Well, I'm looking for a phone in the 300-400 dollar range that is good for customization. I mean I don't want to have to do any ridiculous things to unlock the bootloader, and the phone should have already have a somewhat decent development (in Xda for ROMs, etc.). Basically I have a Galaxy S4 but the bootloader is locked and I don't feel like using safestrap so I just want to buy a new phone, but I want to make sure I can customize it without any locked bootloaders or flashing restrictions.
HeySwiftLeeO,
If you are looking for an easy phone to customize with the ability to get a good development community and a token to unlock the bootloader, you need to look at all the HTC phones that HTC lists as dev devices. HTC has a great forum on their dev site and they really are quite good about getting back to you if you have specific question. I have modded several HTC devices including the Vivid and the One and each time was a great experience. And if you are looking to mod the hardware as well HTC'S architecture is a real pleasure to work with and there are a ton of 3rd party Chinese manufacturers that make the mods cheaper and less expensive than trying to do similar things with Samsung or Sony where the parts are twice as expensive. I would recommend starting with either the One X or the One because they used those as dev devices and there is a ton of support with both HTC and other developers on the forums. There is also a big community on these forums for those phones and there are plenty of ROMs to choose from which always helps when you are looking for a ROM that best suits your needs.
I hope this helps you and if you have any questions feel free to ask.
Without doubt, a Nexus device
Sent from my blazing fast Nexus 4
Nexus 5 of course
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
There are 3 threads devoted to discussions about devices, please repost your question in one of these three threads: The what should I buy thread or the The Device Suggestion Thread or the The Device Comparison Thread.
Thanks!
I am about to buy a new phone. So my questions are as follows:
1.) What Carrier has the most active phone being worked on by developers?
2.) Which phones (regardless of carrier) have the most devoted developers working on them?
Note: Basically i want to be able to be a flash addict and try new ROMS with new features made by decent developers (Although beginner or pro, all programmers deserve respect).
What are your guys opinions on the best Android phone to get? My carrier currently is MetroPCS but i might move to T-Mobile. I do not like big screens. The biggest screen i could probably deal with is the Galaxy S5 and that's because i use the hip clip.
I am leaning towards the Galaxy S5 (Upgrade from the S4).... The Sickness makes AWESOME ROMS for the M919 and i'm looking for a new phone with a similar caliber developer that's just as devoted as him.
ANY opinions or direct answers to my questions are greatly appreciated.
Another aspect the phone should have is that it has a great kernel... I LOVE the KT Kernel. Stability and profiles make it so easy to overclock/underclock.
Thanks in advance!!
There are 3 threads already established that are devoted to discussions about devices, please read, and if necessary, repost your question in one of these threads: The what should I buy thread or the The Device Suggestion Thread or the The Device Comparison Thread.
There are also several other discussion threads that you probably should review to help you. They are What phone do you wish you had? or
The Worst Android Device That You've Ever Had & Why or even this place that talks about The best phone you ever owned.
What made you choose this phone over the better 901F?
options
1 - What is the 901F never heard of it? (blame XDA for not adding section and media for not reporting it)
2 - I only buy the marketed phones.
3 - I am a developer and want to make money from donations so only buy the marketed phones.
4 - I just get what my carrier offers me.
5 - I prefer the S6 spec.
6 - 901F not possible to get where I live, otherwise would get it.
7 - other
I'm just curious... by what metric precisely is it that you're claiming the 901F is "better?"
what's the point of this thread?
I don't find the 901F 'better'.
The point is OP trying to convince himself his phone is better than the s6. Most likely he bought it not too long ago and is frustrated he can't get the s6, hence trying to convince people here that his phone is super awesome and that it deserves a subforum because it's too great to belong to the s5 sub.
PS : XDA people usually don't buy based only on marketing. But nice try.
xdafann said:
The point is OP trying to convince himself his phone is better than the s6. Most likely he bought it not too long ago and is frustrated he can't get the s6, hence trying to convince people here that his phone is super awesome and that it deserves a subforum because it's too great to belong to the s5 sub.
PS : XDA people usually don't buy based only on marketing. But nice try.
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Not so much frustrated about the S6 but rather lack of recognition by XDA.
But after the announcement of the S6 I am laughing, now I am glad I got this whilst it was the flagship of EE, as in my view the S6 is definitely an inferior phone.
The reason it needs a sub forum is that none of the S5 roms/kernels work on it, thats a clear indicator it shouldnt be lumped in the same section.
By the way you took the time to reply without answering the question? Its as if you think the answer is obvious or something.
chrcol said:
Not so much frustrated about the S6 but rather lack of recognition by XDA.
But after the announcement of the S6 I am laughing, now I am glad I got this whilst it was the flagship of EE, as in my view the S6 is definitely an inferior phone.
The reason it needs a sub forum is that none of the S5 roms/kernels work on it, thats a clear indicator it shouldnt be lumped in the same section.
By the way you took the time to reply without answering the question? Its as if you think the answer is obvious or something.
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If I may ask, why did you make this post? If you want a subforum for your S5, you should post in the S5 forums or contact a moderator. I really don't think this subjective "poll" to verify your phone's superiority was necessary...
If you want to talk about s5, please, go to the s5 forum
If that phone is so great then just keep it bud.
That's the thing
akitten007 said:
If I may ask, why did you make this post? If you want a subforum for your S5, you should post in the S5 forums or contact a moderator. I really don't think this subjective "poll" to verify your phone's superiority was necessary...
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I made the post as I am curious what the mindset is of xda user's what makes them decide what phone to buy. As some phones get real popular, and others people barely buy.
chrcol said:
Not so much frustrated about the S6 but rather lack of recognition by XDA.
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Not sure if you've noticed this but XDA is a site for developers. We add devices based on developer interest, likely development (in upcoming flagships) or actual development (in lesser known devices).
That should answer your question.
Thread closed as the only point of this thread seemed to be to have a good moan (though that's what we British are known for so I guess I shouldn't be surprised)
I find it incredibly annoying and cumbersome to go through 2 different forums to view issues/features/apps of the S8 and S8+ since 99% of the posts can pertain to either phone.
I think the Combined S8 Forums should look like this:
S8/S8+ Questions and Answers
S8/S8+ Guides, News, and Discussions
S8/S8+ Themes, Apps, and Mods
S8/S8+ Accessories
Exynos S8 Roms, Kernels, and Development
Exynos S8+ Roms, Kernels, and Development
VZW S8/S8+ Roms, Kernels, and Development
ATT S8/S8+ Roms, Kernels, and Development
Tmo S8/S8+ Roms, Kernels, and Development
Sprint S8/S8+ Roms, Kernels, and Development
You are cutting THIRTY forums down to TEN.
I have the S8 and if I didn't go through the S8+ forums, I would've missed on some great tips and vice versa. For example, I wouldn't have found out about Adhell or Disconnect Pro if I was just browsing the S8+ forums, since it was posted on the S8 forum. Another example is my magnetic wireless charging mod for the S7 edge, which works on both the S7 edge or S7 and any other android phone with wireless charging. If I don't post it in the regular s7 forum, people who don't have the s7 edge and do not browse the s7 edge forum will likely miss out on this. If I choose to remake this guide for the S8, should I just post it in the S8 forums or also the S8+ forums?
Does everything read through both forums? Instead of going through 4 combined forums (Q&A, General, Apps, Accessories), you have to read through 8. That's really a waste of time and why should app devs or accessory creators manage TWO threads where the same question is asked over and over when it was likely asked/answered in the other thread?
If something is phone specific, people usually mention it in the title anyways.
That's like saying merge pixel and pixel XL forum, they r still different phones imo, can you imagine a battery life thread mixed with both s8 sd s8 exynos s8+ sd s8+ exynos ?
Too late now...you should have asked the Admin back in February....
galaxys said:
Too late now...you should have asked the Admin back in February....
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Funny you should say that, I DID ask them in March when both forums were still pretty empty, and they refused.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=71656329#post71656329
Ever since then, all I have seen is duplicate threads in both forums, people getting irritated by having to trawl through 2 sets of forums when 95% of the threads apply to BOTH devices and people getting confused and posting in the wrong forum.....I saw it coming, tried to tell them, and they wouldn't listen to me.
Shuthefrontdoor said:
That's like saying merge pixel and pixel XL forum, they r still different phones imo, can you imagine a battery life thread mixed with both s8 sd s8 exynos s8+ sd s8+ exynos
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You already have battery life threads with people mixing the devices, pretty much all of em. I've already had this argument with people before. If it was ONE forum and TWO threads, people would be much more likely to post in the correct one since they will be right there. The way it is now people will be posting in the wrong one through a combination of confusion over what forum they are currently in, and not being bothered to navigate to the other forum and search for the battery thread in that one.
The hardware is basically identical except for battery size, almost every thread is going to apply to both devices, so instead of having 90% of the threads duplicated in 2 forums, splitting the knowledge in half and forcing people to have to trawl through 2 sets of forums, they could have one set of forums and maybe there will be a few device specific threads in them for things like battery life. You can have a sub forum for each device for firmwares, but all the Q&A and general guides and discussion and accessories forums should be a single set for both devices.
---------- Post added at 18:30 ---------- Previous post was at 18:28 ----------
ssgunner20 said:
Thats the most stupid thing ive heard. Why would you want that. They are not the same phone.
Its like me saying on a jeep forum to merge the 3.6 section with the 5.7 and 6.2. Yes its the same shell but differe t vehicle. I dont wanna here about tbe 5.7 or 3.6 if im looking for info on tbe 6.2... catch my drift!
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Are you really that thick? it's the exact opposite of that. its a different shell with the exact same insides! (same engine, same stereo, same pedals, same seats, same satnav, same steering wheel, just a slightly bigger fuel tank in one of them). Jesus there's some dimwits on here.
ewokuk said:
The hardware is basically identical except for battery size, almost every thread is going to apply to both devices, so instead of having 90% of the threads duplicated in 2 forums, splitting the knowledge in half and forcing people to have to trawl through 2 sets of forums, they could have one set of forums
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Click to collapse
Except that even in a single forum, most major topics already get spread across a half dozen redundant threads. And within each thread, once it exceeds a single page, most of the posts just repeat what was said earlier, including misinformation that was previously corrected. So the number of redundant forums doesn't really matter much.
ranova said:
I find it incredibly annoying and cumbersome to go through 2 different forums to view issues/features/apps of the S8 and S8+ since 99% of the posts can pertain to either phone.
I have the S8 and if I didn't go through the S8+ forums, I would've missed on some great tips and vice versa. At the very least, every forum except the "roms, kernels, recoveries" should be merged between the two.
If something is phone specific, people usually mention it in the title anyways.
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Click to collapse
I agree, Android Central recognized this a month or two ago and merged them. It is much better.
It is easy to point out examples where this would not make sense, but you must ignore the incredible inconvenience of navigating back and forth to even present the argument. The reality is that the s8 and + are remarkably similar.
Based on this logic, we should also have separate forums for snapdragon and exynos devices.
robber said:
I agree, Android Central recognized this a month or two ago and merged them. It is much better.
It is easy to point out examples where this would not make sense, but you must ignore the incredible inconvenience of navigating back and forth to even present the argument. The reality is that the s8 and + are remarkably similar.
Based on this logic, we should also have separate forums for snapdragon and exynos devices.
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well put. Im surprised the poll is pretty even. Do people want them separated just because they think their S8 variant is better than the other?
They are both literally the same, sans display, battery, and now UFS storage (for certain variants). Yes, the exynos version has root and will likely get better rom support, but every other forum (Q&A, Apps, Accessories, General, etc) pertain to both phones. Itd even be better if the admins made the forums separate for the Exynos and the Snapdragon variants since theres more of a difference there than s8 vs s8+. Between the name calling and thought process behind this, I really question a bunch of you. I didnt have a Pixel but the regular and XL forums should've been merged also.
Also, who cares about battery threads. They are mostly useless, and its not difficult to state what s8 you have.
ssgunner20 said:
Oh god, cry me a river...
So maybe samsung should just get rid of the two names and call em s8 regardless of screen sizes, battery...etc.
Think about it, if you take a moment to actually think, what your asking is pointless because look at the other sub-sections this forum has based on carriers. What makes you think people from verizon want to see info from at&t or Tmo? I think every memeber has a right to choose to view what section or sub-sections they choose to view rather than having it forced down their throats.
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No, carrier variants and Rom/development forums should still keep their respective forums. I've updated the OP with what I would suggest for forum merging. I'm saying that the Q&A, Guides/news/discussion, Themes/apps/mods, and accessories (yes even this, if theres a case made for the s8+, there likely is one for the S8 as well) forums should be merged as they all basically pertain to either phone. Your car analogy doesn't work here since cars are extremely more complicated when the engine, trim level, packages are different when it comes to modding, accessories, questions, etc. The s8 and s8+ are basically the same sans the screen size and battery size; it is A LOT more simpler and clear cut than cars when it comes to mods, apps, accessories, etc. The Pixel and Pixel XL should've had those specific forums merged as well.
Nothing is forced down your throat, what you and others are missing is shared knowledge as another user pointed out. I wouldn't have found out about Adhell or Disconnect Pro if I was just browsing the S8+ forums, since it was posted on the S8 forum. Another example is my magnetic wireless charging mod for the S7 edge, which works on both the S7 edge or S7 and any other android phone with wireless charging. If I don't post it in the regular s7 forum, people who don't have the s7 edge and do not browse the s7 edge forum will likely miss out on this. If I choose to remake this guide for the S8, should I just post it in the S8 forums or also the S8+ forums? Does everything read through both forums? Instead of going through 4 combined forums (Q&A, General, Apps, Accessories), you have to read through 8. That's really a waste of time and why should app devs or accessory creators manage TWO threads where the same question is asked over and over when it was likely asked/answered in the other thread?
Once you learn what efficiency and simplicity is, it will make sense. What has been done in the past is not necessary the best way of doing it. Learn from the mistakes and fix it. It amazes me that people would rather separate forums for each different sized phones model (s8+/s8, s7edge/s7, pixel/pixel XL). One is not better than the other, we should join forces and share knowledge, tips, questions, etc.
ssgunner20 said:
Oh god, cry me a river...
So maybe samsung should just get rid of the two names and call em s8 regardless of screen sizes, battery...etc.
Think about it, if you take a moment to actually think, what your asking is pointless because look at the other sub-sections this forum has based on carriers. What makes you think people from verizon want to see info from at&t or Tmo? I think every memeber has a right to choose to view what section or sub-sections they choose to view rather than having it forced down their throats.
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Thread cleaned up and closed.
There is no need to call out names, it? Kindly respect each other other and their opinions.
Secondly, this is not a place to make your request of the centralized forum. You can take it here [All XDA Members] Requests to Moderators and Admins or New device forum requests.
I wouldn't comment on the behalf of admin. But I am pretty sure the admins have a pretty good reason to create separate forums. And they would be glad to address your concern.
Good luck!
Regards
Vatsal,
Forum Moderator.
I understand that this is a development forum but since it's strictly about Exynos I posted here.
There has been great work regarding development for this awesome device. I've now tried many options from many different developers ... and to be honest its become a little confusing as to what is best and why. Realizing there is a lot of personal preference:
Can we have some users chime in (even if this thread is moved) especially for newer users what they prefer and more importantly why ... options, speed, battery, ease of use, etc
Should be posted in General Discussion.
Rekan_ said:
Should be posted in General Discussion.
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Thank you and I understand your opinion but since the majority of Exynos users cone to this forum I can promise it won't have any value of posted there.
It may get moved but I can assure you nobody will even look at it there
It's all good, so try it all. If you don't want to try it, you shouldn't be on xda(mostly the wrong section),just stick to what Samsung gave you originally.
Sent from my SM-G935F using XDA-Developers Legacy app
jcrompton said:
There has been great work regarding development for this awesome device. I've now tried many options from many different developers ... and to be honest its become a little confusing as to what is best and why. Realizing there is a lot of personal preference
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I completely understand why people would ask the question. I simply don't have the time to try all the ROMs. Setting one up to have it the way I like takes ~2 hours. This also doesn't take into account research into the ROM and troubleshooting issues (both user and ROM related) that come up - I need my phone to be useful.
Generally, S7/S7 Edge based ROMs are most stable, S8 and Note 8 ports have newest Samsung features, AOSP is Nexus and Pixel like and can have newest Android features (but lose Samsung features). All of them can have many great features and good performance depending on how they are made.
I personally never understood the hype about ports (generally heavier, less stable and new features kinda gimicky) and AOSP ROMs (less stable, why did I get a Samsung to have it run AOSP?). But that's just my opinion.
The above paragraph is however just a generalisation and it is obviously much more complicated than that. One would need to test and compare individual ROMs on different areas to get a good comparison on what is currently offered by the XDA developers. If anyone has tested multiple, then please post up comparison reviews. I think It would be a very useful guide. As readers can probably tell, I'm probably not the best person for the job.