Hey everybody!
The Z3 (Dual Sim) looks like a perfect phone for me, yet some questions remain:
The name of the Dual Sim variant is Z3 D663, correct?
Are there any custom recoveries or even ROMS for this model? As I'm coming from a Samsung Galaxy I've no idea about the development in the Sony branch, but I read they started releasing more and more kernel sources in the past..
Can you generally recommend the Z3?
What is the biggest turn-off about this phone for you?
How long do you usually get out of one charge?
Every help is appreciated!
Jkay7 said:
Hey everybody!
The Z3 (Dual Sim) looks like a perfect phone for me, yet some questions remain:
The name of the Dual Sim variant is Z3 D663, correct?
Are there any custom recoveries or even ROMS for this model? As I'm coming from a Samsung Galaxy I've no idea about the development in the Sony branch, but I read they started releasing more and more kernel sources in the past..
Can you generally recommend the Z3?
What is the biggest turn-off about this phone for you?
How long do you usually get out of one charge?
Every help is appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend Z3 for someone who wants good battery life.. I got 5+ hours screen on time with one charge at 50% adaptive brightness.. It can easy pass through two days of moderate usage.
Biggest turn off? Taking care of it, I don't like cases or anything.. Just tempered glass on screen and back side.. So I just don't want to ruin beautiful phone..
Roms are usually good quality.. But lot of Xperia users keep their phone stock with root only.
With unlocking bootloader you loose lot of functions of phone (camera algorithms).. But also, I use it for half year now (ex Z1 user for 2 years) and I don't find a reason to unlock my bootloader..
Sent from my D6603 using XDA Free mobile app
Dual sim variant is D6633
Biggest turn off is how it easily scratches and Camera not so great compared to others
Custom roms for dual sim is rare. Even for the single sim variant there isn't that much compared to the Samsung Galaxy collection.
Sent from my SGP621 using XDA Free mobile app
Afaik there aren't any custom roms for the dual sim model. although I don't really feel the need. the stock Sony skin is pretty good on this device and there are a lot of useful features. While it's not as good as cm it's a ton better than TouchWiz
there is a custom recovery based off of twrp . It's very good although it doesn't support encryption.
the standby battery life is amazing. I measure it at under 1% per hour. However I'm disappointed with the screen on time. I probably get only 5 hours. Although admittedly I'm a pretty heavy user as I have multiple Bluetooth devices and an Android wear SmartWatch
the onboard memory is only 16 gigabytes. For some people that's an issue but not for me. I stuck a 128 gigabyte micro SD card and I have all my media on it. but I could see it being an issue for a heavy gamer.
my last complaint with the device is the speaker and earphone are a little on the quiet side. There are mods that try to boost the volume although they do add a little bit of distortion
overall I'm happy with the device. But its not perfect
BTW. Keep in mind the dual SIM model is not active dual SIM. Its standby sim
Hi. I have the D6633, coming from a Nexus 5 and a Moto G (2013) dual sim beforehand.
Firstly, dual sim is a requirement for me, as I am able to have my work sim and my personal sim in the same phone.
The Moto G was great but lacked several features, namely LTE.
The D6633 overall is an excellent phone. The battery life is fantastic. According to GSam Battery monitor I get an average of 1 day 7 hours battery life with the phone being active an average of 9 hours and about 4-5 hours screen on time. I get my work emails on this phone, so probably sending and receiving 100 odd emails during the work day.
The camera compared to my other previous phones is fine (well, actually much better).
I can't really compare it to the single sim Z3, because I have not had one, but I understand for all intents and purposes it is the same phone. The D6633 does however lack VoLTE, which the single sim version does have. I also notice it gets less software updates than the single sim version.
As for custom roms, the stock rom is actually not too bad, so all I've done is just root it (kept the booloader locked).
One thing I don't like is the dual sim implimentation for dialling. Witht the Moto G, you were able to assign default numbers to a specific sim. With the D6633, you have to choose which sim you want to dial from each time.
Thanks a bunch for sharing your numerous experiences!
As for custom ROMs I'm mainly asking to make sure I can get Android M somehow (my SIII Mini was out of support right when I bought it (4.1.2)) as I am not willing to buy a phone, which will not get updates.
@browngeek : You said that there are less updates - at which version are you running atm? 5.0.2?
Besides that I'm not a heavy user, so I guess the battery will not die on me too hard
How do the edges on the phone work for you? Is it annyoing to reach over them? 5.2" is quite a number (for persons with small hands)..
Jkay7 said:
Thanks a bunch for sharing your numerous experiences!
As for custom ROMs I'm mainly asking to make sure I can get Android M somehow (my SIII Mini was out of support right when I bought it (4.1.2)) as I am not willing to buy a phone, which will not get updates.
@browngeek : You said that there are less updates - at which version are you running atm? 5.0.2?
Besides that I'm not a heavy user, so I guess the battery will not die on me too hard
How do the edges on the phone work for you? Is it annyoing to reach over them? 5.2" is quite a number (for persons with small hands)..
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Click to collapse
Hi, I am on 5.0.2. It seems to get the big updates, but hasn't got incremental updates that the single sim variant receives. I think the D6633 will get 5.1.1, but probably after the single sim version gets it.
As for size, yes, like you I wasn't too sure about the 5.2 factor. However for the most part this is fine. The phone is extremely thin and the bezels are quite thin. There is sometimes a stretch for one hand typing, but overall it is not too much of an issue.
browngeek said:
Hi, I am on 5.0.2. It seems to get the big updates, but hasn't got incremental updates that the single sim variant receives. I think the D6633 will get 5.1.1, but probably after the single sim version gets it.
As for size, yes, like you I wasn't too sure about the 5.2 factor. However for the most part this is fine. The phone is extremely thin and the bezels are quite thin. There is sometimes a stretch for one hand typing, but overall it is not too much of an issue.
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Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for all of you help!
I guess I'll go ahead and get the D6633
This thread may be closed.
Related
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").
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Please, Z3 faithful owners, can I have your opinions? Am I crazy to be looking at buying a Z3 at this late stage? Is the battery still good on latest Android? Some reviews talk of screens that break all buy themselves - is this a real risk? Should I care that Sony may stop making mobiles?
Why Z3? Well Z3+ seems to have worse battery. Z5 costs 50% more and not sure I need it.
I'm buying in UK SIM free. It's for business use: email, web, documents. Battery life is important, and I prefer no software bloat. Won't play games or watch movies (maybe a quick how-to on YouTube, that's it). Occasional camera, prefer idiot-proof. I'd like to keep using the phone for 3-4 years.
I do plan to root, with some hope of claiming under guarantee in case of hardware failure. I've done my best to scan these forums but please bear in mind I am totally new to Sony phones and there is a lot of info. It looks good so far - any gotchas I should know about? I see there are Marshmallow ROMs - are these safe/recommended for general use? And available for root locked bootloader? I didn't find a Xposed thread - does it work OK?
Many thanks.
I was in the same dilemma two months ago and i went for the z3. z3+ not worth it and z5 is more expensive and i'm not quite sure it's worth it. We have a z5 here at the office and i compared it with my z3. On the latest firmware both of them, it's true that z5 was a little snappier but not by much, tho when under heavy stress it will heat up...
Battery is very good for me. I usually use my phone 2 hours per day, on screen time and listen to music some 3 hours. Data always on and some bad reception where i work... I get home at 7 pm with ~50%. I say that's awsome. The camera is identical to z5, i don't see any difference. If there is, it's probably so small you won't even see it, at least not on the level that I expect mobile phone cameras to be.
Root is available, as well as xposed fwk. Everything works ok on the latest 5.1.1. MM ROMs are only for unlockedBL for now but we are soon expecting oficial MM. Anyway those MM based on CM are worse on battery and not working fully.
Any other info needed?
Yeah I have the same dilemma, but I consider between xperia z3 and nexus 5x. Do you know something about Sony plans about android N for xperia 3? What do you think will it get next android? Cause nexus 5x for sure. Thx.
I recently "downgraded" from an Xperia Z5 to a Z3 and I don't regret my decision one little bit.
More ROMs to choose from, root easily achievable by first flashing 4.4.4 and then flashing a pre-rooted .ftf.
Battery life is like night and day. I was ending the day on my Z5 with 5-10% battery. With my Z3 and a custom ROM, I'm ending the day with upwards of 50%.
Also, the Z3, to me, feels more premium and better built than the Z5.
If you can find one for £200 or thereabouts, grab it. It's a bargain.
Get one. But don't do what I did, I bought a unit from a guy who got a "new" replacement from his insurance company, the screen ripples when I touch it and I have pressure marks (the screen is genuine, however). The phone isn't waterproof either. Do you reckon I could send it to Sony and get it repaired? Maybe Sony repaired it.
Sent from my D6603 using Tapatalk
Is there anybody who knows of where to buy the special edition of this phone? The white and 64gb model sold in Taiwan.
I know it's pretty late to be looking but I won't give up hope because this phone was the best phone I have ever had but I really want more storage space.
If anyone knows how to upgrade the storage through hardware modification I am also interested in that.
Thanks!
Zuffle
bought one on ebay, once - couldn't connect to any T-Mobile 4G or LTE, relegated to 2G. This was before the Qualcomm "add bands" hack, though -I think the hack could have made this phone work. White phone. Beautiful. Good luck.
I got two with one defective and still hold one as a spare phone now. Speaking to smallest size android with good camera a bit hard to believe that HTC One S still done it's job even in 2017(Iphone SE sure better but ios and expensive). I've got Sony Z1c and Z5c but I think One S indeed smaller and light weight. Normal use still ok but only stock 4.1/4.2 with 1GB ram, hard to gaming now.
I've been an One S user for almost five years now and I agreed this phone was the best phone I have ever had. Actually I love my Z1c too both performs well but mainly due to the community here was extremely active and friendly, sometimes I real wonder where are they moving. I'm thinking to buy my third One S later bcoz many good memory with it and I personally believe it would still be the smaller android phone with real working camera in a long time.
One S got no 4G/LTE only 2G/3G and I think you may need the T-Mobile variant of One S to connect T-Mobile 3G.
It's just hard to come by. I worked for HTC at the time, and there just weren't that many made, and it was only for a single region. The commenter above is right though; unless you are in the right region your signal will be 2G/crap. I'm in the US and it's always been very very slow.
Have to agree with you. I threw the unofficial 14.1 rom on it and its pretty excellent. Some performance lag, but still amazing by considering the age. Totally usable.
Zuffle said:
Is there anybody who knows of where to buy the special edition of this phone? The white and 64gb model sold in Taiwan.
I know it's pretty late to be looking but I won't give up hope because this phone was the best phone I have ever had but I really want more storage space.
If anyone knows how to upgrade the storage through hardware modification I am also interested in that.
Thanks!
Zuffle
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Click to collapse
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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Click to collapse
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.