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Hi, maybe its to early to compare but since the price for both devices are almost the same in Europe i really cant decide which one is the better choice. Let me tell you something, i really like the pure android experience on Moto but i think that LG isn`t bad either. I hear there are some problems with data connection and touch on LG, and i am not sure if they solve the issue. Then again, the specs are pretty much the same on both, or am i missing something?
So what do you think, from your point of view?
The LG G4 is available today brand new unlocked on eBay for $452, shipped. The reason i went with the X Pure is because LG's UI is ugly and a resource hog IMO. Motorola's additions to Android are minimal yet extremely useful, which i prefer. I also feel that since the Pure is being sold unlocked directly through motorola, there will be better development for it here on XDA.
thefallen924 said:
The LG G4 is available today brand new unlocked on eBay for $452, shipped. The reason i went with the X Pure is because LG's UI is ugly and a resource hog IMO. Motorola's additions to Android are minimal yet extremely useful, which i prefer. I also feel that since the Pure is being sold unlocked directly through motorola, there will be better development for it here on XDA.
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The G4 has 0 development (at least Verizon and other locked bootloader devices). I love my G4 but she's going back in the box when my 64gb Moto X Style arrives.
Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
I have the G4. So development is dead, if you have a carrier one you have touchscreen issues (miss touches and lag), there is a fix but you have to wait for the update. Locked bootloader... I love the phone but it is annoying to use at the moment. Bring on the moto x
I have the TMobile G4 and a recent update fixed the touchscreen issues. I never had data issues though.
I am planning on switching to the Moto X Pure Edition. While I don't mind the LG UI and the phone has some nice useful customizations, I still prefer the stock Android experience. Throw Moto's features on top of that and the experience is that much better! I am also looking forward to the carrier-free experience!
G4'ed it!
Thanks for the feedback guys, i think i ll get the Moto x Style
Fantach said:
Thanks for the feedback guys, i think i ll get the Moto x Style
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Good choice Don't get me wrong the screen and the camera on the G4 is awesome but stock is the way to go!
I'm coming from the Verizon G4. While I love the looks, the feel, the camera, etc, I'm just not getting a good feeling that it will ever see a bootloader unlock. My MXP is supposed to arrive in a week, and I'm really looking forward to it.
I'm on the G3 right now and looking at the G4 as my finacee needs a phone and can take my G3. I was hoping to get the Moto X Pure, but I can't bring myself to go backwards on camera quality. Can't count on the new Nexus phones being great in that department either.
PolishDude said:
It's not just about MPs
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Exactly, there's much more to it. All cameras now are measured against the LG G4, new Galaxy range and iPhone 6. From everything I've seen the Moto X Play & Style are not on the same level as these phones.
I admit I got the G4 due to all the camera hype ... and it certainly lives up to that hype! Manual mode is cool, but honestly WAY over my head. However, I have come to realize I don't take very many pictures - I find myself wanting to take more pictures due the G4's camera though LOL. Personally, I'd rather the Moto features and stock Android over the G4 camera as said Moto features will get far more use than the camera. Yes, I may have situations where I am let down or aggravated by the camera on the X, but as I mentioned, taking pictures for me isn't a normal occurrence so it's worth the trade-off IMHO.
Edit: And I've had the first and second gen Xs and seen what improvements Motorola can make via software updates. While it may never get to G4 quality, I am confident they will address what ever shortcomings the camera has (assuming it's limited to software and not hardware)
I'm going to buy the MXP when I have to cash on hand. My last Android phone was a Droid Razr(ancient). I've since been to and iPhone 5s, and don't really like the OS. I've also been using a 2012 nexus 7 and still use it every day. The pure Android experience on the Nexus devices trump all. Add in the Moto Features and you can't go wrong. The Camera in the G4 is better, but if you're buying a ~&400 device for a camera only, you should buy an actual camera. The G4 also had an IR blaster, which I don't believe the Moto X Pure has. It would be nice to have that, but it really doesn't sway a decision for me. I also like the 0.2 inch boost on the screen size for the MXP, but that's an entirely opinion based decision. Dev support will certainly be better for Moto as well. I would also like to point out that the Moto X is actually cheaper, and straight from Moto, so customer support will be better than getting it from a rand third party on Ebay.
Looking at various reviews/pics of the X play, getting at the battery isn't all that complicated. It's not a plug'n'play replacement, but appears to be a rather simple disassembly process. If it's anything like the 1st gen moto g, it's a no brainer.
Folks, can we stick to the topic please. I'm all for no replacement for displacement but I don't want to read up it in an updates for phone thread.
I have a sony z3 compact with a 21 mp camera. It is nowhere near as good as a galaxy s5, s6, note whatever, g3, or g4. Not even close.
MP don't mean sh*t.
Thread thoroughly cleaned! Please keep this on topic.
Thank you.
Forum moderator,
matt4321
Crewville96 said:
I have a sony z3 compact with a 21 mp camera. It is nowhere near as good as a galaxy s5, s6, note whatever, g3, or g4. Not even close.
MP don't mean sh*t.
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Yeah I agree, not all sensors are created equal which means you could have horrible ones and good ones. Perfect example is the 8 MP sensors on the iPhone... there are a lot of 8 MP sensors on the market that don't come anywhere close to the photos the iPhones put out, some are down right laughable. I think the G4 and S6 will have a better camera than the moto x, however I do not think it will be by much, for me as long as it is decent I will be happy.
I wonder how many days after the first few MXP's are delivered it'll take for TWRP to show up? My guess is that by the time I receive mine on the 21st, there will be a couple lightly mod'ed roms to flash.
...and then the G4 goes back in the box.
Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
joshw0000 said:
I wonder how many days after the first few MXP's are delivered it'll take for TWRP to show up? My guess is that by the time I receive mine on the 21st, there will be a couple lightly mod'ed roms to flash.
...and then the G4 goes back in the box.
Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
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Click to collapse
It wont take long, the play got it quickly if I'm not mistaken, just a few drivers and it will be ready to go.
After reading some more reviews, I'm not so sure the G4 has a better camera. At least not for me. I rarely take pictures, but when I do, I only take them in good lighting areas. The reviews I have read say that the MXP has a better camera than any in good lighting. That's all I need to hear to give the MXP my vote for camera as well as my previously mentioned features.
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.
I need a new phone. I've been on a Note 4 for a while now, and it has reached its end-of-life. Done tons of research, and even when compared against the latest-and-greatest, the Pixel 2 still reviews well. It seems to be exactly what I am looking for. Even though the announcement of the Pixel 3 is right around the corner, it will mostly likely be late Oct / early Nov before consumers can get them in hand anyway. Five months is a long time, and I'm kind of ready to make a move now.
Is the Pixel 2 still the way to go? Do I have to bite the bullet and get another Samsung and get an s9? (I'm on AT&T btw, and I'm really really sick of having a carrier locked phone and waiting on AT&T to add bloatware to all the updates).
Would I be stupid to get the Pixel 2 today? Talk me into it / talk me out of it.
You'd be stupid to go Samsung again, that's for sure.
The Note 4 was arguably Samsung's peak for the Note line, and the S7 Edge the peak for their S line. Sure the new designs are fancy, but are fragile, and Samsung are horrendous when it comes to updates.
I'd suggest looking into a OnePlus 6 especially if you're sick of being carrier locked. Cheaper and more powerful than the Pixel 2, better in every way aside from speakers and camera if they are important to you.
That being said, I miss my Pixel 2 XL for the software as it's so damn smooth, but I do not miss the abysmal screen (Note 4 screen is better). So if you go Pixel 2, definitely get the smaller one with the nicer Samsung screen.
As opposed to what ? Samsung ? Pixel 2 still had several years of guaranteed updates and a smoother software interface with less bloat. I could understand MAYBE if you said an iPhone as most businesses are starting to use iOS and Apple supports their software for several years but against a Samsung that's just a joke.
My $0.02., develop your own pros/cons list as no one knows what's more important to you, than you. Example, I absolutely hate lag in software, probably an unhealthy amount... I also enjoy a headphone jack, but that's less important than software to _me_. At the end of the day, no phone is better at software and camera than the Pixel 2 (I have non-XL, coming from a Samsung Galaxy S3) and that's what I think ultimately creates the Pixel appeal because literally every time you use your phone, in an app, to take a pic, etc, you get that top-of-the-line software experience. How much does Samsung's superior hardware matter when apps lag or freeze and frustrate the user or they're running a 6-month old security patch level?
Also got mine 50% off during Verizon's Black Friday deal last year, figured the savings was worth the locked bootloader. Then we got an unlock method anyways in December so win-win, half price + unlocked BL now. Is the P2 worth full price to you? Who knows. But good luck whatever path you choose!
istrikerx said:
You'd be stupid to go Samsung again, that's for sure.
The Note 4 was arguably Samsung's peak for the Note line, and the S7 Edge the peak for their S line. Sure the new designs are fancy, but are fragile, and Samsung are horrendous when it comes to updates.
I'd suggest looking into a OnePlus 6 especially if you're sick of being carrier locked. Cheaper and more powerful than the Pixel 2, better in every way aside from speakers and camera if they are important to you.
That being said, I miss my Pixel 2 XL for the software as it's so damn smooth, but I do not miss the abysmal screen (Note 4 screen is better). So if you go Pixel 2, definitely get the smaller one with the nicer Samsung screen.
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I love my Pixel 2, but honestly the reason I bought it was because of the camera and because I thought there would be more rom development by this point, but mostly for the camera. I came from a oneplus 3t and I loved that phone so much. The development community was large and very active, and the phone's hardware was awesome.
If it wasn't for the Pixel 2's camera, I would've much rather upgraded to a newer oneplus device or even stuck with my 3t. But seriously, imo forget samsung and there locked ass bootloaders and stupidly overpriced phones.
I ditched Samsung (S6) finally last month and got the Pixel2. I am not much of a ROM flasher but root is very important to me. I was dreading going down in resolution but haven't regretted it once.
Is there any reason NOT to get the Pixel 2? What other phone is popular enough to receive continual updates, and easy to find accessories? Gives fast performance without lag-inducing bloat-ware?
I have an AT&T brand Note 8 and i really like the phone (wish i would have bought the unlocked version). But i like to root and flash roms occasionally and I'm pretty limited on the Note 8. Lucky me my work takes me all across Texas and i just happen to be where AT&T don't have service so i bought the Pixel 2 direct from Google and I'm loving it. I'm running it on Verizon. Super easy to unlock bootloader and root. I've only had it for about a month now and have only did one update (the June update) that got a little confusing but i figured it out (i downloaded it myself from Google instead of doing the ota). Personally, i think the camera on the Note 8 is better than the Pixel 2 camera, but i have both phones so i can always take pictures with the Note and it syncs to my Google photos and i have the pic on both phones. I do feel like the Pixel runs a lot smoother than the Note though. If you buy a Pixel, I'd suggest buying straight from Google so you don't have to worry about the bootloader, although i know carriers bundling things in makes it hard to pass up.
I believe it is still going strong and worth a buy.
Personally I don't the notch design which everyone is copying from Apple now.
In fact I bought one three weeks ago and I'm very happy with it. It's already running Android P DP3. I have considered a Huawei P20, but in the end went with the Pixel 2, mainly because of the fast updates and stock Android (I came from a Nexus 5X)
No regrets!
Meh not that many accessories...
mellojoe said:
Is there any reason NOT to get the Pixel 2? What other phone is popular enough to receive continual updates, and easy to find accessories? Gives fast performance without lag-inducing bloat-ware?
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Click to collapse
Well, gotta disagree a little with you on the bolded section. The P2 just isn't sold in large enough numbers to get the choices in accessories like the mainstream iPhones, S9, etc. Otterbox Defender series only has 2 colors for crying out loud...
Edit: a word
It could be a winner for you if that's what you want...luv mine!
Personally I would wait and buy a cheaper, last year's phone in the meanwhile.
Pixel 2 series is great, but you still have to make hard compromises. If you want the 2018 screen quality, go pixel 2; if you want a 2018 battery life and screen size, go XL. But to me these 3 things are essential to a phone (ok maybe not the screen size). Considering the price being top of the lines even compared to an iPhone, and it is a 2017 phone (sort), I would wait.
Plus I got a feel that Pixel 3 may come with wireless charging and other technologies that would make using a phone more convenient. While Pixel 2 is just, with great camera. Not an important factor to me personally.
I just got it coming from a Huawei mate 10
Honestly its a great phone . I got the small version cuz I have a U11PLUS plus as my daily big screen phone. And it's awesome they have all these goodness in such a small phone can be handled one hand
At the moment u11plus plus 128gb and 6gb ram is going for 600$ ish on eBay. If u don't care about updates I would advice u to go with it. The camera with gcam performing better than the pixel believe it or not and the battery is the best in the market. Colours of amazing silver or red are phenomenal, nothing else comes close even the copycat p20 pro
Absolutely! I would recommend the Pixel 2 to anybody who asked I haven't even had any reason to want the XL - I've just got the 5" Pixel.
The software is essentially bloat-free (if you use the Google apps) and the experience is as polished as that of the iPhone.
(I'm not a fan of the iPhone but anybody who's used an Android can't deny on most phones the platform is bloated and a little half-assed in places.)
Plus, if you're big into getting the latest Android versions - we get the Android betas first (and they're supported for 2 years.)
And, once the 2 years are up, if you haven't got a new phone by then, I'd imagine there would be a ton of custom ROMs and such for the phone.
I'm planning on developing some ROMs for the Pixel 2 but I haven't for the moment because I have no reason to; the software is the best I've experienced, so I have no reason to mod the phone. (This is probably why there isn't much in the way of development going on for the phone)
In my opinion, the camera is excellent; I don't use it that much but when I do, it's fast, the quality is fantastic and I have trouble faulting it.
Finally, the battery life is great. As a student, I don't use my phone all day but relatively speaking, I'm quite a heavy user and I get about 3 hours more screen time than most others. Plus, as the phone charges to upwards of 80% in about 45 minutes, battery isn't really an issue. (5-10 minutes at an AC outlet can usually get it up to 20%.)
TL;DR: Particularly if you buy a phone for utility (rather than as a fashion statement), this phone is brilliant. It's the best Android device I've ever owned and, I think, one of the best on the market.
If you want something that looks a bit more flashy, I'd suggest the Pixel XL, though.
The give-a-friend 15% offer is making this pracitcally a no-brainer for me. That brings a brand new direct from Google Pixel2 to $550. That's basically the same price as low end or older model phones. Looks like I'll be picking one up. Thanks for the advice.
Feel free to add any more thoughts, tho, cause I'm sure as we get closer to the launch of the 3, more people are going to be asking for opnions on the 2 as a budget-friendly option.
jerryhou85 said:
I believe it is still going strong and worth a buy.
Personally I don't the notch design which everyone is copying from Apple now.
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Let me correct you sir. Copying from Essential ph-1, not apple. Apple copying that design from Essential ph-1. Get it right.
ivanov13 said:
Let me correct you sir. Copying from Essential ph-1, not apple. Apple copying that design from Essential ph-1. Get it right.
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Ahh, I see. Learned that recently, thanks.
This year Pixel 3 should be the choice if I want to change my phone again.
edwinek said:
In fact I bought one three weeks ago and I'm very happy with it. It's already running Android P DP3. I have considered a Huawei P20, but in the end went with the Pixel 2, mainly because of the fast updates and stock Android (I came from a Nexus 5X)
No regrets!
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me too, I bought my pixel 2 (128GB) using a 20% coupon, used to have a nexus 5x, huge improvement
Hello, all it is great to be back on XDA after long not being able to do anything with my phone because Samsung locks it down so you can't touch the US variants of their phones anymore! I decided to "downgrade" to a Moto G6 and save my money and free myself from Samsungs crapware etc. My thoughts from playing with it so far are that for the price it is incredible! Fast charging is faster than my S9+, battery life is better, overall system responsiveness is very consistent, and the screen is not at all bad! This barely feels like a downgrade at all. It feels like a breath of fresh air in an over saturated market of very pricey devices. I had the original Moto G and it is still to this day the most bang for my buck device ever. It still works and still runs Android 8 even! The OnePlus One is a close contender but I really need something that works on all major US networks. Only Samsung, Apple, HTC, LG, and Motorolla were really options for me. Out of those, I thought the G6 would likely be the most tinker friendly and budget friendly. So far that seems to be holding true as development looks to be on the horizon and there are open kernel sources! Who knows maybe I will take a crack at doing a simple AOSP ROM! Cheers everyone!
P.S. Enjoy the extra money in your pockets from not buying something overpriced like the iPhone X.
And you needed to post this... Why?
Dadud said:
And you needed to post this... Why?
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Why not? I do not think that this goes against the purpose of the News & Discussion section. I figure something like this would be welcome. :silly:
Yeah, try to do some custom ROMs please. Or fix bugs on treble ROMs, if you're able to do it ?
Hey there!
I just bought a G6 today and i'm coming from S6 Edge Plus.
Of course, this is not like a S9, but I was using the "port" version of S9 rom and i don't think Samsung's changed that much. After buying this phone I agree and understand what you are talking. I feel like I'm upgrading to a more expensive phone. Everything has this stock animations, smoothness and the battery... Omg... The baterry is fantastic!
I stopped to think about why spend so much i Samsung's phone if you can get even better experience with another phones on the market? Just because of a design that certainly will be covered by a case and a good screen.
Of course I miss the camera, but I can get over it
Loved reading the post. Don't mind the guy up above and his poor attitude.
Just like the OP i have 3 of these moto G6 play's and 1 iPhone X. The G6 is by far the bang for the buck in everyway. These phones even have facial recognition !
BTW, i picked up these phones for less than $100 each.................................
chokers said:
Just like the OP i have 3 of these moto G6 play's and 1 iPhone X. The G6 is by far the bang for the buck in everyway. These phones even have facial recognition !
BTW, i picked up these phones for less than $100 each.................................
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Wow how did you manage that deal? Used!? That is a great deal even from the play!
calage1234 said:
Hey there!
I just bought a G6 today and i'm coming from S6 Edge Plus.
Of course, this is not like a S9, but I was using the "port" version of S9 rom and i don't think Samsung's changed that much. After buying this phone I agree and understand what you are talking. I feel like I'm upgrading to a more expensive phone. Everything has this stock animations, smoothness and the battery... Omg... The baterry is fantastic!
I stopped to think about why spend so much i Samsung's phone if you can get even better experience with another phones on the market? Just because of a design that certainly will be covered by a case and a good screen.
Of course I miss the camera, but I can get over it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I am going to miss the camera a lot but for the price it is making me like it a lot more. Also Samsung needs to up their quick charge game. Thinking about the camera again though... For the difference in price you can get a killer used DSLR or maybe even a new one not including lenses.
This is evidence that price does not equal quality. I'm glad you like your phone as much as I like mine.
Markon101 said:
Hello, all it is great to be back on XDA after long not being able to do anything with my phone because Samsung locks it down so you can't touch the US variants of their phones anymore! I decided to "downgrade" to a Moto G6 and save my money and free myself from Samsungs crapware etc. My thoughts from playing with it so far are that for the price it is incredible! Fast charging is faster than my S9+, battery life is better, overall system responsiveness is very consistent, and the screen is not at all bad! This barely feels like a downgrade at all. It feels like a breath of fresh air in an over saturated market of very pricey devices. I had the original Moto G and it is still to this day the most bang for my buck device ever. It still works and still runs Android 8 even! The OnePlus One is a close contender but I really need something that works on all major US networks. Only Samsung, Apple, HTC, LG, and Motorolla were really options for me. Out of those, I thought the G6 would likely be the most tinker friendly and budget friendly. So far that seems to be holding true as development looks to be on the horizon and there are open kernel sources! Who knows maybe I will take a crack at doing a simple AOSP ROM! Cheers everyone!
P.S. Enjoy the extra money in your pockets from not buying something overpriced like the iPhone X.
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Click to collapse
"...and the screen is not at all bad!"
Actually, I think the screen is gorgeous and looks amazing, bright and colorful without being oversaturated.
Hi, Markon101...
Wow, what a great post, and I agree with much of what you say, although I live in the UK and carrier networks are somewhat different here. Things aren't quite so locked down.
So, anyway, like yourself, I've also been away from XDA for quite a while, primarily because I'm not rich enough to afford the latest Premium Flagship devices. And over the past few years, I've been running fairly old devices, namely the (HTC built) Nexus 9 tablet and the HTC One M8 phone, both of which hail from 2014.
This hasn't been much of a problem in terms of regular day-to-day use, but to be a contributing member of XDA, it helps if you have more up to date hardware.
I remember buying my HTC One M8 phone way back in September 2014, which cost me over £500 - a fair chunk of cash for me even back then.
Today's Flagship phones are even more expensive (unless you go the contract route, but I prefer to actually own my phone outright), so when my HTC One M8's battery began to fail earlier this year (which is pretty respectable after three and a bit years of use!) ~ at the beginning of July, the phone would shut down when the battery dipped below 70% ~ well, I knew then that I needed a new phone, it couldn't be delayed any longer!
But you develop certain expectations, largely fed by what you read online and by the focus placed on them, that the only phones worth bothering with are Premium Flagship devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy S9, Google's Pixel phones, the iPhone X, etc...
...and that any phone not costing an arm and a leg (ie., anything less than around £800) is basically not worth bothering with.
And it's so easy to fall into the trap of believing that. I certainly did, which is why I delayed replacing my M8 for as long as I did, not wanting (and not really able to afford it anyway) to spend upwards of £800 to £900 on a new phone. I guess I could have found the money, but the sacrifices elsewhere in my life, as a result, would have just have been unacceptable to me.
And then I read this article...
The Moto G6 exposes the identity crisis plaguing Android's top-end...
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/moto-g6-release-date-uk-price-specs
This article 'recalibrated' my expectations and changed my perspective about a phone costing only a quarter of the price of a Flagship device ~ just £220, network unlocked.
So, I bought one. Just over a week ago now.
I transferred the SIM card from my antiquated HTC One M8 and I haven't regretted my purchase for a single minute!
The Moto G6 is a singular delight to look at, to hold and most importantly of all... to use. Smooth and responsive, great screen, fast charging, looks good - what's not to like.
You could buy nearly five of 'em for the price of an iPhone X - all I can say is that the iPhone X must be an extraordinarily and an astonishingly amazing piece of technology, but is it worth £1000? A slightly rhetorical question I know, because value, when it comes to such things, is highly subjective.
Clearly, it's worth it to some people, otherwise Apple wouldn't have sold any of 'em ~ I just couldn't personally justify such an extravagant purchase, even if I did have a spare Grand lying around somewhere!
But going back to the Moto G6 ~ it's a great phone, at a great price, and I doubt I'll ever pay much more than a couple of a hundred pounds for a smartphone ever again, which also means I won't leave it so long until I upgrade again - I mean, £220 (or thereabouts) every couple of years is something I can easily scrape together. Thick end of a £1000... well, not really.
It seems to me that something has recently changed in the smartphone world, and that good quality phones no longer require remortgaging the house! The Moto G6 is evidence of that.
---------------------------------
As far as custom mods for the Moto G6 are concerned (ie., root via Magisk, TWRP, Custom Kernels, Custom ROMs, etc.) and all that kind of stuff... well, I guess it will all happen at some point. It's still early days yet, the Moto G6 has only been on the market for around three months, and the dev guys who understand the intricacies of Android required for building the tools needed for these things need time to work on them.
And in any case, I generally wouldn't even bother thinking about unlocking the bootloader until I've had a device for at least six months, primarily for warranty reasons. What's the rush?
And ideally of course, you'd need some means of restoring/re-flashing the Moto G6 back to its factory state before messing around with all of that - and which I don't think there is currently.
Root is certainly nice to have, for things like AdaWay, Greenify and Titanium, but it brings problems of its own, for example when an OTA is imminent ~ it won't install over anything other than unmodified stock. Maybe Magisk has changed that ~ I haven't used Magisk myself, and I'm only familiar with Chainfires SuperSU, which I do know had to 'patch' the boot image/partition for root to work. I had to use Chainfires FlashFire to run an OTA on my rooted Nexus 9, but with Chainfire retiring from the field, I suspect that FlashFire no longer works, and probably wouldn't be supported on the G6 anyway.
Anyhow, whatever the complexities, root doesn't seem to me to be that much of a deal breaker these days. Or maybe I'm just getting old, and I can no longer be bothered with the hassle of it all anymore. I remember (cue: pipe, slippers, cardigan, grumpy old man routine)... I remember back in ICS, Jellybean and KitKat days when root was just so easy to acquire, and you could even flash an official OTA via ClockWorkMod recovery...
...well, those days are long gone, probably for the better actually, because it means Android is now considerably more secure with things like Secure Boot, DM-Verity, Selinix Enforced/Permissive and a whole load of other things I don't really fully understand (but sort of pretend to).
Android is certainly much more slicker and polished these days (anybody here remember Éclair, Froyo and Gingerbread!), with Nougat and Oreo and whatever P will eventually be called, but it doesn't seem to be quite as much fun as it used be back circa 2011-2014 or thereabouts.
---------------------------------
Well, having ruminated on all manner of diverse topics here, I'll conclude this ever-so-slightly rambling post by reiterating my opinion on the Moto G6, and totally agreeing with Markon101 and his post above.
It is unquestionably a delightful phone, at an equally delightful price. I'm still amazed that it only cost me a little over £200. I doubt you could even buy a half-decent TV for that kind of money.
Hope everybody else here is equally happy with their Moto G6... I know I certainly am.
Cheers everybody.
Ged.
I like the Moto G6 but S9+ is by far a better phone. Better cpu,gpu,camera,screen. S9+ feels more premium than the G6 as well. Just my opinion tho. I would never trade an S9+ for a moto G6 tho i do have the G6 as a back up phone
no kidding dude
supergear said:
I like the Moto G6 but S9+ is by far a better phone. Better cpu,gpu,camera,screen. S9+ feels more premium than the G6 as well. Just my opinion tho. I would never trade an S9+ for a moto G6 tho i do have the G6 as a back up phone
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obviously the s9+ is better but is costs over 4 times more than a g6... and you can do a bit more with the motorola. im glad to see some developers have noticed it recently. **** ive had pie since july and ive been able to get like 5 different oreo gsi and three different pie gsi (descendent has a few flaws) to boot and run successfully. the best bang for the buck is the g6. honestly you sound like a fool if you have a g6 as a backup lol. you need a backup phone for a 1000 dollar s9+ ? good thing samsung is letting you get that ota for their best phone this fast because your locked bootloader and ridiculous knox security wont let you even try without cancelling your warranty and after it says void odin tells you that it has failed to flash right as the phone shorts out and tells you that it cant turn on because of moisture in the charge port(my buddy had this issue)and youre like damn, now i gotta use the G6. sorry to be so hard on ya bro but reality is harsh and you sound like a guy that needed a check.
I sort of understand what you mean like when It comes to being a developer It's simple to unlock a Moto bootloader and simple to flash stuff to em and build custom stuff for em. Compared to Samsung you need to use Odin for everything and it might not work right still. along with Samsung knox and there bootloader's being pains to unlock sometimes through unofficial means. You gotta worry about it being a exynos variant or not and there verison of android is not as much of a stock Android experience compared to moto. There's a bunch of stuff I'm sure I'm missing on why you think Moto is better lol. But I mean i have the g4 play, g6 play, and the z2 force and I bought the z2 force just so I can play games on it lol if I was you I would have just kept the s9+ and used it for the things I couldn't use my other phones for lol
I think G6 is decent for the price.
Frankly, I'd prefer IPS over AMOLED all the time.
Now Samsung is way too locked down so I quit. LG isn't that bad on open market model.
I just hope G6 has more development, and G6 plus will come to America because I prefer bigger screen.
The way to wake the phone requires some learning curve but it's not bad.
The only thing I don't like is Google Play Music. I have to close all other apps or local playback stutters.
NFC doesn't matter because I barely use it.
It works well with PD charging
USB-C digital headphones works too
Markon101 said:
Hello, all it is great to be back on XDA after long not being able to do anything with my phone because Samsung locks it down so you can't touch the US variants of their phones anymore! I decided to "downgrade" to a Moto G6 and save my money and free myself from Samsungs crapware etc. My thoughts from playing with it so far are that for the price it is incredible! Fast charging is faster than my S9+, battery life is better, overall system responsiveness is very consistent, and the screen is not at all bad! This barely feels like a downgrade at all. It feels like a breath of fresh air in an over saturated market of very pricey devices. I had the original Moto G and it is still to this day the most bang for my buck device ever. It still works and still runs Android 8 even! The OnePlus One is a close contender but I really need something that works on all major US networks. Only Samsung, Apple, HTC, LG, and Motorolla were really options for me. Out of those, I thought the G6 would likely be the most tinker friendly and budget friendly. So far that seems to be holding true as development looks to be on the horizon and there are open kernel sources! Who knows maybe I will take a crack at doing a simple AOSP ROM! Cheers everyone!
P.S. Enjoy the extra money in your pockets from not buying something overpriced like the iPhone X.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I downgraded too from Galaxy S9 to Moto G6 Play and Moto G6 and I've never been happier. I love to tinker with my phones and was sick of Samsung locking everything up. So I'm happy now with some extra money on pocket.
Markon101 said:
Wow how did you manage that deal? Used!? That is a great deal even from the play!
Yeah I am going to miss the camera a lot but for the price it is making me like it a lot more. Also Samsung needs to up their quick charge game. Thinking about the camera again though... For the difference in price you can get a killer used DSLR or maybe even a new one not including lenses.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to let y'all know magisk has a camera port from a rog phone. Imo it's a significant upgrade. Not as good as the S9 camera of course but still.?
luvcustom said:
Just to let y'all know magisk has a camera port from a rog phone. Imo it's a significant upgrade. Not as good as the S9 camera of course but still.?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where?
madbat99 said:
Where?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install magisk then search downloads for AZUS Style Suite. Install, reboot, try it out.
luvcustom said:
Install magisk then search downloads for AZUS Style Suite. Install, reboot, try it out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found it. Not worth another magisk module messing with my stuff. Everyone should keep them to a minimum, only what's needed to keep stability and needed features. Thanks though.
i have moto g6 .. You can't compare G6 phone with S9. SAMSUNG S9 is a 2018 most selling flagship device and have a good value in market.
So everybody has that one thing made them buy Pixel 3 over other phones.. for me that's camera and assume the same for many of the users... what's that one thing made you buy this phone?
ram4ufriends said:
So everybody has that one thing made them buy Pixel 3 over other phones.. for me that's camera and assume the same for many of the users... what's that one thing made you buy this phone?
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Click to collapse
After years of being a loyal Samsung customer, I got tired of updates that often took 8+ months after release. Even when they came, my phone often slowed down to a crawl. I also got tired of the locked down bootloader in Samsung phones. This is my first Pixel phone and I couldn't be happier. Superior camera, monthly updates, butter-y smooth performance, unlocked bootloader with ability to root and do titanium backups without losing warranty. Too many reasons to mention. I will NEVER again buy a Samsung. I never understood how inferior specs could have better overall performance, but now that I actually own Pixel, I can.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
The main reason I went to the Pixel is the camera. After owning the Note 9 and getting mostly blurry action shots I went back to the Pixel and couldn't be more happy. I don't miss the curved Samsung displays at all either.
My initial purchase of the OG Pixel and Pixel XL was at least partially driven by price. My wife and I had S4s that I got before Samsung locked them down, so once I had them rooted they were going to get used until they died. Close to three years later the were on their last leg and the dePixel exploit went public. I grabbed the OGs at Verizon for essentially half off retail, ended up with a device that worked exactly like the Google model and even got trade-in money for the S4s. After 2+ years of the OGs (that were still behaving like champs and had moved a while back to T-Mobile), I got myself really tempted to pick up the OP6Ts with the T-Mobile trade-in program that included the Pixel and Pixel XL. The only way I could talk myself out of it was to pickup a Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL and trade in the OGs. Ultimately, it had a lot to do with me not wanting to learn another ecosystem (at 47 years old) or to compromise with anything less than an unlocked bootloader, an excellent dev scene and as close to pure android as is possible. I have no regrets or payments on the phones.
My reason might not be a 'great' one. I was (am) an original Pixel XL owner. I felt it was a very good phone but needed an upgrade. I'm much too invested in Google phones at this point to get anything else. So... I got the Pixel 3 XL. I guess I could have stayed with the original Pixel XL but where's the fun in that?
I'm just saying this to say it - 5 years ago when a new phone came out it was like, "WOAH! It can do THAT!?". These days the annual changes are not exactly exciting. And honestly, most people do the same basic things with their phones - take pictures, use social media, play games, browse the internet, message, etc. Most phones do all of those things pretty well with varying degrees of precision. Battery life seems to have always been and will probably always be something to complain about.
Pure Android, the latest builds, and the best camera.
For me, it was the ability to root and customize. I've been using phones from AT&T for years, mostly Samsungs, and I couldn't do anything with them, not at least while I owned them. Being able to root and mod isn't that big of deal any more, most of the phones work pretty damn well for the most part, and a lot of the features that I use to get by using a custom rom are pretty much standard now. But it's still fun to do.
I love that I always have the latest Android version and security patch. The smoothness is also important. And no bloat.
Always felt left behind with my Samsung and even OnePlus phones .
Needed an upgrade from Samsung S7 which was laggy, and updates were months delayed. Wanted Project Fi, which lowered my monthly bill and offered the best option for international travel. Really like the form factor and minimalist design of the Pixel 3, very snappy performance, unbloated Android and first in line for updates. Great camera and call screening are bonuses. Best phone I've had, by far.
I have to say Pure Android, Camera and a much needed upgrade from my Nexus 6P! Loving this phone so far..
spotmark said:
Pure Android, the latest builds, and the best camera.
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I'm Airmaxx23 and I approve this message.
The only stock Android phone prior to the pixel 2xl and 3xl I ever had was the nexus s from Samsung. It was fine, but, stock Android was really boring back then to me. But, a few phones later and when HTC decided they weren't going to update their phones anymore, even after a super buggy update, I dropped a stock Android ROM on it. I actually really liked it. And, it brought the phone back to life. Then I got a Samsung since the Nexus 6P didn't have financing that I could find, loved it, at least until the S8 was about to drop and Samsung updated it to run slower. Then slower, and so on. I decided screw Samsung and HTC, and tried the Pixel 2xl. LOVED it. Best camera, day one updates, super fast and no updates ever slowed it down. So, the 3 dropped and with wireless charging and a couple other things, I went for it. I don't think I'll ever own another phone, maybe outside of a new essential phone or a One Plus that actually meets my needs.
gettinwicked said:
The only stock Android phone prior to the pixel 2xl and 3xl I ever had was the nexus s from Samsung. It was fine, but, stock Android was really boring back then to me. But, a few phones later and when HTC decided they weren't going to update their phones anymore, even after a super buggy update, I dropped a stock Android ROM on it. I actually really liked it. And, it brought the phone back to life. Then I got a Samsung since the Nexus 6P didn't have financing that I could find, loved it, at least until the S8 was about to drop and Samsung updated it to run slower. Then slower, and so on. I decided screw Samsung and HTC, and tried the Pixel 2xl. LOVED it. Best camera, day one updates, super fast and no updates ever slowed it down. So, the 3 dropped and with wireless charging and a couple other things, I went for it. I don't think I'll ever own another phone, maybe outside of a new essential phone or a One Plus that actually meets my needs.
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I have the Essential phone, and it's the first phone I've kept instead of selling when I got a new phone. It is basically a Nexus/Pixel device. Pure Android, unlockable bootloader, and updates as soon as Google. If it wasn't for the sub-par camera, I'd still be using it. I wish they would stay in business and deliver the phone that was initially promised. The design of the Pixel doesn't hold a candle to the PH-1.
number one reason. Camera. free cloud storage. i take tons of pictures.
second. pure android.
Best phone you can root (at least without the sorts of serious skills / know-how you apparently need for Note 9 and Mate Pro 20, one of which I would have gone for otherwise)
I might be an odd one here, but for me the main reasons where size, no notch and stereo speakers. The cam, quick updates, clean android and haptic motor are nice bonuses.
After owning HTC phones for about 8 years, last 3,5 of those on the rubbish M9, I was looking for a m7 like phone, but with up to date hw. Sadly noone makes good metal unibody phones anymore so I'll just have to deal with the glass sandwich bull****, other than that the P3 is pretty close to perfect.
I assume the OP meant Pixel 3 XL since he's in the 3 XL subforum?
If that's the case, then I bought one because it's ugly as hell and doesn't look like any of my friend's phone. My 6P was also getting old and after bad experiences with anything but a phone directly from Google, I've sort of become a Google sheep and only buy their stuff now.
I was always jumping in between phones, mainly Samsung. Had pretty much every galaxy minus the one and two. HTC one was the best phone I even used, form factor, the OS it was fantastic. Nothing even really compared to it. I couldn't get the pixel at first because well I never had the cash so I was at the mercy of TMobile financing and what they offer wasn't always great. I went from a galaxy s8 to the iPhone x just to check it out since I haven't touched one since the 5. Man did I regret it. Missed my 14 day period and so I was stuck with it for a few months. Note 9 came out and I was really considering it, but well I held myself and then the OnePlus 6T came out. I had a old iPhone 6 laying around I got for $50 so I traded it in for the 6T and the $300 bonus. Good phone but no stereo speakers and notifications killed it for me. I was eyeing the pixel 3 since release day, got my cash ready and just as I was going to buy one, the Black Friday deals got announced, waited and now I have the XL. Supper happy with it. Even the "feel" of the phone is glorious. And the 6T is now on it's way to PA and it's new owner lol
It was the logical choice from my Nexus 6p, which I had since release. Also, Dirty Unicorns support. [emoji6]
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk
spotmark said:
I have the Essential phone, and it's the first phone I've kept instead of selling when I got a new phone. It is basically a Nexus/Pixel device. Pure Android, unlockable bootloader, and updates as soon as Google. If it wasn't for the sub-par camera, I'd still be using it. I wish they would stay in business and deliver the phone that was initially promised. The design of the Pixel doesn't hold a candle to the PH-1.
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I almost got the essential phone. I wanted to wait until the pixel 2's were announce first though. By the time they were, I had heard too many reports of the crappy camera. I was upset though when the essential phone 2 was cancelled. I'd really like to see another one, but bigger, great camera, OLED screen, etc. I would buy one if it came out and had those specs. I have been reading rumors of a new essential phone though. So, we'll see.