Database Info

Note Edge Root Soon?

So, I have Had my AT&T Note edge since around April 2015. When I first Got the phone I was very happy with the new innovation of the edge screen and found it quite useful. Before, I had the Note 2 and I was in love with it, I had many different roms and dev's are still coming out with new roms for it and the only reason I got the new phone is because the screen cracked and I did not want to pay another 150$'s for a phone that was worth less than that on eBay.
Since receiving my note edge I have found nothing but problems with it (obviously after honeymoon period with the edge screen, lol). The battery life is abysmal at best, the screen transitions are slow and tedious at times, sometimes I have to launch the task manager and clean the apps(which that in enough itself is a challenge to get to launch), even if I am only using 20% of my memory. To put a little perspective on this, I have been rooting/jail breaking phones since the first iPhone came out back in 2007 and I have also switched out hardware on phones so I do know what I am doing and I realized when I bought the phone that it may be a while till a decent root/rom came out for the phone but honestly not one root or one rom for the AT&T note edge has come out.
I bought the phone knowing I would have to wait for a root/rom but I did not expect stock to be so terrible. Even after the lollipop update, the phone may have gotten a little worse, to the point where sometimes my screen will stay black when I get a phone call then when the phone almost stops ringing the screen will come on and I can then answer (most of the time). To say I am disappointed in Samsung would be an understatement. Mind you, I fell in love with my note 2 and had it until it was non functioning anymore and more expensive to fix than replace. I have nothing but praise for Samsung but they really let me down with this phone.
I have taken all the steps I can think of to increase performance even to the point of just wiping it clean and starting from scratch and it's still no where close to the performance of my note 2
All this is to ask if anyone out there can give me some suggestions of a phone that A) has the ability to be rooted B) has sufficient roms out there to test out and find a good one. Money is not a problem but I figured that this would be one of the best places to ask because I am sure all you note edge fanboys and girls were looking at other phones before you decided on the note edge and I am sure there are other people like me who probably had too high of expectations for the note edge.
I would also consider staying with the edge if the root/rom would come out soon, but I honestly don't see that happening in the near future.
Also one last thing, I am not opposed to any brand or model I just prefer a 5" screen or bigger. Also, I have checked out the Neptune Suite which looks incredible. unfortunately, I can't post a link but just search it and you'll find it.

You can get root. It's just tough. The recommended way (depending on your variant) is to get CWM and root through recovery then flash whatever recovery you want to use. For me its TWRP. The above method works on my SM-N915G.
One thing I have seen and am a bit butt hurt by is the significant downturn on custom roms for this device, or at least for my variant. The note 4 has had heaps of dev work however this beauty of a phone has been neglected. More than likely die to uptake. I just hope that they bring out an edge 2 this year and that is widely taken up, so we can get some damn customisation. I hate this 5.0.1 touch wiz rom. I have constant lag issues and its just not on. However I digress. It's a beast of a phone. Just don't expect to many roms available seeing as it is hitting end of life i.e. new version coming soon

Flame_Beard said:
You can get root. It's just tough. The recommended way (depending on your variant) is to get CWM and root through recovery then flash whatever recovery you want to use. For me its TWRP. The above method works on my SM-N915G.
One thing I have seen and am a bit butt hurt by is the significant downturn on custom roms for this device, or at least for my variant. The note 4 has had heaps of dev work however this beauty of a phone has been neglected. More than likely die to uptake. I just hope that they bring out an edge 2 this year and that is widely taken up, so we can get some damn customisation. I hate this 5.0.1 touch wiz rom. I have constant lag issues and its just not on. However I digress. It's a beast of a phone. Just don't expect to many roms available seeing as it is hitting end of life i.e. new version coming soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree with you that the note edge is a beast. It has all the features I was looking for in a phone EXCEPT the fact that the rooting is a mission and when you're finally done, there is little to no reward. I would have rooted a while ago but the root seems fishy at best and the temp root... well, its a temp root, lol. I miss my note 2 just for the pure simple fact that they had every single rom you could think of for that thing, hell, I would even switch to the note 4 if it was more heavily supported. Honestly, I am just saddened by AT&T's choice to lock everything and Samsung's horrific TouchWiz UI. We all know its awful. I am a die hard samsung fanboy but man, they are letting the ball drop. like the note 5, possible no removable back? What is this HTC?! I hope AT&T/Samsung realize that locking the bootloader is a pointless exercise. What modder out there ever returns their stuff for warranty?! Enough of the rant. I am most likely going to be switching to T-mobile by the end of this year(for other reasons than the phone) and was wondering if there is a better options than the note edge coming soon?

Flame_Beard said:
You can get root. It's just tough. The recommended way (depending on your variant) is to get CWM and root through recovery then flash whatever recovery you want to use. For me its TWRP. The above method works on my SM-N915G.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
also, from everything I have read, there is no secure root for the SM-N915A. I could be wrong but I don't think so unfortunately

mikeyvalentine said:
also, from everything I have read, there is no secure root for the SM-N915A. I could be wrong but I don't think so unfortunately
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Click to collapse
There is ROOT, for an SM-N915A but you have to be on kitkat and NOT lollipop. Also root for this device is "TEMP" and not permanent, after a reboot, you loose root.

IceTwig said:
There is ROOT, for an SM-N915A but you have to be on kitkat and NOT lollipop. Also root for this device is "TEMP" and not permanent, after a reboot, you loose root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the problem, If it was a perm root. I wouldn't be so negative about this phone but since its only Temp. I feel like I kind of got cheated with this phone. It's powerful but a hog with its power, its got a great display but mainly because of the edge, and a nice size battery that, again, gets killed by the display(even at low brightness) I might have just got a lemon from the start, its happened before. I just wish that rooting this phone was easier and more satisfying than "oh sweet, I was able to root my phone! Better not restart and better be okay with the non existent roms out for it right now!"

More than likely because when Samsung released this model, they initially said that they were going to drop only 1000 units so as to "test the market waters" for the device. So sad to see because she really is a beaut. I won't be moving to a Note 4, I have a new phone owed to me by my carrier this month, so I will be waiting to see what this years Note/Note Edge offering is and I will make the change then, Fingers crossed they do run with the Note Edge design. Also too, if they follow suit with their Note lines of phone as they have with Their Galaxy S line (no expandable memory, no removable back plate) I will not be buying Samsung again. Other than the lengthy feature set for the Note Edge, the fact that they have expandable memory was the tipping point for me. Failing that I will be going elsewhere from now on. Sad to say it, but Samsung is following in Apples footsteps by telling the consumer what they can and cannot do with a device that they choose to buy.

V10 >>>Banter BONANZA<<< and Tagline Thread _______________

So the Root thread was starting to get out of hand.
If you want to "talk shop" or "shoot teh $hit", let's do that here and keep the Root thread clean for development headway.
Got a few thoughts on the V10 myself.
1) Battery life is not the best, leaves me desiring more.
2) When wearing a case, the Volumptuous10 has a very "specific" spot it likes to be touched. (we are talking about the fingerprint reader here... get your mind outta the gutter)
3) General performance is pretty good, but graphic prowess is severely lacking. Wished LG had used something other than the 808
4) Speaker is a bit weak for my uses. I often work in loud environments where using speakerphone on calls is necessary just to hear the other party
5) I miss having dual cellular radios. Means no simultaneous data and voice calls unless using your Carriers "advanced calling" app/feature. Not an ideal solution
6) Second screen is useful, but too restricted. I hope LG opens this up more to 3rd party apps that can expand its usability 100 fold
7) Picture quality for me is softer on the V10 when compared to the G4 in side by side shots. I have tested this under many different conditions
8) WOULD CARRIERS STOP LOCKING DOWN OUR DEVICES AND LOADING THEM UP WITH CRAPWARE ALREADY ???? damn.....
9) Love the design. Looking at it reminds me of Star Wars imperial designs. I have officially named my V10 " TIE-Fighter X " . And I guess the relation to the Dark Side is fitting seeing that Verizon just had to brand the back plate.
That brings me to TAG LINES. If you have one bouncing around in that noggin of yours, let it loose here...
1st point on my list above spawned this thought.
Tag line reads: " V10 battery life got you down? Could've had a V8 "
Needs to have an image to go along with this. Someone make me one??
And my feelings about the battery life and design of this spectacular device come with a development request.
SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE A STAR WARS ROM FOR THIS BEAST!!! I beg of you.
Call it something like "Star Destroyer", or "Vader's Vain". Maybe even "DeathStar". Get creative.
As you can see by the title of this thread and the content within... ANYTHING GOES.
Have at it !!!

Why in the bloody hell does the default camera app have to sharpen every image. I think LG wants to compensate on everything *wink wink*

Battery life is ... Meh... ok though.. two batteries / fast charging is a nice option...
also, and probably the bigger topic. I can talk and use data (either on the device itself or tethering via Foxfi) at the same time. I'm not doing anything special but it works for me.

Development for this phone it's pretty much non existent. I should have kept my nexus 6 or bought the newest note.
The second screen is a total waste at this point and a awful gimmick that managed to suck me in to buy the phone. ( that was one of the reasons I bought it).
This is my first and probably last LGv phone.
Battery life is less than desirable but so are most Android phones.

TheRealKingSen said:
Development for this phone it's pretty much non existent. I should have kept my nexus 6 or bought the newest note.
The second screen is a total waste at this point and a awful gimmick that managed to suck me in to buy the phone. ( that was one of the reasons I bought it).
This is my first and probably last LGv phone.
Battery life is less than desirable but so are most Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is your name Nancy by chance?
I like the second screen. use it to control pandora (or music app) while in another app or while screen is off, quick apps to launch (from anywhere), answer or ignore phone calls without it taking over your screen. I extended the text notification to ten seconds so if i see one come in I have time to click on it to bring it up or swipe it away. anyhow. just my opinion. Hope it grows on you and if not that you are able to trade someone for a phone you like better.

ke5pcv said:
Why in the bloody hell does the default camera app have to sharpen every image. I think LG wants to compensate on everything *wink wink*
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Click to collapse
I tested my V10 side by side with my mothers G4. Her G4 takes a sharper shot on almost every attempt. This is testing them literally side x side taking shots in various conditions.
So either the software on the V10 need tweaking, or I bought my Mom a killer G4. LOL Just my $.02
kaluna00 said:
I can talk and use data (either on the device itself or tethering via Foxfi) at the same time. I'm not doing anything special but it works for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Log into your Verizon account online and look on the right side of the page. You should see "Plan Management" in red letters. Right under that are 2 red buttons. Click on the [My Products and Apps].
On the next page under the Get Products tab, click on "Free Products". You should see HD Voice. If that is enabled already, that might be why you can do that.
Now the feature that originally allowed you to use data and voice simultaneously used to be listed here under the name Advanced Calling 1.0. It does not appear there any more, but it was there just a month ago. I am not sure if it has been rolled up into the HD Voice or not, but it's probably baked into all current Verizon phone Roms (official). And probably enabled by default.
What it does is call over your data connection (basically like VOIP) thus you are not really using voice and data simultaneously. You are making calls over LTE while still using LTE.
Try going out to an area where there is no LTE and you will find that you cannot use the Advanced Calling while on 3G. AC can also drop calls if you are in an area where LTE signal is weak, or you are moving around a large distance at a time (driving, etc.)
Its a compromise, but it certainly does not make up for the true capabilities of separate radios.
TheRealKingSen said:
Development for this phone it's pretty much non existent. I should have kept my nexus 6 or bought the newest note.
The second screen is a total waste at this point and a awful gimmick that managed to suck me in to buy the phone. ( that was one of the reasons I bought it).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gimmick.... eh, maybe somewhat. "Eye of the beholder" I suppose. I think it would have made more sense on the bottom, but then it just would have been a longer screen.
The way I see it being useful is having it on the bottom where your nav bar would be, and allowing it to swipe and change to something else beside the nav buttons. And this would give you back the screen space that you are loosing to the nav bar. But like I said, then you just have a longer screen overall.
Custom Roms already have features like this, so it wont be anything revolutionary except to those that didn't know such a thing existed.
I think it will gain more traction when LG decides to let devs expand on the 2nd screens functions and 3rd party support.
But the phone is beautiful right? The Note used to be my favorite phone line, but now it is in the dumpster along with the whole Galaxy line-up. It lays right there next to the iFone slopped in decaying banana guts, just beneath the rotting apple.

I've had Samsung phones back to the Captivate, and I REALLY like what LG has put out with the V10. For me it isnt so much a drastic change in the GUI/Software, that's all really just a change in the "theme". GUI wise, it's a bit refreshing to get away from Sammy. Hardware wise, I LOVE what LG did with this device, it's far more solid feeling than my Note III. It has a great weight. It did take a little getting use to the button placement, but after a month or 2 it's really MUCH more intuitive than the placement on the side rails. I suppose the bump to a higher rated processor would've been really nice, but for my usage I see zero lag/performance issues.
So to carry over from the Root bounty thread, and I KNOW this will cause a fury of discussions on device lock down/Root/locked bootloaders
I've mentioned this before in other areas, and unfortunately, I believe this is the way things are going to continue to move.
One of the things I think we (here at XDA) fail to realize is the full scope of a devices impact in the market versus the size and scope of XDA's "footprint". Take the S6 and S6 edge as an example. Estimated combined device sales figures are somewhere around 45 million (as of June 2015). XDA's current membership is close to 7 million in total, for ALL devices. If you (generously imo) estimate that 10% of all XDA members own a S6 or S6 edge, that would account for around 1.6% of the devices total sales.
As someone said in the other thread, that "we" should boycott the carries that are locking devices down...... under 2% of total sales(again for the S6/S6 Edge as the example)? I think they would barely even notice
It just makes really good business sense to cater sales to large scale corporations who require a secure device. Which is why I think Big Red and Big Blue are locking the devices down. This model, is really just securing all of the business that they ripped away from Blackberry.
T-Mo, seems to be moving in a different direction by catering to the "younger generation"/family's, etc. Which doesn't really "require" a locked system.
I think that we are still very lucky to have some really talented folks who are still able to dig in and get things done. Unfortunately, I fear this is going to become more and more difficult to do
This is all "what I think", not "what I know" so take it with a grain of salt

@fire3element
Log into your Verizon account online and look on the right side of the page. You should see "Plan Management" in red letters. Right under that are 2 red buttons. Click on the [My Products and Apps].
On the next page under the Get Products tab, click on "Free Products". You should see HD Voice. If that is enabled already, that might be why you can do that.
You were right... It was enabled on my line. I have been able to do this since I had my Rezound though (also on my G2). I still have an UDP and could talk while tethering or surfing... don't know why (rooted, custom ROM???) anyway. glad it is still working and I'll try it if I get into a place without 4G and report back. anyway..

kaluna00 said:
You were right... It was enabled on my line. I have been able to do this since I had my Rezound though (also on my G2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am pretty sure that the Rezound had separate data and voice radios. Let me clarify that. LTE radio is separate from the 3g/1x radio. The Note 3 and I believe up to the S5 have separated raidos. Think that changed with the Note 4 and other phone that came out around that time.
Note 3 had the 801 chipset, so most phones around that time had the same radio setup.
Snapdragon and other manufactures started merging to single radio setups to conserve power. The result is hindered operation, which is trying to be solved with software. Seems ok till you don't have a strong LTE signal or no LTE at all. The call dropping is also very aggravating. Specially those that use their devices for business... _________________yeah

Hate to admit it.. But guess that was just dumb luck. I normally have week LTE @my brothers house. I'll try it out next time I'm there.

kangi26 said:
I've mentioned this before in other areas, and unfortunately, I believe this is the way things are going to continue to move.
One of the things I think we (here at XDA) fail to realize is the full scope of a devices impact in the market versus the size and scope of XDA's "footprint".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you are absolutely right. We are of little to no significance to the phone makers, but there IS a large market to influence with Unlockable devices. As has been proven with Nexus, One+, and Motorola sales.
On the subject of T-mobile, I think the majority of their decision to allow Unlockable devices is purely grasping at straws for more customers. That and the fact they realize the % of users that are even interested in this is just a small portion of the customer base, thus fairly irrelevant vs. being something that impacts their bottom line.
BUT WHY WON'T GOOGLE FORCE ALL MANUFACTURES TO ALLOW BOOTLOADER UNLOCKS FOR USERS THAT CHOOSE TO DO SO?? I mean it is GOOGLE's OS. They could make this mandatory.
And implement it the same way the Nexus line does. You can unlock your Bootloader, but you are forced to wipe the device in the process. Yes there could be ways around this, but so exist exploits to gain Root on devices without wiping.
I think Motorola has a good policy on this. You are allowed to officially unlock your Bootloader upon agreement that Moto is not responsible for your security thereafter, and your warranty is now VOID.
I see little risk allowing this with all devices. And this is what Android SHOULD BE.
Users need to have the choice to do with their devices what they want. I have a feeling that there is a bigger player in this that is keeping the Gubermint from forcing manufactures to abide by this like they did to Verizon with the Carrier unlocking.

fire3element said:
Yes, you are absolutely right. We are of little to no significance to the phone makers, but there IS a large market to influence with Unlockable devices. As has been proven with Nexus, One+, and Motorola sales.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that if we look a little at the device sales for last year,
Samsung sold 392 million
Lenovo, Motorola sold 84 million
LG sold 76 million (this would include Nexus)
and so on and so on(sales numbers get smaller). I think what were looking at is complete dominance in the handset market. Even Apple only sold 191 million, not even close to Sammy!
So to me, it's a "Do what you can to stay a viable device manufacturer", and to do that you have to get as many sales as you can. Being in IT in the Healthcare industry, I know what the company I work for requires. The more secure the manufacturer can make the device, the more likely they'll be in the running to get a sale/contract
fire3element said:
On the subject of T-mobile, I think the majority of their decision to allow Unlockable devices is purely grasping at straws for more customers. That and the fact they realize the % of users that are even interested in this is just a small portion of the customer base, thus fairly irrelevant vs. being something that impacts their bottom line.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you're spot on here! I've thought that for a while too
fire3element said:
BUT WHY WON'T GOOGLE FORCE ALL MANUFACTURES TO ALLOW BOOTLOADER UNLOCKS FOR USERS THAT CHOOSE TO DO SO?? I mean it is GOOGLE's OS. They could make this mandatory.
And implement it the same way the Nexus line does.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that it's because Google is in the market to sell it's OS, and if they can provide a product that will sell and ship on well over 500 million devices in 2014. That's what I call makin' money!
To be honest, I've always thought that the reason Google came out with the Nexus line was to maintain a platform that was "Pure Google" knowing full well that the rest of the industry was going to be changed. And keep it the way the first rolled out and hoped it would be. I think that's really cool

I enjoyed the dialog you two posted and agree with it all and the parts in the middle.
Thanks Kangi26 and Fire3Element, good stuff.

This is my first LG device and in happy that I purchased it. I've read all through the forum people are complaining about things that could've been avoided before you left the carrier store or where ever the device was purchased. When I went in I had three devices in mind, this device the note 5 and Samsung Galaxy S6. I tested all three over an hour and half time frame and ended up choosing the LG V10. I've even dropped it or its been knocked off my counter to tile flooring about 4 or 5 times with no issues. The only thing that I've found that I don't like is the LG keyboard so I switched to the Google keyboard... Problem solved. I have good battery life, so I'm happy

Overall, I am happy with this phone. Yes there are some nitpicks, but ALL devices have them.
The fact that I still get a removable battery and microSD card slot more than make up for the rest of the V10's issues.
But I will say I am still a Note fan. If the Note 5 had kept the removable battery and SD card, I'd most likely have bought the Note 5. My Note 3 has been an absolute beast, and still is to this day.
Unfortunately, the LTE reception issues have been getting so bad that I was forced to upgrade to a new phone. Otherwise, I would still be using my Note 3 until SamSmug got their $tuff together. If the V10 gets Root, I will be more than happy. Hope for a Bootloader unlock as well.

this thread is what we needed to vent and just bs. thanks bud.

fire3element said:
Overall, I am happy with this phone. Yes there are some nitpicks, but ALL devices have them.
The fact that I still get a removable battery and microSD card slot more than make up for the rest of the V10's issues.
But I will say I am still a Note fan. If the Note 5 had kept the removable battery and SD card, I'd most likely have bought the Note 5. My Note 3 has been an absolute beast, and still is to this day.
Unfortunately, the LTE reception issues have been getting so bad that I was forced to upgrade to a new phone. Otherwise, I would still be using my Note 3 until SamSmug got their $tuff together. If the V10 gets Root, I will be more than happy. Hope for a Bootloader unlock as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really loved my Note 3 as well, and was really on the fence with the Note 5. I loved the size and how small the screen bezels are, but there were a couple things that I really didn't like at all. The removable battery/no SD slot wasn't the straw that broke the camels back, it was oddly the glass back. I had that thing in my hand at the AT&T store, and it was WAY too slick for me
And really when I got the V10 in my hands, it just felt so much better than even my Note 3, I bought it on the spot (I had been looking at the specs for a while too)

kangi26 said:
The removable battery/no SD slot wasn't the straw that broke the camels back, it was oddly the glass back. I had that thing in my hand at the AT&T store, and it was WAY too slick for me
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Click to collapse
This is where we differ the most then. I absolutely have to have a case on my phones due to working conditions. After having the Zero Lemon extended battery + case on several phones, there is no way I would ever sacrifice having a removable batt on my main device again. That is unless there are no longer any phones with removable batt.
I had contemplated building a design just like what Zero Lemon sells back when I had my LG VX8700 flip phone. A triple cell battery that covered the entire length of the phone just made sense to me. I pondered on it for a while, but did not see how I could get a manufacture to build them.
Then when I got my Droid X, I bought 3 batteries and attempted to build one. It seemed to work ok, but again my working conditions are harsh. I had to stop using it in fear that I would lose/drop them while working.
Now that there is a manufacture making these tri-cell batteries, I don't think I could ever live without one. Just so close to what I had envisioned years ago so I guess it means more to me than most.
Not everyone's idea of portable I suppose. But when you can tether for 48hrs straight and never have to worry that your battery is going to go dead... now THATS POWAR!!!
Prob could jump start your car off one of these. LoL

fire3element said:
But when you can tether for 48hrs straight and never have to worry that your battery is going to go dead... now THATS POWAR!!!
Prob could jump start your car off one of these. LoL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HAA!! That's a riot!!
You know, that gives me an idea! You could take a spare back for the V10, epoxy it to one of these, run a cable to the USB ports.
You could run FOREVER, and jump a car all at the same time!!
---------- Post added at 12:57 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 PM ----------
fire3element said:
This is where we differ the most then. I absolutely have to have a case on my phones due to working conditions. After having the Zero Lemon extended battery + case on several phones, there is no way I would ever sacrifice having a removable batt on my main device again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the past few years, I've not been quite the power user I use to be, and also saw that the N5 had an option for larger memory (Not the BEST options, but I could've lived with it). And even my career changed too, so even a case isnt NEARLY as important as it use to be for me (I was in construction, so Otterbox was a MUST)

This very type of thread was created back when the device was launched here.
No need to start another.
Please carry on in the Lounge:good:
This thread has been closed
Thank you.

(Discussion) Is This the End of the Line?

I thought nothing could replace my bootloader unlocked and rooted LG G3 running SkyDragon and the Xposed framework. Then came my US996 V20 factory unlocked, rooted and also with Xposed framework. This phone nearly had it all for me. I wanted FM radio but all attempts at getting it with Verizon as a carrier were unsuccessful. But I still loved and love myV20! Now is a very sad time for me because my 2.5 year old V20 is showing signs of advanced age. One of the primary reasons for choosing it was the replaceable battery. I don't give a rat's rear end about waterproof design, selfie cameras, using near field to pay for purchases or fingerprint unlocking but apparently the marketplace is driven by those desires. I do care about the ability to root and unlock the bootloader and, above all, the ability to replace the battery in any phone I own. Looks like I'm screwed on the latter!
If I bite the bullet on replaceable battery but absolutely must have root, what are my primary options? I would really like to hear from you guys and perhaps start a discussion on this subject. I paid $800 for my V20 and think it was nearly worth it but I do not have to have a flagship, especially when prices are getting absurd. I also would prefer a phone physically no larger than the V20 (absolutely loved the G3 sizewise!) and require a display that is visible in sunny outdoors. I would also like to be able to use my 256 GB SD card. I know my quest is practically hopeless but when the time comes I would like to get a phone that I feel I haven't paid for a lot of those trendy features I don't want or will never use.
Sorry about the rant – but the current state of affairs sucks, imho! BTW, 5G will "never" get to my area either but most of my usage is WiFi and I have a Gigabit FiOS connection but my V20 does not do well in the WiFi speed category.

PhoneBill said:
I thought nothing could replace my bootloader unlocked and rooted LG G3 running SkyDragon and the Xposed framework. Then came my US996 V20 factory unlocked, rooted and also with Xposed framework. This phone nearly had it all for me. I wanted FM radio but all attempts at getting it with Verizon as a carrier were unsuccessful. But I still loved and love myV20! Now is a very sad time for me because my 2.5 year old V20 is showing signs of advanced age. One of the primary reasons for choosing it was the replaceable battery. I don't give a rat's rear end about waterproof design, selfie cameras, using near field to pay for purchases or fingerprint unlocking but apparently the marketplace is driven by those desires. I do care about the ability to root and unlock the bootloader and, above all, the ability to replace the battery in any phone I own. Looks like I'm screwed on the latter!
If I bite the bullet on replaceable battery but absolutely must have root, what are my primary options? I would really like to hear from you guys and perhaps start a discussion on this subject. I paid $800 for my V20 and think it was nearly worth it but I do not have to have a flagship, especially when prices are getting absurd. I also would prefer a phone physically no larger than the V20 (absolutely loved the G3 sizewise!) and require a display that is visible in sunny outdoors. I would also like to be able to use my 256 GB SD card. I know my quest is practically hopeless but when the time comes I would like to get a phone that I feel I haven't paid for a lot of those trendy features I don't want or will never use.
Sorry about the rant – but the current state of affairs sucks, imho! BTW, 5G will "never" get to my area either but most of my usage is WiFi and I have a Gigabit FiOS connection but my V20 does not do well in the WiFi speed category.
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Click to collapse
I bought an Essential phone and then moved to a new Mi mix 2S and both have been great replacement for the V20.
The new Mi 9 is also a great alternative
Sent from my Mi MIX 2S using Tapatalk

OnePlus is also very good, that's where I moved to from V20 and S8+.

No matter what people say I'll stick with my us996 and f800k.......this ticks all the boxes for me.

Same problem I have with all the new devices. I tried the non-replaceable battery in a Nexus 6. Never again. Sucks when it dies, and they all will. It's just chemistry. And you can't get known good quality cells, just random China crap that is completely unknown. Perhaps a bigger name flagship like the S8 would have some options for good quality cells. Everyone else gets the rejects. It's a bit harsh, but I've personally tested random batteries and they are nearly universally crap that don't meet the stated capacity and lifetime. Not just in a phone either, real discharge testing. There are a couple decent manufacturers, but you pay more and they don't make batteries for every device, they just can't. Particularly when "normal" people don't go opening up a glued together device to replace the battery.
I get that my desires mean I'm not the "mass market". But it would be nice to have a couple options to pick from. Maybe just a big and small? I like larger devices, but not everyone does.
If they want more than about $300, I demand replaceable batteries, expandable storage, and headphone jack. And, most important, root. If I don't have root, I don't own the device. If I don't own it, I'm not paying nearly a grand for it. Hell, I got all that on my V20 for about $400. Sadly, at the moment there is no upgrade path. The best thing is, the things I ask for are cheap as hell, maybe $5 total in quantity, so the potential profit margin is huge. Everyone is just too busy trying to look like Apple. If I wanted that, I'd have already bought an iPhone.

stinka318 said:
No matter what people say I'll stick with my us996 and f800k.......this ticks all the boxes for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree. The V20 is the last of it's kind and they did most things right for it's time.. it even has an IR blaster, which I use as a universal remote. Like it's been mentioned before: the replaceable battery, expandable memory, quad dac+3.5mm jack, and decent all around specs for it's time makes this phone one of a kind. They don't make phones like this anymore, at least on the hardware level. Even though we all complained about LG and their crappy software updates, at least I gotta give credit to LG for making a phone like this (hardware wise).
Hopefully the dev community keeps it running for some time, in retrospect, this phone is a legend.

Looking into buying phone... need advice

Does this phone work well with US carriers? Mainly ATT? And how does everyone like the device? I'm coming from the essential phone ph-1 and would love to hear input on the 7 pro.
Thanks!

Been using this phone on AT&T (Boston area) since last June and it works flawlessly. Just put my SIM in, and it worked without a hitch. Pretty much the same experience with my last phone, which was the OnePlus 3T, which I had for 2 years.
7 Pro is a great phone. Really fast and smooth with the (at the time it was released) top of the line Snapdragon processor and 90 Hz screen. You get flagship performance for a much lower price than a Samsung or iPhone (okay, XDA users aren't really the type to buy iPhones - but you see where I'm coming from). The camera on those other phones might be a bit better. But really, you're getting 95% of the phone quality for a much lower price.
Just as important, the OS is really clean. Close to a stock Android feel, with a few (mostly useful and inobtrusive) added features. OP devices tend to be root friendly, and enjoy great developer and community support here on XDA.
One quibble is the curved screen edges. More flash than function. I feel like OnePlus was trying to make it look like the Samsung screens. But it occasionally makes it difficult and awkward to tap on things near the screen edge. It's a pretty minor thing. But enough to make me wish the phone had a flat screen, instead of curved edges.
Another minor comment (can't even call it a quibble really) is the pop-up selfie camera. It does allow the screen to be completely without any camera notch or cut-out. But some folks have been concerned about long term durability. Unless you are taking tons of selfies, I don't see it as much of any issue. Although if you use face unlock (which I do), you do have to wait for it to pop up and down. It happens pretty fast. But face unlock takes maybe a second (perhaps less) longer than my old 3T due to this (since that phone didn't have to pop a camera up). If you use the fingerprint unlock, this isn't a thing at all, of course. And the pop-up camera does make for a good party gimmick! :laugh:

jrodbrown58 said:
Does this phone work well with US carriers? Mainly ATT? And how does everyone like the device? I'm coming from the essential phone ph-1 and would love to hear input on the 7 pro.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone works fine
I'm using a OnePlus 7 pro Tmobile brand
I used a international rom which allows 2 Sim cards and I believe unlocks it to be used with other carriers
The device is very snappy, before the international rom flash it would boot in like 2 seconds
After I unlocked it the stupid integrity warning slows down the boot by like 10-30 seconds
The phone has one of the best benchmarks for any phone if not the best still.
Camera pop up is pretty fast and snappy
Updates were frequent until all the fuss about cornavirus started.
Issues - currently blackscreen when opening several game applications including
Clash of clans
Old school runescape
Cod mobile
And others.
But on earlier versions it was fine.
Other complaints that shouldn't effect much on the use of the phone.
System is locked making debloat ING harder then needs to be (Google apps are trash 99% of the time)
Custom Rom updates seem to be slow
Magisk roms seem to not always work
Wiping system makes the entire phone useless until you use the msm tool to re-upload your phones software
Could have Alot more tweaks and functionality if OnePlus added them (navigation bar specifically is limited, I don't use recent button I use it as a menu button)
Bloatware by Google. (I'd prefer to install what I want not be forced to use what they implement)
Overall I give this phone a 8/10 rating.
Would be 10/10 if they actually lived by their motto.
Its Alot to read but worth the time. (unless I don't make any sense then sorry)

I'm using my US unlocked model with Visible and Google fi. I was using VZW until I changed to Visible. No problems.
Sent from my SM-T830 using Tapatalk

I have the 7 Pro 5G, running on Sprint, bootloader unlocked and sim unlocked, definitely the best phone I've ever owned, I came from the LG V40 immediately prior, and the Pixel XL series before that, I also did breifly own the Essential phone,
-the 90Hz display is downright the absolute best screen I've ever had on any phone ever.
-256 gigabytes of storage is more than enough for me
-I have yet to encounter any tasks that caused any small amount of lag even.
-the cameras arent amazing, but they're decent, better than the essential.
-the pop up camera feature definitely is better than a notch and it's also just fun to watch it go up and down.
Overall this phone is 10/10, Just wish they cared more about the 5G variants and updated them faster...

redpoint73 said:
Been using this phone on AT&T (Boston area) since last June and it works flawlessly. Just put my SIM in, and it worked without a hitch. Pretty much the same experience with my last phone, which was the OnePlus 3T, which I had for 2 years.
7 Pro is a great phone. Really fast and smooth with the (at the time it was released) top of the line Snapdragon processor and 90 Hz screen. You get flagship performance for a much lower price than a Samsung or iPhone (okay, XDA users aren't really the type to buy iPhones - but you see where I'm coming from). The camera on those other phones might be a bit better. But really, you're getting 95% of the phone quality for a much lower price.
Just as important, the OS is really clean. Close to a stock Android feel, with a few (mostly useful and inobtrusive) added features. OP devices tend to be root friendly, and enjoy great developer and community support here on XDA.
One quibble is the curved screen edges. More flash than function. I feel like OnePlus was trying to make it look like the Samsung screens. But it occasionally makes it difficult and awkward to tap on things near the screen edge. It's a pretty minor thing. But enough to make me wish the phone had a flat screen, instead of curved edges.
Another minor comment (can't even call it a quibble really) is the pop-up selfie camera. It does allow the screen to be completely without any camera notch or cut-out. But some folks have been concerned about long term durability. Unless you are taking tons of selfies, I don't see it as much of any issue. Although if you use face unlock (which I do), you do have to wait for it to pop up and down. It happens pretty fast. But face unlock takes maybe a second (perhaps less) longer than my old 3T due to this (since that phone didn't have to pop a camera up). If you use the fingerprint unlock, this isn't a thing at all, of course. And the pop-up camera does make for a good party gimmick! :laugh:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm definitely gonna buy this phone when I get the cash, but noticed there's a few variants. Chinese, international unlocked and US. The US one is the one i know will work in the US but what about the international unlocked? I just don't want to have to spend the extra money if I don't have to

jrodbrown58 said:
I'm definitely gonna buy this phone when I get the cash, but noticed there's a few variants. Chinese, international unlocked and US. The US one is the one i know will work in the US but what about the international unlocked? I just don't want to have to spend the extra money if I don't have to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can only speak for the version I bought, which is the US unlocked version.

The new replacement phone for LG V20 is FINALLY here?

After many years, and a lot of looking around - I think we finally have a new replacement for the LG V20. I just got it not long ago, so I still need to use it as my daily phone.
I have already rooted the phone with Magisk which there is already is an unofficial guide to and still setting it up, so is the small German company of Shift as they are still working on the software - they have 2 stocks in production, Android 10 Google version and Android 10 without Google.
The phone has the 3 essential as I call them, removeable battery, Micro SD and Jack phone! Although it is somewhat costly compared to a used LG V20 phone - but if anyone wants an upgrade on the CPU and Graphic, Internal storage, RAM and so forth, this is the way to go.
Ordering the phone should come quickly now, as the wait time should be over as they have been sending them out for the last couple of months - so there should not be any big wait time for it now.
SHIFTPHONES - Nachhaltige Technologie aus Deutschland
Shift Shop | SHIFT6mq (preorder) (shiftphones.com)
I was looking on the Fairphone 3 and Shift 6mq - I actually ended up just going for another used LG V20, but because of the nonsense of Corona I could not get a new LG V20 from Hongkong and the phone was never sold in Europe. In any case I had to bite the bigger price and the Fairphone 3 was disqualified because of only 64GB internal, I knew I had to have an upgrade on that as I am easily filling it with stuff. The only option although pricy was the Shift6mq - But I needed a new phone as the old LG V20 was dying more and more each and every day. So I ordered it a good amount of month ago, and now it is finally arrived.
I have just installed the Light version of there System without Google and rooted it - I have yet to use it in daily life but it looks good. I have benchmarked it against the LG V20 and not surprisingly it beats it with ease. There are of cause some negative things as well, battery can be somewhat tough to get out of the phone, I used some sandpaper on the bottom of the batteries that seemed to do the work to easier taking them out. They surely stick in the mobile when they are in there, which is not a bad thing, but a little less strong would have been nice. Again, it seems to work with some fine sandpaper, to ease this issue. Maybe it will work itself out with use over time, but... Well... Sandpaper seemed to work
I also have a Camera issue it seems, whereas the front camera is pointing somewhat upward, but it seems to be just my unit and not the norm, there could be 2 solutions to this and have to work that out at some point. But the Camera is working so it is not a big biggie, just annoying.
The internal speaker does seems somewhat weaker then the LG V20, but the phone jack, does well with my speakers, so no problem there.
That is the first impressions I have with it... I think this will be my next phone for the next 5 years, just some stuff to sort out and move all my applications over to it. I though you LG V20 users would like to know that there is now an alternative, with greater CPU and Graphics and Internal memory available, would love to see more people coming over to grow it up in the right direction and helping each other!
And supporting a small company, although not perfect in any way, at least it still stands on some sanity, with a degoogled system and the 3 essential important things for a mobile.
You don't need the plastic cover either, you can use the protection cover only without any issues - if you do not need the payment thing that is in it, personally I never used it myself.
If anyone have any questions in regards of it, just shoot! But I am still new to the phone - so I have yet used it as my daily driver, but I'm getting there! Just had to sort out the rooting and see what could do, break it down and such. It was many hoops to do, but now that I know, I can help others if you have any issues on those part
Sadly a lot of German, they have a forum and they speak mostly German - but, we can get an English Community as well around it I am sure, and help each other. Beside there are tools for translating
Dearly regards
- Darkijah
P.S you get a Screwdriver with your phone, as they have focus on taking it apart and fixing it yourself and such. So the Phone is designed with that in mind. No Charger as most have chargers already to use, but a Screwdriver
Although it seems to charge as "fast" or slow as the LG V20, around 2:30 hour as far as my testing goes for now. Sadly no external chargers for batteries like the V20 had, at least not for now. I had 2 of these chargers for my LG V20 and have used them a lot. Shift may have something up there sleeve for it, but time will tell.

Will this work on Verizon?

baldybill said:
Will this work on Verizon?
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No idea, don't even know what it is... Some kind of streaming to TV?... It's standard Android 10, so... if it is an Application for streaming I would think so, but really, have no idea.

It's a cell phone service in the USA. (along with AT&T, Spring, TMobile, etc.)
What cell phone services does this phone work on?

These are the phone's supported bands:
LTE Frequenzbänder: FDD-LTE B1 / B3 / B7 / B20 / B28, TDD-LTE B38 / B39 / B40 / B41
3G Frequenzbänder: UMTS / HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA: B1 / B2 / B3 / B5 / B8, CDMA (800, 1900, 2100Mhz), TD-SCDMA (1900, 2000Mhz)
T-Mobile LTE (2, 4, 5, 12, 66, 71) is out. AT&T LTE (2, 4, 5, 12, 14, 17, 29, 30, 66) is out. Verizon LTE (2, 4, 5, 13, 46, 48, 66) is out.
The only LTE band supported by any US carrier is Sprint on 41 and one band is not anything to safely rely on long-term following the T-Mobile merger.

Ahhh I have no idea @baldybill but @Snakecharmed seemed to give you the answer. Not so knowledgeable on those areas. But we are all here to learn, I would think

It is already looking good, have installed the Light version and gotten it rooted - still need to move my applications over to it. But it is progressing
I did play a racing game, although I really should not - but it runs perfectly fluent compared to the LG V20 which is not a surprise. Even in the highest setting it seem to run more smooth then the lowest on the LG V20, but really somewhat unfair because of the 4-5 year differences between them. The screen itself also looks better, clear and crisp, although I have seen some issues other places when the screen is all white. But Shift are are still working on the 2 stock systems so... But the game itself was crisp and clear and overall the game was running fluently on the highest setting.
I don't think I will look much back to the LG V20 when I get this up and running as my daily driver. Although, I would like to try out Lineage on my LG V20 if possible, version 10, I am thinking it might get me closer together to have the same usability compared to each other... But maybe not...
Dunno, in any case it is looking good and promising! Finally an upgrade from the LG V20, a phone with the 3 essentials. How hard it can be for companies to do sane things these days.
exFAT is at the moment not supported by Shift 6mq but support for it should be coming! Something about some worldly stuff needed to run through... Can't remember the details. But it is on the way as I understand it. At the moment it only runs FAT32, which is kinda annoying as that only supports 4 GB files.
Anyway... As said they are still working hard on the software so... 2 systems, google and ungoogle versions.

Fully serviceable phones seem to be more popular in Europe than in the US. The Shift6mq seems to be the most advanced option I've seen so far in terms of hardware. The Snapdragon 845 is a couple of generations old, but the total package apart from audio hardware is a clear improvement over the V20. However, if I had to pick the #1 reason why I still use the V20 daily, it's the second screen.
There's no real equivalent to the Shift6mq in the US. The best option I've seen here is the Teracube 2e and between the 720p screen resolution and the MediaTek A25 chipset, it kinda sucks.

Okay, I just dropped my phone from 10-15 cm while sitting on the toilet flipping it around, although having the silicon *Or something of that kind* protection I did not think much about it really... But... My screen broke. I have never ever experienced an issue with my LG V20, actually after 4 years the screen still seems like new, and it has been dropped a good amount of times.
Yet one single minor small drop - and I now have a broken new mobile which screen is broke. I though it was the Gorilla glass at first with 2 lines of breaking but... Investigating further it seems the Gorilla is just fine - "just" the screen behind it, that is broke. And investigating further the line starts from the bottom left corner and goes up at the side, and in the middle of the screen it goes out in 2 lines. There is a minor thing as well over it in the left side.
Beside the none colors and weird colors it makes, I am pretty sure the screen is broke. I saw this guy breaking mobiles, and this seem to be the same screen issue that he gets when Jerry I think his name is, brakes the mobiles.
*Sigh* And I did not even get to use the mobile as a daily driver before it failed on me :/ I was trying to find an app that could get my applications unto it, after now being rooted and on the ungoogled version of Shift. I first tried an open source app which could not restore the backed up applications on A10, I was then at the point of it happening trying with Titanium Backup, but it needed you to push with every single Application, which actually was what did me in and made me drop it. Usual I would have laid it down once until finish, but here you had to wait for installing the app and then push again.
I think this is one of these Free features that most likely is not in the Pro version - but knowing not if the app works, I wanted to test it before maybe buying it.
Anyway... My new fresh phone from Germany is Broke... *Sigh* Terrible just Terrible. Well, at least moving forward, but if this is standard that the screen dies by so little... Well, hopefully it was just a faulty item, although I am afraid that it might not be. What is the point of Gorilla protection if the screen just blows up by itself without even touching the surface of the Gorilla glass. Seems to me that it must have been the vibrations overall that killed the screen, as it just hit the Silicon cover protecting it as it should.
Whatever the case, my new phone is RIP for now! Well, I guess it is good I got the new used LG V20 that is rooted and running! At least I can focus on that for now, it still needs some fixing, yet it is my daily driver and would be until getting the other up and running with all the apps and setup which I was closing into. But now really hit into a biggie with the new phone. Oh well...
Dearly regards
- Darkijah

Well, there was a screwdriver with the mobile and... I've just looked into repairing the screen. It does look like it won't be that hard, I hope... The whole idea with the Shift phone was that one could repair it by them self, although hopefully the screens normally don't break so quick. It could easily become expensive if one needs to buy a screen every time one drops it. Hopefully I had a faulty screen, or they might need to investigate into better screens. Like that was just way to easy to break.

Okay Carsten from Shift wanna have a look on the mobile - I will send it back and hopefully he can get something out of it. Nice to see they care about their products
Hopefully this is not a normal thing, and if it is - then I hope they get it corrected. Like 4 years without a cracking screen on my LG V20, and then just a small and first drop of the new - it ruined Only one other time have I ruined a phone, when I was in Israel and I dropped my Samsung Note 2 directly hitting a stone with the screen faced down. But it was still working at least. Actually that was the outer protection screen which broke, and not the screen itself.
Who knows, might have had a weak screen of production - in any case, they wanna have a look at it.

Murena Fairphone 3+ – eSolutions – deGoogled phones and services
The deGoogled Murena Fairphone 3+ is the next evolution in privacy conscious and sustainable phone. It features 2 new camera modules with 48MP camera and 16MP selfie camera for higher quality pictures and videos and it is made of 40% recycled plastics, the most post-consumer recycled plastic of...
esolutions.shop
better everything compaired to the v20
1 question standing
can it be rooted?
other then that this might be added to your list of alt's?

A bump for anyone in a similar boat casually looking for a V20 successor and having to consider tradeoffs:
Although I'm still currently not looking to replace the V20 as my daily phone, if I had to buy a phone that has at least been announced in 2021, it would be the Sony Xperia 1 III. The main tradeoff is a non-removable battery.
Everything else is top tier in specs and it retains the removable storage and 3.5 mm jack, has USB-C 3.x, and doesn't compromise on CPU, 5G connectivity, or screen, camera, or audio quality like many of these alternatives. I generally don't care about price because I usually don't buy new phones anyway and I would hypothetically wait out the Xperia 1 III for at least half a year after release if I were to get one. The only brand new phone I've ever bought was the LG G4.
I've been getting tired of watching Asus screw people over on either the removable storage or 3.5 mm jack with both their Zenfone and ROG flagships, so I'm glad Sony finally included both in a contemporary flagship when everyone else has been allergic to these features.
Obviously, everyone has different priorities for what features are must-haves when moving on from the V20, but a non-removable battery isn't a dealbreaker to me as long as replacing it doesn't cause permanent cosmetic damage to the exterior. Rootability isn't very important to me anymore either after seeing how my Galaxy Tab S4 hasn't made me miss root much thanks to Blokada and YouTube Vanced.

i have no idea if this is a good option as i am not intelligent enough to read German
Shift Shop | SHIFT6m
SHIFT6m
shop.shiftphones.com
if anyone here is looking for a v20 replacement can you translate this to 'MURICAN so a simple guy can understand?
i am wanting to know if it is rooted, can it be rooted, the battery replacement (4240mah) options such as who makes the original and can i get more for replacements or upgrades, and...the rest i can gather from the wiki page
Shift6m - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org

zeroderp said:
i have no idea if this is a good option as i am not intelligent enough to read German
Shift Shop | SHIFT6m
SHIFT6m
shop.shiftphones.com
if anyone here is looking for a v20 replacement can you translate this to 'MURICAN so a simple guy can understand?
i am wanting to know if it is rooted, can it be rooted, the battery replacement (4240mah) options such as who makes the original and can i get more for replacements or upgrades, and...the rest i can gather from the wiki page
Shift6m - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you expect to use this device as a phone in the US? Because the exact same thing I mentioned about the 6mq's compatibility with US carriers applies to the 6m.

haha, that's hilarious. Was just looking at that phone for a replacement, too.
The screen issue is that the v20 had a p-oled, LGs plastic substrate led (the amoleds have a glass layer over the led plates). I wonder who is actually going to take up that in the business now. Presumably LG will be making more of these gorgeous screens (..last one was in the Velvet, I guess?). But the amoleds are a bit more expensive to make, while they are typically even more expensive to purchase (meaning: better margins). So that's going to push them out of the market, just like the lithium polymer batteries were for .. gods.. 15-20 years. There's still phones with organic batteries - that you can't change - that are sold right now, in extremely expensive phones.
So it's a bit difficult to find an actually good phone that will last a bit right now.. Kind of wondering if that will ever actually change, unless someone who knows about tech, and also has enough money to just say **** it, starts making actually good phones - and sell them at the price-range they actually cost to make. Xiaomi, or some other more domestic Chinese brand might be the best bet, to be perfectly honest..

UIQrules said:
Presumably LG will be making more of these gorgeous screens
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LG just announced it will not be making the mobile phones anymore. Done. Lol, like you said, someone said "**** it", just that they stopped making phones. I think it is sad.

Don't buy the Shift phone 6mq.
The screen broke again and got lots of issues overall with it. Back on an old "new" LG V20 phone non rooted.
I had so much hope for this but it sucks.
- Darkijah

Jesus is God Almighty said:
Don't buy the Shift phone 6mq.
The screen broke again and got lots of issues overall with it. Back on an old "new" LG V20 phone non rooted.
I had so much hope for this but it sucks.
- Darkijah
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for an update on the Shift phone. THe LG V20 is truly a special phone, it has everything I could ask for, though not 100% executed with perfection (for example, LG was very innovative to include the "notched" 2nd screen, however I'd rather it be uniform... be it LCD, or nowadays everything is OLED).
3 things that the LG v20 has that we probably won't see emphasized again are: (1)IR blaster(great to use as a smart remote!), (2)user replaceable battery(just swap and go, so convenient... and when the battery is no longer holding charge, it's just so easy to put in a fresh battery... no pulling the phone apart or dealing with resealing, etc.), (3) amplified quad dac 3.5mm jack(not just any 3.5 jack, but a high performing one!).... of course there is the expandable memory too...
Such a beast of a phone that we may not see come back again... unless some wealthy and passionate crowd funders came together to re-release such a phone(in addition to modern and updated SOC's, I'd like to see upgraded cameras... but the fundamentals need to remain: 3.5mm quad dac, user replaceable battery, IR blaster, expandable storage).