Database Info

UMI eMax with Custom MANOWARACERO Rom

This is my "quick and dirty" unedited video review of my UMI eMax with a custom MANOWARACERA rom from Spain. It has Installer Xposed and Gravity Box, many small but good improvements like battery life and speed, and it's very clean, not much if any bloat, nice. This also touches on how well UMI works with us modders with their excellent RootJoy flashing/backing up software. Nice to see the better China phones getting this level of attention.
For reference, here are the specs on the eMax:
5.5 inch IPS OGS capacitive screen, FHD 1920x1080 pixels, bright and high quality.
MTK6752 Octa Core Processor, 1.7GHz GPU:Mali-T760 MP4.
Android 4.4 OS (possible Lollipop 5.0 Update at the end of July 2015 according to UMI).
2GB RAM + 16GB ROM(one partition, not split up like many China phones, yay UMI!).
3500 mah Battery(real rating, UMI states 3750 mah).
Dual SIM card dual standby plus separate micro sim slot.
5mp front camera plus a 13mp (interpolated, it's really 8mp) back camera.
Support FDD LTE,4G,3G,GPS,wifi,bluetooth,Miracast included.
Networking: 2G(Note: the 1900MHz band works on T-Mobile as HSPA+ in most areas in the US) GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, 3G WCDMA 900/1900/2100MHz, 4G: FDD LTE:1800/2600MHz(overseas only, not for US).
This is a very nice phone with great battery life even for a power user, a top notch FHD screen(blows the crappy, dim screen on my Zenfone 2 away easily..), stable software(4.4.4 KitKat for now), and a solid unibody build. The only real flaw with it is a not so great rear camera, but it's at least being steadily improved with software updates. There are also some nice accessories available for it for a very little cash, like a good quality gummy case, two different colored hard stick on case/stands, and tempered glass screen protectors. This is getting more common on the better selling China phones and it's a welcome addition for sure. This phone can be bought on many, many China dealer sites like Gearbest, ibaby888(DHGate), Pandawill, efox and more for around $150-160.00 US, a steal IMHO
Here's the link to the custom rom, first reported on here by @Tautologica on another thread(thanks again!). It works great!
http://www.movilesdualsim.com/tema/rom-mod-umi-emax-basada-kitkat-4-4-4-v04-19-6-15-por-manowaracero.106572/
And here is the link to my video review, hope you like it
https://youtu.be/XeDHIAPJXVk
P.S. If anyone can explain how to embed the video here, I'm all ears, thanks!

Nice review mate.
The screen brightness could be better. I am not saying it is bad but now that is summer and all, I would like to add a notch more brightness when using the phone outdoors.
And the camera is kinda bad if you try to take landscape pics. Closeups and videos are fine imo. And I use quite a lot the 120FPS video recording. Nice feature imo.
I am really happy with the phone. It is the cheapest MTK 6752 phone out there afaik and definitely worth the price.
Cos it is the cheapest there are downsides ofc. Umi had to save in something to bring the price down.
And props to manowarcero for the excellent custom rom. I am really happy with and i've xposed the hell out of emax now and it works great!

Tautologica said:
Nice review mate.
The screen brightness could be better. I am not saying it is bad but now that is summer and all, I would like to add a notch more brightness when using the phone outdoors.
And the camera is kinda bad if you try to take landscape pics. Closeups and videos are fine imo. And I use quite a lot the 120FPS video recording. Nice feature imo.
I am really happy with the phone. It is the cheapest MTK 6752 phone out there afaik and definitely worth the price.
Cos it is the cheapest there are downsides ofc. Umi had to save in something to bring the price down.
And props to manowarcero for the excellent custom rom. I am really happy with and i've xposed the hell out of emax now and it works great!
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Click to collapse
I couldn't agree more, for the price this is a steal, near flagship power for us budget minded folks
As for the brightness, I compared it to my Zenfone 2, which has a pretty dim screen even after I bumped it from it's preset 80% max default, so the eMax looks to me to have plenty of brightness compared to it. No problems outdoors for me at all. And I also love Xposed, makes this rom so much fun to play with for sure As for the camera....well I think some folks got a better lens than others, as it's simply not very consistent between reviewers I've noticed. Mine is definitely not good, even the slightest zoom in causes tons of noise, and all the different camera apps I've tried so far don't seem to be helping. But I have noticed a bit of an improvement with this rom, so not all hope is lost here. Here's hoping Lollipop can help even more. Been in contact with MANOWAR over on the DualSim forums and it looks like he may continue support for the next rom from UMI, we are all pushing for him to do so, and that can only be a good thing

dragon2knight said:
I couldn't agree more, for the price this is a steal, near flagship power for us budget minded folks
As for the brightness, I compared it to my Zenfone 2, which has a pretty dim screen even after I bumped it from it's preset 80% max default, so the eMax looks to me to have plenty of brightness compared to it. No problems outdoors for me at all. And I also love Xposed, makes this rom so much fun to play with for sure As for the camera....well I think some folks got a better lens than others, as it's simply not very consistent between reviewers I've noticed. Mine is definitely not good, even the slightest zoom in causes tons of noise, and all the different camera apps I've tried so far don't seem to be helping. But I have noticed a bit of an improvement with this rom, so not all hope is lost here. Here's hoping Lollipop can help even more. Been in contact with MANOWAR over on the DualSim forums and it looks like he may continue support for the next rom from UMI, we are all pushing for him to do so, and that can only be a good thing
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Click to collapse
Just received my eMax today (1 month in transit, bought during flash sale, not yet opened lol), I pray to the gods of RNG that I get good lens. Also the reviewer at htcmania opened his eMax and found a 3500mAh TCL branded battery while a reviewer at gizchina.de opened his and found a 3500mAh unbranded battery from Shenzen. I dunno if there is a difference between the two but I expect the TCL one to have better quality control.

Chickens83 said:
Just received my eMax today (1 month in transit, bought during flash sale, not yet opened lol), I pray to the gods of RNG that I get good lens. Also the reviewer at htcmania opened his eMax and found a 3500mAh TCL branded battery while a reviewer at gizchina.de opened his and found a 3500mAh unbranded battery from Shenzen. I dunno if there is a difference between the two but I expect the TCL one to have better quality control.
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Click to collapse
In the end, 3500mah is 3500mah...doesn't matter who it comes from, lol. But seriously, it's a very long lasting battery either way, and that's all that matters
Have fun with your new toy My fingers are crossed you got an acceptable camera, no joke.

dragon2knight said:
In the end, 3500mah is 3500mah...doesn't matter who it comes from, lol. But seriously, it's a very long lasting battery either way, and that's all that matters
Have fun with your new toy My fingers are crossed you got an acceptable camera, no joke.
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Comparing mine to itxtutor's eMax samples, I'd have to say I got the bad one. But I guess I have to learn to live with it. Although the first impression with the battery is kind of not good. Also any one knows how to change the default settings on the camera so you don't need to tinker with the settings everytime you open the camera?

Chickens83 said:
Comparing mine to itxtutor's eMax samples, I'd have to say I got the bad one. But I guess I have to learn to live with it. Although the first impression with the battery is kind of not good. Also any one knows how to change the default settings on the camera so you don't need to tinker with the settings everytime you open the camera?
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Did you charge the battery to full? It does take awhile with the stock charger. I don't use said charger because of the many issues I've heard about it, though(like buzzing and getting really hot). Try a different charger and you will probably get better results. As for the camera, use a different app like Google Camera, it remembers the settings you put in, at least it does for me. And the end results are the same either way, unfortunately...sorry you didn't get a good one

dragon2knight said:
Did you charge the battery to full? It does take awhile with the stock charger. I don't use said charger because of the many issues I've heard about it, though(like buzzing and getting really hot). Try a different charger and you will probably get better results. As for the camera, use a different app like Google Camera, it remembers the settings you put in, at least it does for me. And the end results are the same either way, unfortunately...sorry you didn't get a good one
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I haven't charged the battery yet, except when connecting it to the PC, I've just only used up the battery, my nephew used it to watch 2 videos from youtube while using WiFi, it used up around 20% in 30-35 minutes.

Chickens83 said:
I haven't charged the battery yet, except when connecting it to the PC, I've just only used up the battery, my nephew used it to watch 2 videos from youtube while using WiFi, it used up around 20% in 30-35 minutes.
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Click to collapse
Well, charge it up then, it takes a bit for the battery to settle in, after three or so charges, you'll see better results. Plus take the time to "listen" to the included charger, if it starts buzzing or getting really hot, discard it and use another one. Lot's of low quality chargers sent out with the eMax.

dragon2knight said:
Well, charge it up then, it takes a bit for the battery to settle in, after three or so charges, you'll see better results. Plus take the time to "listen" to the included charger, if it starts buzzing or getting really hot, discard it and use another one. Lot's of low quality chargers sent out with the eMax.
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Click to collapse
Yeah, I won't even try using the charger just to be safe. I'll just use my old one.

Chickens83 said:
Yeah, I won't even try using the charger just to be safe. I'll just use my old one.
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Click to collapse
That's good, play it safe, that's what I, and many others, did I just threw mine out,lol.

Idol 3 still a decent buy or nah?

For $150 how is this phone really? I am looking to buy it for my mother who of course doesn't care about specs.
Her current phone is an HTC desire 610(Snapdragon 400, 1 gb ram, and 8 GB storage with a 2040 mah battery) and it is really showing its age.
She doesn't care about the latest updates and likely doesn't notice lag.
For her, this phone would be used for
-Photos out with friends
- Social networking(FB, Instagram, etc etc)
-texting and of course calling
Do you recommend it for a mom?
Also **Is the screen really that fragile**

I like the phone and I don't know anyone that has managed to crack the glass or damage the screen.

Gee,
was really hoping to find more thoughts about this phone. I just discovered and was seriously considering picking it up since my Note 4 is DEAD (NO MORE SAMSUNG FOR ME EVER!!! My S3 crapped out and I had to force Samsung to give me another even though my warranty had passed).

I just bought one for me last month to replace a Galaxy S4 that went smashy. I'm happy with it. Coming from an S4 the Idol 3 is clearly an inferior device in every category. But it's still a very strong phone, and for $150 you can't really go wrong. When I compared 'darn good phone for $150' to 'massively impressive phone of the gods for $650' I chose the Idol.
The one drawback on the Idol 3 (And Idol 4 / BalckBerry DTEK 50) is the camera for indoor shots. The camera isn't strong in low light. It's okay. It's not awful. But it's not fantastic. For outdoor shots in daylight, it's a fine camera. So if a great camera is a must, the Idol 3 is going to disappoint. If you need a great camera, you might consider the LG4. It's got a STUPIDLY IMPRESSIVE camera and the price on those is dropping fast. It's still more than the Idol 3, but it's almost worth it for the far superior camera.
As for getting Samsung to replace an S3....really? A 4 year old phone conked out on you and you're shocked and ready to give up on Samsung because of it? Seriously? These things are built with a 2 year life expectancy.

I also had Samsung s4, Samsung Note 2, and Nexus 5. I would not say the Idol 3 is inferior in every way, just some. That being said, the lack of bloatware, MM, and a nice screen make up for a lot of its shortcomings.

I've had the phone for more than year and like it a lot. I paid $200 at prerelease. The screen is excellent and not fragile. Get a good case for it and you will be happy. i have a leather folio type case with a cover that closes and protects the screen. the front dual stereo speakers are loud and great for music. Allcatel has been pretty good about O/S updates. The camera isn't great in low light but very good with both photos and video is bright light. You can't really go wrong for the price.

Izaya Orihara said:
For $150 how is this phone really? I am looking to buy it for my mother who of course doesn't care about specs.
Her current phone is an HTC desire 610(Snapdragon 400, 1 gb ram, and 8 GB storage with a 2040 mah battery) and it is really showing its age.
She doesn't care about the latest updates and likely doesn't notice lag.
For her, this phone would be used for
-Photos out with friends
- Social networking(FB, Instagram, etc etc)
-texting and of course calling
Do you recommend it for a mom?
Also **Is the screen really that fragile**
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would no longer recommend getting an alcatel phone. Period. They have provided 0 support..they in fact have made things even more difficult by taking away features such as fastboot which makes NO sense in a product being sold unlocked with no carrier hooks. The development is minimal and the majority of the devs are working on other devices although they may still provide some idol3 support it won't be a daily thing. Finally the stock rom's for the idol3 have serious deficiencies....you have terrible lag for 5.0.2 and very short screen on time for marshmallow. Additionally occasionally it just flat out has to be rebooted to get things working right or free up memory.
For $150 there are many other options available now...heck I just purchased a refurbished T-mobile LG V10 for $210 and the specs are MUCH better than the idol3. If the $150 price range is important consider the moto g4.

the device is a great buy and no the screen is not fragile(or mine isnt).
my phone survived a heart stopping 6 foot drop not a scratch.
i was harmed more than the phone

Realistic options for a replacement to the Moto X Pure

So I am getting sick of the battery life of this device and charging twice a day just to get by... the QC helps but it isn't always a viable option for someone who is on the road/travels a lot. I am probably going to go back to my Moto G 2015 for the time being as I could get a full days use most of the time on a single charge and just selling my MXPE.
But now the question comes up as what to replace it with... Moto G 5th gen, Blu Pure XR, ZTE Axon 7 Mini, or ???
My requirements are simple, or so I think...
1) 4+ hours SOT, preferably 5+, in mixed signal environment of WiFi/LTE/3G and sometimes without the best signal strength (for reference, I currently get about 2.5 hours on MXPE)
2) 5.2"-5.7" screen with 1080p minimum resolution
3) Stock Android, "near" stock, or simple UI (no TouchWiz, EMUI, ZenUI, or other bloated UI) that allows easy use of replacement launcher
4) 64GB internal storage or 32GB internal+microSD
5) 3GB or more of RAM
6) Full AT&T network compatibility (GSM 850/1900 and LTE Band 2/4/5/12/17 and optionally 29/30)
7) Nougat or Marshmallow with a Nougat upgrade "guaranteed"
8) 3.5mm headphone jack
9) Dual band WiFi - 2.4 & 5Ghz
10) $300USD or less
Would be nice, but not essential...
1) Unlockable bootloader (implies root/custom recovery/ROM development community)
2) Front facing speakers
3) NFC
4) USB 3.0
Absolute no no's are Samsung, Asus, or Huawei/Honor devices.
What else fits these requirements that I am not considering?

I believe the one phone that comes to mind that would fit most of your requirements is the Axon. I took a break from the MXPE (when it flew off my roof and died a horrible death in a rain storm) and had the Axon 7 (normal size) for about a month. You will get NEAR 4 hours of SoT, a qhd screen, 5.5 inches, relatively light for metal body. Unlockable bootloader and decent dev for it, last I checked. Things that bothered me/ pissed me off were that DTTW was laggy and slow, the actual cell service seemed to be really bad, possibly because of the full metal body phone, and the biggest annoyance - no backlit capacitive buttons, so you were left sort of blind in the dark trying to hit buttons. There is also no way through the build.prop to enable the on-screen buttons to bypass the issue at night, last I checked.
LG V20 could be an option too since it has a bootloader unlock now, 3.5-4.5 hours of SoT. I think it has a bottom bezel speaker though, which is a little weird, and as always the LG software has complaints. The dev is good enough to get around that though.
I'm in the same boat as you though. I've been looking pretty hard to find a new phone and the V20 is the only one I am really considering right now.

Get the OnePlus 3T it meets all your needs I get easily 6 to 7 HR sot

datchico305 said:
Get the OnePlus 3T it meets all your needs I get easily 6 to 7 HR sot
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Click to collapse
Would love to... tell me where I can get a new OP3T for under $300... That one is a hard stop requirement.
@xgerryx Same for LG V20 and Axon 7 (which never goes on sale, although the Mini does often), the $300 price point is a big deal

This phone has been a little disappointing. It's good, but definitely not great. It's a night and day difference from the Galaxy S3 I was using, but I wish I had held out a little longer for the SD 820 phones instead of buying in 2015.
It sounds like you've already got a pretty inclusive list for phones that are sold in the US and meet your requirements.
I just checked swappa, and if you're willing to go used, the OnePlus 3 is starting to get down towards the price point you're looking for. It has the same size battery as the MXP, and between the more efficient SoC than this godawful 808/810 generation and an FHD AMOLED I'd think you should get better screen on time out of it. It's a OnePlus so it has loads of good development, so you'll have all kinds of kernel/rom/tweaking available to really squeeze every erg out of it.

jason2678 said:
This phone has been a little disappointing. It's good, but definitely not great. It's a night and day difference from the Galaxy S3 I was using, but I wish I had held out a little longer for the SD 820 phones instead of buying in 2015.
It sounds like you've already got a pretty inclusive list for phones that are sold in the US and meet your requirements.
I just checked swappa, and if you're willing to go used, the OnePlus 3 is starting to get down towards the price point you're looking for. It has the same size battery as the MXP, and between the more efficient SoC than this godawful 808/810 generation and an FHD AMOLED I'd think you should get better screen on time out of it. It's a OnePlus so it has loads of good development, so you'll have all kinds of kernel/rom/tweaking available to really squeeze every erg out of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That actually could be an option... I will investigate further.

acejavelin said:
Would love to... tell me where I can get a new OP3T for under $300... That one is a hard stop requirement.
@xgerryx Same for LG V20 and Axon 7 (which never goes on sale, although the Mini does often), the $300 price point is a big deal
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you happen to be SUPER interested in the V20, I have seen some go for like 310-320 on Swappa in good to mint condition. You gotta hound the seller though and keep track of it all damn day for when the price drops. Not an awesome experience but I'm waiting for the same thing myself.

xgerryx said:
If you happen to be SUPER interested in the V20, I have seen some go for like 310-320 on Swappa in good to mint condition. You gotta hound the seller though and keep track of it all damn day for when the price drops. Not an awesome experience but I'm waiting for the same thing myself.
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Click to collapse
I'm not really interested... TBH, my experience with non-Nexus LG Android devices has been... well... lets just say less then wonderful.
Although I would have to say that the LG enV from years ago probably ranks up there as my favorite phone of all time, back when you could actually get DAYS of usage out of a cell phone on a single charge. I remember I would charge it twice a week. lol

acejavelin said:
I'm not really interested... TBH, my experience with non-Nexus LG Android devices has been... well... lets just say less then wonderful.
Although I would have to say that the LG enV from years ago probably ranks up there as my favorite phone of all time, back when you could actually get DAYS of usage out of a cell phone on a single charge. I remember I would charge it twice a week. lol
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Yea I agree. After my terrible experience with the buggy LG G4, I'm very skeptical about going back again. At the same time I am running out of companies to try out! Haha. Gotta circle back eventually, especially on Verizon.

xgerryx said:
Yea I agree. After my terrible experience with the buggy LG G4, I'm very skeptical about going back again. At the same time I am running out of companies to try out! Haha. Gotta circle back eventually, especially on Verizon.
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Click to collapse
NEVER AGAIN!!! I refuse to drop $140 plus taxes and fees (realistically $160) for the service level I get now for $72 per month. Plus the limitations on devices, I would have to buy at least one new phone and/or go under contract. Nope, not happening. (Can you tell I have a grudge against Verizon, lol)

I would look around swappa for a OnePlus 3 or 3t it's worth it no bugs lag free and monthly updates it's already on nougat 7.1.1 and the beta builds they offer are great as well and development is great lots of greats ROMs and kernels and unlocking bootloader will not void warranty

TBH...I think you will have a hard time meeting all of your requirements right now. The market looks pretty dismal which is very unfortunate. I personally will hold out a little longer. I'm really looking hard at what Nokia/HMD are coming up with and hoping their roadmap for US devices includes a mid range device soon. So far their line up seems decent and if they are true to their word about expedient updates for Android, and they will sell devices with unlockable bootloaders at decent prices, I'll be sold.

moving to a galaxy s8 plus, comes tomorrow

unitz0mbie said:
moving to a galaxy s8 plus, comes tomorrow
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Like @acejavelin stated, Samsung is not an option, and I agree with him. Yes they have great hardware for the most part, but a less powerful processor running vanilla, our near vanilla Android will run just as well considering the lack of heavy handed UX. I will admit the phone looks great hardware and looks wise, but I personally don't like the look and feel of Samsung TW.

unitz0mbie said:
moving to a galaxy s8 plus, comes tomorrow
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Click to collapse
Sammie's are to bloated... Every Samsung devices we have ever had has been problematic... Hope you enjoy yours though but I would never spend that kind of money on a phone.

I have a moto g5 plus as well, its pretty good. It's fast and smooth. Screen and camera are good too, but obviously not as good as the X style.

Yes mxpe battery sucks. I have to charge 2-3 times a day and am not even a heavy user. I know its more than your actual budget but better wait, save a bit more and probably the price will drop also and go for a OP 3T.

i know your problem man.. but why don't you wait for a nougat update?? why not? maybe they might fix up the battery drain issue!
there are barely very less phones which have dual front facing speakers.. market has got very saturated.. all look for flagship but they just don't think that having a good speakers is also a part of flagship project!
as per my personal opinion... this phone is just the best phone ive ever used (till 2015) but in upcoming era you will see more and more features
i will recommend you to wait and not hurry up to get a phone...
if you need a pure stock surely get nexus but just wait for new nexus phone.. maybe they might consider it as a flagship and the value might be cheap??
anyways if you're just asking for all the requirements my opinion (AXON 7) not just only for dual front facing speakers but also for the processor(sd 820),storage(64gb,6gb ram) expandable ovbio (256gb)
plot twist: has hybrid sim XD
but im legit that it'll be upgraded to android 'O'
but it cost around $350
think man.. public reviews are also good
it meets all the requirements but is as costly as mxpe

Sagar_1401 said:
i know your problem man.. but why don't you wait for a nougat update?? why not? maybe they might fix up the battery drain issue!
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Nougat can't "fix" our battery issue... Radio and display panel are hardware issues and that's where 75% of all battery drain is. It isn't even issues, it's just how much power they use normally. The SD808's radios are terribly inefficient, and the display panel uses more power than some small towns. If you think Nougat is going to noticably improve active use time, your kidding yourself.
To be honest, I might just pull my old Nexus 5 out if the drawer and switch to it... The battery life can't be much worse.
The sound aspect is less important. FF speakers are nice, but as long as I can hear a YouTube video in an average room and turn the ringer up enough u don't care.
I bought the MXPE as an upgrade to my G 2015 and it was on sale for under $250, and for the most part it is, I just didn't realize how bad the battery was, it is easily half of my G.

I got Axon 7 after X and can't be happier. I've had the A7 since August. Has the front speakers i wanted, nice beautiful Samsung screen. Battery is definitely better then X. Software was buggy at the beginning but they have improved it a lot. Axon 7 has been getting a lot of updates, doesn't mean it'll continue, we were the 1st ones to receive 7.0 with the exception of Google devices, and we are the only ones so far (afaik) to receive 7.1.1 with also the exception of Google devices.
It has its flaws but i love the phone. For the money you can't beat it. It's on sale now on newegg for $330.

[Help] considering buying this phone please share your experience

hi my note 5's screen got broke so I need a new smartphone
with my price tag the only solid options are the hTC 10 and the Huawei Mate 9
I found some reviews bashing the headphone jack performance of the mate 9 so for comparison with the galaxy s7 for example or the note 5 for those who owned both of the devices how is it.
also the gaming performance how is it ?for example how much fps you get with Riptide Renegade on high settings
and also I would like to know if there is a flaw or a problem you encountered with this phone.
sorry for being long and I would really appreciate your help.
thanks in advance

AlMaghraby said:
hi my note 5's screen got broke so I need a new smartphone
with my price tag the only solid options are the hTC 10 and the Huawei Mate 9
I found some reviews bashing the headphone jack performance of the mate 9 so for comparison with the galaxy s7 for example or the note 5 for those who owned both of the devices how is it.
also the gaming performance how is it ?for example how much fps you get with Riptide Renegade on high settings
and also I would like to know if there is a flaw or a problem you encountered with this phone.
sorry for being long and I would really appreciate your help.
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally i have no complaints. There are minor ticks here and there but thats as expected. HEadphone jack is fine on my unit. BT is really nice. Battery is great. i avg 9-10 hours SOT per charge and thats over 2 days for me. ( 1d 18hr )
Ive tweaked a few things. i do not get push notifications unless it is from a text.
I also do not use FB apps. Instagram or SC. ( use Metal for FB and website for instagram )
ONLY use the chaarger included with it. or the one huawei makes for car charging.
Reception is great. Small things here n there on Tmo but it works well.
Camera is Excellent. i was 15ft away from a car at a show and in the photo you can read the tire sidewall!
CONS:
Limited cases and Glass coveres
Limited charger options
Trickle charge issue. ( old HTC things. unplug for a few minutes then plug back in for about 5-10 more. gives a true full charge )
I have a 128gb SD in and i love having 183gb to store anything on.
DO NOT use the internal batteyr estimator. Not accurate ( USE GSAM )
Compared to my Note 5 this is THE BEST phone i have ever used. Im going to sell my Note 5, eave sprint and stick just to Tmobile. or ATT idk yet.

Can't argue with this.

On Amazon (in Germany) you can find now plenty of cases for Mate 9. I can recommend the Spigen rugged case that I purchased lately and it is really good. Glass protection is indeed a big problem: most of the items that claim they are for the Mate 9 are to narrow and the few ones that are having the right size are of a very bad quality.
The phone itself is great, better than everything I had so far (my last phone was an LG G4). The screen is "only" full HD, but to be frank, I do not see the need to have a higher resolution on a phone (it still can make 4K videos if this is what you need). Video recording quality is really great: the most beautiful colors I have seen on a phone video recording so far. Wide aperture photos are a hit among my family and friends (I am the only one now in charge to take photos in my family when we go out ). ANTUTU benchmark almost 120k - faster than my colleague's Galaxy S7 - so, whatever you want to do with it, it will do it great.
The only thing that I miss sometimes is the support for MHL (but it has other mirroring options). And I would have liked to have the option to hide the Android navigation keys in all applications but the screen is anyhow huge so, this is not a big issue either since the keys are anyhow hidden when you play videos or I read a book.

so what about notifications problems that is all over internet? is that solved already?
at least europe versions.. I want all my notification instantly like on other phones, no matter is that whatsapp or something else..
And is it true that notification are gone from lockscreen after unlocking phone or just putting screen on to see what is it?
i'm also considering to get this model

digitall1982 said:
so what about notifications problems that is all over internet? is that solved already?
at least europe versions.. I want all my notification instantly like on other phones, no matter is that whatsapp or something else..
And is it true that notification are gone from lockscreen after unlocking phone or just putting screen on to see what is it?
i'm also considering to get this model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Notification problem happens with the Chinese version, as far as I know, i have the EU version and i get all the notifications.
Honestly, even now, this is the BEST phone there is, the first phone i don't need root as there are workaround for everything, performance, and battery and top notch, camera is great but slightly disappointing in low light, screen is big apparently now "old school" and very sharp and bright, stereo speakers are great, the DAC is average at best but still decent.

Fantastic phone, camera, battery life, screen, sound of speakers, build! Not so awesome is the update history of Huawei. Updates come late and limited.
The only real drawback is the lack of developers. I had hoped for LineageOS, but I think that boat is torpedoed and sunk.
Still GREAT value!

Battery is stellar. I've been in bed all day sick, with my phone by my side. Almost at 10 hours screen on time at 13% battery left. Bluetooth has been used, connected on WiFi.
It's the best phone I've EVER had. Well, S3 note 4 and G2 are up there.
The HD screen is fine. I had the G4 S7 previously. Don't miss the screens.
The video recording format is irritating in that 2k won't upload to YouTube. It's too modern.
Definitely give the phone a go. I bought the Chinese 6gig 128gig version converted to international ROM. Have contemplated selling but just can't let it go! Even my mate with his S8 loves it. Oh, and it's not got a curved screen, another plus for me!

Didn't want to buy a phone with non removable battery.
Pretty much a non issue with this phone as it's hot such a great battery and a sensible screen resolution so doesn't drain fast.
The camera bokeh effect is simply the best on the market by a mile. Low light is mediocre though.
Massive screen. Great speed. Phenomenal finger print sensor.
I hated the soft keys but you learn to hate them less.
Overall delighted with this thing.
Doesn't slow down. If anything it goes faster with time which is odd but just what they seek to claim!

what about 4k video and auto upload to google photos? is that solved or it must be converted into h264?

This is the best phone I've ever had. Coming from an s7 and wife has s8 plus and still use a note 5 for our home phone. It's without question my favorite! Screen still looks fantastic for 1080. The battery is off the chain. I could easily go 2 days and have, just generally charge it before I go to bed and is always above 50%. Fast!!!! Smooth!!! I don't know how they do it, but next to Apple this is the must fluid phone out there. Heck, I'd say it's smoother than my friends 7S. Only paid 400 for it and it's dual sim to boot.
Honestly can't say enough about it. Only get rid of it if mate 10 is better somehow. I am intrigued by less bezels.
Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

It's the best phone AFTER the B186 and up update, before that battery life was ****. I am on the 190 now with the phone updating to 193. It is the best phone in terms of battery life, performance and hardware/software. Too bad the update method is ****... like a HUGE TURD that third parties have to fill the gaps on this. Oh it's also **** that some of the huawei apps are in chinese (like the store) or whatever... It sucks BIG TIME.

I'm not a fan myself.
The Huawei android skin is yet another confusing and pointless skin that just causes issues and degrades Android. Go for a Google phone and have Android in it's true glory rather than in a compromised and inferior veneer.
Oh yes and it looks like I can 'kiss goodbye" to any updates from Huawei, with the Mate 10 phone now round the corner.
My last Android security patch was for April.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Wileyfox Swift 2, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Wileyfox Swift 2 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Very nice phone.
Not the fastest, but not slow enough to be annoying.
Great looks and built quality. Below average camera.
No 5Ghz wifi are some serious amounts of points lost.

I like it not been any issues at all with it and i've come from an iPhone 7. It's no different to me for what i use it for and the battery life is about the same.

Xyphoid said:
Very nice phone.
Not the fastest, but not slow enough to be annoying.
Great looks and built quality. Below average camera.
No 5Ghz wifi are some serious amounts of points lost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for saying that! that's a real killer for me, what else would you suggest around £250?

I love the phone. For me it does the job. I had an iPhone 5s (and several other iPhones) before my Wileyfox Swift 2 plus. I needed a new phone and for the first time i chose Android. I must say: i'm very glad with Android. I love it. And the most important thing: Wileyfox was in my budget (Apple was too pricey and still is...). Also the flagships, like Samsung and Sony, had prices far beyond what's normal for a phone you use for 1 or 2 years. And i really hate bloatware you cannot remove. So my Wileyfox is now 1 year old and i'm looking around for a replacement, but haven't seen a better alternative for the same price, so i'm keeping my Swift 2 plus till a better phone comes out with better specs. For now, i'm still very glad with my Swift 2 plus!!!
Little minors: camera (it does a great job when you absolutely don't move the phone while taking a picture), bluetooth reach is a just couple of meters, i miss 5 Ghz / ac Wifi, loudspeaker is so so.
Great things: price, robust phone, no bloatware, pure Android, Wileyfox is fast with updates, battery enough for 1 day, cpu/memory is fast enough for me, dual sim, fast charging.

MrPleasant_exe said:
Thanks for saying that! that's a real killer for me, what else would you suggest around £250?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG Nexus 5X

well you know what they say about marmite...
I've had the swift 2x for just about a year now and I can tell you it a big steaming pile!!! The fingerprint scanner only works when it want's to and when it does work it unlocks to an off screen, the screen stays off (black) most of the time when I get calls, the touch screen won't work properly when it's on charge (it's that bad I can't use the phone when its charging) the camera is the worst (someone said bad in low light but I would call it bad in broad daylight!) And to top it all off we have wileyfox's customer service (which is run like they don't have a clue\wanna put themselves outa buidness) I reported all these problems to them so they had me pay a small fortune for recorded delivery to send it back for them to have it less than a day and do nothing else but factory reset it (which I did myself twice to try and fix the problem....it didn't work) when I receive the phone back it had even more faults and the screen protector that wileyfox's charged me £15 for was broken. and then we get to the icing on the cake, I chose the gold option cos they were out of the midnight blue, the phone turns up and it's frakking pink! I ask them about it and they suddenly start calling it champagne gold (nowhere, not on the site or on my receipt does it say champagne gold it just says gold) add all this together equals a very pissed off me stuck with a ~ £250 pink brick. Needless to say I WONT be recommending wileyfox's to ANYONE! (I mean come on, the dam phone doesn't even support otg for frakk sake)

XDA_RealLifeReview said:
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's my goto surf phone if I want to read something quickly. Nice size. Metal backed though, so freezing to pick up in winter. Like the seconds in the time display...I had a frikkin dodgy 700kb app for that, glad to lose it.
Lovin the speed.
But sexy? in a Williams sister type of way, I suppose.