1st post in this forum!
Are you buying?, if so, what are you replacing?. I haven't been visiting XDA in a while, I used to visit everyday, and tinker regularly. I'm replacing a Tmo Note 3, yes unlocked , rooted and ROM'd. I was just waiting for the right one I guess.
Camera and removable battery were important to me. I wish this had 4GB RAM, but I think it will be fine.
As far as unlockable bootloader's , I've never owned a Blu ( supposedly rebranded Gionee), but some research looks like they have fastboot, and have been unlocked in the past. I'm hoping this remains to be true.
I hope to see this place bustling, with the pricepoint of the device , there should be plenty of involvement.
Ciao!:highfive:
Thinking about it.... This versus Moto X pure versus OP2
This phone has seriously peaked my interest. My HTC One M8 has been on the fritz lately. The power button has become super sensitive and I find it turns itself on and off at times, thinking the button is pressed when it isn't :/
Im looking to get something soon and this phone looks like a steal for what we get.
I really dig this phone. I don't know about the lack of an app tray. is there much dev support for this phone? just wondering if I get it will I be stuck with basically an iphone layout lol
I currently have a Note 4 Att (locked bootloader) and am sick of no root. So if this phone gets rooted and has a good dev community bringing out ROMs, count me in.
Root shouldn't be an issue.
sigtau2001 said:
I really dig this phone. I don't know about the lack of an app tray. is there much dev support for this phone? just wondering if I get it will I be stuck with basically an iphone layout lol
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Use Google Now launcher... how do people like you even find XDA Forums when you dont even know to switch the launcher...
---------- Post added at 02:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 PM ----------
That new Helio X10 processor might actually get some good support. Plus its a Gionee under the skin so people have had it for about a month in China and India.
Moynia said:
Use Google Now launcher... how do people like you even find XDA Forums when you dont even know to switch the launcher...
---------- Post added at 02:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:39 PM ----------
That new Helio X10 processor might actually get some good support. Plus its a Gionee under the skin so people have had it for about a month in China and India.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I searched assh*le and it brought up Moynia and I thought I would come on here and irritate you. Maybe I missed something, I thought this thread was talking about developer support. I assume you started somewhere and didn't just wake up knowing everything.
Im stuck between this and moto x pure... IDK WHAT 2 DO!!!
Lenn0x I've had the first 2 moto xs. While they are sweet phones I don't really see that much difference between 2014 and 2015. I like new and/or different features in my phones.
Definitely going to give this a look. I have a Huawei Mate2, but it appears Huawei wants to go all "samsung" on their pricing with
their new models. Soon as it is in the wild, and a few reviews come back, may have to give this one a spin.
If this is just a rebranded Gionee Elife E8, I wonder if we will be able to have a joint Dev community where we can use roms for both. If it's the same internal, theirs says Gionee and ours say Blu outside, then I don't see why it wouldn't work.
I was looking to replace my Oneplus One. Had an invite for the 2 but decided to pass since the specs aren't really that much better. The Pure XL releases on my birthday so thought I'd give it a try.
Warning
*EDIT*- I discovered just now that this forum is for a different phone than the one that I owned, and the photos and specs that are provided are for the wrong phone. So, this information is not applicable to the device that will be released in September of 2015. However, it is still valuable information as the actual Pure XL will be using the same Amigo UI that the Life Pure XL did, and could very possibly have the same crippling bugs that the last version did. Or not. I will keep this here as a cautionary tale for all.
*/EDIT*
I owned this phone between June of 2014 and April of 2015, and I had quite the experience with it. Yes, the specs look fantastic, just as good as a OnePlus One or a Galaxy Note 3. However, the software and lack of support from the manufacturer are what will kill your experience with this phone.
This device is the Gionee Elife E7 rebranded for sale in North America. I would suggest looking at the forum for that device in depth before deciding to commit to this phone. I have not checked on it in a while, but the phone will likely ship with Jellybean (4.2.2) and you will have to go through many hoops in order to possibly get a hacked, Taiwanese version of KitKat. If you are interested in Lollipop, I would forget this phone entirely. The stock ROM on this phone is a messy pile of Indian and Chinese Engrish that will leave you extremely frustrated. There are crippling bugs such as my very favorite: not being able to change the soft keyboard. Whatever you choose initially, it will be stuck that way unless you factory reset the phone. Seriously. You will similarly be able to change the default home screen, once and once only. The fancy camera sounds great, until you aren't able to actually take pictures because the Camera app FC's every time you open it. Try to use Google Camera app instead? Great idea, except that the full 16 MP resolution isn't supported by other apps. The installed music app doesn't let you sort by any parameter, you have to manually look through a huge list of all of your songs. Little things like this that you would expect thorough testing in development to have addressed have been ignored.
Also, there are only a couple of custom ROM's for the E7, one of which works fine and the other (Nori) will brick your device completely and utterly. There are several versions of this phone in the wild, one of which has true LTE support and for which Nori's ROM was made, and which the Pure XL is not. DO NOT FLASH THIS ROM. You will end up with a $300 piece of plastic. To be completely safe, do not flash any ROM that is not designed specifically for this phone. Since there are currently none, then this phone is a poor choice for those wanting to take that route.
The most you will be able to safely and reliably do with this phone is root it. Even then, you have to use King Root which is questionable at best. Don't have a Windows computer to run King Root on? That's as far as you can get. I would strongly recommend that anyone who has even the smallest desire to root, control and customize their phone (everyone reading this post) to stay as far away as you can from this phone and buy a used OnePlus One or a Note 3. The prices are almost comparable and you will end up with a phone that is truly useable and customizable.
Eyeing this phone as well, came here to see if people had luck rooting these phones with different ROMs.
If not, would probably just get a Nexus phone that is being announced soon, or even the original Nexus 6 (same price now).
And there's always the LG G3 or G4 (still using the Optimus G (G1) with the help of CM to keep it a valid phone)
Almost pulled the trigger on a Nexus 6, and then I remember about this BLU Pure XL. I was in contact with the company when they had it on Kickstarter. My main concern was the use of MTK processor. While I wasn't worrying about the performance of it (MTK high end chips are powerful!), I didn't like how they set up the internal storage partition. So I asked them and they assured me that there wouldn't be storage partition on this device, meaning about 50-55 gb would be user accessible (I deleted the email so I have no proof of their claim now). Too bad at that time I didn't need a new phone, otherwise I could have take advantage of their price of $249 (or $299, don't remember).
Anyway, I'd probably pick this over the Motorola Nexus 6, but am still considering the Oneplus One. Decision decision... too bad my LG G2 crapped out on me after that stupid Android Lollipop update. Totally messed up my phone. Otherwise I could probably still use it for another 2 years.
felix168 said:
too bad my LG G2 crapped out on me after that stupid Android Lollipop update. Totally messed up my phone. Otherwise I could probably still use it for another 2 years.
Click to expand...
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Not try to use LGNPST recovery???
Matty77 said:
Not try to use LGNPST recovery???
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so my LG G2, after that Lousypop update, has gone from battery drain to WIFI drops, to the latest which was when I wasn't able to answer an incoming call. When that happened, the phone would just keep ringing and ringing, and I wasn't able to do anything with it. None of the button was responding. So I went online to see if someone came up with a fix. In the back of my mind, I knew there was a good chance everything would go back to normal once I reboot, but then since I wasn't even able to turn it off, I came across some Youtube video of a guy trying to remove the battery (which was a dumb idea to begin with... there is a reason that these batteries aren't to be messed with in the first place), and I thought maybe I could disconnect it to power off the phone. Well, I didn't get that far. LOL... I kind of broke the back panel a tad and trim, and I put everything together and just shoved the phone inside the closet to let it ring and drain out the battery. The next morning, charged the dead phone and turned it back on, everything seemed normal, except for all that cosmetic damage that I made, which I was more upset with myself since I have always kept it in tip top shape. And last week, it developed a new problem... sometimes I voice calls aren't clear, and speakers are skipping. Time for a new phone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BLU Pure XL is looking better and better by the minute... until I realized it's actually even taller than the Motorola Nexus 6! LMAO! decision decision...
At this point, I'm one foot closer to getting this thing too. I have an Asus Zenfone 2 which I really like but I just had it replaced due to the cellular connection on the second SIM slot in my house and the problem still persists so it seems it is a device problem. Possible theory is because the second SIM slot only supports 2G data although why that would interfere with the ability for mere phone calls I don't know, but in any event, the second SIM slot will not work in my house and this is the second phone now, so it is going back. I am going to try one more replacement SIM card again just like last time, but I already did that once before and it didn't help. So the Blu Pure XL both slots I think are LTE so I shouldn't have the same issue if that 2G slot is the culprit issue. If it is, then clearly for some odd reason, my house, in a major suburban metro area, just must deflect those signals in some bizarre fashion because I can gets calls everywhere else, but today I tried numerous times already and it is non-functional and I already wrote in to ASUS. So I think I am going to have to return the Zenfone. I can't make calls on it today already from the second SIM-the line is unavailable and when it becomes available, it drops off right away. Obviously this is not workable and it's the ZF2 as a device that doesn't work in my house on SIM 2, but SIM 1 works just fine. Issue is, I have two lines.
I've been rocking the oneplus for about a year. Amazing phone. By far the best I've owned. My days of waiting for an upgrade are over. I plan to buy the pure xl. My only fear is that it won't be popular with the devs therefore no cool stuff to flash. I will wait a month or 2 to see what happens. At the very least I'd be OK with cm nightlies. My wife has had 2 blu phones in a row. Good quality and performance for the price.
Related
LG.... just never again... after this...
[BEGIN RANT]
What really sucks is not being able to have everything in one ROM. I'm not saying it's the devs fault, but it just sucks. If I want a full working phone I have to dual boot and I just don't want to have to have my messages on a different ROM. If someone calls you and you don't know they did how are you to respond?
And on the other end using a Jellybean/ICS ROM which I currently am, you can't record or use HWA, and it's buggy. If you want full functionality, you have to use Gingerbread which sucks because it is very outdated and 1/3 of my apps won't even be able to be installed on my phone if I use it. Not only that but the rest won't have a much functionality.
[END RANT]
It really sucks having a G2x.. it had great potential and was just abandoned.. LG should legit give refunds to everyone who bought them because people with the G2x are sacrificing functionality or using the best Android version. Anyone else agree? (I know it would never happen, but still.. I have to use this phone for another 7+ months before I get an upgrade in which I'll grab the iPhone 5S and stop with the fragmentation)
Yeah i hear ya man. LG abondonded this device. I wish Google was in charge of the updates.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda app-developers app
Just get a Nexus. We all wish LG had done somethings differently, (Release the ICS update for the P999), but we can't do anything now. I wouldn't ever by another phone made and supported by LG, however if it is a Nexus and has software updates issues by Google themselves, then I would. This Nexus 4 is amazing and is one of, if not, the best phone you can buy currently for it's price.
Android phones were designed for people who love tweeking, if you want a phone you never have to modify or have to worry about updates or fixes, get an iphone, its very noob friendly, even my mom can use her iphone with great success.
You're right.
Spawne32 said:
Android phones were designed for people who love tweeking, if you want a phone you never have to modify or have to worry about updates or fixes, get an iphone, its very noob friendly, even my mom can use her iphone with great success.
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The problem is when manufacturer's pack in a whole bunch of completely proprietary hardware into a phone, then they stop developing for it and releasing drivers. Couple that with jerkwad carriers that force locked bootloaders and other restrictions, and it makes the whole situation stink. I have an LG Spectrum 2, it is a very, very good phone. But I'll be stuck on ICS until the end of time because the carrier, and the manufacturer, have no consideration for support after the sale.
These devices are computers that can make phone calls, I've yet to see an actual computer whose software couldn't be modified or replaced.
At least Apple allows every device to upgrade to the latest version (within reason).
mcapozzi said:
The problem is when manufacturer's pack in a whole bunch of completely proprietary hardware into a phone, then they stop developing for it and releasing drivers. Couple that with jerkwad carriers that force locked bootloaders and other restrictions, and it makes the whole situation stink. I have an LG Spectrum 2, it is a very, very good phone. But I'll be stuck on ICS until the end of time because the carrier, and the manufacturer, have no consideration for support after the sale.
These devices are computers that can make phone calls, I've yet to see an actual computer whose software couldn't be modified or replaced.
At least Apple allows every device to upgrade to the latest version (within reason).
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Click to collapse
Apples are built with an entirely different philosophy, when you buy their product you are cradled with software and design support at the expense of having no freedom with the device whatsoever. Android, and essentially linux which is its base, whole purpose in life is customization, especially on the user end, hence why open source support is so huge for android phones. You are right though, jerkwad carriers and proprietary hardware take alot of the fun out of all of it for the expense of profits, thats why I love the fact that google came out with the nexus line of unlocked phones, its basically a jab at all the carriers and their proprietary phones and software saying, we can do whatever we want, because its our right to, we designed it.
Spawne32 said:
Android phones were designed for people who love tweeking, if you want a phone you never have to modify or have to worry about updates or fixes, get an iphone, its very noob friendly, even my mom can use her iphone with great success.
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Click to collapse
At this point it seems like android was made for people that will pay top dollar for unfinished products.
Excuse me and other sensible people for wanting a fully working device. My iPhone 2g and 3g both worked and I could still modify them quite a bit. Even my sister's galaxy nexus had big mms problems that Google never fixed.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda app-developers app
redmonke255 said:
At this point it seems like android was made for people that will pay top dollar for unfinished products.
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I can't even argue with this lol
LG is terrible....
I too swore never to buy another LG device and silly me I got a Nexus 4....
I still cling onto my G2X and use it as media device. I have DROID TV and have like over 20gigs of shows I need to watch and finish. Also I connect my phone to my TV and watch it there. Don't use it much as a phone. Mainly because whenever I watch my shows it would interrupt and got very annoying.
I still love my G2X. Right size, great screen, never needed screen protector. Battery is terrible and Nexus 4 is just as bad, I mean could be better but isn't.
But who's to blame. Honestly, if CM10.1 gets calling ability and work I'll come right back to this device. Main reason I don't sell it or dump the phone is because I paid full retail price for it and still refuse to accept the loss. Because thats what this phone has been. A loss. I mean seriously.
vmartinez39 said:
LG is terrible....
I too swore never to buy another LG device and silly me I got a Nexus 4....
I still cling onto my G2X and use it as media device. I have DROID TV and have like over 20gigs of shows I need to watch and finish. Also I connect my phone to my TV and watch it there. Don't use it much as a phone. Mainly because whenever I watch my shows it would interrupt and got very annoying.
I still love my G2X. Right size, great screen, never needed screen protector. Battery is terrible and Nexus 4 is just as bad, I mean could be better but isn't.
But who's to blame. Honestly, if CM10.1 gets calling ability and work I'll come right back to this device. Main reason I don't sell it or dump the phone is because I paid full retail price for it and still refuse to accept the loss. Because thats what this phone has been. A loss. I mean seriously.
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Nexus 4 really that bad? Unlocked and off contract for $350 is a steal in my opinion. That's only $100 more than a used galaxy Nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
Eh, I decided to get the new One from HTC. It just had too much promotion to not get it. I love the G2x, great build quality for sure. I was able to get the One for $99 by switching to Sprint, and I decided to go ahead and send in the ol' G2x to (hopefully) receive the $100 gift card. So, essentially I payed next to nothing for the phone itself, but I will have to eat the cost of cancelling my T-mo account a few months early, but I'll also be able to get a discount on the plan because of corporate discount through work. It was just too enticing not to go for it. I know it's not a Nexus, but I am positive the hardware will be more than capable enough to run several more Android versions in the future. I believe the G2x just won't be able to handle much more than jelly bean. I think it's mostly the lack of ram, but I'm going to remain subscribed to this forum and check back on occasion. If it goes past jelly bean, I won't be surprised if those future versions will be running barebones/ultra slimmed down versions. I also have an old school G1 still, but bricked it trying to get the system to see SD card as usable ram to upgrade. Still wish I could get that thing to work...
Sent from my LG-P999
vmartinez39 said:
LG is terrible....
I too swore never to buy another LG device and silly me I got a Nexus 4....
I still cling onto my G2X and use it as media device. I have DROID TV and have like over 20gigs of shows I need to watch and finish. Also I connect my phone to my TV and watch it there. Don't use it much as a phone. Mainly because whenever I watch my shows it would interrupt and got very annoying.
I still love my G2X. Right size, great screen, never needed screen protector. Battery is terrible and Nexus 4 is just as bad, I mean could be better but isn't.
But who's to blame. Honestly, if CM10.1 gets calling ability and work I'll come right back to this device. Main reason I don't sell it or dump the phone is because I paid full retail price for it and still refuse to accept the loss. Because thats what this phone has been. A loss. I mean seriously.
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Click to collapse
Everyone that I know that has the nexus absolutely loves it, i havent heard a single bad thing about it.
Spawne32 said:
Everyone that I know that has the nexus absolutely loves it, i havent heard a single bad thing about it.
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Same here.
I might be picking up a Galaxy Nexus dirt cheap to tide me over till my upgrade.
Although, I really don't have anu bad blood with my G2x.
First smart phone, does everything I need it to do, and I've only ran into a couple games that won't run on my G2x due to being pre-4.0.x OS, and I just play them on my tablet running BakedBean 4.1.2. Still a good phone for me after 15 months. Solid build, I don't care too much it doesn't have ICS/JB, with 512MB total, and after carveout for GPU, sitting at <400MB, the experience of ICS/JB on this device isn't going to be anything stellar over GB as GB didn't have as large as memory usage requirements as ICS/JB.
Just saying, does it really, really matter that much guys?
Not to me anyways.
Yeah, I agree with the most of the people here regarding software updates between iOS and Android and I honestly LOVE android, but the software updates are slow.. if Google could fix up the fragmentation, they would be closer to #1 on my list. The only other complaint is apps in the Google Play but that's not really a big issue. I'm glad at least I wasn't the only one who was having problem with my G2x.
Sent from Android Jellybean via Tapatalk 2
I have only been introduced to the world of android rooting and Modding for the last month. This is my first smart phone. I got bored of it and found this website. Read about the advantages to rooting and flashing roms for a few weeks and finally did it. I'm more than satisfied with how my device is performing compared to stock. It's faster, better looking, and just plain more fun to use. I would love to see a fully working ics rom though. I love the interface and crisp feel.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
Blaming LG is only partially right. It's primarily from being on a crap AWS carrier like t-mo, wind, etc. The p990 got it's update, no reason p999 wouldn't with just a few tweaks except they didn't even care that much. Anyways, blame is on the carrier. Keep in mind buying your next phone.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2
To be completely honest if we get the RIL working on 4.2.2 this phone could easily last me another 7 months
Sent from Android Jellybean via Tapatalk 2
I guess this phone is not what everyone wants it to be. Exposed and Gravity Box can only do so much for a crack flasher.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
Actually xposed provides just about everything any custom rom does. BTW, you posted in the wrong section.
Sent from my XT1080 using xda app-developers app
tecsironman said:
I guess this phone is not what everyone wants it to be. Exposed and Gravity Box can only do so much for a crack flasher.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What improvements would you like to see? Request and maybe someone will be up for the challenge. Maybe not to create an entire ROM, but flashable zips at the least.
Most of the stuff I do is with gravity box. Most of the info and apk files are in the forums. I was just curious
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
I came from the Vivid, where I was used to flashing something every other day too, so I know the pain of your withdrawals! I'm not sure battery life can be pushed too much farther on this thing though, and there isn't really any issues to fix. Once 4.4.3 appears I'm sure there will be people porting it.
The biggest problem from the start was people saying the stock OS was perfect and didn't need more than what exposed modules could do. Also this phone has 2 major stock apps that are loved by most touch less control and active notifications. For me that is a deal breaker in a custom ROM. Development is driven by want if the majority of people don't want custom ROMs why build them.
At this point just having root would be like winning a lottery with 4.4, and of course 4.4.2 would be nice as long as it's rootable as well. I got no real issues with the phone itself (the Droid Mini), and I have to admit I'm just sick and tired of dealing with custom ROMs (been doing that for over a decade now on 100+ devices), it's pretty much boring to me nowadays.
I just want a device that works, is rootable so I can run some things that legitimately require it (Titanium Backup primarily, a few others), a kernel that allows for some better performance adjustments and governors with tools like SetCPU or nowadays I prefer Trickster MOD for that stuff, and gives me battery life that I can reasonably count on, and a few tweaks here and there - my one big tweak that I really miss nowadays is using the volume buttons to skip tracks during music playback (screen off) since Motorola just won't put a damned TRRS headphone jack in their devices that allows for actual remotes that work on the headset cords - wonder why they refuse to do that so steadfastly... makes no damned sense to me. Samsung and Apple understand it matters and there's no issue with their devices, can't speak for HTC since I don't mess with their stuff anymore but it sure would have been nice to have proper volume/playback controls for these Motorola devices.
4.4 on the Droid Mini isn't doing that, obviously, at least not as well as I'd hope for battery life but I came from a Droid MAXX before it so I suppose there's nothing out there that comes close to that level of native battery life except the LG G2 and I haven't touched one of those.
As far as development goes, I would tend to lean towards it's basically dead for the Droid Ultra/MAXX/Mini at this point even in spite of them being so closely related to the Moto X/Moto G in some respects (X8 chipset, etc). It's a shame I suppose but that's how it goes.
I'm happy with just root. I use to have the flash itch, but not with this device. Custom Roms are great when they solve a real problem. They're a huge pain in my butt too though. I don't have any real issues with my maxx, so I wouldn't want to deal with the custom rom headaches.
Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk
bigv5150 said:
The biggest problem from the start was people saying the stock OS was perfect and didn't need more than what exposed modules could do. Also this phone has 2 major stock apps that are loved by most touch less control and active notifications. For me that is a deal breaker in a custom ROM. Development is driven by want if the majority of people don't want custom ROMs why build them.
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Click to collapse
/sign, good post. nothing else to add.
ps: and if you should remember the moto x development threads, as this phone is actually the same phone as the moto x, only with bigger screen... so i dont see a "problem" with flashing a moto x rom...
Even official development is dead since lenovo bought them.
radzer0 said:
Even official development is dead since lenovo bought them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Prove it
Sent from my XT1080 using xda app-developers app
Prove a word that has come from anyone lenovo and not google. Lenovo has a great track record of not updating even current android phones or tablets. There a hardware company and that is all they have been for quite some time. They dont even put together the images for there windows based computers anymore. Its an outside company that lenovo contracts too than loads the drives.
Lenovo wont even sell us any phones they make no matter what. A few years back there was a few models people wanted to see here and we never saw them other than graymarket. The motorola purchase is for the IP portfolio.
radzer0 said:
Prove a word that has come from anyone lenovo and not google. Lenovo has a great track record of not updating even current android phones or tablets. There a hardware company and that is all they have been for quite some time. They dont even put together the images for there windows based computers anymore. Its an outside company that lenovo contracts too than loads the drives.
Lenovo wont even sell us any phones they make no matter what. A few years back there was a few models people wanted to see here and we never saw them other than graymarket. The motorola purchase is for the IP portfolio.
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Click to collapse
i cant see the problem of lenovo buying motorola. seriously. i mean as what we have seen to now, motorola was to google always the unwanted child which google tried to get rid of...
lets see what the future brings and we dont know how much lenovo will interfere in motorolas development (there will be some, thats sure).
the ip portfolio will stay at google. lenovo will only have some license rights to use them in their phones without haveing the fear of paying high patent fines to google. this deal was part of the contract lenovo did with google....
I think we have to just wait and watch, what Lenovo is going to do with Motorola.
Following three good things may happen
[1] Motorola phones getting SD slots again like all Lenovo phones.
[2] Motorola phones to come with bigger batteries NOT JUST IN DROID MAXX series like earlier, as Lenovo phones also have bigger batteries [P780 has 4000mAh battery)
[3] Motorola phones to reach much more markets especially in Asia and Europe.
[4] More better and affordable DualSIM phones (again NOT for USA) for Asia, Europe and Brazil
But following things are in UN-SURE mode
[1] Moto's faster updates MAY NOT continue (esp after Lenovo becomes boss of Motorola) as Lenovo has bad update history (if one exists in first place)
[2] Unlock BL program may NOT continue esp for GSM handsets sold in Asia and Europe, as I don't think Lenovo cares about Dev support
Opinions from different perspectives are most welcome but please mind your Ps and Qs.
Thank you...
Where did you get this news? please share more details about this.
engineerd2 said:
Where did you get this news? please share more details about this.
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Click to collapse
It is not news per se. And not meaning to be flip it is a simply a question brought on by the observation of facts as they present themselfs.
My 2 cents
numbR7 said:
Opinions from different perspectives are most welcome but please mind your Ps and Qs.
Thank you...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think carriers are locking boot loaders to hinder development, in a strict sense. I believe they're doing it to force people to upgrade their devices more often, in order to gain any new innovations from OS upgrades. Take a look at the Samsung Infuse, a phone which was orphaned almost from the time of it's release. Thanks to a developer named Scott Hart, you can run kitkat 4.4 on it. If people hold on to their phones longer, profits go down.
rgrbckr said:
I don't think carriers are locking boot loaders to. hinder development, in a strict sense. I believe they're doing it to force people to upgrade their devices more often, in order to gain any new innovations from OS upgrades. Take a look at the Samsung Infuse, a phone which was orphaned almost from the time of it's release. Thanks to a developer named Scott Hart, you can run kitkat 4.4 on it. If people hold on to their phones longer, profits go down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take your point and it's a good one. I do not know-for sure-the reasoning behind it just the result. Ironically, I do know that the majoritu of innovation-in my view-have come from xda members saving these carriers a lot of money in R&D. I remember loading CM on a tiny little phone a few years ago to get innvations that are now incorporated standard on most phones.
I would say it's interesting that I am continuously reminded what a small insignificant percentage xda members make up -- interestingly to argue diametrically opposed views.
numbR7 said:
I take your point and it's a good one. I do not know-for sure-the reasoning behind it just the result. Ironically, I do know that the majoritu of innovation-in my view-have come from xda members saving these carriers a lot of money in R&D. I remember loading CM on a tiny little phone a few years ago to get innvations that are now incorporated standard on most phones.
I would say it's interesting that I am continuously reminded what a small insignificant percentage xda members make up -- interestingly to argue diametrically opposed views.
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Click to collapse
@NumbrR7: I second your point. I think that really grates (angers) me that most of the "new" phones are mostly incremental updates (i.e. better camera, updated OS). On another note, Oppo (based in mainland China) is gaining a niche for themselves because, from what I understand and read, the OS is developer-friendly and comes factory unlocked out of the box. USA carriers won't let that happen -- oh the horror. <rolling eyes>
Again, I affirm your position on this, numbR7.
XDA rules!
sameog said:
@NumbrR7: USA carriers won't let that happen -- oh the horror. <rolling eyes>
XDA rules!
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Click to collapse
Corporate greed and capitalism. Having said that, I disagree, to some extent, with their line of thinking. I have the galaxy s, s2, s3, s4, s5 , and note3. I have had a custom Rom on every single device up until the s5 and the note. Rooting and updating to the latest OS only made me want the new hardware even more. But alas, I too think it might be fading. When it does, I think the opposite will happen, and I will hang on to my device longer. I am already thinking of going back to the s4 with Shostock on it, for my daily phone.
Poke01 said:
Corporate greed and capitalism. Having said that, I disagree, to some extent, with their line of thinking. I have the galaxy s, s2, s3, s4, s5 , and note3. I have had a custom Rom on every single device up until the s5 and the note. Rooting and updating to the latest OS only made me want the new hardware even more. But alas, I too think it might be fading. When it does, I think the opposite will happen, and I will hang on to my device longer. I am already thinking of going back to the s4 with Shostock on it, for my daily phone.
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Click to collapse
I don't exactly agree with your first sentence (but it's worth discussion on a different type forum). That said. Your point is otherwise very well taken. You may get a new feature (maybe a new fade) but lose everthing else (that the freedom of controlling your own device gives you) suddenly that extra megapixel or two doesn't seem worth $650. Yep I'm sure of it! I think you have a really good point. I know it's a tad different but I choose to stick with Hyperdrive 15 (4.3) to avoid the hassles with SS and 4.4. That is NOT to say that I am bad mouthing SS. To the contrary, it's saved my behind. Hows that for nice language? Lol
Scott's still going with the Infuse?! Good on him! I loved that little phone. If it weren't for the problems with the video camera, I'd still be using it.
Well, this might rub some the wrong way but if all carriers started locking their bootloaders and forced buyers to choose based on hardware alone, I'd buy an iPhone. I love the little innovations that have come with an open Android - like Paranoid Android - but the hardware is usually underwhelming. The S4 has the screen going for it, but that's it. Apparently Apple will finally use larger screens on their iPhones so not much win for Samsung.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Wyzpopper said:
Scott's still going with the Infuse?! Good on him! I loved that little phone. If it weren't for the problems with the video camera, I'd still be using it.
Well, this might rub some the wrong way but if all carriers started locking their bootloaders and forced buyers to choose based on hardware alone, I'd buy an iPhone. I love the little innovations that have come with an open Android - like Paranoid Android - but the hardware is usually underwhelming. The S4 has the screen going for it, but that's it. Apparently Apple will finally use larger screens on their iPhones so not much win for Samsung.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
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I think you're right especially if the screen is bumped up. With the bootloader situation you already have an "i-droid" anyway. "Open source" no longer has meaning.
Hopefully this will accelerate the people looking at buying much cheaper phones that aren't locked to any specific carrier and also aren't boot locked. The effectiveness of upgrades is dimishing which should help push this shift and hopefully will ultimately keep these big phone manufacturers honest.
bnolsen said:
Hopefully this will accelerate the people looking at buying much cheaper phones that aren't locked to any specific carrier and also aren't boot locked. The effectiveness of upgrades is dimishing which should help push this shift and hopefully will ultimately keep these big phone manufacturers honest.
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I've already looked into those "cheaper" phones. Most of them, right now, anyway, don't have LTE chipsets yet. In addition, 4G just rolled out in China (we get the new stuff first -- obviously). However, the cheaper phones are made and shipped factory unlocked. Some phones have a dual sim slots (i.e. one sim for personal, one sim for business).
I'm partnered up with a wholesaler and have access to everything he carries. The best part is that he doesn't "compete" with whom he partners up with -- bad for business, he says.
My .02 =)
as others have said it's just the way of big business in the 21st century. up until a week ago i had a 2 year old S2 which was running a 4.4.2 ROM (ressurection remix). if i hadnt been able to root and flash a ROM i'd have probably got myself a new phone long ago so locking down phones may get customers to upgrade more often (i know it would with me) as it is i bought my new phone outright and have gone payg to save myself some money and also to be able to upgrade as and when i like. i did look at some of the chinese phones (goophone being one) but wasnt sure of the root capabilities so decided to give it a miss.
i think even locked bootloaders will eventually be hacked. nothing is impossible. it's just down to when and how long we wait.
I took a brief reprieve from this forum, since there wasn't any groundbreaking progress made (and by "groundbreaking", I mean exploited bootloader).
It looks as if that has remained unchanged? I've only had the S4 for a year now, but I am officially "over" Samsung devices. Very aesthetically pleasing, but hardly functional overall. Battery is crap on every Samsung device, and the only thing that ever helped me was either buying a 3rd party with larger capacity, and/or running a custom ROM/kernel combo that allows for both less consumption as well as rapid-charge.
I'm interested to see this new thing Google is going to unveil to replace the GPE phones. I have no issue paying full price for a device that I can do whatever I want with, and know that there will be a strong following for. Even if that following is only a certain, small niche of the overall market.
It's a shame that my fun with AOSP had to come to a screeching halt, I loved the simplicity and functionality of it.
I don't think carriers make much or any money from selling new hardware. They make their money from plans.
That said, I'm happy to be on 4.4.2 SlimRom. ☺
disturbd1 said:
I took a brief reprieve from this forum, since there wasn't any groundbreaking progress made (and by "groundbreaking", I mean exploited bootloader).
It looks as if that has remained unchanged? I've only had the S4 for a year now, but I am officially "over" Samsung devices. Very aesthetically pleasing, but hardly functional overall. Battery is crap on every Samsung device, and the only thing that ever helped me was either buying a 3rd party with larger capacity, and/or running a custom ROM/kernel combo that allows for both less consumption as well as rapid-charge.
I'm interested to see this new thing Google is going to unveil to replace the GPE phones. I have no issue paying full price for a device that I can do whatever I want with, and know that there will be a strong following for. Even if that following is only a certain, small niche of the overall market.
It's a shame that my fun with AOSP had to come to a screeching halt, I loved the simplicity and functionality of it.
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Click to collapse
Well, even if I sold my i337, the battery life was honestly very good for me. There's the facts that maybe I don't use it heavily every day, but I turn GPS on only when I have to find a specific place I haven't been to before. GPS down - battery life up. 3G down, unless I need it - battery life up. Power saving mode - battery life up.
As for the Android Silver program, we all are curious to see how will this turn out.
First off let me say that I love this phone. The build quality while not the best is good enough and the materials used come together very nicely. The Moto X also has all the features I am looking for (quick charge, nice screen, stereo front facing speakers, expandable storage and unlocked and rootable!).
So why am I depressed about it?
The phone seems to not be as popular as it deserves and with that it doesn't get the massive amounts of support of other inferior devices. After owning this phone since October I have tried my hardest to grow to love the stock firmware as it is so close to google's. However (I'm not sure how many of you will agree with me here), I am very fond of CM and seeing that the Moto G 2015 has been officially supported for what feels like forever now I'm not sure the Moto X will ever be.
I know there are dedicated individuals working hard to further development projects for this device and I am very grateful for that. It just feels like the community for this phone is very small which has caught me off guard because the device seemingly has everything most people could want.
Anyways, I'm not entirely sure why I wrote this but I'd like to hear your guys' thoughts and opinions.
I agree with you that I was assuming there would be way more support for this phone and I also though it would be easier to mess with as far as rooting and such. I'm no developer or self proclaimed rooting expert but it seems like if you are on android 6.0 stock it's not that easy to get rooted or downgrade to 5.x and root. I thought being unlocked and so near stock that this would all be a breeze but ever since I unrooted and upgraded to stock 6.0 rooting again is a pretty big undertaking. I'm not complaining here I do really like the stock OS but I love messing with the OS too. Here's to hoping some time in the near future there is a solid root option for stock 6.0
When I first seen the title I was like 'really'?/But as iv read further , there's one spot on point I agree with you on...
I expected the this phone to be one of the more popular, development wise, rom wise.
So when I first came to XDA and looked in the Moto X Pure section, WOW, I was sadly SADLY surprised.
3 CURRENT ROMS. are you joking me?
I told my self once the kernel source(or whatever) was released, THAT'S when things would change, that is when the list would grow..... IT HAS NOT THO....
THIS has been a let down. When I buy a phone, I want to be sure bec to me, its a hassle to do Re-Sale on EBay or Swappa or CL, Its just a hassle, I don't want to do it, Unless I absolutely have to. SO I'm sticking with the phone I buy most likely. So I'm sticking with it.
I could have spent 100 more to get the 6p, but at that time, everyone was talking DOWN the 6p, plus its a tad too big for me, I didn't want it then. Given the unpopularity in development this phone surprisingly is, it would be nice to have the 6p, but to me, going through the resale hassle, I think I'll pass.
Lastly, to the OP of this Post. I agree on one point, its very very surprising the unpopularity of the phone STILL. It's almost unexplainable.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Ive been a long time lg and htc user prior to this.... Yes theres few roms but heres my take.... while lg g2 g3 g4 have lots of roms activities and users... Let me tell you how it works... First most of the ppl on there only complain about bugs and how they bricked their phones or complain of the hideous lg stock rom lag and interface... Then they flash bug filled. Aosp roms and complain about bugs and camera etc..... Wit moto x ppl dont have to be active in the forum bc first.. Stock rom is aosp... ....... Everything just works and feels great... And you can falsh optimized stock rom and ull have stability of stock roms+fluidness of aosp roms...(no need for users to stick around to complain... They jt flash they're rom and are of to enjoy it) You jt cant lose with this phone!!!! I appreciate the heck out of my fone and of mostly intelligent satisfied users!!!! Im my opinion this phone is second to only the nexus 6p right now.... And well the reason i have this is bc i got it for a measly 83$ on a amazing deal on ebay... Anyways. Thats alll... My opinion is complete
Edit.... Oh and ive nvr owned a phone with a signal quality even close to this one... Its baffling how much better it is then it was on my m8 or g3 or g4...
I came from the LG G4, what they did there is they got a well known Cyanogen Dev to agree to support that device if they helped him get it.
They got Codeworkx, (a great developer btw) and he jump started development right away squashing bugs left and right.
Maybe they can do that here? get a well known Developer to agree and see if they can get donations going for him.
I know things like this have gone down south before with devs not commiting and dropping/selling the device right away.
But there are good devs are there that are commited but just dont have funds to get devices.
Historically, the moto x line has never had much development. My own personal opinion is because there isn't much need: updates come fast, stock moto features are excellent, and performance tends to be very good and there is very little bloat. Other than the nexus line, where the devs have source code to work with, devices that come with good software tend to get less developer interest.
Obviously there are exceptions to this, just my observations after owning many phones over the years.
I just got the X for my dad and i believe its perfect for him (not so sure about the large display though), but he won't be messing around with ROMs and stuff.
However, I simply can't decide between this and the 5x for myself (6P is out of my budget). I love everything the X Style offers but I dread that I will soon get bored of the stock experience and crave for the bells and whistles that custom ROMs offer. The downside to flashing a ROM on the X is you lose out on Moto Display, Voice, Actions, and Assist--is that not the case? If I'm not mistaken, isn't Moto's implementation of these features significantly better than those found in CM?
I will echo what's been said and maybe add some points of my own. I love this phone I do, and maybe the fact that it has no issues is the issue but I also love seeing what else there is out there as far as rom's etc. I have yet to even root/unlock this phone because I almost see no major reason. I mean major, I know there's some xposed modules and whatnot but I used to love/hate trying out new roms just to see what they're like even with the bugs. I've moved on from the whole hack your phone scene but only because it seems to be less and less fun. Maybe the fact that the moto x pure is great as is, is the issue. No reason to really change anything. It's a good problem to have I guess.
roofrider said:
I just got the X for my dad and i believe its perfect for him (not so sure about the large display though), but he won't be messing around with ROMs and stuff.
However, I simply can't decide between this and the 5x for myself (6P is out of my budget). I love everything the X Style offers but I dread that I will soon get bored of the stock experience and crave for the bells and whistles that custom ROMs offer. The downside to flashing a ROM on the X is you lose out on Moto Display, Voice, Actions, and Assist--is that not the case? If I'm not mistaken, isn't Moto's implementation of these features significantly better than those found in CM?
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Click to collapse
Moto's implementation is MUCH better than you'll find on any rom and/or xposed module. You will not find touchless display and moto voice that work well anywhere else. Also, you can get bells and whistles by installing gravitybox on stock-based roms. I've ran cm12.1/13 on my oneplus one for nearly a year and since switching to the moto x with gravitybox, I don't miss a thing.
Google~Android said:
Ive been a long time lg and htc user prior to this.... Yes theres few roms but heres my take.... while lg g2 g3 g4 have lots of roms activities and users... Let me tell you how it works... First most of the ppl on there only complain about bugs and how they bricked their phones or complain of the hideous lg stock rom lag and interface... Then they flash bug filled. Aosp roms and complain about bugs and camera etc..... Wit moto x ppl dont have to be active in the forum bc first.. Stock rom is aosp... ....... Everything just works and feels great... And you can falsh optimized stock rom and ull have stability of stock roms+fluidness of aosp roms...(no need for users to stick around to complain... They jt flash they're rom and are of to enjoy it) You jt cant lose with this phone!!!! I appreciate the heck out of my fone and of mostly intelligent satisfied users!!!! Im my opinion this phone is second to only the nexus 6p right now.... And well the reason i have this is bc i got it for a measly 83$ on a amazing deal on ebay... Anyways. Thats alll... My opinion is complete[emoji14]
Edit.... Oh and ive nvr owned a phone with a signal quality even close to this one... Its baffling how much better it is then it was on my m8 or g3 or g4...
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Click to collapse
Good points. I do wish we had a bit more variety rom wise tho.
Yeah 6p was just out my price range at the time, and also it wasnt as popular of a Choice at its launch as its been more recently.
For me specifically, I consume a lot of media, so speakers are a bit more important to me than some others, and was close to the most important feature I was looking for. I came from the htc M7, so when I heard the MXPE, I was not disappointed. As someone else said, this phone probably has the best speakers on a phone, even the 6p...... based on reviews and YouTube videos only.
Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk
Theres not much to fix on this device, if and when CM gets official, you will see more rom in the dev section.
I love this phone that it doesnt get in my way and works just how I want it, heck I dont even keep tapatalk on my phone anymore since I never need to come here look for fixes or improvements
it is just 6months of release.. i think rom numbers and kernel numbers will improve over time...also the processor is almost new...there is very less work on msm8992...
also no vendor gives updates so fast.
LGs,HTCs,Samsungs take forever to update
emoney1219 said:
I agree with you that I was assuming there would be way more support for this phone and I also though it would be easier to mess with as far as rooting and such. I'm no developer or self proclaimed rooting expert but it seems like if you are on android 6.0 stock it's not that easy to get rooted or downgrade to 5.x and root. I thought being unlocked and so near stock that this would all be a breeze but ever since I unrooted and upgraded to stock 6.0 rooting again is a pretty big undertaking. I'm not complaining here I do really like the stock OS but I love messing with the OS too. Here's to hoping some time in the near future there is a solid root option for stock 6.0
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Click to collapse
Unlock the bootloader, flash twrp through platform tools(adb-fastboot), flash chainfire supersu systemless root, it takes 10 min.
Yes, there are less ROMs compared to many other phones, but you must consider that most other phones don't come with a nearly pure Android experience. Those custom ROMs all try to focus on AOSP/CM builds that provide a pure Android experience along with extra features. This phone just doesn't need that as much.
Personally, I use to love flashing different ROMs to find the one that provides the best performance and feature set combination. This phone already has the performance, and Xposed and Layers provide all the features and custom look as desired. We also have a few solid kernels, too.
If you need a lot of ROMs, pick a phone that has a manufacturer-built version of Android that developers want to replace or a Nexus phone
Sent from my XT1575 using XDA Free mobile app
The stock ROM, rooted with Xposed and GravityBox can cover most of what a custom ROM can give you. And without the bugs.
Faint333 said:
First off let me say that I love this phone. The build quality while not the best is good enough and the materials used come together very nicely. The Moto X also has all the features I am looking for (quick charge, nice screen, stereo front facing speakers, expandable storage and unlocked and rootable!).
So why am I depressed about it?
The phone seems to not be as popular as it deserves and with that it doesn't get the massive amounts of support of other inferior devices. After owning this phone since October I have tried my hardest to grow to love the stock firmware as it is so close to google's. However (I'm not sure how many of you will agree with me here), I am very fond of CM and seeing that the Moto G 2015 has been officially supported for what feels like forever now I'm not sure the Moto X will ever be.
I know there are dedicated individuals working hard to further development projects for this device and I am very grateful for that. It just feels like the community for this phone is very small which has caught me off guard because the device seemingly has everything most people could want.
Anyways, I'm not entirely sure why I wrote this but I'd like to hear your guys' thoughts and opinions.
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It's not depressing if you have Xposed framework and VZW Unlimited Data. I may keep this phone for 1-2 years instead of upgrading every 6 months.
I agree, just got this phone the other day and i thought there'd be a lot of rom support, easy rooting, more mods, etc. Kind of a shame for a very good phone.
About the camera
My main complaint about this phone after owning a LG G4 and Galaxy S6 is the lack of the camera 2 API. Why after virtually bringing this feature on board of the Google Nexus 6 and claming that this phone have a comparable camera to last year's flagships, they take away something out, that us owners are more than capable of taking advantage. The camera is good, but could be better, and if they don't feel like doing it we should've been able to do something about it. Dumb move Motorola.
One problem with this phone is that it has to have qcoms multi Sim implementation. So you will not see (m)any AOSP based ROM's.
This because it is a lot of work to make multi Sim work. And yes the implementation of Qualcomm multi Sim is different then the aosp implementation.
You will only see CM based custom ROM's or stock based modifications. CM based ROM's because CM has a lot more resources to integrate this.
(I tried to get omnirom working, but ran into the multi Sim problem).
the design was good but i got tired of the lag and overheating, even on the s808 chip. went to the iphone 6s for 2 months then im back on droid but with a nexus 6p. best device ive had, no lag or overheating, great support. maybe the OP should consider buying it.
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JOSE89178 said:
I agree, just got this phone the other day and i thought there'd be a lot of rom support, easy rooting, more mods, etc. Kind of a shame for a very good phone.
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alot of it has to do with levono buying moto and the uncertain future of the moto line. plus the fact moto seems to drop support easily.
I have been using a FRD-L14 running EMUI 4.1 (B150) for a few months and while I love having such a long battery life, I am starting to get frustrated with how much of my apps the system automatically kills in the background (alarm apps, text delay send, etc). I am considering trying out a custom ROM but have a few questions before proceeding.
1. If I make a TWRP nandroid backup, can I just reflash that at any time and revert back to my current rom without any hiccups if I have regrets?
2. I remember reading somewhere that I have to first upgrade to EMUI 5.0 before using a custom rom, this will not cause any issue with potential rollback?
3. What is the best currently available custom rom to try if I am looking for longest battery life and fewest bugs? Will the battery life come anywhere close to EMUI 4.1?
Thank you in advance!
Aren't there any official updates for the premium H8s?
Also that's quite the lengthy question and I know it's been asked before somewhere, please use the search function.
(Plus i can't remember the exact details as well)
Also battery life is **** with custom,(won't last me a day so i went back to stock) especially compared to MM (Even stock nougat is a worse) and all of them are somewhat buggy, but it depends on what you use.
Sent from my HUAWEI FRD-L09 using XDA Labs
I'm a new user of the Honor 8 with the exact same problem...
Also have the FRD-L14... wondering if any improvements/insights?
Would love to root, remove bloat, and even install a custom ROM, but all I've seen is that it can be a complete clusterf*#@ to do so. I'm just about to return this phone, its quirks are really ruining it for me.
anoukaimee said:
...... Would love to root, remove bloat, and even install a custom ROM, but all I've seen is that it can be a complete clusterf*#@ to do so. I'm just about to return this phone, its quirks are really ruining it for me.
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Click to collapse
i recommend that you return it asap! there are other phones that are way better. the good thing is that most new phones will have oreo and treble by default which is going to be mandatory in android from now on.
at worst, users will get AOSP. at best, custom ROMs that have much better functionality. i recommend saving for either a oneplus, or maybe a nokia.
thanks, I think you're right, just such a headache shopping for a bargain again. do you have any recs for phones that are similarly fast but without the intrusive bloat and which hopefully are easily rooted/support magisk mods etc? I wish the xiomi 5 series worked in the US, they sound great for the money. maybe another Chinese brand (Oppo, Meizu) that has better specs than the going rate here but can also be modded? I don't need to get it back to Amazon until the end of February (thank you, extended holiday returns), so I can wait for shipment from China. Or else a Motorola or even Nokia? need to keep under $350; significantly less would be much better.
appreciate it if you have any ideas.
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droidbot1337 said:
i recommend that you return it asap! there are other phones that are way better. the good thing is that most new phones will have oreo and treble by default which is going to be mandatory in android from now on.
at worst, users will get AOSP. at best, custom ROMs that have much better functionality. i recommend saving for either a oneplus, or maybe a nokia.
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Click to collapse
sorry, just saw that you HAD recs. kind of intrigued by Nokia because I think they're selling at a discount to get their name out there. is there a specific model?
and is there anywhere you can still buy a OP3?
anoukaimee said:
............. do you have any recs for phones that are similarly fast but without the intrusive bloat and which hopefully are easily rooted/support magisk mods etc? I wish the xiomi 5 series worked in the US, they sound great for the money. maybe another Chinese brand (Oppo, Meizu) that has better specs than the going rate here but can also be modded?.......... and is there anywhere you can still buy a OP3?
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Click to collapse
okay, so now that you informed me about your location (US) it seems that you and i are in the same situation. i was waiting to get a 1+5t after buying a few 1+5s for various family members. they all needed updates. after thinking about it i decided to wait because 1+ lacks the one thing i desperately rely on.... EXPANDABLE STORAGE!
sadly, this is the one area where huawei really excels at. they include expandable storage on most of their phones. after htc decided to skip a US release of the U11+ it seemed that i would be forced to settle for the 1+ but thankfully there have been leaks of many new devices.
the one im looking forward to is the new redesigned sony line. from what i have read they will keep the 16:9 which i love and adopt a rear fingerprint scanner plus small bezels. the huge bezels are the only thing keeping me from buying a sony as they keep their android ROM clean with no horrible UI.
aside from sony, xiaomi is said to be releasing a few phones in the us as well. these combined with a redesign of the LG flagships. that makes for many options but, you will need to set aside a bit of money. imho, it will be worth it because all of these phones will come with oreo and treble.
for those devices that have a horrible stock rom, you can just install AOSP or any of the treble based custom ROMs. it will be great since all the latest phones have more longevity thanks to their hardware. the only limitation is software but treble will take care of that.
as far as a 1+3/t, you can find them on swappa. if bought 2 a few weeks back for $215 shipped. both were 64GB models that only needed the screen repaired. the total ended costing me about $170 each. if you have any kind of experience with repair, i recommend taking that route. i hope this helped, if you have any questions, dont hesitate to pm me. we gotta help each other out some way or another. cheers!