Buyer's Advice for Moto G 2015 - Moto G 2015 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi everyone,
It looks like after 3.5 years of service my S3 I9300 is about to kick the bucket. Seeing as this year's smarphones are a failure and last year (2014's) top dogs are still over 500usd I figured it would be a waste of money to buy either of them. After some googling I found the moto g 2015 to be a good option.
It meets the requirements I wanted: FM radio, good xda support, removable sd card, ??doable?? battery replacement. It's just too bad there's no blackberry style led notification like the s3. From the antutu benchmarks it looks like it has ~80% the power of my S3?
My question is, how good is the new moto g? Any nasty surprises, gotchas or buyer's remorse. I plan to put CM12.1 first day out of the box. Is the performance decent? I'd mostly use it for web browsing, youtube, google maps, and reading pdf comics. No intense 3D games as it looks like all mobile games are going towards the "pay to play 2mins" model or the "ads galore for 2 mins" model.
Is the new moto g a good choice? Of course I'd get the 2gb ram version.

Hello,
I really have no regrets with mine. I was pretty much looking for the same requirements that you mention. I find that it performs quite well, I actually do use mine for gaming. It handles some of the more graphically demanding games without issue (Dead Trigger 2, Modern Combat 5, etc). I know this is not what you plan to use it for, but just throwing it out there.
What did your i9300 score in the current version of Antutu? The MotoG3 scores around 24550 for me. I can provide screenshots of the score breakdown if it would be helpful for you to see how the different tests scored.
The only thing Motorola left out is a gyroscope and NFC support.

Is quite nice actually, however here in mexico motorola released a turbo version that is even nicer.
I must confess that i regret buying this after the one plus x announcement, but that's just my personal preference and i've yet to see reviews of how does it perform
The phone is really good for it's price, and finding decent phones under 5 inches these days is just a nightmare.
If you don't mind spending some extra money, i'll recomend you a z3 compact.
But it all comes down to personal needs and preferences. Moto gestures in this phone are something really awesome that i can't live without, some things that i find missing are the stereo speakers, the notificacion led and an amoled screen for better battery management.
Oh and battery life is actually really good.

Thank you for your suggestions.
I've never used the nfc once so I'm not going to miss it. I've uploaded my s3 antutu score just for curiosity. I'm overclocking it to 1.7GHz with a small undervolt. I know benchmark scores are only a rough guide for real world expectations and should be taken with a grain of salt.
The turbo edition looks great but Mexico is way too far for me to go and with it being a region special device, will it really have much xda support? I'll definetely miss the amoled display but at least it's ips lcd. Isn't that the best kind of lcd? I love the S3's vibrant colors. The z3 compact is 400usd which is almost double the 220usd. Considering I'm paying in cad that's gonna hurt.
Just not sure how good the z3 compact xda support is. It's not like I'm looking for a small phone. Actually I would prefer a big phone for reading comics on the go but I don't want to unload a lot of money for a phone right now for reasons in the first post.

AAccount said:
Hi everyone,
It looks like after 3.5 years of service my S3 I9300 is about to kick the bucket. Seeing as this year's smarphones are a failure and last year (2014's) top dogs are still over 500usd I figured it would be a waste of money to buy either of them. After some googling I found the moto g 2015 to be a good option.
It meets the requirements I wanted: FM radio, good xda support, removable sd card, ??doable?? battery replacement. It's just too bad there's no blackberry style led notification like the s3. From the antutu benchmarks it looks like it has ~80% the power of my S3?
My question is, how good is the new moto g? Any nasty surprises, gotchas or buyer's remorse. I plan to put CM12.1 first day out of the box. Is the performance decent? I'd mostly use it for web browsing, youtube, google maps, and reading pdf comics. No intense 3D games as it looks like all mobile games are going towards the "pay to play 2mins" model or the "ads galore for 2 mins" model.
Is the new moto g a good choice? Of course I'd get the 2gb ram version.
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Click to collapse
All in all I like mine, I have no regrets for the investment... I have had several higher end smart phones like the LG G2 and Nexus 5, and really don't see any real-world difference in use even when gaming so I don't know how much I trust the Antutu scores, and the battery life is very good. The notification LED missing is annoying, at first, but like everything else you get used to it and the Moto Display is an acceptable replacement for it.
As far as a doable battery replacement, you might to watch a tear down video before you say that, replacing the battery in this years Moto G is a bit tougher than the older models. "doable" would vary on your technical expertise.
I was a flash-a-holic with my Nexus devices and my LG G2, but to be honest the G3 us the first phone I haven't even really had the urge to flash a custom ROM on, or even root, the stock ROM is very good... Pure Android with (literally) a few Moto apps that are actually usable and functional without getting in the way, and the stock ROM is very optimized to the hardware, CM and other ROM devs haven't been able to get near the same battery life as stock. If you are set on CM, I would suggest waiting a minimum of a week before even unlocking it, there are a handful of rare issues which could potentially pop up (yellow screen, low volume, ghost touches, etc) and sometimes don't show up for a few days. No point in ruining your warranty day one, especially when the stock ROM is so well done.
The screen on the G3 is better than most people give it credit for, it isn't as good as the LG G2, but it is easily better than the Nexus 5, which is weird, sort of.... I am actually quite impressed with the screen and how vibrant and bright it is with minimal battery draw.
My 2 cents are go for it, you won't be disappointed.

I did lookup a teardown. Didn't the battery replacement involve
hair dryer to the screen
unscrew the motherboard
hair dryer to the battery
While I've never attempted doing the hair dryer treatment it doesn't look that bad. Compared to some of the other teardowns I've seen on ifixit, this one didn't involve: gotcha placed cables that are guaranteed to break without the magic touch, insane amounts of glue, or a screen that's so delicate that getting it out is near impossible. Overly optimistic??
Honestly, I figured that when that time comes, after the old battery is removed, I can cut a hole where the battery fits in and just hold it in place with duct tape. That way next time I can just remove the duct tape and disconnect. That's assuming the phone lives that long. My 2011 tablet and my 2012 era phones are both dieing in the span of a few months. :crying: The tablet is retired because of that. I'd rather my devices not actually die so when I want to use them again for whatever reason they'll still turn on and work ok.
Thanks for the tip of waiting a week for issues to pop up. I guess I'll carry 2 phones for that week. The moto g will get its initiation as a comic book reader and fm radio. I like the little features of CM like circle battery, network speed indicator, quick settings rearranging. Root is also a must for me for adblocking, xposed xprivacy, xposed youtube adblock. Can't live without either of those 3.

Stock 1.4 GHz (1363 MHz)

Related

Recommend the G pro 2? Would you buy again? What's to know?

I've kept my eye on the G pro 2 for a while (was about to get the original O G pro, but waited for this to come out). So I'm well aware of the specs, features, reviews, etc. But what I want to know is a real world user's opinion of the device.
Is the phone pretty decent? Any frustrations or quirks to know before trying to get one?
Key questions:
*How is the Mic/voice quality? (sending and receiving during a voice call)
*How is the battery life(I know it depends on usage and habits of the user, but just overall, how would you rate it personally, compared to other current/comparable Android phones)?
*Is it relatively stable and responsive?
*What bothers you about this phone?
*Would you buy it again if you were in the market for a new phone right now?(tells me that you like the phone and are overall happy with it)
I plan on getting a F350(a bit confused with the S/L/etc. acronym endings, can any one shed light?) I want to use it on at&t's network. On paper, and seeing professional reviews, the G pro 2 seems like my phone (1080p 5.9" screen, expandable memory via microsdhc, user replaceable battery, decent camera, etc.) But I want to know, if in practice, the phone is stable/frustration free(relatively speaking), decent real world battery life (if it's competent/comparable at least.. ), hoping that this is not one of those, "you have to root it and install a custom rom in order for this phone to be bearable"- type thing.
My other considerable is the Sony Xperia Z2 (prices are right, even though the screen is smaller and the battery isn't "replaceable"). I didn't want the Samsung Galaxy series due to the smaller screens and bloatware they put on there(note's a great series, but simlar.. bloatware, plus really expensive).
Thanks! I appreciate any input!
these are my questions too..
I came from a Samsung S3 (running CM).
first impressions were: Nice clean looks and lines, it's big (but it's not unwieldy). my wife has a Note 3 and it's about the same. the curve along the back sides makes it more comfortable to hold. Obviously, it's a heavier phone due to size, so your hand might get tired if you're one to use your phone lying down or something.
Screen is fantastic. I have no problems with colour issues with the screen and it's bright enough for me, even outdoors.
Battery life is good. standby can last more than a day. in usage, i was a bit busy yesterday and didn't use it too much, but from 0700 to 2300, i had 63% before i plugged it in. on a more typical day, I'd probably have around 40%. mainly a mixture of whatsapp, a few blogs, games and some TV show watching at lunch.
Camera is decent and acceptable auto focus speed. not a lot of bloatware.
I'm running 10e firmware due to bugs in 10f and waiting for lollipop. 10e is stable. not had problems with it.
problems: it's not widely available and the user base is small. so don't expect any fancy mods/firmwares or anything like that. as such, there's not a lot of accessories for it either outside of LG's own stuff.
My friend has the Z2 (not looked, but isn't the Z3 pricing nearly the same now?), and his camera is better and the battery life is longer due to Sony's Stamina software. display is about the same. If you want a big, stock phone, the LG is great. if you want to play around and like to customise your phone, then i'd go with the Sony.
Thanks for your input Ray-Lee .
I'm on the fence between the two phones, I like the bigger screen on the G pro 2, I haven't held one yet in person, but I don't think I"ll be bothered by it at all. Only thing that really entices me for the Z2 are the current prices for it right now.. for relatively similar specs, smaller screen, but better camera compensates. Honestly, I want the device to work well out of the box.. this is xda and I do play with custom firmwares and roms, but that's more of a result than a mission for me these days.. as in, if the unit runs better/faster/more stable compared to stock(or.. if stock is so horrendous that it must be rooted and flashed to be "decent").
ssnova said:
Thanks for your input Ray-Lee .
I'm on the fence between the two phones, I like the bigger screen on the G pro 2, I haven't held one yet in person, but I don't think I"ll be bothered by it at all. Only thing that really entices me for the Z2 are the current prices for it right now.. for relatively similar specs, smaller screen, but better camera compensates. Honestly, I want the device to work well out of the box.. this is xda and I do play with custom firmwares and roms, but that's more of a result than a mission for me these days.. as in, if the unit runs better/faster/more stable compared to stock(or.. if stock is so horrendous that it must be rooted and flashed to be "decent").
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Ive been using this phone pretty much since it came out (D838 rooted stock) and the stock Performance is fantastic if im honest it really doesn't need a custom rom unless you want to "mod" alot of things and even then as long as your careful theres still alot you can do with just root, i love this phone so much and its modified enough for my liking without a rom, its fine right out of the box and if you can live without a custom rom (which is really doesnt need that much) i think you'll be as happy as i am with this phone on stock with or without root.
But yes if you do like to flash and mess about alot go with the z2/note3 as there is more options there but this is still a brillant phone.
bjscott55 said:
Ive been using this phone pretty much since it came out (D838 rooted stock) and the stock Performance is fantastic if im honest it really doesn't need a custom rom unless you want to "mod" alot of things and even then as long as your careful theres still alot you can do with just root, i love this phone so much and its modified enough for my liking without a rom, its fine right out of the box and if you can live without a custom rom (which is really doesnt need that much) i think you'll be as happy as i am with this phone on stock with or without root.
But yes if you do like to flash and mess about alot go with the z2/note3 as there is more options there but this is still a brillant phone.
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Thanks a lot for the assurance. I'm still bouncing around phone options, I guess it just comes down to price (best bang for buck, with expandable memory at least). I'm still considering the G pro 2, but I saw how the GS note 3 has come down a lot in price.
Thanks again!
ssnova said:
Thanks a lot for the assurance. I'm still bouncing around phone options, I guess it just comes down to price (best bang for buck, with expandable memory at least). I'm still considering the G pro 2, but I saw how the GS note 3 has come down a lot in price.
Thanks again!
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I've had both and granted you can mess around with roms and stuff but for pure joy in use i much prefer the g pro 2 its a really really good phone and for the low price you really cant beat it in my opinion unless this phone gets a good recovery and cm11 ill never bother with costom roms ect. For me its perfect on stock the peformence is amazing, to date (about 6 months of owning this phone) the battery still amazes and im yet to see any lag ever!! The ui is amazing, for a phone out of the box you cant beat it if you like music it outputs brillantly im just in love so maybe im a little one sided but i hope whatever you do you will be happy! Let me know!
bjscott55 said:
I've had both and granted you can mess around with roms and stuff but for pure joy in use i much prefer the g pro 2 its a really really good phone and for the low price you really cant beat it in my opinion unless this phone gets a good recovery and cm11 ill never bother with costom roms ect. For me its perfect on stock the peformence is amazing, to date (about 6 months of owning this phone) the battery still amazes and im yet to see any lag ever!! The ui is amazing, for a phone out of the box you cant beat it if you like music it outputs brillantly im just in love so maybe im a little one sided but i hope whatever you do you will be happy! Let me know!
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I only can agree with that!
I did get mine last week and i am very happy with it! Came from Galaxy Note 2 wich i liked very much but i dont trust Super Amoled Display technology since noone grants you that it will operate more than 3 years with heavy use. I chose this device because it has similar dimensions as the Note 2, stronger hardware, bigger 1080p reliable IPS LCD screen and fabulous 3200 mAh battery.
It's a must have for phablet lovers that want to have a good performing phone with large screen.
After just a few days of use this is my opinion. On software side is everything ok, just the usual Kit Kat problem that bugs lots of users out here, tha lack of having permissions for apps to write to sd card. That was the only thing that bothered me, but thats on Google side. This phone is truly amazing!
Hope that helps the peple to choose the best device for their specific needs. I found mine definitely.
Thank you for the input bhun and derbyshire! I really like the phone and want to get it, but for me the G pro 2 shipped from Asia to the US (I need the F350 model for LTE compatibility), it's about $600, I'm going to wait out just a little longer, it's a bit out of my budget (was hoping to score a phone for less than $450.. Sony Z2 and ZU did fit that for me, but not anymore either, haha).
I'm glad to hear that it's a great phone though(G pro 2), hopefully the prices will come down a bit for the F350 model and I can obtain one soon. Thanks again to all who have contributed!
bhun said:
I only can agree with that!
I did get mine last week and i am very happy with it! Came from Galaxy Note 2 wich i liked very much but i dont trust Super Amoled Display technology since noone grants you that it will operate more than 3 years with heavy use. I chose this device because it has similar dimensions as the Note 2, stronger hardware, bigger 1080p reliable IPS LCD screen and fabulous 3200 mAh battery.
It's a must have for phablet lovers that want to have a good performing phone with large screen.
After just a few days of use this is my opinion. On software side is everything ok, just the usual Kit Kat problem that bugs lots of users out here, tha lack of having permissions for apps to write to sd card. That was the only thing that bothered me, but thats on Google side. This phone is truly amazing!
Hope that helps the peple to choose the best device for their specific needs. I found mine definitely.
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The things that bother me about this phone are the poor wifi signal, I can be within a meter of my router and it still fluctuates between 3 and 4 bars. Any less than 4 bars wifi signal seems to have a noticeable impact on browsing performance. I also find the mobile data hotspot a pain, every so often the connection would hang and you would have to turn data off and back on again to get it to work. It seemed to do that every hour or so. Also if the phone gets even minutely warm, the brightness level will restrict itself to between 80% and 90%. I have had 3 LG G Pro 2 and they have all been the same. I also notice some flickering at times, especially when there is a white background on a webpage. I am almost fed up of mine and looking at selling it soon. It does have the potential to be a good phone, and I think all the faults I mentioned could be fixed with a decent firmware update.
I agree with you on wifi reception, its been the worst amongst all the phones i have owned
Sent from my LG-D838 using Tapatalk
Good Buy
It's a good buy switching. Switched from GS5 to this

which phone offers the most similar experiecne?

My contract is coming up for renewal in late February and I'm thinking of replacing my phone with a new Android device. I realize this might be the wrong forum section to post in, but who better to ask than my fellow Shield lovers.
I had a Galaxy Note (original) and a Galaxy S2 prior, and they weren't bad. For the time Touchwiz, and a poor email client really put me off of Android as a phone primarily for me is a communication device, but I still like to have fun with it.
I ended up going back to Blackberry and have been rocking a Z10 for a long time. But won an iphone 5s through work and have been using that for about the past year. I bought a Z30 recently as it was being sold at a stupidly low price new in box from factory and I am sick and tired of the small screens and piss poor battery life of the iphone.
I also have a first gen Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and I've been complaining about it for the past 6-10 months because of it's size and weight and now that apps are being optimized for newer OS versions it's getting really slow. So my wife bought me a Shield for Christmas and I absoltuley love it!
I love how the UI is on this tablet and now know what all the fuss is about for Andorid. Touchwiz ruins the experience in my opinion. So I'm thinking for my new phone I'm going to get a Lollipop device for sure...the question is which one?
I don't want a Nexus as I don't like the idea of non-expandable memory and my 64gb card in my Sheild is getting pretty full, no way I could survive with a device that isn't at least 64gb (my iphone is 64gb and is usually between 50-60gb loaded up with music and media.)
So which device has a UI that is as close to the Shield as possible with expandable memory and isn't the size of a house. 5" is about my max screen size. There is no need to go larger as I already have the Sheild, and I want it to be pocketable. I got rid of my Note because I just kept leaving it on my desk. I would also love to get a 16-20 hour day with heavy use. FWIW my iphone 5s is completley dead by the time 2:00pm rolls around when it comes off the charger at 5:30am. I'm usually not near a charger again until 6:30-7:00pm on average. It's going to be a lot to ask but a 5:30am to 10:00pm battery life would be fantastic...
If you want a stock OS look and MicroSD, get the HTC M8 Google Play Edition. Stock Android, front speakers, and MicroSD support just like the ST.
Not going to be a popular opinion around here but the iPhone 6 gets much much better battery life than the older ones, if you are already invested into iTunes that may be a valid option for you. For me I have the 6 plus and it is cool because I get awesome battery life and then I get completely different games then the ones that are available on my shield tab so I have pretty much the best of both worlds.
Also my reason for going to the iPhone is because I have ATT and needed a carrier subsidized phone, tried the Nexus 6 it is utter crap build quality and the Note 4 is not even rootable, there is not much else that is really modern on ATT.
As far as gaming ready devices, all Qualcomm Snapdragon devices fall into a mediocre range. None of them are really "smooth" at gaming and all of them work hard to provide perpetual fluidity. Bad video drivers and non-existent high clock efficiency mean those devices scale vey poorly, and gaming takes a monstrous drain on the battery for even simple 2D games. If you are looking for a device which can handle gaming in a manner similar to the shield (and aren't too concerned with what you might lose) then tegra phones and iPhones are your best option objectively. It's impossible to recommend a Qualcomm device as better for gaming. If you are just looking for a simple phone with light gaming, then something like the upcoming HTC M9 or a likewise lollipop based device would be fine. But if gaming is your concern (which you don't seem to mention) then my above statements hold very true.
All "stock" suggestions should definitely fly with "but shall include excessive Google bloatware that wouldn't be accepted from Samsung or any other OEM." That much said, crap like Drive Earth Docs Sheets Slides Newsstand Books Music Movies Plus Fit Now Wallet Keyboard Chrome and the ever constant location stalker CAN be disabled quite easily.
Preliminary reports say the S5 is shaping up to perform amazingly on Lollipop. A simple comparison of this tablet and the Nexus 7 and the iPad-Mini-esque Nexus 9, has shown me that it's all about the implementation of lollipop, not comparing who has the biggest version number, that is essential in determining which device is best.
Google Play Edition phones like HTC One M8 or Galaxy S4.
The Moto G and X phones also offer nearly stock OS.
Gaming is not a concern for me with a phone, thats what the Tablet is for. a Pretty stock non-bloated with manufacture crud OS is whats most important I think. Touchwiz was just annoying when I was test driving a Note 3 and on my S2 when I had it. Just didn't enjoy it. I also don't like how big the S5 and such has gotten.
I'll take a closer look at the Google Play edition phones. I wanted to get something direct from carrier to get the subsidy and save some cash... I'm on Rogers in Canada... No Moto X is avaialble, and it doesn't appear to have a micro SD. However the Sony Z3 seems to have a pretty stock version of Android... what are peoples opinions on that device?
Well I wouldn't say it's stock by any means. It's actually fairly heavy on skinning, but it does look nice. Updates will be very slow for Sony phones. But the battery life is fantastic, and the overall hardware is nice. Sony phones can be problematic, but since it's a carrier device you can always yell at Rogers.
Nintonito said:
Well I wouldn't say it's stock by any means. It's actually fairly heavy on skinning, but it does look nice. Updates will be very slow for Sony phones. But the battery life is fantastic, and the overall hardware is nice. Sony phones can be problematic, but since it's a carrier device you can always yell at Rogers.
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Yea, I'm reading more on the Z3 forums and seeing stuff I'm not overly happy with.
One thing that is ever important to me is the speed and quality of the camera, something I'm addicted to on my iphone. I'm a part-time professional photographer along with my day job. So I got a camera for manual control and taking beautiful shot. I love my iphone for the quick burst that I can do within a couple of seconds on the fly (and thats about it that I've found as a pro over Android). I don't know if there is an Android phone out there that can compete, which is very unfortunate. When I was test driving the Note 3, one of the few major reasons I returned it was due to the crappy camera speed/AF. (The others were size and touchwiz)
Moto X, Moto G, Nexus 5, Nexus 6 or the Google Play Edition phones from the play store. Thats about it. I guess the OnePlus One fits the bill also.
I can't recommend the Moto X enough. Mine is absolutely amazing and I've owned QUITE a few different phones over the past few years including Samsung, HTC, Sony, Nexus, ZTE. The Motorola lineup of the past year or so has been nothing short of phenomenal.
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
Nintonito said:
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
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Do you own one? Because I do. And I routinely hit 18-19 hours with 2.5-3 hours of screen time. Everyone I see complaining about battery life doesn't own one, and are just parroting FUD.
Nintonito said:
I disagree on the basis that the battery life is pretty bad. Like iPhone levels of battery life frankly. I'm surprised people just glaze over that. 2300mah battery with lollipop+amoled is battery hell.
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icase81 said:
Do you own one? Because I do. And I routinely hit 18-19 hours with 2.5-3 hours of screen time. Everyone I see complaining about battery life doesn't own one, and are just parroting FUD.
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I'd also have to agree. I was hesitant about the phone when it was first announced because of the battery and held off buying one until the Cyber Monday coupon deal. Since then, I've added a wireless charging module (thread in the accessories sub-forum for the phone) and I couldn't be happier. Not saying you need a wireless mod, I just missed that from the Nexus 5. But even so, the battery has been above and beyond what I expected, the phone's performance is top notch, Active Display or whatever its called has no second best and Motorola's adherence to near stock Android is the cherry on top.
Like icase said, unless you have one and have something to back up your comment, you're just blowing FUD. My go to devices today are my 2014 Moto X and my Nvidia Shield Tablet.
wired335 said:
My contract is coming up for renewal in late February and I'm thinking of replacing my phone with a new Android device. I realize this might be the wrong forum section to post in, but who better to ask than my fellow Shield lovers.
I had a Galaxy Note (original) and a Galaxy S2 prior, and they weren't bad. For the time Touchwiz, and a poor email client really put me off of Android as a phone primarily for me is a communication device, but I still like to have fun with it.
I ended up going back to Blackberry and have been rocking a Z10 for a long time. But won an iphone 5s through work and have been using that for about the past year. I bought a Z30 recently as it was being sold at a stupidly low price new in box from factory and I am sick and tired of the small screens and piss poor battery life of the iphone.
I also have a first gen Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet, and I've been complaining about it for the past 6-10 months because of it's size and weight and now that apps are being optimized for newer OS versions it's getting really slow. So my wife bought me a Shield for Christmas and I absoltuley love it!
I love how the UI is on this tablet and now know what all the fuss is about for Andorid. Touchwiz ruins the experience in my opinion. So I'm thinking for my new phone I'm going to get a Lollipop device for sure...the question is which one?
I don't want a Nexus as I don't like the idea of non-expandable memory and my 64gb card in my Sheild is getting pretty full, no way I could survive with a device that isn't at least 64gb (my iphone is 64gb and is usually between 50-60gb loaded up with music and media.)
So which device has a UI that is as close to the Shield as possible with expandable memory and isn't the size of a house. 5" is about my max screen size. There is no need to go larger as I already have the Sheild, and I want it to be pocketable. I got rid of my Note because I just kept leaving it on my desk. I would also love to get a 16-20 hour day with heavy use. FWIW my iphone 5s is completley dead by the time 2:00pm rolls around when it comes off the charger at 5:30am. I'm usually not near a charger again until 6:30-7:00pm on average. It's going to be a lot to ask but a 5:30am to 10:00pm battery life would be fantastic...
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Hi, just my two cents, IMHO the Nvidia Shield is a great tablet but to play PC games you have to stream to Nvidia, so if I want to recommend to you a similar device, the closest phone you can get is the Sony Experia Z3, Android 5 Lollipop, battery levels are very good, beautiful design and you can connect it to a playstation and play the games wireless on your phone with the PS controller. You even get the sound from your controller by connecting the headphones to it.
I have a couple of ideas.
If you can wait, the HTC Hima promises to be a beast. A Snapdragon 810 with a 1080p screen means that it will probably crush every other phone in terms of performace, thanks to every other phone jumping on the pointless 4K train. Look it up. It looks pretty nice. *drool*
If you need something now, then....I know you want a smaller phone, but....I can't recommend the Oneplus One enough.
-It is actually thinner than and not as wide as the Note, dispite its slightly larger screen.
-Even though it has no expandable storage, 64 gigs of internal storage has actually proven more useful to me. I never have to worry about limited storage for application data.
-The battery life on this thing is nuts. I'm a heavy user and I only need to charge it every other day.
-1080p screen. This is a plus because it it uses less resources than a 4k display. And honestly, most, if not all people, cannot tell the difference.
-Snapdragon 801 with 3 gigs of RAM. This thing flies, and multitasks like a champ. I remember a time not too long ago when more than 2gb RAM was considered excessive for most DESKTOP computers. I think its more than the specs that make this thing fly, though. Something in the hardware implementation must be special, because people have been reporting some pretty unbelievable benchmarks. Oh, and Sonic Adventure 2 runs smoothly in Reicast.
-The XDA scene is HUGE for this device. Its the most popular device on the forums. There are, like, 73 billion ROMs for it and maybe 2.5 billion kernels. I've never owned such a popular device. This is my favorite feature.
Its also the one of the only devices I have right now that isn't defective in some way. I tend to have horrible luck when purchasing electronics.
I hope I've helped you reach some sort of conclusion. Good luck. :good:
thanks guys,
I went into my Rogers store and manhandled what they had on display as well as a few open box units. I also took at look at Telus, but they can't meet me on my plan so no point in switching over. But the Moto X seemed like the best device.
I found the Z3 to be the best value for me right now. As I originally mentioned I'm not looking at the phone for gaming, but to be a workhorse and get me through a very heavy use work day. Not having Touch-Wiz was a huge plus for me, and I really enjoyed some of the things they changed in the skin. The camera performed a lot better than the other phones I tried in store. the HTC M8 was a very close contender, but the camera just sucks so horribly it got kicked out of the running faster than I could blink. I honestly think that Nokia/Windows Phone has the best camera interface after playing around with phones the past week, but the Z3 does a pretty good job.
For me it was the battery power, the UI, and the pretty impressive spec sheet that (hopefuly) will not force me to upgrade in the next 18 months that caused me to go with the Z3 overall. Rogers has a pretty limited offering right now which is annoying. I almost went with the Samsung S5, but remembered how much Touch-Wiz pozioned me the first time.
If they had a Nexus 5 32gb in stock I would have probably gone with that instead...and dealt with the size limitiation...but none left for corporate customers.
So my Black Z3 is in the mail and I'm really looking forward to it. Especially since my time frame for getting a new device really escallated with an unexpected smashy smashy of my iphone (dropped it and ran it over with a stroller by complete accident. One of the only times it wasn't cased!) now I need a case for my Z3

[Help] Looking to switch phones

So, i'm actually using an ancient Galaxy SII and i'm looking to switch to the Moto G 3rd generation. I want to know honest opinions of Moto G owners to check if it fulfils my needs or if I need to keep saving money to buy another phone..
1) How is the performance? Are there much hiccups/lags/slow downs? How the SD410 + Adreno 306 do for gaming (Clash of Clans, Candy Crush..)? Does it heat up much? My SGS2 gets insanely hot when playing Clash of Clans, doing long time web browsing or long time phone calls... :crying:
2) For those who own the 2GB version, how is the multitasking? Is it worth the extra money?
3) How is the battery on both 4G and WiFi? I tried looking on the battery thread but got some discrepancy on the screenshots. I actually get 1h SOT on this 5 yo phone, have to charge it about 3 times a day, so anything above 3h is fine!
4) Are there any major bugs on the software? I found some threads but these bugs seems to be particular to the thread owners, I haven't found (yet) any wide spread bug.
5)I'm a bit worried about the new LCD panel since it's TFT. What do you guys think about it?
6) Would you recommend the phone? In a scale of 1 to 10 (considering the price, obviously), how much would you rate it?
I appreciate a LOT any feedback.. I want to retire this SGS2 as fast as possiblie. Thanks!!
Lunatiic said:
So, i'm actually using an ancient Galaxy SII and i'm looking to switch to the Moto G 3rd generation. I want to know honest opinions of Moto G owners to check if it fulfils my needs or if I need to keep saving money to buy another phone..
1) How is the performance? Are there much hiccups/lags/slow downs? How the SD410 + Adreno 306 do for gaming (Clash of Clans, Candy Crush..)? Does it heat up much? My SGS2 gets insanely hot when playing Clash of Clans, doing long time web browsing or long time phone calls... :crying:
2) For those who own the 2GB version, how is the multitasking? Is it worth the extra money?
3) How is the battery on both 4G and WiFi? I tried looking on the battery thread but got some discrepancy on the screenshots. I actually get 1h SOT on this 5 yo phone, have to charge it about 3 times a day, so anything above 3h is fine!
4) Are there any major bugs on the software? I found some threads but these bugs seems to be particular to the thread owners, I haven't found (yet) any wide spread bug.
5)I'm a bit worried about the new LCD panel since it's TFT. What do you guys think about it?
6) Would you recommend the phone? In a scale of 1 to 10 (considering the price, obviously), how much would you rate it?
I appreciate a LOT any feedback.. I want to retire this SGS2 as fast as possible. Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone although i m also waiting to buy his phone as it is out of stock now but during this 2 weeks time span i have done a lot of research ,watching every review,unboxing,reading comment's etc and finally end up with the following result.
For 16 gigs/2gigs variant only.
1. Performance is amazingly smooth and buttery with stock android. The SD 410 handles up all the regular or extensive gaming task very easily. Find a little lag when playing nova 3 but that is negotiable considering the price of the device.
2.The phone heat ups upto 39-40 °c but that when recording with flash or playing games for more than half an hour. But the back panel absorbs 92% of heat so u wont feel anything unlike xiaomi that goes up to 49-50°c temp.
3. The camera is decent and has the ability to take good pictures unless u r a professional photographer. There is slight noise in the photo but not noticeable.
4. Battery lasts for one day with WiFi ,Bluetooth on and some gaming, whatsapp all time, and listening music and watching movies etc.
5. Out of 10 for me without using i think the phone deserves 9 considering the price. Overall its a budget smartphone and full value for money.
Regards
Banerjeeayan1996
Press thanks if it helped u.
Sent from my GT-S7562.
Lunatiic said:
So, i'm actually using an ancient Galaxy SII and i'm looking to switch to the Moto G 3rd generation. I want to know honest opinions of Moto G owners to check if it fulfils my needs or if I need to keep saving money to buy another phone..
1) How is the performance? Are there much hiccups/lags/slow downs? How the SD410 + Adreno 306 do for gaming (Clash of Clans, Candy Crush..)? Does it heat up much? My SGS2 gets insanely hot when playing Clash of Clans, doing long time web browsing or long time phone calls... :crying:
2) For those who own the 2GB version, how is the multitasking? Is it worth the extra money?
3) How is the battery on both 4G and WiFi? I tried looking on the battery thread but got some discrepancy on the screenshots. I actually get 1h SOT on this 5 yo phone, have to charge it about 3 times a day, so anything above 3h is fine!
4) Are there any major bugs on the software? I found some threads but these bugs seems to be particular to the thread owners, I haven't found (yet) any wide spread bug.
5)I'm a bit worried about the new LCD panel since it's TFT. What do you guys think about it?
6) Would you recommend the phone? In a scale of 1 to 10 (considering the price, obviously), how much would you rate it?
I appreciate a LOT any feedback.. I want to retire this SGS2 as fast as possiblie. Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) I play Candy Crush, Riptide, Pokemon Shuffle, and other games all the time, the Moto G gets a little warm, but nothing like my Nexus 4 or previous phones... the performance is acceptable to good, but not excellent. Kind of like having a middle of the road graphics card in your PC, it does the job but won't impress anyone.
2) This is a personal preference thing, but I purchased and got the 2GB version, I switch apps around all the time and have zero issues with apps closing... Aside from the 2GB you also get 16GB of storage, which is almost essential especially if you are going to be installing some games. 1GB/8GB just won't cut it for more than average phone use, gaming would not be impossible but could be difficult.
3) I get good to great battery life... I average 4 hours of SOT on LTE in outdoor usage playing Ingress so the GPS is going all the time, screen near full brightness, graphics engine working hard, and 6 hours of SOT with average usage on WiFi. I average 4.5-5.0 hours of SOT per charge when needed, but at the end of an average day I still have 30% battery remaining.
4) If there are any major bugs, or even annoying minor ones, I have yet to see them. I am still stock/unrooted but using Nova Launcher Prime. This is one of the few phones I have had in a very long time where I do not have the urge to unlock, root, and ROM it... yet.
4a) Not really a bug(s), but two caveats on this one, the phone does not have a gyroscope... but uses 2 accelerometers instead, this can cause some directional issues in apps like Ingress or Waze (not Maps or Scout), the app thinks you are always pointing north. Once you realize it you just deal with it or switch to other apps. The other is that it does not have NFC, which is probably not a big deal unless you plan on using Android Pay or hacking amiibo.
5) The display is very nice, crisp and easily viewable from a wide angle... I have zero complaints on the display, it is 10x better than the display on old Nexus 4.
6) I would give it an 8.5, and recommend this phone for the average to mild Android enthusiast... It is basically stock Android with a couple add ins, and is about as close to a Nexus device as you get at half the price. If you are a hard core ROM flasher, enthusiast, or developer, prefer a larger/higher resolution screen, need NFC or a Gyroscope, this may not be the phone for you.
I had an SGS2 Skyrocket for a while, it was a decent phone but the battery life was horrid, since then I have moved onto several phones... step into 2015, you will be so glad you did, not having to look for a charger every place you go is liberating!
Not trying to sway you as I love my Moto G and would not give it up, but some alternatives to consider: Asus Zenfone 2, Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, and Huawei Ascend Mate 2. My son got the Ascend Mate 2, the battery life is amazing... we talk about 4-6 hours SOT, he gets more like 12-15 hours of SOT, or not charging for several days, I have actually seen him go from Monday morning until Friday without charging. The Zenphone and Idol a little more feature rich and larger, they have gyroscope/NFC and some of the more premium features the Moto G is missing, at a price, my friend got two Zenphone 2 2GB/16GB models and it works well although he is hardly a hardcore user. Just some stuff to consider... Good luck.
acejavelin said:
I had an SGS2 Skyrocket for a while, it was a decent phone but the battery life was horrid, since then I have moved onto several phones... step into 2015, you will be so glad you did, not having to look for a charger every place you go is liberating!
Not trying to sway you as I love my Moto G and would not give it up, but some alternatives to consider: Asus Zenfone 2, Alcatel OneTouch Idol 3, and Huawei Ascend Mate 2. My son got the Ascend Mate 2, the battery life is amazing... we talk about 4-6 hours SOT, he gets more like 12-15 hours of SOT, or not charging for several days, I have actually seen him go from Monday morning until Friday without charging. The Zenphone and Idol a little more feature rich and larger, they have gyroscope/NFC and some of the more premium features the Moto G is missing, at a price, my friend got two Zenphone 2 2GB/16GB models and it works well although he is hardly a hardcore user. Just some stuff to consider... Good luck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah.. I wake up and unplug the phone at around 5am to go to College, and when I arrive there, i'm already at ~60%. When I play CoC, the phone get's abnormaly hot (even tho it's undervolted) and the battery drain is absurd, like 2% a minute. And to make it worse, my original charger broke and I have to charge it trough a USB Port on my notebook, so basically the phone stays charging half of the day, and the other half i'm using it..
I live in Brazil, so it's extremelly hard to find Huawei, Oppo, Alcatel, etc. around here. What happens is people import the phone for it's regular price, and sell it for twice or even more. The OnePlus Two for example, it's not selling for south america, so people travel and buy or import it (dunno how) for it's regular price, ~390USD, and sell it here for around 1000USD. Same thing goes for all brands that doesn't sell here, like HTC. When phones are sold here by their own companies, the oposite happens, people import phones to sell them at a lower price compared to the company price tag. The Apple Iphone is a great example. Everything here is way more expensive compared to almost every other country in the world, due to our heavy amount of taxes.
I researched a bit the ZenFone 2, but after seeing some reviews, I didn't like at all their user interface, it's way too modified for my taste.. remembers me the old TouchWiz (clunky with too many features I won't use). And since It uses Intel, i'm afraid of a future lack of developers for custom Roms and Kernels.
I had a Sony Xperia S and NEVER used NFC. The gyroscope isn't a deal breaker for me.
Thanks for your reply! I'm almost sold for the Moto G. :highfive:
Lunatiic said:
Yeah.. I wake up and unplug the phone at around 5am to go to College, and when I arrive there, i'm already at ~60%. When I play CoC, the phone get's abnormaly hot (even tho it's undervolted) and the battery drain is absurd, like 2% a minute. And to make it worse, my original charger broke and I have to charge it trough a USB Port on my notebook, so basically the phone stays charging half of the day, and the other half i'm using it..
I live in Brazil, so it's extremelly hard to find Huawei, Oppo, Alcatel, etc. around here. What happens is people import the phone for it's regular price, and sell it for twice or even more. The OnePlus Two for example, it's not selling for south america, so people travel and buy or import it (dunno how) for it's regular price, ~390USD, and sell it here for around 1000USD. Same thing goes for all brands that doesn't sell here, like HTC. When phones are sold here by their own companies, the oposite happens, people import phones to sell them at a lower price compared to the company price tag. The Apple Iphone is a great example. Everything here is way more expensive compared to almost every other country in the world, due to our heavy amount of taxes.
I researched a bit the ZenFone 2, but after seeing some reviews, I didn't like at all their user interface, it's way too modified for my taste.. remembers me the old TouchWiz (clunky with too many features I won't use). And since It uses Intel, i'm afraid of a future lack of developers for custom Roms and Kernels.
I had a Sony Xperia S and NEVER used NFC. The gyroscope isn't a deal breaker for me.
Thanks for your reply! I'm almost sold for the Moto G. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good luck, I'm sure you will enjoy it!
Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk
As others have said, get a 16 GB G and forget about all of the competition. Like too many android phones, those are just hulking brutes with no brain (no optimisation/support, ugly-as-f**k skins, bloatware everywhere, unimpressive design)
You're looking for a serious upgrade, not a spec toy

Really Loving my Lg V10

I decided to make this thread for myself and others to express the reasons we love our V10. I see so many threads about people's dislikes and would hate for that to negatively impact potential buyers of this great device.
A few reasons I love my v10 are:
SD CARD: #1 reason explains itself
REMOVABLE BATTERY: #2 could of easily been #1 reason
SECOND SCREEN(NOT GIMMICK):truly convenient makes multitasking a bit more easy
AUDIO DAC: with the right headphones it's a night and day difference
MANUAL CAMERA: like a baby DSLR
VIDEO CAMERA: great quality and mic balance
LG OVERLAY NOT TOO HEAVY: personal opinion
BUTTON PLACEMENT: AGAIN PERSONAL OPINION
RUGGED FORM FACTOR: pretty tuff since I mostly use with no case
BUILD FEEL IN HAND: my opinion but feels premium
What are the reasons you LIKE/LOVE LG V10
BeameD From My LG V10... The one with the ALWAYS ON SCREEN... Watching me.. ?
Number reason I love this phone is that I can turn on gps, nfc, Bluetooth and use this phone heavily (youtube, movies, gaming) all day long and not worry about charging it multiple times, since I got an extra battery with me 24/7.. This is such a convenient for a power user like me..
The rest off The points you stated are all also reasons to love this phone too.
Sent from my LG-H961N using Tapatalk
Note 5 all the way!
Agree with op!
Sent from my LG-H901 using Tapatalk
Way big upgrade from my sgs4! soo nice and quick. glad i waited to upgrade!
romz26 said:
Way big upgrade from my sgs4! soo nice and quick. glad i waited to upgrade!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im using a Galaxy S1 right now, cause my Galaxy Express stopped working some weeks ago.
Can't wait for the release here in europe!
I am another v10 user coming from a sgs5 this phone is way better.
I like the positivity of this thread as much as I like the positive experience the new LG V10 has given me.
We need not vigorously defend the V10 when it comes under attack. The endless and ... (sorry if this hurts) ... pointless volley of posts with "haters" of the V10 in defense of our phones as it doesn't do anything but give page depth (negative gravity) to negative threads. Wish them a positive experience with their new choice and abandon the thread.
The phones at this level are all pretty good, with the differences being slight at best. The user experience is as personal as a first date, they don't all work out and we're allowed to move on to another in hopes of a positive relationship that lasts. I spun through 2 new phones within 3 weeks until I found this one.
Its perfect ... for me.
I'm all for being positive about this phone but at the same time I'm not delusional. It's obvious this phone has its flaws but the pros outweighs the cons.
Sent from my LG-H900 using Tapatalk
Brava27 said:
Note 5 all the way!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why? I'm not trying to start an argument, but I haven't owned a Samsung in ages. I know a lot of people who left the Note series and move on to other devices. I tried the Note 5 but when my wife bought the V10 I quickly fell in love with the Ability to make good recordings of live bands, and the DAC is freaking awesome! I no longer carry around my other Audio device.
Using Neutron, with DAC configured correctly is a new experience in Audio and the fv5 camera and video recorder is by far the BEST I've ever seen! I've used the Samsung Galaxy series of friends who asked me to take pics of bands or for me to take pics of audience when my band was playing. I recently dropped it on the street in no case and it was fine.
The battery isn't as good as my LG G3 or my brothers G4... But I have an Extra battery and 128 gig micro SD card... So I guess my question is what am I missing about the Note 5? I prefer the 808 because it stays cooler... So what did I miss?
I'm really sorry if this sounds like I'm trying to start a debate. I honestly don't know.
So some like it, huh. Trying to keep my S4 until August when I get Verizon Upgrade (apparently prior 2 year contract and loyalty plan holders still get subsidized phones every 2 years, for now).
Frustrating bec the Note 5 or Nexus 6P have much of what I want, but lack of removable battery is a dealbreaker, my S4 battery was completely shot after 12 months but a few new $7 oem's in my bag and it's fine. So much easier than fiddling with portable chargers and cables.
So, LG seems to be the only option for 2016, V10 or G5 if it retains the removable battery.... Sigh...
I love my v10. I was worried about the battery at first, but now after having it since launch, I usually go to bed with 30% left. Not sure why it got so much better, but it did. I went to bed at 41%last night and woke up with it at 37%.that's with the second screen always on. The camera is outstanding and no lag ever. The removable battery and sd are a must have for me. This phone never even gets warm. My galaxy grand prime with the lowly sd 410 gets warmer than my v10. I hope LG keeps this formula!
Sent from my LG-H901 using XDA Free mobile app
I LOVE THIS PHONE
Sent from my supercharged H961N LG V10
My first LG phone, I love this phone, wait for the root
I loved my Flex but it didn't have stabilization for the camera.
So I tried out BlackBerry Passport. Good phone, but it was a down grade when compared to Flex in real world use.
Picked up the V10 on a whim and..........jaw dropping user experience.
The battery could be a 3400 ma, but I make the 3000 ma work.
Loving this phone too - I finally got on T-Mobile Jump On Demand, but I'm not sure I'll want to trade this thing in ever!
Killer battery life, a removable back (and the goodness that comes with it), great display, quick, 2nd screen,... What's not to love.
Sent from my VS990 using XDA Free mobile app
I completely agree with your list with a MAJOR exception on ruggedness. I just paid $150 to have the phone replaced under insurance. I cracked the screen on the very first drop from barely a foot onto my coffee table. DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE. If you crack the screen the entire warranty is null and void...you're on your own if anything malfunctions later. YOU MUST HAVE INSURANCE if you plan to go without a case. Also, my first two LG V10's were duds -- a first for any smartphone company. The first one had non-working speaker, back to the Verizon store and with my schedule that's tough. The second phone had a non-working front facing camera, back to the Verizon store yet again but this time with the added hassle of the store not wanting to take my phone since they have to give you a new one. I went to three separate stores and each changed their stories about having the phone in stock only to have none once I told them it was an exchange and not a new line activation. Four days after getting the third phone the screen cracks and LG says they'll do nothing for me other than take the phone and look it over for a couple of weeks and that's just for the estimate which was probably going to be $200 despite their marketing the phone as being able to survive a four foot drop face down. So far I'm not impressed with LG's quality control or marketing claims. I dropped my Samsung Note 3 with only a bumper guard too many times to count and the screen never cracked, probably because it wasn't half a pound like the V10. The more a phone weighs, the harder it's going to impact. The Note 3 and 4 feel like half the weight of the V10 in hand. I'm not sure I will repeat with LG after the V10 given the experience of this first week of ownership.
That being said, when the phone actually arrives working, it is the best value going. I was on the fence about buying a Note 4 instead of the V10 to save money and get most of the features of the V10. But LG's very aggressive promotion convinced me to skip the Note 4 since the Samsung is still expensive for a year old phone. The biggest thing I don't like about the V10 right now is the all the weight of the steel rails which I now discovered are basically useless if you still have to have a case and the glass is not replaceable (the whole digitzer has to be replaced). And of course the Note 4 has AMOLED so that wins the battery life contest every day of the week. I would give the LG a C+ on battery life but mostly because the battery is replaceable. If were fixed with this kind of SOT I would give it a D. But you're not buying this phone if you're not a battery swapper in the first place.
So all in I give this phone a solid B, an honorary value award for keeping SD card and removable battery,
I give LG an F on quality control and F on marketing claims.
I'm loving my V10 today! Today it's a great mobile Yule Log! Merry Christmas everyone!
New LG V10 Owner
Got my LG V10 yesterday, after realizing that the S7 and G5 look too rounded and girlish. The black V10 is a real man-phone!
After coming from an HTC M8, this is the best phone I've ever owned. Speed, battery life, display, camera, everything is awesome.
But the most unnoticed feature of this phone is the superior sound. Remember when everybody said the HTC M8 is a phone with superior sound output for audiophiles? Well, the V10 is 10 times better. I'm using it with a Sennheiser Momentum and it hits the ball out of the park.
Also this phone comes with 64gb of internal storage. My model supports dual-sim, and it's not like the S7 where you can either use 2 sim cards or 1 sim card and 1 sd card. Let's get to the only downside I've noticed so far: The phone is really heavy. But it feels like a premium phone, more than the HTC M8.

Thoughts about the Moto X Pure/Style after extended usage

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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.

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