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A decade ago to yesterday, there's been so many developments in mobile technology....we used to see a release of 1 or 2 types of phones to suit certain markets/demographics. Now; rather than seeing this, it's generally unheard of, or extremely uncommon for a big manufacturer to release fewer than 6-10 different types of phones in a calendar year. So my question is this; with the market so heavily flooded with competition of making and selling the best smartphone and so much more variety and pricepoints to choose from, WHY in the BLUE hell can 1 manufacturer NOT make this?? ---
These are of course, my personal preferences and some features or functions I'm sure m,any of you can live without. But that's my point; these features/functions are NOT big changes or improvements, so living without is really not acceptable when all of these can be made and found on ONE device:
Screen/body size and type - Just give me something that looks vibrant, accurate AND is comfortable to operate in ONE hand
Not only that, just let it fit easily in and out of my pocket!
The trend has been pretty obvious - smart phones and screens are getting bigger! As a result over the last 5-6 years, screen sizes have become ridiculously large and now phablets are a 'thing'.
5" is probably the ideal screen size. The dimensions of my Huawei P10+ seem rather acceptable for me, at: 153.5 x 74.2 x 7 mm (6.04 x 2.92 x 0.28 in)
We should be championing better technology of 2K AMOLED or OLED screens and not falling back to cost cutting with crappy 720/1080p FHD TFT LCD types
LED Notification Light - I care about notifications without having to pick up[ my phone to check it!
Just give me something where I have control over the colour/intensity and frequency and stop locking these features away.
The LED notification light has shrunk from a large vibrant size to the pin-head size we can barely make out on phones that currently adopt it.
I'm in Australia and care about fast download speeds; so until 5G is here, give me band 28 - 700Mhz
My carrier and most phones support the 4G network, or Telstra's '4GX'. So I need a phone with the capability and to not offer it (or lock certain bands down) is preposterous.
DUAL SIM popularity is increasing and I want this capability for personal AND work purposes!
Dual-active! Not dual standy-by; because 2G is switched off in my country. Give me 3G/4G dual or 4G/4G with the abilty to switch off data (for 1 SIM) if I don't need or want it.
I have friends carrying 2 phones and one carrying 3 phones around, which IMO is utterly pointless. One truly 'smart' phone will do, thanks.
Technological advancements allow it, so why not make it? TWO sim slots with the microSD card that --DOES NOT-- take up a SIM slot: #separateslot
Is it really asking so much to have a dual SIM phone with microSD card slot as an extra slot for memory?
Seriously! You know what...If it is, then just give me inbuilt memory of 32GB bare minimum inside the phone itself. If one manufacturer can do it, all can.
Camera - High quality point and shoot in low light will no that can take a pretty decent video
12mp minimum rear-shooter with f1.8. Ideally I want to take 4K videos at 30fps as well with good stabilisation
I'm not a selfie-maniac, so anything from a 5mp and UP as a front shooter camera at f2 is fine for me
Every year I see these changes in camera types, megapixel and feature rich enhancements...yet my P10+ fails to take good quality sharp images in medium to low light. Some cameras like my P10+ over-saturate in post production...one of many adjustments manufacturers make within their apps. Just give me a pretty basic 12-13mp camera that is top of its class for taking brilliant sharp pictures in any light but also able to shoot good video at 30 or 60fps 1080p and 4k videos at least 30fps; nothing too fancy, just minimum expected these days.
Accessibility is everything - so give me what all-half decent phones have today...
Bluebooth (4.0 minimum)
NFC
WIFI 802.11ac, DLNA, WiFi Direct, Hotspot
All the sensors for smartphones; accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Wireless charging
Why are Samsung seemingly the ones ones who want to offer this?
I can go without, but don't see why so many manufacturers who do offer this, cut so many other corners on other features mentioned here
A newish OS without excessive bloatware
I'd be happy with Android 7 Nougat or 8 (Oreo). Take off the bloat and give me the basic apps required on the phone without locking them down
CPU/RAM - Just give me a chip which handles dual-active SIM's with battery efficiency
I'm happy with a 4GB amount of RAM. It doesn't need to be 6GB or above top of the line.
Look at Asus Zenfone 2 from 2015. It handled dual-active SIM slots using Intel Atom Z3580 Quad-core 2.3 GHz with GPU PowerVR G6430. I'd suggest 3 years on from this release, anything above this will do...as this is really, a bare minimum.
Can't forget about connectivity - the basic ports will do
- USB Type C (USB 3.0 idea) with fast charge capabilities
- 3.5mm headphone jack; even though I'm moving to a bluetooth ear or headphones, the port should still exist for users who want and need it
- REAR MOUNTED Fingerprint sensor
While I'm not fussed, I liked the idea of LG v20's fingerprint sensor which doubled as a power button. 2 in 1. Also hard to accidentally knock if it's in a case. I can't stand front facing sensors, it's much more easy and convenient to whip the phone out of your pocket and lock without having to get your thumb fiddling with front sensors.
Battery technologies and improvements have been made, so STOP giving us 3000mAh to 3200!
If Huawei and other manufacturers can do it, why can't all phones by 3600 to 4000mAh at minimum now?
Infrared (IR) blaster. WHY is this a dying art?!
If your phone can be used as a backup remote for your TV, set top box, air con years ago, then why is this economical option disappearing from phones? Include one!
If we truly want to make an all in one device and have it be really smart, give it an IR blaster, or even a sensor for learning other IR remotes.
I do not need me phone to
- Be an all metal design; if plastic helps boost the mobile/data signal then I'll just use a case on it!
- Be WATERPROOF; unlike all those idiots with videos on youtube, scratching, dropping, burning and swimming with their phones. DONT need it! Splashproof maybe.
- Be squeezed for a certain action to take place
- have a 99.5% "screen to body" ratio. This is silly, just give me a good screen!
- Have one over-the-top insanely expensive feature, like a 22mp camera; or 8GB of RAM
- Destroy all geeky benchmarks. Nope. Just perform standard or above average. One that performs will with multi-tasking apps, the occasional games and FHD video playbacks
So what do you think? Agree/disagree? If apps or key features like controlling certain pro camera features or changing the LED notification light colour is locked down, the manufacturer needs to open this up up their consumers who will want to use the phone in their own way. Googling phone by feature and popping these features in yields no results, and only 3 or 4 phones come fairly close. LG v20 and P10+ which has a faint LED light and lacks system root; only OS root.
/end rant
RoOSTA
No one likes the idea of a smartphone with those features?
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
There's been hundreds of these posts/threads over the years. Everyone has their own idea of a perfect phone, most of which will differ completely to yours (There's several things i would have that you haven't mentioned and 4 things you don't want, i do).
Not sure what kind of answer you are expecting to a rant about phone specs on a hacking forum - This would be better directed at the actual manufacturers.
Perhaps that's the idea of a forum..? Shares thoughts, interests and ideas...and this is general smart phone discussion isn't it? Have you found sending a single request as a sole consumer to manufacturers has helped (and led to actual product development in the past) ? Don't think so.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
My post still stands. Yes the iea of a forum is to share ideas - Yours is a rant.
And yes, i have made a change with a manufacturer (In vaping) by myself (In the correct place).
So share it?
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
O.K, the Samsung Galaxy A20 is a budget phone (I bought mine for AU$239) so I do not expect any "flagship" performance but the initial attraction was the Amoled display that has some degree of daylight readability, reasonable camera performance, the relatively big battery capacity for SoC size and the glimmer of hope in rooting this device.
After a little while, some things becomes apparent which I would like to share:
There is no light sensor so screen brightness cannot adapt to ambient light....a strange and disappointing omission
The phone is made in Vietnam not South Korea...just an observation
The heavily embedded bloat from Samsung and Google is chronic in magnitude and its primary purpose is for harvesting personal information and pushing ads
Fingerprint lock works efficiently but the rear sensor is hard to locate
WiFi reception range is poor.
The Android One UI is pleasingly clean but the Settings menus are a bit disorganized
Root can be achieved relatively easily but is "precarious" to say the least.
Show me your good and bad list
jajk said:
O.K, the Samsung Galaxy A20 is a budget phone (I bought mine for AU$239) so I do not expect any "flagship" performance but the initial attraction was the Amoled display that has some degree of daylight readability, reasonable camera performance, the relatively big battery capacity for SoC size and the glimmer of hope in rooting this device.
After a little while, some things becomes apparent which I would like to share:
There is no light sensor so screen brightness cannot adapt to ambient light....a strange and disappointing omission
The phone is made in Vietnam not South Korea...just an observation
The heavily embedded bloat from Samsung and Google is chronic in magnitude and its primary purpose is for harvesting personal information and pushing ads
Fingerprint lock works efficiently but the rear sensor is hard to locate
WiFi reception range is poor.
The Android One UI is pleasingly clean but the Settings menus are a bit disorganized
Root can be achieved relatively easily but is "precarious" to say the least.
Show me your good and bad list
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It had no light sensor but somehow it uses the cameras to adjust to ambient light.
Update after using for some time.....
I really miss not having a notification LED - a backwards step to delete it for the notched display fad. An edge LED would have been great but that would cost 3c to include.....
Mobile reception is noticeably weaker than my old Moto G 2013 and Xiaomi Redmi Note2 - another backwards step!
jajk said:
Update after using for some time.....
I really miss not having a notification LED - a backwards step to delete it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I came from a Nexus 6P and found the notification light very handy. It's not a deal breaker for me though.
Does anyone know if the A20 has an oleophobic layer on the screen?
This might be stupid question but why does my A20 SM-A205G not have NFC there is no options under settings or on status bar to activate it but I see some SM-A205U have it and other 205g have enabled, do I have the chip in phone already? Just need to flash other firmware to use it? Has anyone else had any luck activating NFC?
I've had the phone about a month now and coming from an LG V30 before this I can say that despite all the cons I'm overall happier with this phone over that garbage. Barely.
Pros:
The A20 camera is much better with low light
Apps seem to crash less
I also like the Samsung UI more than I expected
The samsung keyboard is so much better than any other keyboard I've been able to find in the app store
I like how the lock button is on the side instead of the back like on the V30
Cons:
The camera is still pretty grainy even in sunlight
The auto screen brightness sucks balls. I can't even count how many times the screen dimmed & brightened just in the last few mins while I'm sitting in one spot
I also very much notice the lack of ram. It feels really laggy at times, like a 5 second delay when I'm just typing or sometimes I'll tap and it'll register as a hold
I can easily see the downgrade in screen resolution when watching videos
The proximity sensor. I'll be in a call and occasionally my face will mute the call or dial numbers
Or when I had the feature activated to double tap to turn on the screen, it would turn on in my pocket all the time and mess with buttons or sliders. On numerous occasions my phone would be ringing and I'd pull it out to find out my leg was messing with the volume slider. Not once did the LG do that
And finally I should've looked into the ability to root this phone before I got it. I have the A205U sadly and didn't make sure it's even unlockable with all the extensive research I was doing while I was looking to replace my LG
ChewbaccaAndroid said:
This might be stupid question but why does my A20 SM-A205G not have NFC there is no options under settings or on status bar to activate it but I see some SM-A205U have it and other 205g have enabled, do I have the chip in phone already? Just need to flash other firmware to use it? Has anyone else had any luck activating NFC?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same question.... I've seen through the internet many sites saying the a20 has nfc, and even give instructions for activating it , but i couldn't.... Wether it has or not, I'm not certain at all.
Any way to activate nfc using root or something else of the sort?
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 Samsung Galaxy A70, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Samsung Galaxy A70 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Half baked A70, coming from S7 edge
Half baked Samsung A70, coming from Samsung S7 edge.
Pluses
- enormous screen 6.7", while keeping the size of iPhone 6s Plus (car mount still works )
- some apps do use full screen - youtube being primary
- big battery and 2.5 days battery life (with disabled Samsung Max!)
- fast charger
- price, value ($350 USD from amazon for A705MN): mine came with case, preinstalled screen protector, and microSD 128GB
- CPU/GPU performance is very good even in battery saving mode
- more LTE bands support for me (North America, I have A705MN model)
- integrated Samsung Max data compression VPN, to save mobile data
- dual sim
- sdcard slot
- headphone jack
- Dolby Atmos and Adjust Sound equlizer and customization work well for headphones
- speaker sound and volume is very good, not sure where mainstream reviewers were coming from
- camera is pretty good with updated software, you can also use gCam. I like LiveView and Portrait modes for their fake bokeh effect
- face recognition works, unless you r wearing glasses or your skin is not white
- bootloader is unlockable, xda recovery released, root is available, custom ROMs here we come!
Minuses
- not all apps use full screen estate, leaving unused notch and navbar area
- some apps like Waze have navbar in white background (AMOLED burnout issue), despite theme being black
- I tried autohiding navbar (with swipe gestures for home, back, recent), but that was way too awkward, I reset it back to normal navbar
- dark or black OS-wide mode is desperately needed, I tried some themes, they do not customize all the screens in OS, let alone the apps, apps follow their own theming
- there is no notification led, but u can turn on "notification reminders", which will turn on the screen periodically
- "Samsung Max VPN" and "Cell Standby" are biggest battery drainers. Luckily Samsung Max can be disabled. That tremendously improves battery life.
- camera has no stabilization of any kind, so good luck getting unshaking videos, or trying to zoom in for photos, I tried both updated camera and gCam
- phone piece (on top of phone) is kinda weak sounding (not the bottom speaker)
- headphone jack sound quality is average even after applying Dolby Atmos and Adjust sound gimmicks. S7edge (with Exynos CPU and CS DAC) rules the king of HiFi headphone sound.
- fingerprint reader works at first, but then the reader area gets too smudged and it stops recognizing even after 5 long attempts. do not use.
Bottom line:
none of the minuses are killers.
full screen issue with the apps will be fixed by app developers, I'm hoping.
Black mode for OS either going to be released by Samsung, some good theme developer, or I will use CyanogenMod.
Shaking camera is a let down, but if u don't zoom - u will be perfectly fine. Pictures r good otherwise.
Notification led - there r ways around it. Vibration/screen/flash - pick your poison.
Alternatives - take a big long hard look at S9 Plus. It retails for $333 right now. Has smaller screen 6.2, smaller battery, better everything else. Or, wait til Note 9 falls in price, as of right now (refurbished!) Note9 is double the price of A70. Note9 does have 6.4" screen and big battery. Plus that S-Pen which nobody uses, but it is cool nevertheless. If u want save some money - consider A50 - while offering the cost savings, it also offers everything less. The phones and manufacturers who offer no sdcard and no headphone jack should reconsider (Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus, Oppo), if they want to have my attention.
I would not say I love my A70 pocket computer - I prefer to sleep with my wife
I find it very usefull for many reasons and I'll certainly keep it a long time but
- the finger unlock is poor,
- the camera is really... just a kind of bloc note but really not a camera, shame on Samsung for this,
- I hate the apps that are installed and I cannot remove.
@bravomail "- face recognition works, unless you r wearing glasses or your skin is not white"
You have the option to register your face with glasses and then without. Both options are registered.
Posted update to battery life: disable Samsung Max VPN and get 2.5 days of life vs 1.5
4 week of usage and currently on sg6 firmware with may security patch and every Samsung app updated to its latest version along with disabling/Uninstalling Samsung bloatware as much as i could, I still can't get over the fact that fingerprint scanner is not reliable and the camera is a let down.
Coming from Samsung note 4 snapdragon version, I feel like A70 is a step back rather than a step forward.
Yes the screen is amazing, the battery life is solid and sound quality is okayish ( for music using poweramp makes a huge difference) the cpu/gpu performance is better than my note 4 and the one UI and night mode is something I dearly missed.
But the optical fingerprint scanner works at times and that too slowly and then other times completely becomes a baboon.
The camera megapixels are sort off deception. They don't let you choose megapixels for your pictures. Rather it's all hidden under 1:1 3:4h and 9:16 with 3:4h using the full megapixels count.
The absence of ois is noticeable, the sharpness and focus is soft at times. Low light performance is meh. The camera2api is supported uptil level 3 not allowing for full manual control of every aspect.
Zoom in a little and see how the quality detoriates significantly with absence of OIS really messing with picture capturing.
The two biggest issues namely the fingerprint scanner and camera can be improved via software updates, only if Samsung stops messing with it. Just because this isn't note 10 doesn't mean it need to have its quality artificially messed up
I would love it, very bad software updates, only few setting in camera. Anyway for daily driver OK. It is on the border of regreting that i bought it, and satisfaction. For the money I should have chosen different brand.
samsung phones have the worst quality/price ratio. ?
worst camera, touch screen freezing all the time, fingerprint scanner not reading frequently. phone is awkward, fingerprint scanner needs both hands to be used.
Phone dead after 6 months of normal usage. Samsung denies guarantee and claims it "cannot order spare parts", because it was bought in wrong country (replacement for an S7 of which the battery died during travel). Phone repair shop says mainboard is defect.
Symptoms: bootloop first, then
great phone i kept a70 and got rid of my s10 duel sim brand new
I saw this TechRadar article today: https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/google-pixel-5
"Everything we hope Google will add to the Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL"
1. Expand the Google Pixel 5 battery
2. Bring back the fingerprint scanner
3. Add an ultrawide lens to the Pixel 5
4. Give the Pixel 5 a microSD slot
5. Stick with the weird design
Apart from 1, I'm not bothered with any of these. I'd quite like to see an improved implementation of soli gestures.
I'd rather not have a fingerprint scanner as they are prone to accidental touches.
What would be your wishlist for the Pixel 5 / 5 XL?
My preferences would be:
At least a 4000mha battery for the XL.
I would like the FP sensor again.
Definitely would like Led notifications again.
Camera is not a big deal for me. I'm curmudgeon, so I don't take many pics, even of my grandsons?
Base storage starting at 128.
A true amoled black theme for all system apps that match the settings. What's with that? Settings are black, everything else is dark gray?
Go back to single partitions vs a/b for developers and just simple updating...(I know, not going to happen?)
Get rid of logical partitions, and system as read only!!!!!
Price point efficient from the get-go! Why penalize early adopters (your main supporters) and then give $200 off to black Friday folks??
That is all :laugh:
StrangerWeather said:
I saw this TechRadar article today: https://www.techradar.com/uk/news/google-pixel-5
"Everything we hope Google will add to the Pixel 5 and Pixel 5 XL"
1. Expand the Google Pixel 5 battery
2. Bring back the fingerprint scanner
3. Add an ultrawide lens to the Pixel 5
4. Give the Pixel 5 a microSD slot
5. Stick with the weird design
Apart from 1, I'm not bothered with any of these. I'd quite like to see an improved implementation of soli gestures.
I'd rather not have a fingerprint scanner as they are prone to accidental touches.
What would be your wishlist for the Pixel 5 / 5 XL?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Having had Google phone since the Galaxy Nexus days (and upgrading every two years), the Pixel 5 needs:
- larger battery, about 4500 mha at least
- bring back FP scanner, whether it be on the back or under the screen (Qualcomm 865 SD chips have support for this or improved it's design)
- must have a competitive camera vs other flagships
- minimum storage starting at 128 GB
- have an affordable battery replacement program for those that had their phones for 1.5 to 2 years, or have authorized vendors so that the phone can retain its IP68 rating
- priced aggressively to move phones (release price and BF price should be the same)
- carry forward quality design (screen, camera, etc.)
- continue progress with SOLI's development
- make the phone easier to repair (don't pull an Apple)
Larger battery and a larger battery.
Everything else is secondary to me. Camera is fine, speed is fine, size is fine too (I have the P4) That's for the device.
As for Google and Fi sales, automatic price protection for 60 days from purchase. You buy it on October 25th then you get the BF and Christmas sale prices automatically.
And better tech support. If I ask for a supervisor or level 2 support transfer me right away. None of this call back in 24 hour bull****.
Get more apps to work with face unlock such as banking apps, work with the companies.
Keep the price the same, no increase or even a $100 price cut will go a long way in consumer loyalty.
My list is going to be small. I REALLY like this pixel version.
1. Ultrawide camera lens for sure
2. Bring back the wide angle front camera
3. Bring back the bottom front speaker, but keep the chin as minimal as possible
4. A bigger storage option for those who really want/need it
The only thing I miss about the fingerprint sensor is using it to login to apps. By the 5 however, I'm sure most of what I use it for will be using the new API.
To me, the battery is fine. It lasts me ~24 hours with somewhat heavy use. I'm not one to stay out all night (anymore), so this works for me. If they threw a bigger battery in? Coolio. Personally, I just don't need it.
Edit: Google NEEDS to make the pre-order price the same as their black Friday price. I was pissed when I saw it was $200 off a month after I bought it. I like that they did $100 store credit instead of $50, but yeah, it needs to be whatever they drop the price to on BF.
well I'm going to skip pixel 5 just due to the Qualcomm 5g fiasco.. if pixel 5 gets at least 4500mah battery I might consider.
Better price, BIGGER BATTERY, a little over 4,000mah would be nice considering all the sensors because I am assuming that motion sense will be in the 5 as well as well as the 90 hz refresh rate... So Google, c'mon, MORE JUICE! And definitely biometric authentication for more apps... would also like to see faster charging speeds, maybe bump the 18w to 25 or 30w and to top it all off, 128gb as the lower storage model.
I'd say they need to up the ante on their video capture capabilities, it's visibly inferior and behind the curve. I seldom use the video but when I do I'd like it to be flagship grade. Word is we lost the capability for 60 frames to save batt which would bring me to the bigger battery. In this case Apple isn't wrong, phones have gotten small enough and maybe too small as they're hard to hold and often slippery. More battery is a win. Going back to the camera I almost exclusively take pictures of stuff so I don't care about the wide angle personally but it's par for this category of phone and should be there.
Speaking of par 128 is the smallest storage option any flagship should have on offer.
I want my biometric security on the front and capable of lighting off the phone on the desk, don't care if they tart up the face so it works off angle or they go to a front fingerprint scanner in that regard.
Google isn't giving us an SD card and I don't like fairy princess wishes so I'm not going to ask.
I would like a side LED notification light for wallets and upside down phone action and a better AOD that can be afforded with the bigger battery already mentioned above. The Note has that and it's a nice feature. you can see the phone has notifications without even opening the wallet up.
I DO NOT want notches or holes in the screen, do what they can to reduce forehead and chin and it's good enough for me. As a personal observation I don't even notice the big forehead on this phone but I never stop noticing the notches and holes.
I'd like more of Soli myself but my understanding is they have significantly more stuff coming out in updates. It would seem there was an unforeseen boo boo they encountered when transferring the tech over from the pixel 2 frames where it was being tested until the final pixel 4 frame became available. Rumor has it they had developed quite a bit more capability but it wasn't ready for prime time.
True dual Sim like on the Oneplus devices.
crusht said:
True dual Sim like on the Oneplus devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rather like the eSim idea much better. Two physical sims seems archaic now that we can program the eSim with software only. Once all carriers go eSim I say get rid of the physical sim or dual physical sim (OnePlus) slot entirely. Now dual radio would be really nice so you could be dual sim dual active but then you'd need a bigger battery for sure. P4 4000 minimum and XL 5000.
- Bigger battery
- Brighter display
- Slightly curved display. I feel it would help make the back gesture feel better to use
- Bigger display
- Bigger earpiece for a more balanced stereo sound (I feel the bottom speaker is louder)
- Bring back the bottom speaker to the front!
- I thought I'd miss a fingerprint scanner but I'm in love with face unlock! Possibly a gen 2 version that improves upon what we have today
- Get to iPhone level with video recording
- Cheaper price especially on launch. I definitely felt cheated when I bought the phone at launch only to see Black Friday deals so shortly after
- Either remove Soli and introduce a different new feature, or allow it to do more. Because right now I find swiping to change songs very gimmicky. Waving for alarms and phone calls is always hit or miss for me as well. The only good that came out of it is reaching to wake phone. But even this is not too different/better than a simple lift to wake phone
- Bonus longshot of what I'd want: getting rid of this scoped storage/logical partition stuff that makes rooting/custom development so much more difficult! No TWRP or modifying the system partition is rough on us but more importantly, the awesome devs that bring all these things to us!
Ultrawide, 5G mmw, bigger battery, and ditch the bezel. Something that won't be embarrassed by earlier 2020 phones or especially OnePlus again.
Front facing stereo speakers.
Sent from my Google Pixel 4 XL using XDA Labs
- Larger REMOVABLE battery.
It's ridiculous that electronics this expensive have sealed batteries which limit their usability to the life span of the battery. Ridiculous.
The following things i would like to see
1) Bigger battery 4000+
2) Base storage 128gb
3) UFS 3.0
4) Flat display like 4XL
5) Similar design but improved strength should not bread like 4xl
6) Brighter display and 90hz all time
7)Triple lens camera system + 12mp Selfie Cam
8) Minimal bezel like Sony 1 or Note 9
I don't want fingerprint scanner.
I want bigger storage, better camera, improved display (90hz/brightness), better screen to body ratio - more modern look, better CPU (yes it would need to shift the date of announcement, but they are alway using a 9-10 month old CPU, and after 2-3 month other flagships are coming with the next gen chipset), faster charging
- Improved motionsense (custom gestures, more stable, open api for developers)
- Either more storage 128gb+ or the free photo storage for at least 2-3 years
- Better battery (no specific mha, just around 20% better)
- Fast charging
- Icon themes in pixel launcher
- Google Assistant v2 (or whatever shipped with the P4) in more languages, including German
- Keep the sensors at the top unless ALL sensors can be put below the screen. DO NOT go back to notches, they're terrible.
- Ship an actual recovery with the phone. I'm not asking for an official TWRP, but ANY recovery that can flash zip files without adb/fastboot
1. A bigger battery isn’t needed imo but better optimization (what Apple has been doing with the iPhone for years) would be great.
2. Brighter, better upgraded display(90 & 120hz)
3. Continued improvement and more soli based gestures
4. Ultra wide camera lens
5. 128gb base storage with 256gb & 512gb options
6. Improve face unlock
7. 4K 24fps recording front & rear cameras as well as an option to record and take photos in raw format
8. Great job on the RCS messaging feature but google needs to start working on an airdrop alternative for android
9. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT add any kind of notch. Keep the top bezel if need be! PLEASE!
10. Add some more Ui customization natively into android and take back that crown from Samsung.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
1. Fingerprint sensor. It's unbelievably convenient just unlocking quickly and pulling the notification bar down without needing to reach sometimes. Give us the freedom to use either fp, face unlock, or both.
2. Front facing speakers.
3. No notch with said speakers.
4. Might as well make the phone thicker for a bigger battery and *no* protruding camera lens.
5. 128gb should be the starting storage size.
6. More RAM.
7. Ultrawide
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using XDA Labs
LED LED LED LED LED
And make the LED configurable. Those that don't want it can switch it off.
Move the power button. I still don't know which button to press without thinking about it/looking.
And stop waking up when I put the phone down on the sofa.
And most of all, don't give us a 30 minute "bestest-phone-ever" presentation at the phone's launch when you should have said "we think we know best and as a result, won't bother listening to what our customers say". For proof of that, see the posts above.
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are some things I wasn't satisfied with but I needed a phone quickly and for my budget and availability, I thought I'd give Samsung a chance.
Pros
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty powerful especially for those coming from an older midrange device. However, it's not as fast and instantaneous as stock Android or OxygenOS. Also, you will face lots of stutters and bugs if you enable animation to .5x. At default 1x, animations are too damn slow.
3. Stereo speakers. Sound quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It's nice of Samsung to bring this feature to a midrange device.
5. The macro camera can be useful for taking pictures of very small items like coins. The selfie camera seems alright.
6. The display, despite having kind of inaccurate colors is actually a lot better looking than most Chinese brand (OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, etc) phone displays. Most Chinese brand displays tend to have a washed out, pale look to them despite having high refresh rates.
7. Battery life is pretty decent. If you don't use it much, it'll last a couple days easily. Of course, battery will degrade over time so a few years later, you might need to change the battery or the phone itself.
Cons
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bad. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for decent audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very inaccurate and kind of pale. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Also, the amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. It would be better if Samsung didn't provide this crappy 15 watt charger and made the phone cheaper so I could buy a 25 watt charger myself. I don't see the logic in this. The phone supports 25 watt charging but Samsung includes a 15 watt charger in the box.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera are not very good for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Especially after you take a picture, if you zoom in on a person's face for example, the details are just not there. Also, the colors are inaccurate and not life like. Hopefully, someone can make a good GCAM for this phone. Otherwise, expect to live with an average camera.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions. EDIT: Luckily, it stopped doing this.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. Even the A51 has narrower bezels on the side. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further. I find myself having to put the phone down on a table or bed to use it. I can't hold it in the air for long due to its weight.
Bugs1. "Force dark mode" option in developer settings automatically turns itself off whenever you restart your device.
2. If you set animation to .5x instead of the default 1x, and cycle through your recent apps, there's a weird stutter.
Conclusion
If you can live with Samsung's annoying OneUI stutters or slow animations, this isn't a bad phone especially if you can get it for around $300 USD. I'd call this a good phone for moms/dads and grandmas/grandpas. If you're a young millennial trying to live on the cutting edge, I'd pass on this one and get something that's a little faster, maybe the new Nord CE (it has a more washed out display than the A52 though).
Well! My phone have just arrived. I'm switching from an S7 edge that I've been using for the last 4 years. So far I find that the screen is pretty good! Better than the S7E. The speed is excellent and of course, the ONE UI 3.1 is superb. I've already uninstalled some unwanted apps. As regards the camera, haven't tested it yet. But obviously, the GCAM will make it better.
LanguageSoez said:
Well! My phone have just arrived. I'm switching from an S7 edge that I've been using for the last 4 years. So far I find that the screen is pretty good! Better than the S7E. The speed is excellent and of course, the ONE UI 3.1 is superb. I've already uninstalled some unwanted apps. As regards the camera, haven't tested it yet. But obviously, the GCAM will make it better.
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Click to collapse
Of course it'll be better than a 4 year old phone lol. If you think one UI is superb, try using stock android or oxygenos, you will be blown away.
I got A72 and the picture quality coming out from the stabilized Sony IMX 686 sensor with pixel binned 16 MP pictures is superior to Samsung HM2 108 MP giving just 12MP images ... So is A52, I don't believe your "honest review" ....
neoxcool said:
I got A72 and the picture quality coming out from the stabilized Sony IMX 686 sensor with pixel binned 16 MP pictures is superior to Samsung HM2 108 MP giving just 12MP images ... So is A52, I don't believe your "honest review" ....
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Click to collapse
A72 is not A52. Specs are one thing, software is another. You don't have to believe anything. As I said in my review, you should experience the phones in person preferably from friends who bought it and then make a decision.
The OP is obviously a satisfied customer
Griping about it being water resistant is really picking at nits. It adds little cost and help to seal out dust, extending the usable service life of the device.
Charging a phone while using isn't a good idea and it should charge slow whilst using regardless of the wattage capacity of the charger brick being used.
NiceGuyIncel said:
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are a lot of things I wasn't satisfied with but for my budget and availability, this was one of the better ones.
Pros:
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty smooth especially for those coming from an older midrange device. It's not as fast and instantaneous as stock android or oxygenos but this is probably the fastest that Samsung OneUI has ever been.
3. Stereo speakers. Quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It can be useful if you like to take your phone to the bathroom or live in a rainy area but I feel this feature is more suitable for flagship phones. The 4G version of the A52 really don't need this feature and it would be better if the device was slightly cheaper instead.
Cons:
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bland. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for quality audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very boring and washed out. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Hopefully, the xda community will do something about this, maybe a graphics engine or some app that can tinker with the display settings more finely.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. So I really don't know why Samsung pulled an Apple with the charger.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera really sucks for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Luckily, some people have already started working on gcam for this device and from what I've heard the results are much better than Samsung's default camera app.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further.
9. The amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
Conclusion: That wraps up my brutally honest review of the A52 4G. I hope you enjoyed the fact that I didn't jump up and down and say this is the best phone ever like most YouTube "reviewers". They say that whenever a new phone comes out. Of course the people who are gonna upgrade from a 5 year old phone will also say this is the best phone they ever used. From their perspective, it makes sense but I believe you should thoroughly research the market and only buy what YOU like the most. I was moving to another country where phones are quite expensive so I just grabbed this cause I was in a hurry. If you have the time, research other phones and try to use them in person. That way you will know for sure what you're getting because specs can be misleading. I'd suggest you look into Poco F3, OnePlus Nord, Moto G100, Moto G60 and other similarly priced devices before going for the A52. Don't assume that just because it's a Samsung, it's gonna be a great phone. Samsung intentionally nerfed this phone so there is more incentive for people to go for the more expensive S series phones.
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I appreciate your feedback. I'm certain most of those who are still undecided will as well.
To be frank, this device has received overwhelming amounts of good press, which, as a consumer, is a good thing.
That said, constructive criticism is a key component towards improving upon future A series models and/or polishing the current user experience.
AHE_XDA said:
I appreciate your feedback. I'm certain most of those who are still undecided will as well.
To be frank, this device has received overwhelming amounts of good press, which, as a consumer, is a good thing.
That said, constructive criticism is a key component towards improving upon future A series models and/or polishing the current user experience.
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Click to collapse
Paid press is always good press...
The Samsung Fold series always get rave reviews but they're expensive, fragile and limited devices. Worse I'm being kind in my criticism.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions.
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Click to collapse
Weird, I have never encountered this.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. So I really don't know why Samsung pulled an Apple with the charger
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Click to collapse
I don't mind this at all since it's already proven that fast charging does hurt your battery longevity.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very boring and washed out. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Hopefully, the xda community will do something about this, maybe a graphics engine or some app that can tinker with the display settings more finely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this, although I prefer it for the occasional media consumption. For general usage, it might lead to some eye strain for some people which includes me.
The build despite plastic is decent enough considering the trade-offs with its other specs at this price point and an IP6X is always welcome. The camera is nothing spectacular but not bad, given that it's harder to quantify the expected degrees of quality per $ at this price range. Performance is fine for the majority of the time but there are occasional stutters or lag you will encounter. Overall, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It's also worth noting that warranty and software support tend to get overlooked when looking at the price.
I was considering Poco F3 as an alternative before getting my A52 however, I didn't go through with the Poco F3 because of various issues and concerns that I can't be arsed to list.
This phone is on my list to upgrade from my Essential PH-1. Keeping an eye on ROM development and Gcam development. I can get it for around $354 depending on the COP to USD conversion rate in Colombia. Anyone know better deals out in the wild?
NiceGuyIncel said:
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are some things I wasn't satisfied with but I needed a phone quickly and for my budget and availability, I thought I'd give Samsung a chance.
Pros
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty powerful especially for those coming from an older midrange device. However, it's not as fast and instantaneous as stock Android or OxygenOS. Also, you will face lots of stutters and bugs if you enable animation to .5x. At default 1x, animations are too damn slow.
3. Stereo speakers. Sound quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It's nice of Samsung to bring this feature to a midrange device.
5. The macro camera can be useful for taking pictures of very small items like coins. The selfie camera seems alright.
6. The display, despite having kind of inaccurate colors is actually a lot better looking than most Chinese brand (OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, etc) phone displays. Most Chinese brand displays tend to have a washed out, pale look to them despite having high refresh rates.
7. Battery life is pretty decent. If you don't use it much, it'll last a couple days easily. Of course, battery will degrade over time so a few years later, you might need to change the battery or the phone itself.
Cons
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bad. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for decent audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very inaccurate and kind of pale. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Also, the amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. It would be better if Samsung didn't provide this crappy 15 watt charger and made the phone cheaper so I could buy a 25 watt charger myself. I don't see the logic in this. The phone supports 25 watt charging but Samsung includes a 15 watt charger in the box.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera are not very good for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Especially after you take a picture, if you zoom in on a person's face for example, the details are just not there. Also, the colors are inaccurate and not life like. Hopefully, someone can make a good GCAM for this phone. Otherwise, expect to live with an average camera.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions. EDIT: Luckily, it stopped doing this.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. Even the A51 has narrower bezels on the side. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further. I find myself having to put the phone down on a table or bed to use it. I can't hold it in the air for long due to its weight.
Bugs1. "Force dark mode" option in developer settings automatically turns itself off whenever you restart your device.
2. If you set animation to .5x instead of the default 1x, and cycle through your recent apps, there's a weird stutter.
Conclusion
If you can live with Samsung's annoying OneUI stutters or slow animations, this isn't a bad phone especially if you can get it for around $300 USD. I'd call this a good phone for moms/dads and grandmas/grandpas. If you're a young millennial trying to live on the cutting edge, I'd pass on this one and get something that's a little faster, maybe the new Nord CE (it has a more washed out display than the A52 though).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I will answer this from the perspective of an Indian Millenial coming from Mi A2 (and having only used crappy Micromax and Redmi phones in the past, this is something which I think most Indian youth can relate to). Let's go point by point :
1. UI
Having used stock android and MIUI, I can confidently say that OneUI is definitely a bit clumsy, but it is easy to get used to compared to FuncTouch and MIUI. Also, *there is no Google dialer*, meaning you can safely do call recording. Also OneUI has "Link to Windows" baked right into it, which is a huge boon in my opinion as it kinda compensates for the lack of DeX support, I think this is one of the most underrated feature of Samsung phones.
2. Ads and Bloatware scene
Now this maybe specific to India only. I set the device up using GeekyRanjit's guide on "How to setup Samssung devices" on YT, and so far (1 month later) I have got no ads except wallpaper services message when I swipe from right on lock screen. Also, all bloatware can be either disabled or uninstalled (unlike MIUI and ColourOS), so no problem there. Overall it is much much better than Redmi, Poco and Realme offerings. Though here Oneplus NORD maybe better.
3. Camera
TBH I bought this phone for the camera, and consider the competition it did not let me down, sure there is a bit of over sharpening going on in most images and indoor/low light photos and videos have a ton of noise but considering the competition in 15k-25k INR, it is definitely better. I use Gcam 7.3.018 by Urynx05, and it does improve video stabilisation a lot thanks to OIS (only Oneplus NORD has OIS in this price). For night mode, stock night mode is better than night sight (much brighter and well balanced). Daylight pics, it is a mixed bag, macro camera is good but could have been better,but considering how rarely it is used, it is fine.
4. Display
Most Indian milllenials like me are currently upgrading from LCD to Amoled. I having never used an Amoled, am satisfied with the display. But yeah you are right Amoled displays do cause more eye fatigue than LCD.
5. Availability and Customer support
This is where this phone shines! Here in India, this phone is available like everywhere, in most mobile shop in any market no matter, how small or rural the area, this unfortunately is not the case for OnePlus and Redmi, POCO (infamous for flash sales and black-marketing)etc., thus Galaxy A52's actual competitors are phones from Vivo and Oppo, which are usually more pricey. Also, Samsung customer services is next to Apple.
Set your priorities before buying a phone and you won't be disappointed, my suggestion, if you want good camera hardware and reliable phone go for it, but if you want to do gaming I would suggest you to look elsewhere say iQOO Z3 for 20k INR.
I am trying to get either this phone or s10? I was leaning more towards a52 since it could get up to android 14 opposed to 12 on s10.
Which one should i get?