Database Info

Video: Fake vs Real Spare Battery Charging System

Quick video to illustrate some of the difference. I bought the fake one on Amazon from a US based seller with Amazon fulfillment.

good info, hopefully this will help others, I was beat on one of these fake charger kits, mine came in a single package but looked like yours, I had my doubts that it was fake from the day I got it, my battery wouldnt charge all the way and died quickly, so I started digging around and researching and found it to be a fake, I ended up buying an authentic system directly from Samsung

scott_0 said:
good info, hopefully this will help others, I was beat on one of these fake charger kits, mine came in a single package but looked like yours, I had my doubts that it was fake from the day I got it, my battery wouldnt charge all the way and died quickly, so I started digging around and researching and found it to be a fake, I ended up buying an authentic system directly from Samsung
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ironic thing is the authentic one was cheaper than the knock-off. Samsung still has a coupon for 50% of all accessories under $50, so the charging system comes to $24.50. Orders over $50 get free shipping, so I got two charging systems and a pack of Tectiles for $57 shipping
Check retailmenot for current coupons: http://www.retailmenot.com/view/samsung.com?c=4772794
Not affiliated in anyway with retailmenot or samsung, just passing it forward.

yeah I missed the 50% discount by like a week when I ordered my charger kit

I have the authentic one from samsung but mine didn't come with a wall charger... you said the wall charger 0.7 amps? In reality it should be 2amps just like the charger that came the phone no? It will charge the battery much slower
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4

big samm said:
I have the authentic one from samsung but mine didn't come with a wall charger... you said the wall charger 0.7 amps? In reality it should be 2amps just like the charger that came the phone no? It will charge the battery much slower
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine also didn't come with the wall charger. But everything else looks the same.
Battery charging at 700 mah will have your battery charged in 4 hours. If your phone is on, it draws about 400-500 with the screen on idle, so it would be considerably slower.
Since it's just a charger and there isn't actual use, it charges well at 700 mah. I didn't bother looking at the fine print of the charger so I take your word for it. The charger itself should have an input and output on it's power.

Here is the sticker inside the charger...
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4

big samm said:
Here is the sticker inside the charger...
View attachment 2216578
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is definitely legit. I forgot to mention to mention the fake/foreign one has a different model number... it ends in a C instead of a U. I'm guessing maybe "China" vs "US" market? They look very similar, but there are some obvious differences besides the sticker and packaging. The LED light bleeding through the plastic is most obvious. I also noticed the Chinese version had a green PCB instead of black. I didn't do a complete teardown, but you can see it through the holes in the corner of the battery tray.

Am not so sure that those things mean that anything is fake.
For example, the original battery in my s4 says Made in Chine, assembled in china.
Those big companies produce slightly different versions of products for different markets for pretty obvious reasons.1st of all is Regulations and 2nd is demand. For example they judge that people in China are likely not going to pay 50$ for the charger so they opt for lower cost materials to drop the costs.

slofmb said:
Am not so sure that those things mean that anything is fake.
For example, the original battery in my s4 says Made in Chine, assembled in china.
Those big companies produce slightly different versions of products for different markets for pretty obvious reasons.1st of all is Regulations and 2nd is demand. For example they judge that people in China are likely not going to pay 50$ for the charger so they opt for lower cost materials to drop the costs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. But when you pay for the US version, and shady sellers pawn off the lower quality foreign market product, that isnt acceptable. The product description on Amazon even warns buyers to look for the Samsung hologram on the packaging. These cheap versions, real or not, dont have any holograms and shouldn't be sold as substitutes. If you want to pay less for the foreign version on aliexpress or wherever, and you know what youre getting, more power to you!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app

Skitals said:
I agree. But when you pay for the US version, and shady sellers pawn off the lower quality foreign market product, that isnt acceptable. The product description on Amazon even warns buyers to look for the Samsung hologram on the packaging. These cheap versions, real or not, dont have any holograms and shouldn't be sold as substitutes. If you want to pay less for the foreign version on aliexpress or wherever, and you know what youre getting, more power to you!
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely. Nobody should be paying the price of the American market product and getting the inferior (maybe quality-wise but not performance wise). But then there are people (and i admit that sometimes am one of them) who dont care if the light shines through the plastic and i wouldnt mind paying almost 1/2 the price for that.

HELP PLEASE !!!
just got my s4 battery kit delivered ...
can any1 tell me is this fake/ oem ??
i haven't opened it yet ....

Skitals said:
Quick video to illustrate some of the difference. I bought the fake one on Amazon from a US based seller with Amazon fulfillment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the battery that came with my device is "made in Japan and assembled in china"
the one with the battery kit is "made in Korea"
it is still not clear which is oem / fake !!!

anuj6111 said:
the battery that came with my device is "made in Japan and assembled in china"
the one with the battery kit is "made in Korea"
it is still not clear which is oem / fake !!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the battery that came with my phone also says made in japan and assembled in china. i don't think that means the phone is a knockoff though... the batteries are made in various different placesi t seems.

dust stuck in the tiny groove around the edge

I've spotted that small amount of dust is stuck in the groove (or 'crack' of some sort) around the screen of my device, especially the bottom bit. It is indeed annoying. Anyone has some suggestions? I tried the needles I have but none of them fits in there to get the dust out.

Noticed it too. I use the edge of a piece of paper to clean it. Works for me.

Ironic6925 said:
Noticed it too. I use the edge of a piece of paper to clean it. Works for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Brilliant idea! It works.

Same problem, paper "trick" works
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

This always annoys me. I kind of had the same problem with my Galaxy Nexus, but not nearly as bad. It seems like it's more noticeable or happens more often with my Nexus 5. I hope phones of the future can eliminate this issue.

any solution besides the paper edge trick? i've a tiny sand grain in there and the paper edge bends when i try to clean it

Can of air maybe? This is much improved over the gapping issues I was having on my One
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

JonasVFC said:
any solution besides the paper edge trick? i've a tiny sand grain in there and the paper edge bends when i try to clean it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone here posted that he uses the edges of such kind of packet and it works for him. Try it out
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

that's a good ideia, thanks.
i've tried folding a piece of papper in v-shape and it works well too

qbanlinxx said:
Can of air maybe? This is much improved over the gapping issues I was having on my One
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. If you got some compressed air it'll work great as well. Just make sure to hold it straight so the liquid doesn't come out, that always seems to happen to me when I'm getting on the inside of computers.

You can also use the sim tray tool. That little black ring with a tiny poker? You can use that to clean dust from around the edges and out of the holes. Just be careful if you're cleaning out the speaker grille, don't poke the speakers.

jabza said:
You can also use the sim tray tool. That little black ring with a tiny poker? You can use that to clean dust from around the edges and out of the holes. Just be careful if you're cleaning out the speaker grille, don't poke the speakers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, the Sprint version doesn't come with the SIM tool.

maxpower7 said:
Unfortunately, the Sprint version doesn't come with the SIM tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the "Sprint" version the same exact one you find at the play store? It comes with a Sim card tool. You need a dim card from Sprint to use this phone. There's no ESN (electronic serial number) to activate.
sent from my neXus 5

OuncE718 said:
Isn't the "Sprint" version the same exact one you find at the play store? It comes with a Sim card tool. You need a dim card from Sprint to use this phone. There's no ESN (electronic serial number) to activate.
sent from my neXus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same phone but it comes in ever-so-slightly different packaging if you get it from Sprint. The SIM comes preinstalled and there's no tool in the box. Also, there is definitely an ESN to activate. I own the phone and I went through the process.

maxpower7 said:
It's the same phone but it comes in ever-so-slightly different packaging if you get it from Sprint. The SIM comes preinstalled and there's no tool in the box. Also, there is definitely an ESN to activate. I own the phone and I went through the process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then I am very confused because as far as I know my Nexus 5 which was bought on the Play Store has support from Sprint out of the box. I can guarantee that LG or Sprint will not release that phone without a Sim remover. Did you buy the phone brand new from Sprint or from else where such as Craigslist, eBay, etc.
Check the box thoroughly. Mine came with 2 for some weird reason. One black and one silver/chrome.
sent from my neXus 5

OuncE718 said:
Then I am very confused because as far as I know my Nexus 5 which was bought on the Play Store has support from Sprint out of the box. I can guarantee that LG or Sprint will not release that phone without a Sim remover. Did you buy the phone brand new from Sprint or from else where such as Craigslist, eBay, etc.
Check the box thoroughly. Mine came with 2 for some weird reason. One black and one silver/chrome.
sent from my neXus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, I know what I'm talking about here. I'm aware that the phone itself is exactly the same whether you buy it from Google or Sprint. What I'm saying is that the box has extremely minor differences (I'm talking fine print here) if you buy it from Sprint (or Amazon, in my case) vs buying it directly from Google. I bought my phone brand new, and there was no SIM removal tool in the box. Believe me, I looked for it.
Take a look at this photo if you don't believe me. This text is not present on the box that you get from Google Play.

maxpower7 said:
Dude, I know what I'm talking about here. I'm aware that the phone itself is exactly the same whether you buy it from Google or Sprint. What I'm saying is that the box has extremely minor differences (I'm talking fine print here) if you buy it from Sprint (or Amazon, in my case) vs buying it directly from Google. I bought my phone brand new, and there was no SIM removal tool in the box. Believe me, I looked for it.
Take a look at this photo if you don't believe me. This text is not present on the box that you get from Google Play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. I had no idea they would even package it different. I thought everything would be exactly the same. I would advise that you pull the complete box apart though. My black Sim tool was hiding in somewhat of a secret compartment.
Here are pics of both black and silver/chrome Sim tool still attached to paper.
sent from my neXus 5

OuncE718 said:
Interesting. I had no idea they would even package it different. I thought everything would be exactly the same. I would advise that you pull the complete box apart though. My black Sim tool was hiding in somewhat of a secret compartment.
View attachment 2531433View attachment 2531435Here are pics of both black and silver/chrome Sim tool still attached to paper.
sent from my neXus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, there's nothing like that in my box. I've scoured it from top to bottom. I'm sure it has something to do with Sprint not wanting people to take the phone to a different carrier since all the other phones they sell will only work on Sprint's network (in the US, at least). Interestingly enough, the phone also came with Sprint-specific paperwork:

maxpower7 said:
Yeah, there's nothing like that in my box. I've scoured it from top to bottom. I'm sure it has something to do with Sprint not wanting people to take the phone to a different carrier since all the other phones they sell will only work on Sprint's network (in the US, at least). Interestingly enough, the phone also came with Sprint-specific paperwork:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sucks. I would then advise you to buy a Sim tool specifically for the Nexus 5 because our hole is a little smaller than the average Sim hole. Check eBay or Amazon.
sent from my neXus 5

Ive started using cyber clean. I had it already for my laptop keyboard but works well for me on the edges of the n5.
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I do NOT reply to support queries over PM. Please keep support queries to the Q&A section, so that others may benefit

Fake OEM batteries on eBay

I wanted to buy replacement batteries for my S5 so i searched on eBay and found this
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"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
But when i got the batteries i realized that although they look almost exactly like the real thing, they are counterfeits... 1. They will go in the phone but they don't fit as smoothly as the original battery. 2. NFC does not work. 3.theres is no white sticker on the top.
Now when i looked again on ebay to find real authentic Samsung OEM batteries I realized that this dude is all over the place there probably like 15 accounts selling this same battery all from the same place: Kennedale, TX (search for oem s5 battery on eBay and see how many of them are from Kennedale, TX).
So I think I'm going to call eBay and report him because I don't other people like me to buy from one of his 15 accounts by mistake. But I also want good replacement batteries, preferably OEM, does anyone have any recommendations of where I can find them?
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

yikes, that sounds bad.
planning to get a refund from paypal?

About 95% of "Genuine" batteries on Ebay will be fake, so the important thing is you've learned your lesson never trust sellers even with massive positive ratings.

aryehzev said:
I wanted to buy replacement batteries for my S5 so i searched on eBay and found this
But when i got the batteries i realized that although they look almost exactly like the real thing, they are counterfeits... 1. They will go in the phone but they don't fit as smoothly as the original battery. 2. NFC does not work. 3.theres is no white sticker on the top.
Now when i looked again on ebay to find real authentic Samsung OEM batteries I realized that this dude is all over the place there probably like 15 accounts selling this same battery all from the same place: Kennedale, TX (search for oem s5 battery on eBay and see how many of them are from Kennedale, TX).
So I think I'm going to call eBay and report him because I don't other people like me to buy from one of his 15 accounts by mistake. But I also want good replacement batteries, preferably OEM, does anyone have any recommendations of where I can find them?
Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's the same thing with cases, cables, etc on eBay.

If you're paying $11 bucks for an EOM, sorry dude but c'mon you must know its a FAKE...

The seller is obviously trying to rip people off no doubt. And Aryehzev is right to report him. Common sense says if something is too good to be true it nearly always is. Gen battery that cheap when a device is new would raise my suspicion unless it was from a trusted big name retailer.
Thanks for the warning though.

Is shopandroid samsung batteries official?I bought one seems to be official has sticker fits normally havent tested nfc but dont know if its official?
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Pay the 30$ for OEM from samsung.com

just saying if you see a bunch of sellers selling the battery for around $10...you know it's fake. why even bother..? it has been like this with eBay for a while and reporting a seller here and there won't do much. It's eBay that has to change their policies.

battery
Do be careful with ebay, they will screw the buyer if the seller is a power seller, that means they bring ebay the money! I got screwed buy ebay and they sent it to my credit report but got it removed already. Ebay is to big so they reallyy dont care. They are only hurting themselves.

idance1 said:
Do be careful with ebay, they will screw the buyer if the seller is a power seller, that means they bring ebay the money! I got screwed buy ebay and they sent it to my credit report but got it removed already. Ebay is to big so they reallyy dont care. They are only hurting themselves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is really a pity.You would be very careful when you are going to buy something from ebay.I always get accessories for my S5 from Amazon because of thier high quality.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00IRNO5TY/ref=olp_twister_child
You could own a NFC one or a non-NFC one from it.Hope it may help.

Ebay or Amazon they are still same quality, just need to do yr research before buying anything thats all.

Hermosa said:
It is really a pity.You would be very careful when you are going to buy something from ebay.I always get accessories for my S5 from Amazon because of thier high quality.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00IRNO5TY/ref=olp_twister_child
You could own a NFC one or a non-NFC one from it.Hope it may help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried that one? how does it compare to the battery life you were getting with the one that came with your phone?

Sinchero said:
Have you tried that one? how does it compare to the battery life you were getting with the one that came with your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The numbers say it would be within 30 min of OEM...But who knows

I've given up on anything "authentic" in Ebay. Bought an S5 otterbox and it was clearly counterfiet after I opened the box. Texture was completely different and didn't even fit my phone correctly. Got a full refund from ebay. One thing to watch out, these scammers, which they are, open multiple accounts and ship from China to a company here in US that will re-label the package with US postmarks. The scammers utilize ID theft to open accounts in other peoples names also, just a friendly reminder.

Sinchero said:
Have you tried that one? how does it compare to the battery life you were getting with the one that came with your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I first use a non-NFC battery from Onite,it only last the same time as my 1 year old OEM battery,Then they told me to charge and fully drain the battery for the first 3 cycles,I follow their suggestion and it works,the battery can last even longer than the OEM one.

New Images Leaked.

here are some of the leaked images. looks good to me
Source: Evleaks
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"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
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"lightbox_share": "Share",
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Not enough to tell any features.

if there isn't a 5.5+in screen thats not curved I'll wait for the note 6 to see if that's worth it.

Looks exactly like the S6.
Going to be a huge waste of money, in fact I regret spending $700 on my S6, since there is absolutely 0 dev support and the updates include 0 improvement.
My loyalty to Samsung will most probably end here with the S6, my next device is the next Nexus that will come out.
Samsung has still not released 6.0.1 for the international S6 yet.
A ton of HTC and Motorola devices have received the 6.0 update and us Samsung users are here with this 5.1.1 TouchWiz bullsh*t.

No Source from Samsung = No Love from Devs
murtaza02 said:
Looks exactly like the S6.
Going to be a huge waste of money, in fact I regret spending $700 on my S6, since there is absolutely 0 dev support and the updates include 0 improvement.
My loyalty to Samsung will most probably end here with the S6, my next device is the next Nexus that will come out.
Samsung has still not released 6.0.1 for the international S6 yet.
A ton of HTC and Motorola devices have received the 6.0 update and us Samsung users are here with this 5.1.1 TouchWiz bullsh*t.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the lack of dev attention to the s6 was because they used the exynos processor and we know how bad Samsung is at releasing source so those phones had little support from the devs. I imagine since in the US at least they are going back to the snapdragon processor support will be good once again.

naruto.ninjakid said:
I think the lack of dev attention to the s6 was because they used the exynos processor and we know how bad Samsung is at releasing source so those phones had little support from the devs. I imagine since in the US at least they are going back to the snapdragon processor support will be good once again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, only to certain markets. So, US and a few other countries will get the SD820.
Pakistan usually gets the Exynos garbage while the rest of the world enjoys Snapdragon hardware.
Samsung creates an epic piece of hardware like the Exynos 7420 and restricts anyone from actually using it to it's full potential.
Like I said, last Samsung device hopefully. Not wasting any more money.
Tacky glass body and gimmicky camera won't fool me this time.
Nexus device it is.

murtaza02 said:
Again, only to certain markets. So, US and a few other countries will get the SD820.
Pakistan usually gets the Exynos garbage while the rest of the world enjoys Snapdragon hardware.
Samsung creates an epic piece of hardware like the Exynos 7420 and restricts anyone from actually using it to it's full potential.
Like I said, last Samsung device hopefully. Not wasting any more money.
Tacky glass body and gimmicky camera won't fool me this time.
Nexus device it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I feel you. Especially with other countries since they would rather go with exynos. Power to you. We need devices we can all be happy with and we know nexus devices always have good development.

From the limited information I've seen, the exynos s7 is scoring higher on performance than the sd820, don't have a link for you, it's out there.
But I agree about the lack of dev for exynos, I had a moto x 2, so I know how painful it is not to have lots of good ROMs.
I would consider 6p, but the screen is so big, I like 5.1
S7 with sd820 might be great for dev scene.

less dev support again.. samsung is really making this hard for developers

I am also looking forward for Samsung Galaxy S7, but it looks exactly same as S6 which I don't like. They could have changed it a little bit. Although specifications of this smartphones are really great.

justforgot said:
here are some of the leaked images. looks good to me
Source: Evleaks
View attachment 3627211
View attachment 3627213
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems designed fantastic

I stopped buying S series after S4 because the upgrades are incremental. I just bought two brand new S4 last month because they are now cheap and are better than the new mid range phones today.

any bug?
Ramondel said:
Not enough to tell any features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how ary you?
ye

Here is the latest clearest pic we have

murtaza02 said:
Again, only to certain markets. So, US and a few other countries will get the SD820.
Pakistan usually gets the Exynos garbage while the rest of the world enjoys Snapdragon hardware.
Samsung creates an epic piece of hardware like the Exynos 7420 and restricts anyone from actually using it to it's full potential.
Like I said, last Samsung device hopefully. Not wasting any more money.
Tacky glass body and gimmicky camera won't fool me this time.
Nexus device it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lollipop was rolled out in jan 2015 for moto G2.. and for my Note 3 neo lollipop was rooled in 2016 22 jan..
I took one complete year.. when marshmallow was rolling.. i got lollipop.. plus N3N dont have dev support dur to exynos too.. samsung is piece of ****.. hopefully i'll go for nexus or Moto next time

Got a chance to hold the S7 black this weekend. Very good solid feel. The curve on the back is like the Note 5 making it easier to hold. The home button has a better look and feel. Less of the chrome around the home button. You can easily see the 2.5D glass on the display. SD card slot for sure in the SIM slot (200GB support). IP68 water resistant, micro USB charging, 12MP 1.7f camera. Has the iPhone esq live motion picture taking, also front facing flash by making the display very bright white. Didn't see about the pressure sensitive screen. Don't think that's there. Anyway that's the S7. Would I buy it? For sure. Looked great.
Sent from my HTC One A9 using Tapatalk

@saywhat4118 thanks for sharing your opinion! Could you tell how does it feel in hand, in terms of size? How easy it's to operate with one hand in compare to your A9? Additionaly, are there visible black bars on top and bottom when screen is off?

I was hoping for USB 3.0 or 3.1 via USB-C, but microUSB is better if it's 2.0. Would have been a nice bonus. Otherwise the S7 is shaping up to finally be a unit worthy of replacing my S4. S5 was too little of improvement; water resistance was nice, but increase in physical size for .1" bigger screen was pitiful. S6 losing both SD & removable battery was just too compromised. I'll never be happy about a sealed battery in any device. The G5 looks like it'll be the only flagship with removable battery, but for me it's too large & I can't stand the button arrangement. I will, however, not buy the S7 until I see how the curved glass back stands up to impacts. I can't stand using a case & the S4 polycarbonate body has proven very tough over almost 3 years.

Mefa2 said:
@saywhat4118 thanks for sharing your opinion! Could you tell how does it feel in hand, in terms of size? How easy it's to operate with one hand in compare to your A9? Additionaly, are there visible black bars on top and bottom when screen is off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't see any black bars you speak of. I did see the always on display. It tells time and notifications count on an all black screen.
In terms of in hand feel, I thought it felt great. Definitely one hand operable.
Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

Thanks for reply! I'm glad it's one hand operable, because it's so important for me. I was using "always on display" on OG Moto X and I have great memories about it, so it is so good we will see that feature in Samsung flagship.

All info about Honor View20 so far (come and share your thoughts)

The news about view 20 can be found everywhere except this forum. That's weird.
Here is the summary of XDA reports about Honor view 20 showcase in Hong Kong so far:
1. The in-screen hole display
Honor claims View 20 in-display hole is 4.5mm, 1.5mm smaller than Samsung A8s's solution. It is somehow a little awkward Samsung's and Honor 's showcases fell on the same day. But I think Honor wins this round.
Although it seems a mere 1.5mm difference doesn't matter too much, I believe that’s a big improvement in the display craftsmanship. Good job, Honor.
I like the hole-punch screen (compared with the ugly notch) and it actually extends the screen to body ratio to a high level, nearly 100%. If 2018 is the year of notch, hole seems the new trend in the coming 2019.
2. 48MP rear camera
It may become the first phone with 48-megapixel camera, powered by Sony’s IMX586 CMOS sensor. This report said this sensor has good performance in low-light shooting and zooming in on photos taken from a distance. In addition, Kirin 980 chipset with the dual-ISP and dual-NPU can provide a better image quality with more details.
PS: Wanna figure out how much detailed can the image be? Anyone can find any sample pictures?
3. Link Turbo
According to XDA reports, this is “an AI feature that allows simultaneous downloads over WiFi and 4G. “ Samsung released similar feature before but I never heard about it.
“Link Turbo also enables better switching between WiFi and 4G depending on signal strength.”
This sounds very powerful but I still feel confused how will it works. So here comes a key point: how much will view 20 price be?
Just check the price of A8s (https://gadgets.ndtv.com/samsung-galaxy-a8s-5759), it is about 29,900 INR, equal to 420 USD( that’s in high price range though).
So I guess Honor View20 may be more expensive than Samsung A8s?
Because with smaller hole and better rear camara (Samsung A8s: 24MP, Honor View20: 48MP), it seems unreasonable to lower the price…
Feel free to share your thoughts and update what you can find about View 20 info below.
I also will update what I find here.
Update (12.26):
The price in China is released!
6GB RAM + 128GB of storage for ￥2999 ($435),
8GB RAM + 128GB of storage for ￥3499 ($510),
the “MOSCHINO” version with 8GB RAM +256 GB of storage for ￥3999 ($580).
What do you think of the price value?
View20 launch news: https://www.xda-developers.com/honor-view20-launches-48mp-rear-camera-display-hole/

this quote on the XDA page:
Note: Huawei has stopped providing official bootloader unlock codes for its devices. Therefore, the bootloader of the Honor View 20 cannot be unlocked, which means that users cannot root or install custom ROMs.
I was aware you could not load a custom rom with a locked bootloader, but my understanding was you could root the dveice still, can anyone confirm? I don't care at all about custom roms but I can't live without root.

flamery said:
this quote on the XDA page:
Note: Huawei has stopped providing official bootloader unlock codes for its devices. Therefore, the bootloader of the Honor View 20 cannot be unlocked, which means that users cannot root or install custom ROMs.
I was aware you could not load a custom rom with a locked bootloader, but my understanding was you could root the dveice still, can anyone confirm? I don't care at all about custom roms but I can't live without root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is still no way to unlock the phone though. I don't think view20 will have it. somebody said Funkyhuawei can help you root but you need to buy the unlock code. I use an Honor 8X but I'm fine to use without rooting as all the specs work well.
Now View 20 haven't released so we can wait and see if someone can find a way to unlock it.

I agree we need to wait for release before coming to any conclusions. But I still think the statement on XDA is incorrect, root on this device should be possible whether its locked boot loader or not. ref: https://www.quora.com/Is-it-necessary-to-unlock-bootloader-before-rooting-Android-phones

Countdown posters guessing
Waiting for the View20 launch in China today.
I Found some countdown posters on Honor Phone Chinese weibo.
One is a big "M" and another is a "T".
I guess "M" maybe Maserati? T is technology?
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

unboxing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmyNIiNLkIs
Looks absolutely incredible, I love the way the notification bar lines up with the camera hole.
Also the headphone jack and SD card are great additions (Although Is suspect it uses the lame hybrid sim tray where you can't use two sims and SD card at the same time).

SirTAVARES said:
Probably gonna change my OnePlus 6 for this badboy
Love the design
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the V-shape glossy back design!
Looking forward to its global launch in Jan.

flamery said:
unboxing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmyNIiNLkIs
Looks absolutely incredible, I love the way the notification bar lines up with the camera hole.
Also the headphone jack and SD card are great additions (Although Is suspect it uses the lame hybrid sim tray where you can't use two sims and SD card at the same time).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like the unboxing video! So quick!
It's nice to see they keep the 3.5mm headphone as most of phones have removed it.
I found a detailed review here : https://www.androidcentral.com/honor-view-20-review
I think it has the best value in its price range.

https://www.gadgetsnow.com/mobile-phones/Honor-View-20
All the specs are very tempting. hope to have a hands-on review
Will it come to US?

Does it have always on display or notification led?

evlo2 said:
Does it have always on display or notification led?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its LCD so no AOD and no LED

Hmm, to me, removing, for me, basic features, does not seem like a step in right direction, I kinda like knowing about notifications without having to turn on the phone.
With notification led it would be great phone for me, I think. (currently I have nova3 and I hate that notifications are not shown in status bar because of the notch)

SirTAVARES said:
534€ in geekbuying. for the cheapest version.
i dont know, amoled from 6T or v20 design xD
PCT-AL10 only supports 1 band in 4G in my region. so gonna go for 6T
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They haven't released the final price for Global version. So maybe we can wait until the global launch day Jan.22.

In case there is any confusion, this phone does support a memory card, it doesn't use the standard SD-card it uses the Huawei made nano memory card. There is no extra slot for this card, the card is exactly the same size as a nano sim card and therefore to use it, you put it in the sim card tray in place of the secondary sim.
So unfortunately you cannot use two SIM's and a memory card at the same time (very few phones these days do anyway).

Great pricing (although it will be more in EU)
the only thing that annoys me so far, is the fact that it uses Huawei's own technology for memory expansion

Pricing has been released. (Not good news unfortunately for global version)
china
6GB model - $405 USD
8GB model - $480 USB
Global
6GB Model - $630 USD
8GB model - $760 USD
apparently the global version will come with a free Honor smartwatch worth $200 USD

flamery said:
Pricing has been released. (Not good news unfortunately for global version)
china
6GB model - $405 USD
8GB model - $480 USB
Global
6GB Model - $630 USD
8GB model - $760 USD
apparently the global version will come with a free Honor smartwatch worth $200 USD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really? Where did you see the price? Coz it hasn't been released yet.

flamery said:
Pricing has been released. (Not good news unfortunately for global version)
china
6GB model - $405 USD
8GB model - $480 USB
Global
6GB Model - $630 USD
8GB model - $760 USD
apparently the global version will come with a free Honor smartwatch worth $200 USD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whaaaaat?!
If it's true that's more expensive compared to the 1+6T.

Some reported screen bleed is bad at the bottom