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Xiaomi mi4. Worth it?

I currently have an lg g2 that I really like. The xiaomi mi4 is currently on sale for 155$. It is a really good deal and I am going to sell my g2 for the same amount. The question is, is it worth it? What advantages will I get with the mi4? I am scarred to get a yellow spot on my g2's screen, because it is very common. I also like miui a lot, but I hate lag. I can see the slightest lag

You may just buy Redmi Note 3 Pro instead of Mi4, it has better chip. It has fast development like mi4. I bought mi4 for IDR 1,6 million (about USD 120) for my wife yesterday, but after I know how fast the development of Reno 3 Pro is, I realize "buy Redmi Note 3 Pro" is better choice.
Sent from my m2 note using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 AM ----------
http://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=6518&idPhone2=7863
Reno 3 Pro has MicroSD Expansion or dual simcard if you choose. With thinner body.
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Yes, I must agree on the Redmi Note 3 Pro. I also had a G2 as my main driver, but after some beating it took, it needed replacement after more than 2 years of use.
I did an extensive research, and was most likely to buy G3 or G4. But the thing that bothers me about those phones is:
a) processor - 801 is not much of a upgrade, and I would rather avoid 808/810, for heating issues/throttling, which means inadequate performance in the long run, and faster battery drain.
b) No physical buttons - this is very subjective, but I hate the software buttons for my reasons, and would much rather go for a phone with physical buttons
c) Design - G4 has an attractive design, but G3 looks very similar to the G2, which got boring to me.
d) Display - I do NOT want 1440p display on a phone, for my own reasons (battery life). Plus, the G3 supposedly has washed out colors.
After a ~month of research, I found out about the Snapdragon 650 and 652, and boy, after owning the Note 3 Pro for about a month now, I can say that the processors are incomparably better than the 808/810 (which leads me to an obvious question - is the 20nm TSMC process to blame? I really believe it is.).
The pros of Note 3 Pro
- price: 32GB/3GB version (the only one you want) cost me about 270 USD, brand new delivered from China by DHL, with custom fees pre-paid and insured.
- display: although 5.5 inch is maybe ever so slightly bigger than an ideal size for one-handed usage, the display looks stunning. I'm getting compliments on the display from everyone who sees it. The colors are so vibrant and saturated! I just love to look at the display (not to say that the G2 didn't have a good display - it is just no match for this one.)
- performance: absolutely unbeatable. I though the G2 was fast enough. Well, that changed when I got my hands on the Snapdragon 650. In my opinion, this SoC can only be beaten by 652, 820 and the 14nm Exynoses. Not to mention that the RAM and eMMC is most likely also much faster compared to the G2.
- battery life: Great, awesome, super cool. 4000 mAh and a very good SoC means that this thing will ALWAYS last you the whole day, even if you throw the heaviest workloads on it.
- and other minor things, like the great fingerprint sensor, MIUI goodies, great Wi-Fi, bluetooth and cellular reception, very clear and loud call speaker, microSD, dual SIM, etc.
Cons:
- missing LTE band 20 - the only thing that bothers me about this phone. Even though I live in a big city, I often have problems getting LTE signal - G2 did not have this problem and always had a reliable LTE connection
- locked bootloader - which can be unlocked, but official way is really cumbersome, as you have to wait for 2 weeks to get a permission to unlock, and even then, I managed to unlock it only after switching to a china dev rom (from global stable). After you get it OFFICIALLY unlocked, this is no longer a problem (there is also an unofficial way, but I wouldn't really recommend it, due to the hassle with flashing roms, which can brick your phone if done wrong).
- as with all stock ROMs, also MIUI is bloated with (for me) useless applications. I like to keep my phones as clean as possible, to maximize performance and battery life. But yeah, after you get a custom recovery and root, you can debloat it to your liking
All in all, I am more than satisfied with this phone. Right now, I would maybe switch it for a Mi5, but the price gap is not justifiable in my opinion.
TL;DR: Get the Redmi Note 3 Pro 32GB!

Done a ton of research to pick the next phone. Still cannot decide. Help!

First of all welcome everyone, glad to be a part of this forum. I've been lurking XDA developers since long, long time ago back in the PDA era (HTC SPV M5000 anyone?).
I've owned my Galaxy Note 2 for over 2.5 years now and I'm tired of constantly running out of internal storage and the now-supar camera. I'm looking to buy a new smartphone that will check off many boxes, but if I could describe what I need in 2 sentences, it would go something like: a large-screened productivity workhorse with loads of storage and battery, and a good camera. And if it's future-proof, that's even better! I want a device that will last me for at least 2+ years.
Here's what I'm looking for:
- Screen size between 5,5" and 6"
- Internal storage min. 32 GB, needs to have a microSD card slot (unless it has 128G internal storage)
- Decent camera with OIS (camera should handle low-light shooting well)
- Decent UI (unlike the majority of community here, I don't really want to be flashing my phone with new ROMs or any of that, I just want something that works well right out of the box and is user-customizeable through custom home launchers etc)
- Great battery life (this is big for me, I'm often on the road, I listen to tons of podcasts, use mobile data, bluetooth, sometimes wifi tethering etc. I need a phone that can get me through a looong day)
- Fingerprint scanner
- Won't put a huge hole in my wallet (I wouldn't mind paying more for the perfect and FUTURE-PROOF phone but seems like there isn't one that checks off all the boxes. At the same time I'm trying to keep it below $500)
- A physical home button is a plus (and capacitive buttons! Just like in Samsung Galaxy series)
- Screen res. above 1080p is a plus (better for VR and I will probably try some VR in near future)
- Replaceable battery is a plus (plus extended phone cases, yay!)
- OTG support is a plus
- USB-C is a plus
- Dual SIM is definitely a plus
- No curved screens like on the Samsung Edge series
I looked at:
- Huawei Mate 8 - checks off most boxes, nice big battery but crappy, buggy, and not very customizable UI.
- Huawei Mate P9 Plus - very interesting camera-wise, the rest just like above
- LG G5 - also very interesting camera-wise, a bit smaller screen, and a battery that's way too small. Although replacable, I cannot imagine remembering to bring a spare battery with me everywhere.
- Nexus 6P - great reviews and everything, great software BUT I'm mostly based in China where ALL Google services are blocked, so it would probably be a big pain to have to rely on VPN the whole time. Also camera has no OIS, although I did read it's great. Another con: a bit expensive and not easily available in the 128G version
- Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro - the top contender for me so far. The 5000mAh battery is nuts and just what I need. Dual SIM and dedicated microSD slot. Affordable. But the big bummer: sub-par camera. Also a bit low on the DPI if I ever want to use VR. And no notification light (how am I supposed to know if I got notifications?)
- Samsung Galaxy Note 4 - a bit slower than the A9 Pro, smaller battery, but better camera. And the stylus - I could definitely use the stylus for more productivity. Just really not sure about investing in the aging technology. I want to get at least 2 years out of the new smartphone. Also I've read there's some issues with GPS that are hard to solve. Added benefit of possibility of extended battery case.
- Samsung Galaxy Note 5 - nice and seems like a significant upgrade from Note 4 but no card slot, and expensive at 128G. Still only microUSB v2.0 even at the high price point.
- LG V10 and LG G4 - very interesting propositions, reportedly good cameras, very mediocre batteries (and not too good power management it seems) at 3000mAh but both could be extended with a bigger battery. Pretty sure I would be fine with a little bulkier phone with a case that accommodates a 4000-6000mAh battery, but I would still need to keep it as slim as possible, I don't mind if it's not the slimmest phone but I certainly don't want a thick and heavy brick in my pocket. I've also read reviews of some of the extended battery cases and it seems like the battery quality can be a real lottery. The batteries lose their capacity quickly, and I think none of them can be charged using the Quick Charge 2.0
- ZTE Avon 7 - veeery interesting proposition, not the biggest battery but almost everything else knocks me out of my socks. 6GB RAM possible, 128G storage that can be expanded by another 128G (!), capacitive buttons in the higher version, an added benefit of insane speakers. The camera is reportedly not too impressive though, although I'm pretty sure it's better than the one in Galaxy A9 Pro. The main concerns: it's a very fresh phone, the UI is reportedly not very optimized, I can imagine there will be plenty of issues that ZTE will need to fix through software before this phone runs as smoothly as the Galaxy A9 Pro or LG G4 would. And I hate waiting in hopes. Also, being in China, I think it's a bit tricky to purchase the phone in International/European version that has a broader range of bands and doesn't block Google services. I've read through the entire 35 page thread on XDA about this phone and yes, it seems like you can get the Google services to work without problems but who knows what the next ZTE updates will do to that. The way I generally see it is Chinese UI = potential problems.
For the Galaxy A9 Pro or LG G4 I would just go to Hong Kong to buy them and enjoy a phone that doesn't have the Google services blocked. I couldn't find the ZTE Avon 7 anywhere in HK on the internet.
All in all if I had to go to the store tomorrow I'd probably need to choose between a Galaxy A9 Pro, the well-proven LG G4 with a great camera (but a need to buy a good extended battery case and ultimately ending up with a rather bulky phone), the Galaxy Note 4, and the ZTE Avon 7.
Any suggestions, thoughts, recommendations?

need help buying new phone

Hi,
First of all, sorry for my english and sorry if this is in the wrong place.
I'm looking to buy a new smartphone that meets the following criterias:
-screen size 5 - 5.5 inch (my lg g2's 5.2 inch display is perfect for me)
-at least 3 gb ram
-preferably fast internal storage (ufs)
-preferably water resistance (even minimal)
-doesn't need very powerfull cpu but something decent (my uses are mainly web browsing and such..)
-fingerip unlock, preferably in the front
-doesn't care that much about the camera
Since i'm not from US/eroupe i don't really know how to convert my budget, but i've found few devices in my price range that meets my needs:
Oneplus 5, Xiaomi mi6, Samsung galaxy a5 2017, Samsung galaxy s7, Nokia 7 (although it's still not selling here yet)
What do you think?
Thanks

[Q] Phone choice: Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge vs Huawei Mate 10 lite

Dear Community,
I have been using a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge for the past two years without any significant issues, apart from a defective screen which got replaced and is now pink-ish near the bottom, and a noisy camera when focusing. Generally I like the device quite a bit, despite it being not officially supported under Android 8 Oreo. The only relatively significant drawback for me is the lack of a microSD card slot - my version is the 32GB one and is almost always out of enough (3-5GB) free space (this, of course, is largely my fault ).
I got a new Huawei Mate 10 lite as a present past week. The 64GB version with 4GB of RAM.
I am now in doubt whether I should upgrade to the newer (but cheaper and bigger) phone or stick with the SGS6 Edge I already like and feel as enough for my current and future (1-3 year) needs. Unfortunately I am afraid that I would have to choose only one of those devices, so any opinions, questions and advice are welcome.
This is the GSMarena comparison of the phones, and the photo quality comparison.
Thanks in advance!
Kind regards,
Nikolay

Anyone coming from an LG G6? Is it worth the upgrade?

I've come close to buying a Pixel 3 a few times now but just not sure it it's worth the upgrade.
My 2 main issues are LG's version of Android + lack of updates and overall speed/snappiness.
$500 for 4GB of ram in 2019 seems like a bad decision. Plus no sd card slot or headphone jack, and last year's 845 Snapdragon.
Is there really that much of a noticeable difference in speed and camera quality?

cory733 said:
I've come close to buying a Pixel 3 a few times now but just not sure it it's worth the upgrade.
My 2 main issues are LG's version of Android + lack of updates and overall speed/snappiness.
$500 for 4GB of ram in 2019 seems like a bad decision. Plus no sd card slot or headphone jack, and last year's 845 Snapdragon.
Is there really that much of a noticeable difference in speed and camera quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just about to buy a Pixel 3 to go sidewards from a Nokia 8 Sirocco (went with this inititally due to cheaper Android One experience in a small form factor with an OLED screen).
I guess I get a Snapdragon 845 instead of 835, but the Sirocco has 6GB of ram compared to the Pixel on 4GB.
It's definitely an issue Google only went with 4GB of RAM, but I guess the question always is
"Do you actually notice a real world difference, or could someone tell you that you have 6GB and you wouldn't know any different?". It's a phone operating system, not Windows.
What are you using the phone for? Heavy gaming? Maybe consider it. If it's just like me and its commutting whilst listening to music/posting on social media and if there is ever any gaming its things like Peggle, I doubt we'll notice 4GB.
Google's camera lenses might not be the best in the industry, but their software is and while there are lots of Gcam ports, being on the Pixel means one of the best camera experiences overall. No gimmicks, just great photos.
The only other thing I could suggest to you right now is with the Pixel 4 dropping this year, might be worth waiting for cheaper deals.
As for the headphone jack, I've been team headphone jack since forever, but I reluctantly gave it up with the Sirocco and I guess I've just got used to it. With USB C headphones that is. **** ever going wireless and having to charge headphones.

I had a G6, and the Pixel 3 is a better phone (purely imo, obviously) but as you say, the specs and cost might not be the best deal you can get in 2019.

I came from an LG V10 and I do not think it was worth the money overall.