appreciate any input!
these are my questions too..
I came from a Samsung S3 (running CM).
first impressions were: Nice clean looks and lines, it's big (but it's not unwieldy). my wife has a Note 3 and it's about the same. the curve along the back sides makes it more comfortable to hold. Obviously, it's a heavier phone due to size, so your hand might get tired if you're one to use your phone lying down or something.
Screen is fantastic. I have no problems with colour issues with the screen and it's bright enough for me, even outdoors.
Battery life is good. standby can last more than a day. in usage, i was a bit busy yesterday and didn't use it too much, but from 0700 to 2300, i had 63% before i plugged it in. on a more typical day, I'd probably have around 40%. mainly a mixture of whatsapp, a few blogs, games and some TV show watching at lunch.
Camera is decent and acceptable auto focus speed. not a lot of bloatware.
I'm running 10e firmware due to bugs in 10f and waiting for lollipop. 10e is stable. not had problems with it.
problems: it's not widely available and the user base is small. so don't expect any fancy mods/firmwares or anything like that. as such, there's not a lot of accessories for it either outside of LG's own stuff.
My friend has the Z2 (not looked, but isn't the Z3 pricing nearly the same now?), and his camera is better and the battery life is longer due to Sony's Stamina software. display is about the same. If you want a big, stock phone, the LG is great. if you want to play around and like to customise your phone, then i'd go with the Sony.
Thanks for your input Ray-Lee .
I'm on the fence between the two phones, I like the bigger screen on the G pro 2, I haven't held one yet in person, but I don't think I"ll be bothered by it at all. Only thing that really entices me for the Z2 are the current prices for it right now.. for relatively similar specs, smaller screen, but better camera compensates. Honestly, I want the device to work well out of the box.. this is xda and I do play with custom firmwares and roms, but that's more of a result than a mission for me these days.. as in, if the unit runs better/faster/more stable compared to stock(or.. if stock is so horrendous that it must be rooted and flashed to be "decent").
ssnova said:
Thanks for your input Ray-Lee .
I'm on the fence between the two phones, I like the bigger screen on the G pro 2, I haven't held one yet in person, but I don't think I"ll be bothered by it at all. Only thing that really entices me for the Z2 are the current prices for it right now.. for relatively similar specs, smaller screen, but better camera compensates. Honestly, I want the device to work well out of the box.. this is xda and I do play with custom firmwares and roms, but that's more of a result than a mission for me these days.. as in, if the unit runs better/faster/more stable compared to stock(or.. if stock is so horrendous that it must be rooted and flashed to be "decent").
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Ive been using this phone pretty much since it came out (D838 rooted stock) and the stock Performance is fantastic if im honest it really doesn't need a custom rom unless you want to "mod" alot of things and even then as long as your careful theres still alot you can do with just root, i love this phone so much and its modified enough for my liking without a rom, its fine right out of the box and if you can live without a custom rom (which is really doesnt need that much) i think you'll be as happy as i am with this phone on stock with or without root.
But yes if you do like to flash and mess about alot go with the z2/note3 as there is more options there but this is still a brillant phone.
bjscott55 said:
Ive been using this phone pretty much since it came out (D838 rooted stock) and the stock Performance is fantastic if im honest it really doesn't need a custom rom unless you want to "mod" alot of things and even then as long as your careful theres still alot you can do with just root, i love this phone so much and its modified enough for my liking without a rom, its fine right out of the box and if you can live without a custom rom (which is really doesnt need that much) i think you'll be as happy as i am with this phone on stock with or without root.
But yes if you do like to flash and mess about alot go with the z2/note3 as there is more options there but this is still a brillant phone.
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Thanks a lot for the assurance. I'm still bouncing around phone options, I guess it just comes down to price (best bang for buck, with expandable memory at least). I'm still considering the G pro 2, but I saw how the GS note 3 has come down a lot in price.
Thanks again!
ssnova said:
Thanks a lot for the assurance. I'm still bouncing around phone options, I guess it just comes down to price (best bang for buck, with expandable memory at least). I'm still considering the G pro 2, but I saw how the GS note 3 has come down a lot in price.
Thanks again!
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I've had both and granted you can mess around with roms and stuff but for pure joy in use i much prefer the g pro 2 its a really really good phone and for the low price you really cant beat it in my opinion unless this phone gets a good recovery and cm11 ill never bother with costom roms ect. For me its perfect on stock the peformence is amazing, to date (about 6 months of owning this phone) the battery still amazes and im yet to see any lag ever!! The ui is amazing, for a phone out of the box you cant beat it if you like music it outputs brillantly im just in love so maybe im a little one sided but i hope whatever you do you will be happy! Let me know!
bjscott55 said:
I've had both and granted you can mess around with roms and stuff but for pure joy in use i much prefer the g pro 2 its a really really good phone and for the low price you really cant beat it in my opinion unless this phone gets a good recovery and cm11 ill never bother with costom roms ect. For me its perfect on stock the peformence is amazing, to date (about 6 months of owning this phone) the battery still amazes and im yet to see any lag ever!! The ui is amazing, for a phone out of the box you cant beat it if you like music it outputs brillantly im just in love so maybe im a little one sided but i hope whatever you do you will be happy! Let me know!
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I only can agree with that!
I did get mine last week and i am very happy with it! Came from Galaxy Note 2 wich i liked very much but i dont trust Super Amoled Display technology since noone grants you that it will operate more than 3 years with heavy use. I chose this device because it has similar dimensions as the Note 2, stronger hardware, bigger 1080p reliable IPS LCD screen and fabulous 3200 mAh battery.
It's a must have for phablet lovers that want to have a good performing phone with large screen.
After just a few days of use this is my opinion. On software side is everything ok, just the usual Kit Kat problem that bugs lots of users out here, tha lack of having permissions for apps to write to sd card. That was the only thing that bothered me, but thats on Google side. This phone is truly amazing!
Hope that helps the peple to choose the best device for their specific needs. I found mine definitely.
Thank you for the input bhun and derbyshire! I really like the phone and want to get it, but for me the G pro 2 shipped from Asia to the US (I need the F350 model for LTE compatibility), it's about $600, I'm going to wait out just a little longer, it's a bit out of my budget (was hoping to score a phone for less than $450.. Sony Z2 and ZU did fit that for me, but not anymore either, haha).
I'm glad to hear that it's a great phone though(G pro 2), hopefully the prices will come down a bit for the F350 model and I can obtain one soon. Thanks again to all who have contributed!
bhun said:
I only can agree with that!
I did get mine last week and i am very happy with it! Came from Galaxy Note 2 wich i liked very much but i dont trust Super Amoled Display technology since noone grants you that it will operate more than 3 years with heavy use. I chose this device because it has similar dimensions as the Note 2, stronger hardware, bigger 1080p reliable IPS LCD screen and fabulous 3200 mAh battery.
It's a must have for phablet lovers that want to have a good performing phone with large screen.
After just a few days of use this is my opinion. On software side is everything ok, just the usual Kit Kat problem that bugs lots of users out here, tha lack of having permissions for apps to write to sd card. That was the only thing that bothered me, but thats on Google side. This phone is truly amazing!
Hope that helps the peple to choose the best device for their specific needs. I found mine definitely.
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The things that bother me about this phone are the poor wifi signal, I can be within a meter of my router and it still fluctuates between 3 and 4 bars. Any less than 4 bars wifi signal seems to have a noticeable impact on browsing performance. I also find the mobile data hotspot a pain, every so often the connection would hang and you would have to turn data off and back on again to get it to work. It seemed to do that every hour or so. Also if the phone gets even minutely warm, the brightness level will restrict itself to between 80% and 90%. I have had 3 LG G Pro 2 and they have all been the same. I also notice some flickering at times, especially when there is a white background on a webpage. I am almost fed up of mine and looking at selling it soon. It does have the potential to be a good phone, and I think all the faults I mentioned could be fixed with a decent firmware update.
I agree with you on wifi reception, its been the worst amongst all the phones i have owned
Sent from my LG-D838 using Tapatalk
Good Buy
It's a good buy switching. Switched from GS5 to this
With the phone now out for some time, I wanted to see what the overall atmosphere for the phone was.
How does everyone like the phone? Specifically the US T-Mobile variant (D6616). I'm reading nothing but complaints about battery not lasting as long as it should/used to, WiFi issues, issues running LTE and so on. Are these the outliers or are they the common case?
With rumors of the Z4 growing (and all other competition as well), I've been wanting to upgrade from my Nexus 5 (with HORRIBLE battery life) for some time now. I've had my eye on the Z3 because of its purported insanely long battery, great display, great audio, great camera. Again, is this all really the case?
Also, with a hopeful Lollipop build releasing from Sony direct, I just wanted to verify that a user could technically flash the image directly to the phone and only risk losing T-Mobile's WiFi calling ability?
Wait for the Z4, because the Z1/2/3 use almost the same chipset. The Snapdragon 810 in the Z4 is a full generation newer with lower power consumption, much faster and has a 2x2 WiFi antenna.
Also support will probably be better as Sony will go to a one year release cycle unlike before where they had a new device every ~6 months.
As for my experience, it's pretty good I get 7-9Hrs of screen time in a 24-30 Hr period, without power saving options. I even have autosync and location services on. The battery life is just amazing. The UI is pretty smooth almost as quick as HTC Sense UI. Also not much bloat when you compare with Samsung.
Cellular signal is as good as my mother's iPhone 6 and dad's HTC M8. As for camera It's great, just leave it on "manual" as "Superior Auto" sucks. It's probably Sony's best camera module for phones. Remember that even Apple, LG, Samsung use Sony Exmor camera modules.
Only issue I had was cosmetic with gaps between frame and screen and light bleed from gaps. I exchanged mine 3 times for that. Currently happy with the one I have. It's not a big deal because T-Mobile exchanged my phone without any hassles.
There will always be a Z4 5 6 in development, ultimately you have to make the decision, if you want to wait it out no issues, but if your looking to upgrade now then z3 is the best choice among all the smartphones,the battery life is phenomenal and the real world performance is brilliant, I think it's one of the few android phones which can give the iPhone a run for the money in terms of performance and smoothness. The multitasking is hands down the best among android phones.I have never experienced a lag or crash till now. I have always been a Samsung user, have used the galaxy sl, s3 and 4,buying the Z3 was like taking a giant leap of faith and it paid off, theres no way in hell I'll ever go back to Samsung.
P.S Did I mention dipping the phone in a bucket of water a few times aswell? Yeah that too.
Sent from my D6653 using XDA Free mobile app
the Z4 will obviously happen, although it may be the last xperia flagship to hit the market, at least from sony alone - if they are looking to exit the business it's possible that the Z3 will be more fully supported in the long run, but who knows? the other point to bear in mind is how long it took to root the Z3 whilst retaining a locked bootloader - the Z4 may be more difficult again here..... having had the Z3 from launch it's now a known quantity, so you can ascertain fully what you're buying and what you can do with it, and whilst build qualities can be inconsistent just control the risk and buy from a no nonsense retailer with a clear returns policy ? for me it's a 9.5/10 and criminally underrated by the masses, but that at least lets you pick up something a bit different that may possibly be better than the existing competition, depending on who you speak to......
But seriously though tech wise the Z1/2/3 are very similar the Z4 is a big upgrade chipset wise.
Even if Z4 is the last Xperia from Sony, it could still continue under a new owner. Motorola for example still exists, though now under Lenovo. Nexus 6 support did not suddenly stop.
Hi to all you Z3 owners! After looking at all the smartphones my carrier (Rogers) has to offer (Galaxy S6, LG G3, etc.) I've decided to upgrade from my old Galaxy S2 (Skyrocket) and purchase a Sony XPERIA Z3.
Today is Fri and it'll be at my door Mon afternoon and I can barely contain my excitement!
*I'd just like to ask everyone how satisfied you are with the Z3? What are the Pros and Cons of the device? Do you have any ROM recommendations you can share?
Thx for any input you guys can give! [emoji3]
Hi and welcome fellow owner!
I certainly do understand your excitement since I had my own z3 for just 3 days now.
I come from a not distant past, the LG G2, and I have to admit, the xperia feels amazingly better in use. Just 100% fun all the time.
I too considered the G3, but recently I found myself needing more of a solid device rather than a specs monster.
Still hesitant to submerge it in the water :S
If you're into rooting I'd recommend you do it right away, I flashed the lollipop update first and now I'm stuck feeling tied to all the personalisation I had made.
Cheers.
I too came from the S2 and I am more then happy, its a beautifull phone to hold and its great in sunlight. Music sounds awsome with the right pair of earphones or headphones. Snappy and smooth all the time. Battery life is excellent. I myself have taken some very nice pics, some astonishingly perfect, some not so perfect I need to play with the camera settings a bit more, outdoors on a bright day it takes great pics. I just updated to lollipop today. Im living in ireland but flashed the central europe generic. Im loving the phone even more now. I would like any tech experts to tell me what the real difference is between a Central Europe generic firmware and a UK generic firmware. As my phone is working perfect on the Central Europe firmware, same reception and everything. I got this insured so I have decided not to bother buying a cover because is such a nice phone why ruin it with a cover. All in all its a 5 star from me so far. Enjoy
I took this pic today. My dog with a sock in his mouth on the grass. To me this picture looks flawless
Try washing and using underwater camera shots you'll see how useful waterproof features btw dont forget to seal all the flaps
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app
Thanks so much for all the replies so far! I can hardly contain my excitement about this phone! I even signed up with UPS SMS notifications even though I'll definitely be here on Mon...peering out of my window hours before it arrives lol. [emoji85]
@TanmayTzara - Re. the comment about rooting before upgrading to Lollipop:
I will most definitely be rooting this device but should I do it before the OTA Lollipop update?
@meteor999 - That pic of the Golden Retriever with the sock IS perfect! Wow u had the S2 before as well?! I'm actually typing right now on my old S2 and I'm eagerly looking forward to re-purposing this little guy as an XBMC device connected to my HDTV in my "man cave" downstairs! I have to know....was going from the S2 to the Z3 like going from a Horse n' Cart to an Aston Martin? [emoji33]
Hello mates. I recently went from a Samsung Galaxy S2 (Hercules) to the Sony Xperia Z3 (T-Mobile) model, D6616. The bootloader is locked ? I will not be able to root it. Yes, that's right. I don't know about the Rogers version. But for us Yanks who are with T-Mobile, we are SOL. Enjoy the phone. I love mine the way it is. I am running 4.4.4 KitKat and am hesitant to update to LP. I have read all sorts of disappointibg anecdotes on Google + about battery life not being anywhere near as good as this phone is with KitKat. Just this morning I got 25 hours before having to recharge. The most I've gotten is 36 hours. Amazing. Sounds and pictures are terrific. I like the user interface with KitKat on this phone. I sure do miss flashing roms, though. Please get a case or two. Amazon has plenty of them. This phone is slippery. Good luck.
danishdish said:
Hello mates. I recently went from a Samsung Galaxy S2 (Hercules) to the Sony Xperia Z3 (T-Mobile) model, D6616. The bootloader is locked ? I will not be able to root it. Yes, that's right. I don't know about the Rogers version. But for us Yanks who are with T-Mobile, we are SOL. Enjoy the phone. I love mine the way it is. I am running 4.4.4 KitKat and am hesitant to update to LP. I have read all sorts of disappointibg anecdotes on Google + about battery life not being anywhere near as good as this phone is with KitKat. Just this morning I got 25 hours before having to recharge. The most I've gotten is 36 hours. Amazing. Sounds and pictures are terrific. I like the user interface with KitKat on this phone. I sure do miss flashing roms, though. Please get a case or two. Amazon has plenty of them. This phone is slippery. Good luck.
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Thx for your input about Lollipop and battery life. Also about the case as I wasn't sure on that one.
My curiosity is piqued now...
1) What type of cases and accessories do you guys have or suggest?
2) Does anyone have the cool "smart cover" case with the little window and if so, how is it?
3) Are there any Rogers users here and will I have any issues rooting and/or flashing ROMs?
4) What ROM do you guys recommend? [emoji41] [emoji517][emoji782]
Hi guys, I'm also interested in getting the Z3 (for my girlfriend), but I'm a little bit reluctant because there seems to be many serious issues about this phone.....
I've done a lot of research already and from what I've read so far, the most common issue is pink blotch on the photos. People say that it seems to an issue with the camera hardware. I've also seen some reviews about the 4K recording overheating the camera, which is pretty disappointing considering Sony phones are known for their decent cameras...
The only good thing I've seen in common is to do with the battery life, apparently it averages 8~10 hours. Is that true?
What about Wifi? Sony phones are known to have crappy wifi since the Z1.
chaoscreater said:
Hi guys, I'm also interested in getting the Z3 (for my girlfriend), but I'm a little bit reluctant because there seems to be many serious issues about this phone.....
I've done a lot of research already and from what I've read so far, the most common issue is pink blotch on the photos. People say that it seems to an issue with the camera hardware. I've also seen some reviews about the 4K recording overheating the camera, which is pretty disappointing considering Sony phones are known for their decent cameras...
The only good thing I've seen in common is to do with the battery life, apparently it averages 8~10 hours. Is that true?
What about Wifi? Sony phones are known to have crappy wifi since the Z1.
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I have had my new Z3 for 14 days now and taken tons of pictures and I've had no issues with pink areas in photos at all. I read some ppl got a bad batch of camera hardware. One thing to do is test the camera straight away and if there's issues, bring it (or ship it) straight back for a replacement.
Camera: It doesn't take spectacular pics, but they're quite nice and the low light pics are excellent. I can't speak to the 4k video, however when you change to this mode it warns you there's a possibility of the phone getting too hot. (see below screenshot)
Battery life: 8-10hrs? Try 36 - The battery life is completely insane on this phone. I can get through 1 1/2 days of regular use before needing to plug in and charge.
WiFi: I have a large home with a fully finished basement. My "man cave" is down there and I get a great signal with no issues. Range is only average though, nothing spectacular.
Cases: If you get her the phone, the best case for it that I've found is the Ringke FUSION. I went through 2 other cases (Tudia, Sony Scr24 Style Cover) before discovering this. I purchased the "smoke black" version and I love it.
The point of this post is just to share my thoughts about the direction Motorola has taken with flagships. After using this phone for more than a year I can conclude:
Besides near stock Android and Turbo charging, the phone is mediocre at best. I have never felt as good as what i felt with my previous flagships (a Oneplus One).
The Battery life is way below average. After using the phone for a year the battery has really started to show its age and its not lasting as long as it should.
Another annoying issue I noticed is the fact that Motorola implements almost the same design language for their lower end G series and X series. Apart from the size, someone who isn't a tech geek can easily mistake my Pure for a lower end Motorola phone. The new Z series has fixed this, but again it would be difficult for the uninitiated to tell the difference between a Moto Z Play and the more premium Moto Z. Samsung, LG, HTC, Xiaomi go to great lengths to ensure that their flagships stand out and look very different from the budget phones.
I dont think i need to mention the fact that ever since Lenovo has taken over, the update wait time has increased a great deal, new reports suggest that the Pure will only get Noughat in May 2017
The developers that choose to work on the Pure deserve a lot of credit, but the fact is that a lot of developers chose to develop for other devices rather than the Pure.
A lot of accessory manufacturers decided that the moto X Pure didn't deserve any attention. To find a decent case was not very easy, (I especially missed using a Spigen case) and the fact that there is not a single working tempered Screen glass protector proves this. (I know the Pleson works almost 100% but its not available freely in all countries neither is it perfect.)
In conclusion I'm pretty sure this will be my last Motorola phone simply because it would be smarter to spend a little more and get a Galaxy, and with phones like the Oneplus 3T it makes little sense to buy a phone like the Moto Z which is priced considerably higher.
Would love to hear from other people what they think and if they are going to stay loyal to Motorola.
Heavy weight
Easy to get heated
The point about sharing design with mid range Moto phones is dope. People often ask if it's a Moto X Play or a Moto G 3rd Gen and then we need to tell them it's X Style ??
Well ... I understand your point of view, but what I think is that you chose badly the device, since you found him "mediocre at best"
The points listed:
Comparing the most powerful AND STABLE 32-bit processor to the second in line of Qualcomm's 64-bit generation SOC's with new architecture and everything else, I believe to be extremely wrong, since after the SD810 fiasco the creation of the SD808 was the fix the company used (and i think it was a good one, but this is something mostly disagree with me '^^)
About the OnePlus One, it is really a beast phone with the SD801 (the 32bits GOD) and i understand that you had a remarkable experience with it, since i had (now it is with my girlfriend) an Xperia Z3 with the same SD801 as the OnePlus One i understand when you say it was a more fluid usage, since i think the same, but... I don't think you can compare something that is pretty stable with some new technology.
I never had any problems with the battery because i use as a normal phone and i play games only at home and waiting in lines (bank/medic/...), it gives me something next to 18 hours (stock ROM/kernel) of use with 3 hour SOT or 7 to 8 hours SOT when i use it to watch movies/series/animes in my bed, mostly at weekends. Through the week i unplug it from charger at 6:30, go to work, and at 18:00 i go back home (40 ~ 35% left), the weekend is always a mess for battery stats,
As for the design I don’t have much to say, because I find it very beautiful, and being same design language is a plus for me, i like to have a “invisible phone” in the croud, only people that asks me what is my phone should know the answer.
Now the two really bad points ...
As for Lenovo acquiring Motorola, I fully agree that it was dumb, at least it should keep Motorola working as it always did.
And the lack of smartphone accessories really is laughable
We can keep talking about it, but i really think is a good phone and the testing Nougat ROM's are amazing, i can't wait for the official Nougat update.
btw all samsungs look the same too, comapre new A series with S: very simmilar glass on glass design.
other than that, you're right there are some dissapoitments but it's not real flagship phone, it's more like very good mid-end device, It was never priced like a flagship so don't expect it to be real flagship - that's my opinion. OPO is a differen't story, they managed to get price down with other ways like it's distribution, services ect.
It is a flagship phone. Why would you think otherwise? SD 8xx, 5.7" 2K screen, 21 MP back camera, etc. Upon release the starting price for 16gb was $399, while most mid range phones hit at $250-$300. At this point, nearly 2 years later, it could be considered a mid range but that is because hardware moves forward.
As to my thoughts: I think this is a great phone, even now. I run unrooted stock and pretty much it is a Nexus device with a few extras for customization thrown via Moto apps. These apps are few and I appreciate that they add actual additional features and not just replicate what Android and Google actually does already. The phone runs smooth, has a good camera for good lighting, and handles everything I throw at it. I will admit that battery life could be better, but it is acceptable and at least the turbo charge makes up for this shortcoming. I don't regret this purchase, even if the update process is dismal.
Update: I have hit the end of my warranty period, so I unlocked the bootloader and rooted. I have applied my favorite rooted apps and settings (Xposed, amplify, Greenify, TiBu to disable/uninstall certain apps and services, BBS to track wakelocks, and AdAway) so hopefully I will see improved battery life.
I bought the phone 6 months ago and I love it. I always used to be a android tinkerer. But recently most of the features that I used to root for have become stock. All I really need in a phone is stock android (although I wish we would get updates sooner) and the front facing speakers (because anything else is stupid). While I will probably be buying whatever google has out when I decide that it is time to upgrade in a year or two. It isn't due to anything motorola did wrong in particular. I also tend to keep phones a long time and upgrade to a tried and tested phone (which 6 months ago was the moto x pure, getting great reviews.) I upgraded from the Galaxy Note 2, and this was a wonderful step up.
I bought mine used last summer, upgrading from a Galaxy Note II. I'm a little disappointed in the battery life, but it gets me through most days. I agree about the lack of accessories and the slowing speed of updates. I'm also amazed at how well my Note II still stands up while running a custom MM Rom. I hope the X Pure works that well when it is that old.
But there are things that I really love about this phone too. I am amazed at how good the front speakers sound. I never thought I would care this much, but they are really good. I'm happy with the camera, since most of my photography is in good lighting conditions. This is my first phone with a camera that was good enough to not bother with a point and shoot. I'll move to a custom ROM if the updates stop altogether, but they haven't stopped yet. I'm happy that it still has a headphone jack, I use it all the time. Speed is fast enough to never annoy me, where my Note 2 was fast enough to rarely annoy me.
I choose this phone as an aging flagship instead of a midrange (Honor 5X, Asus Zenfone Laser 2, Moto G 3rd Gen) and I'm glad that I did.
Note2 versus Moto X Pure Edition
Znomon said:
I bought the phone 6 months ago and I love it. I always used to be a android tinkerer. But recently most of the features that I used to root for have become stock. All I really need in a phone is stock android (although I wish we would get updates sooner) and the front facing speakers (because anything else is stupid). While I will probably be buying whatever google has out when I decide that it is time to upgrade in a year or two. It isn't due to anything motorola did wrong in particular. I also tend to keep phones a long time and upgrade to a tried and tested phone (which 6 months ago was the moto x pure, getting great reviews.) I upgraded from the Galaxy Note 2, and this was a wonderful step up.
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smallmj said:
I bought mine used last summer, upgrading from a Galaxy Note II. I'm a little disappointed in the battery life, but it gets me through most days. I agree about the lack of accessories and the slowing speed of updates. I'm also amazed at how well my Note II still stands up while running a custom MM Rom. I hope the X Pure works that well when it is that old.
But there are things that I really love about this phone too. I am amazed at how good the front speakers sound. I never thought I would care this much, but they are really good. I'm happy with the camera, since most of my photography is in good lighting conditions. This is my first phone with a camera that was good enough to not bother with a point and shoot. I'll move to a custom ROM if the updates stop altogether, but they haven't stopped yet. I'm happy that it still has a headphone jack, I use it all the time. Speed is fast enough to never annoy me, where my Note 2 was fast enough to rarely annoy me.
I choose this phone as an aging flagship instead of a midrange (Honor 5X, Asus Zenfone Laser 2, Moto G 3rd Gen) and I'm glad that I did.
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Note 2 holdout here too . I'm just finishing up my first week since the upgrade and am quite pleased so far. I have the feeling that the MXPE is going to be a good low maintenance, long haul phone that I can get a few good years of service out of without too much hand-holding, just like with the Note. And with a nice, bright LCD screen instead of Led, I won't ever have to worry about burn-in or custom kernels to help correct green tint; pretty much everything just works. In fact, there's a ton of features that used to require a special app or a custom rom on the Note 2 that are built right in to the X, so there was a lot less effort required out-of-the-box to get everything to work, and on the stock Rom, no less! Even tethering works on the stock rom, which is something that I've never seen on any smartphone in my life.
Comparing the battery life of the two devices, I have yet to conclude any formal tests, but so far, the Pure Edition looks like it's going to be delivering 3-4 hours of screen-on time at best, while the Note 2 delivered as much as 4-5 hours on a good day. That said, I used that phone much more conservatively, so that could have something to do with it, but overall, the runtime of the Pure Edition isn't looking all that great. I think it's just got too much power for its own good, and when you combine that with a ludicrously-high screen resolution, (which demands more effort to render those high-resolution fonts and animations) it strains the CPU and GPU more. Time will tell if things improve after I settle in with it.
Overall I am happy with my X pure, though I share some of the others gripes.
Pros
-Screen
-Above average camera
-Good front camera with flash
-Good CPU, 3GB RAM
-front speakers
-no complaint on call quality
-Sd card slot - I have a 64GB card split as 20GB adopted and 40GB external
-moto ROM is near stock
-Moto features are well done (lock screen notifications)
-Simple unlock/root process
-GSM & CDMA = yes on VZ
-Quich charge 2
-understated design (I like it, others not as much)
- PRICE for these features unmatched
Cons
-Gets hot under load
-Battery life could be better - depends on how much I use it. GPS OFF helps. QC is a necessity with this phone
- lack of choice for accessories
- curved back - one handed is a chore and can't use on the table face up. It does feel nice to hold for a call though.
Other
- upgrade cycle has been slower than some would like. However it still exists at least. Other phones would be dead by now, this one is still alive.
Overall, Pros outweigh the cons and there is a lot for me to love about this phone.
I think I have been spoiled, because I'm finding it hard to find a device to upgrade to without sacrifices. The only phones I would consider are the Pixel and Moto G4 and one is expensive and the other underpowered.
well, i did the poll but i did it as a yes i would buy another, with condition of course.
i came from the original disappointed motorola fans, the Photon 4G fan. back then... it was the photon of the era. It had the ability to work as a PC, GSM capabilities, 4G wimax and at the time was the best performance with dual core 1 gigahertz and qHD. really a prime of a phone at that time compared to the S2 and the evo. cyanogenmod came out and did wonders on that phone because moto blur was so trashy. Then... the worst happened. Sprint ordered motorola to lock down the bootloader to 2.3.6 which is severely locked and no modifications were allowed to be done anymore. those who were lucky to not have 2.3.6 were able to mod to ICS but those who had 2.3.6 had to bootstrap the phone to work with cyanogenmod and that even was a piss poor attempt at making it work.
now i buy the moto x pure with alot of resentment from the photon but after hearing the reviews is when i bought it. after plagues of hardware problems with hte nexus 5 i simply needed a way to go back and the best device was the moto x. i was so sure i wanted this phone i custom ordered it (after reading rave reviews), i ordered the black leather with red accent 64 gig with 2 years protection. with over a year on this phone... i will admit i still love it.
there were a few hardware problems but i do have the 2 year protection and they did repair it for me... replaced the screen and the battery and wireless modules. i since then have not had problems with it (and believe they remedied the issues that i had with the older devices). i own an HTC M9, and my sister has the s7 edge. the only thing i like about the m9 is the dolby atmos and the carrier aggregation (hoping for a wireless update for the X). other than that... my phone is still superior despite older technology.
why?
i love my moto x because of the moto display. my absolute favorite! i also love the flash light and camera gestures.
the camera works great, signal is still better than most other phones, it barely crashes, the speakers still work very well, still speedy, turbo charge is still an amazing product and i bought the car charger for it. battery had 90 mins on screen time and still has 41% battery and i like the fact its unlocked gsm. i tried freedom pop a few weeks ago and i put that sim in. switched over quickly and it worked great then when i was done... i put my sprint sim back in and it worked just as great too.
the reason i dont see much to switch to however is because samsung, LG, and HTC hasnt really enticed me yet as to why their phone is better. samsung i have to see what will make them different... but LG really hasnt enticed me and im curious on what HTC does, though im not a metal phone fan (feel the feraday cage idea disintegrates the signal, IMO). Pixel is nice... but i simply dont have the money.
what would make me switch to another phone...
1) 4 gig of ram (preferably 6 gigs)
2) HPUE has to be baked in for Sprint LTE at a minimum but 5 channel aggregation would be amazing, AND GSM UNLOCKED
3) best camera software
4) minimum 5.5 inch screen
5) battery that will last for full 24 hours without need of charge or quick charge 4.0 with dual pol
6) shatter resistance and waterproof
for now... the moto x meets my demands without incremental improvements until i see whats next. hopefully a moto z successor that actually works on sprint
In the 2 years it has been out the update cycle has been slower than Samsung's Motorola did not deliver on the support side the main selling point they had with this device was it was going to be similar to the Nexus upgrade cycle well my warranty was up before the first update came out... In addition to the fiasco that is accessories for this phone I am really regretting not going with the LG v10
I don't know why everyone still complains about the accessories. This was never a mainstream device since it was completely carrier independent and sold unlocked. The previous Moto X (and Moto G) line was sold as both branded and unlocked so they were actually seen at pretty much any company that sold cellular service. For those looking for contract or payment plan pricing, they could get it from the carrier. With limited visibility, and the lack of payment plans through carriers the Pure was just not that popular. Companies that make accessories are going to focus on popular selling phones first as that is where they will make the most money... At least we have some options.
I sold my Moto X Pure to buy a Google Pixel XL.
If I were to sell the Pixel XL, then the Moto X Pure is the only phone I'd consider buying.
It was the best all-around phone I've ever had.
I'd even go with it over the new OnePlus 3 second edition or Galaxy S7 variants.
Regardless of price.
Moto Z. lmao what a stinker that phone is compared to Moto X Pure.
Unless you want pretty. Then you shouldn't even be on XDA if that's all you care about.
Interesting comments. I've been a Nexus owner for years, with the 6P being my prior phone. It became my prior phone due to the all too common Boot Loop of Death (BLOD) that seems to be impacting more and more owners. While Huawei did replace it with a refurb'ed model, not in mint shape like the one I sent, but it did come back with 128g instead of the 32g I sent. The battery is terrible as compared with the MXPE, I've been through most of the custom roms/kernels and nothing has really helped and I don't do social media nor play games on it. The built in features of the Moto really impressed me, they are actually functional and add value. The Moto Display is excellent as is the voice recognition of the Moto voice. The bluetooth stack seems to have issues (with me at least), my cell signal is a bit worse and the lack of updates is sad.
I've considered the Pixel, but the price is insane and after having the Pixel features on the 6P I'm happy with the Moto.
When I got my 6P back, it took about a week to change my sim back to it from the Moto, I put it back in the Moto the next day and don't plan on taking it out.
I've had several issues with my Moto X Pure:
1. Frequent static emanating from the headphone jack, which puts a real damper on quiet classical music. I've read on discussion boards that this is a known problem with jacks on the Moto X.
2. Failure to recognize SD cards. I'm now on my third card, and the phone is less than a year old.
3. The camera now fails to operate because of a "lack of disk space" -- although I have more than 24GB available.
Like you, I will never buy another Motorola phone.
Gourdman said:
I've had several issues with my Moto X Pure:
1. Frequent static emanating from the headphone jack, which puts a real damper on quiet classical music. I've read on discussion boards that this is a known problem with jacks on the Moto X.
2. Failure to recognize SD cards. I'm now on my third card, and the phone is less than a year old.
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1. This is interesting and must be sample-specific. I'm a pretty avid music listener and haven't had any problems with the headphone output on either of my MXPEs (had to RMA my first toward the end of the warranty period). I'd definitely notice and complain if there were any perceptible noise.
2. This one I do have experience with. I bought a brand new Samsung EVO 64 GB mSD card at the same time as the phone, and it gave me fits, but seems to work in other devices. Tried an older SanDisk I had laying around and it's worked fine.
ominousnimbus said:
1. This is interesting and must be sample-specific. I'm a pretty avid music listener and haven't had any problems with the headphone output on either of my MXPEs (had to RMA my first toward the end of the warranty period). I'd definitely notice and complain if there were any perceptible noise.
2. This one I do have experience with. I bought a brand new Samsung EVO 64 GB mSD card at the same time as the phone, and it gave me fits, but seems to work in other devices. Tried an older SanDisk I had laying around and it's worked fine.
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I've had issues with static, but only on some select 3.5mm plugs. I just figure it was that specific plug itself.
Have had no issues with my SanDisk plus. I use it as removable storage and not as adopted storage. But going back to your statement, I have owned a multiple phones and have noticed some don't play well with certain brands of cards but do well with others. I'm not sure why this is but it does happen.
I really hope I don't get SD slot troubles. My Note 2 did that and it drove me crazy. Maybe next time I should just shell out for a 64+ GB phone.
Times have changed
smallmj said:
I really hope I don't get SD slot troubles. My Note 2 did that and it drove me crazy. Maybe next time I should just shell out for a 64+ GB phone.
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Newer versions of Android (and their apps, along with the stock Rom apparently) are not nearly as frugal with the 16GB of storage as the Note2 was. I'm already at 7.8/9.6GB used with just a basic load of apps and data (music is on the card and camera photos are also directed to be stored there) on the MXPE.
For comparison, my Note2 has a massive load of software & data, plus a ton of camera photos, all on the main storage volume, and only 6.26GB out of the total 10.95GB available are used.
All that to say that 16GB used to be plenty, but "modern" software is just too bloated for that. If I do upgrade phones anytime in the next ~2 years, it'll probably be to a larger Moto X Pure Edition, but for now, that 64GB MicroSD card should be plenty adequate.
Hi, All! I am going to be leaving the world of Windows Phone and switching to Android. The V20 looks like a good choice. The only thing that worries me is the bootloop problem I keep seeing when I search for user reviews.
Has this been resolved? I don't want to get a used one and have it pop up suddenly. If the issue has been corrected, then a new one from the factory might be a better option?
The other thing that I cannot figure out are the bad reviews complaining about lag, poor audio volume, and loss of wireless signal. Is that all related to the bootloop/solder issue? Are these common problems?
Anyone wish they had gotten an S7 or another phone?
I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts.
Update: And let me add that I first came to xda years ago when I was messing with Palm ROMs. I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty with rooting, etc. I'm getting old and not as up on things like I used to be, but I'd rather post here than some Android site with less technical knowledge.
frettd said:
Hi, All! I am going to be leaving the world of Windows Phone and switching to Android. The V20 looks like a good choice. The only thing that worries me is the bootloop problem I keep seeing when I search for user reviews.
Has this been resolved? I don't want to get a used one and have it pop up suddenly. If the issue has been corrected, then a new one from the factory might be a better option?
The other thing that I cannot figure out are the bad reviews complaining about lag, poor audio volume, and loss of wireless signal. Is that all related to the bootloop/solder issue? Are these common problems?
Anyone wish they had gotten an S7 or another phone?
I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts.
Update: And let me add that I first came to xda years ago when I was messing with Palm ROMs. I am not afraid of getting my hands dirty with rooting, etc. I'm getting old and not as up on things like I used to be, but I'd rather post here than some Android site with less technical knowledge.
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Click to collapse
I've had my Verizon V20 for awhile now. Honestly stock isn't so bad. After awhile it got laggy for me, but I had it loaded full of apps and media. Never had any issues with it until I rooted, unlocked bootloader, and starting flashing ROMs. Since then I've been running LOS. I love the phones stock camera, the filters and software are amazing. The wide angle camera is my favorite feature. Video quality is amazing. The sound output on headphones even better (with good headphones). Louder than any phone I've ever tested...but the actual phone speaker is rather dull. Would I recommend it for a first Android phone? Probably not. Usually Sammy phones are great first Android phones. Personally I'm coming from a Galaxy Note5. I do miss my Galaxy a bit. Just better overall build quality. My V20 hasn't had a single software update and is still months behind on security patches. Cell signal is iffy all the time, although it may just be the area I live in but I've heard this is a V20 issue. Never had VoLTE working, which sucks too. Lose data each time I call. Do I wish I had chose another phone? Not really. Although my next phone will most likely be a Note 8 since I'm a basic Sammy fanboy. But that's my 2¢ for what it's worth. I never really knew about the solder/bootloop issue until you brought it up actually. That may have been an early production defect...
I haven't really seen definite proof of a bootloop issue on the V20s-- just lots of people who know of LG's reputation (G4/V10 *do* have horrible bootlooping issues-- much of it due to a processor that runs far too hot, which the V20 does not share) and make assumptions. People who get into bootlooping situations on the V20 are usually trying to root the phone without reading the instructions. (and with that said, the V20's root is complicated but not impossible and as long as you're patient and *read*, you can get out of most any jam.)
I love my Verizon V20 but I don't know about it being someone's first Android phone. It's not a perfect phone, but it's AMAZING at what it does well. The sound quality for both playback and recording is unmatched IMHO. The onboard speaker is pretty bad but with headphones and good source material it shines. I haven't had any lag or jerk issues but I DID root it as soon as the exploits were available and have done a lot of tweaking on it to keep it running well (on stock rom). That said people talked about lag out of the box which I never experienced (I had it for about a month or two before the root was found) which makes me wonder if there wasn't a bad initial batch of hardware. I'd say if you decide to get one and it lags, return it and get a new one right away. It's not "normal", or at least doesn't have to be.
I feel like the V20's hardware was incredible, but let down a bit by LG's software (it's not as bad as some complain, but it is a bit "spartan" and would've been nice if it was better documented given how complicated the phone is) and really let down by lack of documentation and by reviewers who didn't "get" it and tried to review it like an iPhone. I feel like it got a bad reputation from LG's previous hardware and from people not understanding this isn't an iPhone. This phone is incredibly complicated to use at times if you really want to push it, and it takes patience to learn. It's sort of like giving a fighter jet to someone who's never even driven before-- this isn't a standard "phone" and takes time to learn its ins and outs. That said,if you take the time you'll realize it can do a lot of things most phones can't do and in a lot of ways is as good or better than much more expensive media devices in general. It was my primary camera on a trip to Europe this summer, mostly because it was just easy to have it with me all the time. The photos aren't perfect but I felt like much less of a tourist/target using it a lot of the time. Manual mode is your friend, which is the case for much of this phone.
I love mine, but it's not for everyone by any stretch. I have no idea what I'd want to replace it with since the things I use are pretty much dead features now going forward on phones-- I USE the spare battery (again, on the trip to Europe, I had to swap batteries a few times mid day after a lot of photos-- quick charge would've been of no help in the middle of a sightseeing day!), I use the SD card, I use the remote, I use the HD audio recording... I think I'll have this phone until it dies, and then I might have to find another one.
I've had my v20 for about 7 months now or so.
After rooting and getting on the lastest Weta + Werewolf kernel, adding in updates here and there, installing xposed, and substratum themes... I think this is the perfect phone for me.
When I purchased the phone from the verizon store it was blazing fast. It's been fast for me since I bought the thing. I haven't had any issues with it whatsoever besides my own blunders. Signal never cut out for me. Bluetooth works fantastically. This phone + Arise makes every single song I play sound like an ear orgasm. I haven't even looked at other phones or felt that urge to flash roms I've had on other phones like the LG G3, Galaxy S3, and such. I get constantly 7 hours of Screen on Time. Even more if I use it conservatively.
This is the first phone I fell in love with. Everything is how I want it exactly the way I want it and I wouldn't have it any other way. If this phone lasts another 2+ years I'll be perfectly fine.
Id say its an ok device i moved in
Thanks for the advice thus far. THIS is why I didn't want to ask on an Android fan site. I wanted input from power users and people that would be more objective.
I actually just made the same move as you. Been using a windows phone for years but finally switched to the V20. It's a nice phone but there are a lot of things about windows phone I miss. I've been frustrated with it since I got it but I think they are android beefs and not beefs with this phone. I have seen the lag though, not sure what is causing it but it's definitely there. Not enough for me to recommend against getting this phone.
Quality of stock Google/LG apps seem to be of lesser quality than Microsoft apps, but I have been pleasantly surprised that some 3rd party apps have way more functionality than their windows phone counterparts did.
Also, I am using the Microsoft launcher and switched to all Microsoft services and it has made the transition a little easier.
Well till about a couple of years back i used to be a Samsung fanboy, but the day I got my G3, I realised how good LG can be.
You might hear a lot of stuff about LG phones here and there but I find them to be pretty good, the best part is the screen, due to ips display the whites are pretty punchy and that's what I prefer.
I have had all the LG devices (mostely ) g2, G3, g4, g5 and now the v20.
V20 is pretty solid, nice build quality, great cusyomization options via LG smart world, you can get Ringtones, wallpapers, themes. If you are willing to spend you can buy many more awesome looking themes from The playstore.
Camera is good, battery backup is decent, I haven't rooted it and apart from those adverts here and there I don't see the need, though till date i have only used rooted devices with huge cusyomization therein.
Call quality is great, signal strength though network dependent but is great.
Another notable thing is the awesome dac that v20 has, wonderful audio output from of the 3.5 mm jack and Bluetooth.
Go for it, though you might find more whistles than you may be used to like the second screen, but they are great to play around with.
My 2, best is go to the store, check the device personally if it's still available in em, play around for atleast half an hour and check whatever you can.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
lord dredd said:
Well till about a couple of years back i used to be a Samsung fanboy, but the day I got my G3, I realised how good LG can be.
You might hear a lot of stuff about LG phones here and there but I find them to be pretty good, the best part is the screen, due to ips display the whites are pretty punchy and that's what I prefer.
I have had all the LG devices (mostely ) g2, G3, g4, g5 and now the v20.
V20 is pretty solid, nice build quality, great cusyomization options via LG smart world, you can get Ringtones, wallpapers, themes. If you are willing to spend you can buy many more awesome looking themes from The playstore.
Camera is good, battery backup is decent, I haven't rooted it and apart from those adverts here and there I don't see the need, though till date i have only used rooted devices with huge cusyomization therein.
Call quality is great, signal strength though network dependent but is great.
Another notable thing is the awesome dac that v20 has, wonderful audio output from of the 3.5 mm jack and Bluetooth.
Go for it, though you might find more whistles than you may be used to like the second screen, but they are great to play around with.
My 2, best is go to the store, check the device personally if it's still available in em, play around for atleast half an hour and check whatever you can.
Sent from my VS995 using Tapatalk
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I bought mine used last February, and it has been an excellent device. I plan on grabbing a new one before they become unavailable. The V20 is a large phone, though, so if you prefer small phones, it's not a good choice. Extra battery and charging cradle means I rarely need to plug it in.
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