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HTC One Vs. Samsung Galaxy S4

I have seen SO many threads about the pro's and con's of both handsets and most are based on bias because people just want to justify their purchase one way or another or are comparing 5 minutes of use in a shop with their every day phone. I have now got both phones and here is my "opinion" of the pros and cons for both....
Screen:
The One's screen is stunning but feels small compared to the S4 and while I am one of those people who prefers the unnatural oversaturated colours offered by the S4 the sharpness seems way better on the one. Icons on the S4 have a slight fuzzy look to them compare to the One like a JPG being stretched. Could all be down to the screen size which as I said I much prefer the S4's larger screen.
Design:
This is a lot of preference but anyone who says the S4 is better looking than the One is on crack or like I said justifying their own purchase. The Samsung's plastic obviously has benefits like being able to change the back cover when it is scratched and removable to access the battery or SD card (which I don't care about the battery as I don't keep phones for longer than 12 months usually and as long as the phone has ample storage for me I am fine). Also the plastic on the S4 feels greasy and gets dirty with fingerprints very easily. One thing that a lot of people don't like that Samsung keeps doing but I love is the physical home button. The fact I can with one hand turn the phone on with the home button is WAY better than the two handed approach with the One which the power can only be turned on by the power button on the top left. On a funny note I left my old S3 on the S4 box in my office and someone walked in and picked it up and said "wow how amazing is the new S4 it looks so much better than the S3", might be a good thing because people obviously like the look but it shows that the 4 isn't that big of a difference from the 3.
Camera:
This has been done to death but believe me that both are great. If the HTC had a 8mp camera it would be the definitive Android phone but it doesn't. Both has a lot of tricks and features and both do a great job. The HTC does a better job with low light and with moving objects and the S4 has way more details.
Sound:
HTC wins this hands down. Not only with the built in speaks but with headphones too. Samsungs audio player also pales in comparison to HTC's which is as with everything on the HTC beautiful and consistent with the resat of the OS but also correctly downloads album art and lyrics to play in a Karaoke mode.
Software:
This one I am really in two minds about and my comparison is purely on stock.. The HTC's new Sense is pretty amazing. Its fast and has a consistency in its look that Samsung should take note of. I have owned a S2 and S3 and Touchwiz has barely changed. Why is the SMS app black but the mail app is white and the calendar app is a wooden brown? It seriously feels like Samsung has way too many programmers working on Android and gave them all one app or part of the interface to work on and didn't allow them to communicate to the other people to get a consistent look. Its ugly and isn't customisable in many situations. I have shown people the S4 and they marvel at how smooth it is but until you actually run it along side the One for a period its hard to describe how much smoother the One is. Never stutters never and little pauses or skipping of animations like the S4 does. On the other hand all the things the S4 can do are cool, if not gimmicky and useless. Samsung have better support from developers and as such things like my Fitbit sync wirelessly with the S4 but not my One, Grindr crashes constantly on the One and more. Support for the one is pretty amazing already and its still brand new. I also love the fact I can download a ROM and easily install it which you can not do easily on the HTC. I only every use stock but I will use the Stock UK or American or German or what ever version is the newest as here in Australia new ROM are usually released pretty slowly. It becomes an addiction every day looking if a new Android version or ROM has been released to install and try on your Samsung. 90% of the S4's new features I have turned off, they aren't guaranteed to work 100% of the time and can be more trouble than they are worth. Example Smart stay... this rarely happens but it does happen and did happen with my S3 too is that I will put the phone down on my desk at work and it will never turn the screen off, some how it thinks my office's ceiling is a face and stays on. The one feature I do love of the S4 is the one where you wave your hand over it and it lights up for a few seconds to show the clock and alerts then turns back off. Also something simple that the S4 does that the HTC doesn't which I didn't realise until I had both was when you get a message or alert the Samsung turns the screen on and displays it (admittedly in an ugly pastel coloured but for SMS's) but the HTC will never turn the screen on unless you press the power button. I will also mention that Samsung's Touchwiz also seems unpolished and incomplete, little things like the MP3 player on the lock screen not correctly fitting and cutting the bottom off just makes me think again that Samsung's developers didn't work together to produce a single OS but instead a mish mash of individual bits to make one up (maybe they rushed it out to steal some of HTC's thunder).
Hardware:
Obviously Samsung wins this hands down but once again with Touchwiz slowing down the S4 the One just feels faster. Benchmarks are great but you don't live your life in a benchmark how the phone functions in every day use is what counts. All the sensors and support that Samsung has is way better than HTC. Just simple things like putting a magnet in the phone so covers know when they are closed and turn the phone off. Simple yet awesome. The fact that Samsung continues to make a flagship phone with only 16gb and then used up over half of it with is ugly bloated OS is just beyond forgiveness. So many people say well use the SD card but always remember that you can not install apps to the SD card and a few big games and your phone can be full. HTC has a 32 and 64gb model readily available here in Australia and I guarantee that the 32 and 64gb models of the S4 NEVER get launched here just like they did with the S3. SO many promises broken, no size over 16gb and no wireless charger released even though they showed them off at the launch.
Battery:
Both easily got me through a days use. The HTC didn't last as long in standby and the S4 didn't last as long in use so they pretty much evened each other out. The fact the S4 supports wireless charging is a huge plus for me. People ***** about its useless and not as fast as a cable but they obviously don't get it. With wireless Qi charging you can still use the cable when your in a hurry and need a fast charge but the convenience of just sitting the phone on my desk charger at work and its charging is priceless. I work 9-5 so if it sits on the charger for 8 hours then its never going to go flat on me. I don't have to worry about one of the staff stealing my Micro USB cable (which happens all the time) or even looking for a cable its just amazingly convenient to sit it down and its charging. I have ordered one of those Chinese Wireless Qi inserts for the S4 and cant wit to use it. You cant add that to the One and the One is very slow charging. VERY SLOW.
Conclusion:
Both phones are the pinnacle of Android technology right now for mobile phones and both deserve to be hugely successful. In the end I stuck with the S4 as my every day phone simply because the support it has from app developers like fitbit like I mentioned before, optional wireless charging, the home button, the screen size and the fact I can flash ROMs when ever I feel like it. Every now and then I think I have made a mistake and should keep using the One, mainly when I look at how ugly Touchwiz is and when I get stutters in the OS which is unforgiveable for a phone with this kind of power. All the flaws in the S4 can be fixed with software and I one day hope Samsung wakes up and makes Touchwiz have the same beautiful look and constancy of Sense, till then I will download other apps to replace Samsung's and hope the speed issues are resolved in updates in the future which I can flash so easily when ever I want to.

thanks for the recap on every other review out there. you are in the s4 forum, therefore s4 > htc one to all users here who arent trolls.

bnathan said:
Sound:
HTC wins .....
with headphones
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You are not talking about exynos variant right?

HTC One Cons:
- CID based roms
- Locked Bootloader, unlocking it will cost you a part of you warranty and a lot of anger if turned in for repair
- Slow updates
- Hboot versions determines wether you can flash/update a rom
This for me is enough not to buy any HTC even if it would be made of gold

iphone!

I was using the S600 9505 variant. And my post may have gone over things that reviews and such may have mentioned but no review covers it all and I have not seen a single review mention things like the fact the HTC screen doesn't turn on to show notifications.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium

Wow, yet another biased review that makes out its unbiased.....Jesus.
Couple of points:
With TW, you can change the background of the SMS app, if that annoys you? So what if its a different colour to the mail app.
Sense, unlike touchwiz doesn't have the quick settings it the notification bar. Sooooo convenient to be able to toggle things quickly without having to add widgets to the home screen.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk (how ironic is that eh)

What do you mean bias? Seems like your here to defend your decision to buy the S4. I have used both phones for weeks and I gave my observations. Simple. Not biased. I still love my S4 and that's what I am using today so I am hardly here to bash it.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using xda premium

Do we really need another useless thread?
You should carry on here...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=40865558

I've seen so many threads about the pros and cons of the S4 I decided to make another one.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

Tomo1971 said:
Wow, yet another biased review that makes out its unbiased.....Jesus.
Couple of points:
With TW, you can change the background of the SMS app, if that annoys you? So what if its a different colour to the mail app.
Sense, unlike touchwiz doesn't have the quick settings it the notification bar. Sooooo convenient to be able to toggle things quickly without having to add widgets to the home screen.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk (how ironic is that eh)
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I agree, another bias review and he says its unbiased. SMH....
---------- Post added at 09:49 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:48 AM ----------
marcadam said:
I've seen so many threads about the pros and cons of the S4 I decided to make another one.
Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2
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LMAO

Finally a comparison between the two. I couldn't find any.

WTF guys?! This is the general thread. OP had both devices and felt like posting his thoughts. You dont like? Move the #$^#$^ along and keep your opinions to yourself.

I dont get cretins that like Unibody design phones with no storage expansion.
Ok, on built 32 GB of space is ok, its just that when you already have a nice and good microSD card, you would need to throw that thing away and you would need to tediously copy the data from the sd card to the phone.
What about the battery? After 2 years, if you intend to keep the phone, your battery is going to be much weaker than when you bought it. Batteries get weaker with time and lose their performancel.
Sure you can keep going on, but good luck using that thing with 50% or less battery performance after 2 years.

bnathan said:
I have seen SO many threads and most are based on bias
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here is my "opinion"
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Conclusion
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These types of threads are funny and fairly frequent. OP, this is what you're essentially saying - "everyone else's opinion isn't as good as mine so let me tell you what's really going on." And there's bias throughout your post and that's OK; but call it that. Everyone wants different things so their view is always going to take that in to account no matter how objective they try to be. I like Samsung's s/w features and Sense doesn't even have Awake Stay. So if I were to review TW vs. Sense which do you think I'd like best? But that's just me and I know I'm in the minority; at least on XDA. When expressing an individual opinion the best approach is to state your position, describe how you use your device, share your findings and then let others draw a conclusion based on their needs as to which phone or feature is "best."

Iphones?
As if we really need threads like this
Enviado desde un Samsung Galaxia S Cuatro LTE

HDR video from my S4

Dear god who gives a ****
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda premium

If i had to choose between the Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, it would be the Galaxy S4 by a long mile. Or not really since i already have the Samsung Galaxy S4 now
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There are many reasons why i did choose the Galaxy S4 over the HTC One. And maybe some of my reasons are the same reasons for you to choose the Galaxy S4 over the HTC One. I'm gonna write down all of my reasons to buy the Galaxy S4 here, so this post might get pretty long.
1. Polycarbonate body. Since this Polycarbonate body is made out of some kind of plastic, it doesn't spread the heat around your whole hand when the phone gets hot. Yes, alumininum looks and feels great, but it have a negative side because aluminum spreads the heat way more out than plastic does. Therefor, the HTC One will spread the heat to your whole hand instead of having the heat on one place only when it gets hot, like it is on the Galaxy S4.
This article shows how hot the Galaxy S4 gets under heavy usage and where the heat is and how the heat spreads out: http://blog.gsmarena.com/thermal-im...rfaces-shows-that-the-device-rarely-gets-hot/
2. HTC One gets alot hotter than the Galaxy S4 according to NordicHardware's test of the Galaxy S4. And therefor my reason number 1 is pretty valid. The article is in Swedish though, so if you want it translated, then use Google Translate.
I see some complaints that the Galaxy S4 gets pretty hot for someone. And if the Galaxy S4 gets that hot, then the HTC One for sure gets even hotter and even more bad to hold.
3. It have a microSD card slot. So yeah, i'm currently using a Samsung MicroSDXC Pro UHS-1 64 GB Class 10 card in my Galaxy S4 witch is great. Taking tons if pictures and recoring alot of videos when you are on a vacation is going to take up a HUUUUUGE amount of space. And not to mention that 1080p movies are needed when you have a 1080p screen. And those 1080p movies can take huge amount of space to. Same goes to alot of mp3 files / musics.
4. It have a removable battery witch means you can change out to a fully charged battery when you are out of battery on your main battery in 10 seconds. This allows you to keep doing what you are doing without having a big massive brick of a battery pack with you witch will be in your way when you are using the phone.
Or you can even buy a bigger battery that gives you over 3000 mAh (an example) witch will last you for ages.
5. It have a cleaner and better design than the HTC One. This is my opinion after holding and looking at the HTC One.
6. 5 inch screen is better than 4.7 inch screen. Specially when the Galaxy S4 are smaller in size than the HTC One.
7. The Super AMOLED screen on the Galaxy S4 is way better than the IPS LCD screen on the HTC One, because you can choose if you want the colors to really pop or if you just want to have perfect color accuracy (thanks to the Adobe RGB / Professional Photo mode) on the phone.
8. It have Android 4.2.2 witch is better than Android 4.1.2 that the HTC One have.
9. Samsung releases Android updates way faster than HTC.
10. It have alot of sensors witch i find great. No other smartphones have this many sensor inside a phone.
11. It have tons of cool and handy features witch i mean is there to bring the development of the current smartphones forward rather than just updating something you already have or something existing on your phone or just stand still like iOS have done since 2009. Some of the features the Galaxy S4 have doesn't really works optimal yet, but i still think it's pretty nice to have those features and they will also get better in future updates. It's always handy to have WHEN you need it and when you want to use them.
12. It's lighter and thinner witch makes it more pocket friendly. Not only that, but the backside of the phone is more flatter witch makes it better to use on a flat surface.
13. The camera on the Galaxy S4 are WAY WAY better than the HTC One in light situations. Here are some pictures i have been taking with my Samsung Galaxy S4. Remember that those pictures under are BIG.
Here is a picture of the same flower with HDR effect on.
As you can see, the true power of the Galaxy S4's camera makes the HTC One's camera to looks horrible in light situations.
14. The sound quality when you are recording videos are also better than the HTC One's sound quality. The proof is here:
15. The HTC One wasn't available when i had to buy a new phone. So since the Galaxy S4 was available when i needed a new phone, then i bought the Galaxy S4.
So there you have it. This is 15 of my reasons why i bought the Galaxy S4 over the HTC One.

Here is a little help, if you can't decide whether to take the one or s4:

Galaxy Note 3 vs HTC One Max

The way I see it, the Note II is the best smartphone available still. The combination of screen size, storage options, S Pen, and most important to me... True BATTERY LIFE!
Ever since I bought my FIRST and current smartphone, the HTC Evo 3D with sprint, I have been GREATLY disappointed with my battery life, screen size, and terrible camera! You guys here made the best choice... I have never seen a phone hold a crown and reign like the Note II has.
My contract is finally up (since April of this year) and I am poised and ready to pull the trigger once again. Although it's early...
Will it be the NOTE III or The HTC One Max for you guys based on the current news? Will the HTC max even peek your interest? Or are you set in your samsung ways?
I need your help because I don't wanna be unhappy for 2 years again.

It depends if Samsung opts for LCD or AMOLED.

I completely agree with your thoughts written in the first half of your message. I have Samsung Galaxy Note 2 since December 2012 and this SUPERPHONE is absolutely amazing. It's like a small computer in your hand with amazing screen, good battery, s-pen. Did not have any problems with this smartphone during these seven month. It's still the best smartphone in the market in term of browsing the Web, working with Office, playing games, reading e-books etc. By the way, I use this additional battery dock: http://www.mobili.lt/lt/aksesuarai/samsung/811205.html which allows me to be completely free and do not be tied to a power cord during the day.
So, I strongly recommend you to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 3 instead of HTC ONE Max because the absence of a removable battery is a big minus to HTC especially if you are a 'hard core' user.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

Btw note 3 will have 2 sd card slot. If htc max miraculously have a 3500mah + removable batt + spen then i might consider getting htc Lol
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

limitbreak09 said:
Btw note 3 will have 2 sd card slot. If htc max miraculously have a 3500mah + removable batt + spen then i might consider getting htc Lol
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We're talking about two phones that no one has real details on yet. Here's some safe assumptions about the N3:
It'll have a more powerful Octa than the SGS4 or S-800
It'll have a 1080P (most likely) AMOLED display
It'll either be the same size as the N2 with a bigger display but thinner and lighter (à la the SGS4) or the display will increase a lot as will the size of the device
It'll have all the new features of the SGS4 plus some we don't know about yet
It'll most likely have a bigger battery and get better battery life than the N2
It'll have a 13MP camera and may have OIS and optical zoom if the rumors turn out to be correct
It'll most likely continue the current Samsung design language (EG: "evolutionary")
Here's some guesses about the One Max:
It may have expandable storage; the Butterfly S finally does
It won't have a removable battery because it's against HTC's religion and hampers their design creativity
It won't have an inductive display and will use N-trig (like the XZ Ultra) which offers no pen sensitivity and prohibits things like Air View and hover
It may have some inking apps (HTC Scribe 2.0?) but they won't be as comprehensive as S Note because HTC offers very few s/w features that Samsung does even on their flagship devices (they don't even have an Awake Stay equivalent)
It should look and feel great; just like the One does
This same "vs." conversation is going on in the XZ Ultra vs. Note comparison thread. The Note's designed for consumption. Samsung's tagline for it is "Be Creative" and half of the features listed on their website talk about creation. I doubt that other devices will offer that level of creation support. But it's obvious quite a few people don't care and buy the Note for its big-ass display. For those people, devices like the OG Pro, Ultra, Max, and Mega are possible considerations. For productivity users and creators it's hard to see anything coming close to the Note-series. Lovers of giant phones, you have a lot more choices.

artorelis said:
I completely agree with your thoughts written in the first half of your message. I have Samsung Galaxy Note 2 since December 2012 and this SUPERPHONE is absolutely amazing. It's like a small computer in your hand with amazing screen, good battery, s-pen. Did not have any problems with this smartphone during these seven month. It's still the best smartphone in the market in term of browsing the Web, working with Office, playing games, reading e-books etc. By the way, I use this additional battery dock: http://www.mobili.lt/lt/aksesuarai/samsung/811205.html which allows me to be completely free and do not be tied to a power cord during the day.
So, I strongly recommend you to choose Samsung Galaxy Note 3 instead of HTC ONE Max because the absence of a removable battery is a big minus to HTC especially if you are a 'hard core' user.
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
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A couple questions I have regarding the note 2. Many people did a screen time test where they left their screen on "never sleep" and reported up to 10hours battery life!
Does this test include having 4g, bluetooth, and gps on? Honesty we all just want phones that do everything they SAY they can do without dying halfway through the day.
Also when the Note II originally came out on shelves what were the on contract prices for the 16/32/64gb versions. With all the apps and games not going to SD card I would love having a 32 or 64gb version to be safe. But I don't want to break the bank. Don't wanna pay more than 350.
Thanks for the help guys

Etheridge Gray said:
A couple questions I have regarding the note 2. Many people did a screen time test where they left their screen on "never sleep" and reported up to 10hours battery life! Does this test include having 4g, bluetooth, and gps on? Honesty we all just want phones that do everything they SAY they can do without dying halfway through the day.
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A car rated at 25MPG on the highway can get 35MPG if it's going downhill, with a tailwind, with only the driver in it, with the tires over-inflated, and with the A/C off and windows up. Using the phone "normally" which is screen on auto-brightness and no power-saving tools active I can get 7.5 hours of screen-on time. And that's with some combination of Wi-Fi/HSPA on all the time and I have nine different syncs going constantly. I'm also a heavy BT user and haven't found that to be a big drain (EG: listening to music or making calls where the display is typically off). Based on the SGS3 vs. SGS4 I'd expect the N3 to do at least 25% better than the N2; maybe more.
Also when the Note II originally came out on shelves what were the on contract prices for the 16/32/64gb versions. With all the apps and games not going to SD card I would love having a 32 or 64gb version to be safe. But I don't want to break the bank. Don't wanna pay more than 350.
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Western markets have matured and high-end smartphone sales are slowing down. I'd highly doubt that the N3 will be any more than the N2 was price-wise at launch. I don't know where you are but the U.S. contract price was $299 for the 16GB and I don't think any of the U.S. carriers offered versions with more storage. It's $199 most of the time now and can be had for $99 during timed promotions. The N2 was €640/£546 off-contract in Europe at launch. The N3 will end up with more s/w on it than the SGS4 because of S Pen. Samsung may make 32GB the starting storage size to avoid the debacle they had with the SGS4.

BarryH_GEG said:
A car rated at 25MPG on the highway can get 35MPG if it's going downhill, with a tailwind, with only the driver in it, with the tires over-inflated, and with the A/C off and windows up. Using the phone "normally" which is screen on auto-brightness and no power-saving tools active I can get 7.5 hours of screen-on time. And that's with some combination of Wi-Fi/HSPA on all the time and I have nine different syncs going constantly. I'm also a heavy BT user and haven't found that to be a big drain (EG: listening to music or making calls where the display is typically off). Based on the SGS3 vs. SGS4 I'd expect the N3 to do at least 25% better than the N2; maybe more.
Western markets have matured and high-end smartphone sales are slowing down. I'd highly doubt that the N3 will be any more than the N2 was price-wise at launch. I don't know where you are but the U.S. contract price was $299 for the 16GB and I don't think any of the U.S. carriers offered versions with more storage. It's $199 most of the time now and can be had for $99 during timed promotions. The N2 was €640/£546 off-contract in Europe at launch. The N3 will end up with more s/w on it than the SGS4 because of S Pen. Samsung may make 32GB the starting storage size to avoid the debacle they had with the SGS4.
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Thanks for your honest and realistic response on the N2s battery life. 7.5 hours of SCREEN ON time is ridiculously good. Honestly I love everything about my current smartphone except for the few things I hate about it.
Battery life
Low internal storage
Terrible camera /camera flash/zoom especially in low light conditions.
I hate sprint where I live. Can't blame phone for that.
Small screen (4.3) only qHD.
I am hoping the N3 on Verizon's awesome network will fix my problems. It should be a upgrade on every front.
What are you guys thoughts on the galaxy s4s camera operating in the night? Do you think N3s camera will outshine the s4s? Camera and video recording will be HUGE for me!

Really appreciate the response guys. Now I know that it's not necessarily needed for those with N2s, but I thought I'd share this with yall.
Portable 12000 mAh battery. We all know it's not the most ground breaking news, but I would love to use this
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ZBZ64Q/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1372698191&sr=8-1&pi=SL75

I'm just not seeing the sense in a comparison thread for 2 devices that don't exist yet.
Nice referral link btw.

I only one thing guys, after watching indeed criticism on s4 design, Samsung will have to do exceptional in note 3 to convince current note 2 users to upgrade. If the satisfaction level of s3 users was 7/10 then note 2 has 9/10 so its difficult to convince all 9 users to update their device. A lot of people are expecting that it will be shaped just like s4, if this is the way, it will a fail for most.

Note 3 IF it comes with SLCD or IPS. No more AMOLED for me, thank you.

I do believe that note 3 is just gonna look like the s4, but wait for S5 tho, i think thats the turning point where samsung will blow us away with a new design.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda premium

sohebq said:
I only one thing guys, after watching indeed criticism on s4 design, Samsung will have to do exceptional in note 3 to convince current note 2 users to upgrade.
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To be launched in the fall, the N3 was probably about half way through development when the SGS4 was launched in the spring. It takes 6-9 months to design a mobile device, identify specs for all the components needed, source all those components, set up assembly lines, and test it all (making adjustments where necessary) to make sure you've got it right. When Samsung evolved the SGS4's design they did so intentionally; following in the footsteps of Apple who evolves their designs too. There was more commentary about "plastic again" then there was about the design itself.
A removable battery requires access to it and Samsung's method is a removable back cover. Said back cover needs to be flexible and durable. Metal and glass are obviously neither. Since they have a removable back cover they also leverage that by putting the SIM cards and expandable storage underneath it eliminating the need for slots on the side of the phone. Those slots with ejection mechanisms cost more, are points of failure, and add weight. I guess they could seal the back and provide a battery door but that would mean relocating all the SIM and SD card slot to the side of the phone. That would require valuable space along the side of the phone which Samsung uses for antennas. Moving to a sealed design with external slots while retaining a removable battery would mean all Samsung's current design methods would have to be discarded. Their subsequent replacement would be no trivial exercise.
No phone ever built has been as thin as the SGS4 with a removable battery. The OG Pro offers a removable battery; the only recently released device to do so. It's 9.4MM thick and weighs 172g. The N2 is the same thickness and 11G heavier. So whatever magic Samsung worked to get the SGS4 thinner (7.9MM), lighter, with a bigger battery, and a larger display will most likely be worked again on the N3. Which also means its design will follow in the SGS4's footsteps. So for those expecting something "revolutionary" I think you'll be disappointed. Personally, I've never been bothered by Samsung's designs or use of plastic. My devices aren't fashion accessories; I view them as tools. The removable battery and the ability to replace the back cover for $20 if I damage it are more important to me than aesthetics. The HTC One isn't selling well and for Q2 HTC will be down 21% YOY in revenue. So while it's truly a beautiful device materials and design wise there's obviously more to sales success than just a pretty face. For those that design is really important to you should probably look at the One Max and XZ Ultra.
limitbreak09 said:
I do believe that note 3 is just gonna look like the s4, but wait for S5 tho, i think thats the turning point where samsung will blow us away with a new design.
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I totally agree. And they've already made a move in that direction. Last month they acquired 50% of SGL Group which is a leader in the use of carbon fiber. I'd expect that to factor in the SGS5's design. But it's way too late to impact the N3.
The South Korean company's materials arm, Samsung Petrochemical, has established the joint venture with carbon manufacturers SGL Group and will own 50 per cent of the joint company, Samsung SGL Carbon Composite Materials. In a joint statement, the two companies said they planned to develop new electronic applications built with carbon composite materials. The deal with SGL group will give Samsung access to an exclusive long-term supply of carbon materials​http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10141157/Carbon-fibre-phones-coming-from-Samsung.html

@barry
I agree with everything you said. Honestly I already felt this way. Who cares if it "FEELS" cheap if it performs top of the line and outperforms what FEELS durable and premium??
Furthermore, ever since I held the Galaxy SIII, I loved how light it was! It's one of the strong selling points for me. People just wanna complain because they are spoiled. Simple as that. Back to the N3..
I reallllly really really am concerned about the camera on the N3! I really want a camera that takes amazing shots in ALL environments! Especially low light to night shots with AND without flash. Camera is definitely something of paramount concern since I am a All-in-one kind of guy. And I know the N3 has the potential... But will it reach it??
I definitely have battery life concerns since we are increasing screen size and resolution, but at the same time trying to make the phone lighter and equal in size to the N2. Where will there be room for the 3500mah?? (that's the battery I'm hoping for!)

Etheridge Gray said:
[MENTION=307506]I reallllly really really am concerned about the camera on the N3! I really want a camera that takes amazing shots in ALL environments! Especially low light to night shots with AND without flash. Camera is definitely something of paramount concern since I am a All-in-one kind of guy. And I know the N3 has the potential... But will it reach it??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm looking forward to the camera and assuming it'll be the one in the SGS4. There are two sensors used in the SGS4; ExmorRS in Octa and ExmorR in S-600. The latter's an older version of Sony's sensor. My guess is that with the massive quantities of S-600 SGS4's produced (they are 2/3 of those built) they outpaced Sony's ability to supply the newer sensor so Samsung only used it in the i9500. Supply shouldn't be an issue with the N3 because it sells in lower volume than the SGS4.
The N3 should do significantly better in low light than the N2/SGS3; the SGS4 does. It won't do as well as HTC's new camera with its larger photosites. But with HTC's paltry 4MP resolution and just average daylight performance getting truly good low light performance is a trade-off. If the N3's camera has optical image stabilization and optical zoom it'll be a fantastic camera. I've seen some great shots taken with the SGS4. The best daylight shots I've seen from the One lack detail and have an "oil painting" look when viewed at full size. The One can capture shots in low light that the SGS4 can't touch but when all's said and done they aren't very good as most low light shots typically aren't because of focus issues and shutter delay caused by the lack of available lighting. So overall I think people will be happy but to those who low light performance means everything they may be disappointed and should consider the One Max which is using the same camera as the One.
This is what's capable with ExmorRS...
This is a great picture; social size.
{
"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"
}
Here's a crop full size. 4MP doesn't give you a lot to work with when it comes to detail.

@barry
Thanks again for a very informative reply. Put my expectations into a realistic view, but it also lets me know that I shouldn't be disappointed either.
Looking back over 2 years ago when I got my android day 1 purchase.. I realize that waiting for a 2 year contract to expire makes alot of sense. If it was only a year we would not see the leap in technology like I soon will
Comparing my EVO 3D to my future Note 3..
4.3inch qHD vs. 5.7-6inch fullHD1080P
5MP Camera vs 13MP Camera
1GB internal storage vs 32GB
3G (no 4g w/sprint my area) vs. 4GLTE
1GB RAM vs. 3GB RAM
720p video vs 1080p at 30fps
Dual Core 1.2 vs up to 2.0 Quad-Core
1730mah battery vs. Maybe 3500mah
Need I mention software??
Truly an INSANE upgrade. I think everyone should wait 2 years. This way you will TRULY be IMPRESSED. No. Matter. What.
Thanks again Barry. You have really helped. I DEFINITELY think the I'll choose the N3 over the One Max. Time will tell for sure

Who knows what these 2 devices are going to be about. All I know is that the note 3 is my next phone A 1000% sure. The Note 2 was a smash hit, still is. Considering things are going to improve ( battery life, display, S pen features), IM SOLD. STFU AND TAKE MY MONEY NOW!
---------- Post added at 07:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:36 PM ----------
sohebq said:
I only one thing guys, after watching indeed criticism on s4 design, Samsung will have to do exceptional in note 3 to convince current note 2 users to upgrade. If the satisfaction level of s3 users was 7/10 then note 2 has 9/10 so its difficult to convince all 9 users to update their device. A lot of people are expecting that it will be shaped just like s4, if this is the way, it will a fail for most.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that Samsung is facing is biggest challenge yet, even bigger than the S3 to S4 upgrade because the note 2 was such a game changer, I honestly believe that it is one of those devices that are legendary ( like the S2, HD2, nexus one). When the note 2 came out, it impressed EVERYBODY ( reviewers, geeks, general consumers), turned some HTC fanboys into note 2 lovers ect... When I ordered the note 2 from the UK, I didn't expect it to have a flawless performance, didn't expect it to have amazing battery life, didn't know about multi window and all the new S pen features. Now that we know all that, how can Samsung really impress us? Its going to be tough to best the note 2 software wise I believe, especially because the note 3 will also launch with jelly bean, the note 2 had the advantage to launch with a brand new OS version at the time. In terms of specs we can expect an upgrade in pretty much every way but what new features like multi window, pop up browser is Samsung going to introduce? How well will it be implemented? Will it be flawless like the note 2 or with lots of stutter and bugs like the S4? I cant wait to find out.

barondebxl said:
I think that Samsung is facing is biggest challenge yet, even bigger than the S3 to S4 upgrade because the note 2 was such a game changer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's what people said about the Note I when it came out. It's amazing how much perception changes with time.
GSMArena - The Galaxy Note is a monster compared to regular phones - but then again, it's not exactly a phone. It's thin (9.7mm), light (you wouldn't guess it weighs 178g) and the rounded edges help ergonomics. But still, one handed use is a problem - your thumb most likely can't reach every point on the screen (certainly not comfortably) and unless you have big hands, you can't easily wrap your fingers around the Note to hold it without fear of dropping. Two-hand thumb typing is absolutely spot on, however. Pocketability is an issue too - you can certainly slip in into your pocket (the thin frame helps a lot here), but a lot of people won't find that solution acceptable. Still, most coat pockets or purses will find enough room for the Galaxy Note, which is worth having around with all that screen real-estate.
Verge - Arriving in a white, smartphone-sized box, the Galaxy Note goes to great efforts to convince you that it really is as portable as a phone. It’s not. The bezel around the display is minimal and the 9.65mm thickness is practically the same as on the latest iPhone, but there’s just no way to shrink that 5.3-inch display. Pocketing the Note is an exercise in either frustration or denial. Oh, it will fit inside your pants pocket, but try walking around with it there and you’ll see that fitting inside a space is only half the battle. You’ll need to either take to wearing blazers every time you go out or accept that you won’t be able to comfortably transport the Note somewhere around your body. Like most smartphones, the Note warms up during a long call, heating half of your face in the process, and there’s the social aspect to consider. Human society has yet to evolve to the point where it can witness a person holding up a massive slate of technology to his ear without attempting to make a bad joke about it.
Engadget - If you were holding out for a device that bridges the gap between smartphone and tablet, you'll want to take Note. It's an absolutely massive Android handset and a high-res pocketable tablet rolled into one. If you have the hands to support it, it may just be the best thing to happen to mobile devices since the capacitive touchscreen. You can take notes, doodle between (or during) meetings and make phone calls. Those calls can be placed using the built-in earpiece and mic, or via a Bluetooth headset, which we would recommend. Holding something this large up to your ear can be rather unpleasant -- and unsightly.

BarryH_GEG said:
Here's what people said about the Note I when it came out. It's amazing how much perception changes with time.
GSMArena - The Galaxy Note is a monster compared to regular phones - but then again, it's not exactly a phone. It's thin (9.7mm), light (you wouldn't guess it weighs 178g) and the rounded edges help ergonomics. But still, one handed use is a problem - your thumb most likely can't reach every point on the screen (certainly not comfortably) and unless you have big hands, you can't easily wrap your fingers around the Note to hold it without fear of dropping. Two-hand thumb typing is absolutely spot on, however. Pocketability is an issue too - you can certainly slip in into your pocket (the thin frame helps a lot here), but a lot of people won't find that solution acceptable. Still, most coat pockets or purses will find enough room for the Galaxy Note, which is worth having around with all that screen real-estate.
Verge - Arriving in a white, smartphone-sized box, the Galaxy Note goes to great efforts to convince you that it really is as portable as a phone. It’s not. The bezel around the display is minimal and the 9.65mm thickness is practically the same as on the latest iPhone, but there’s just no way to shrink that 5.3-inch display. Pocketing the Note is an exercise in either frustration or denial. Oh, it will fit inside your pants pocket, but try walking around with it there and you’ll see that fitting inside a space is only half the battle. You’ll need to either take to wearing blazers every time you go out or accept that you won’t be able to comfortably transport the Note somewhere around your body. Like most smartphones, the Note warms up during a long call, heating half of your face in the process, and there’s the social aspect to consider. Human society has yet to evolve to the point where it can witness a person holding up a massive slate of technology to his ear without attempting to make a bad joke about it.
Engadget - If you were holding out for a device that bridges the gap between smartphone and tablet, you'll want to take Note. It's an absolutely massive Android handset and a high-res pocketable tablet rolled into one. If you have the hands to support it, it may just be the best thing to happen to mobile devices since the capacitive touchscreen. You can take notes, doodle between (or during) meetings and make phone calls. Those calls can be placed using the built-in earpiece and mic, or via a Bluetooth headset, which we would recommend. Holding something this large up to your ear can be rather unpleasant -- and unsightly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep. I can understand them though. I remember when one of my co worker got the evo 4g back in 2010 and I had a nexus one with its 3.7 inch display and him with a 4.3 inch display, I held it and thought that it was gigantically ridiculous. Now I look at the evo 4 g as a tiny phone and cant believe that I thought it was a big device. Its just a getting used to thing. Same thing with folks who will use the galaxy mega for a while, going back to a 5.5 inch is going to be painful.

Has anyone here received their phone? If so, what are your thoughts?

As the title asks: has anyone here got the phone yet? What are your thoughts on it? I got mine yesterday. So far, I'm impressed yet slightly bored due to the lack of new features.
The phone itself is amazing, quick and beautiful. The fingerprint scanner is fast, the phone is comfortable to hold but lacks anything exciting from it!
Post some thoughts below!

Have you tested Displayport Alt? It's part of the USB 3.1 standard and any USB-C to HDMI/Display Port adapter should work, even if it's branded for a laptop for a laptop.

Sumenthus said:
Have you tested Displayport Alt? It's part of the USB 3.1 standard and any USB-C to HDMI/Display Port adapter should work, even if it's branded for a laptop for a laptop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No I haven't tried that actually. I'll have to look it up and see if I can try it! I'll report back if I manage.

My immediate reaction is, I wish this thing was in the omnibalance design. It is too chunky for me, I don't like the curve of the back which is really quite thick in the middle. Very slippy as well, slips all over the place..
It is very quick, the screen is very nice and as usual, for me anyway, battery life is very good.....darn it, if only the XZ2 was a bigger screened version of the XZ1 form factor.

This phone needs a case - no doubt about it - it could be very slippery otherwise.
I've come from the Pixel 2 XL (due to Google's inability to code updates properly; luckily they refunded me even after 5 months!) - the XZ2 certainly is bigger and heavier but it fits better in my pocket...
There were nice things Google had done to Android that improves the user experience that the Sony like others will not have. Nothing functionally different just a bit 'dull' in terms of experience.
The camera of the XZ2 is not up to Pixel 2 standards but I've yet to play with it properly.
I like the XZ2 - I hope I feel this way in six months time.

murrayalex said:
My immediate reaction is, I wish this thing was in the omnibalance design. It is too chunky for me, I don't like the curve of the back which is really quite thick in the middle. Very slippy as well, slips all over the place..
It is very quick, the screen is very nice and as usual, for me anyway, battery life is very good.....darn it, if only the XZ2 was a bigger screened version of the XZ1 form factor.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the phone being slippery! I can't even hold it between my shoulder and ear without it wanting to fall within seconds! Also needs a screen protector which I've had no luck finding.
As for the form factor, it doesn't seem half bad in all honesty. I come from the HTC 10 so for me it feels nice to hold and I personally like the curve on the back!

smallfish82 said:
This phone needs a case - no doubt about it - it could be very slippery otherwise.
I've come from the Pixel 2 XL (due to Google's inability to code updates properly; luckily they refunded me even after 5 months!) - the XZ2 certainly is bigger and heavier but it fits better in my pocket...
There were nice things Google had done to Android that improves the user experience that the Sony like others will not have. Nothing functionally different just a bit 'dull' in terms of experience.
The camera of the XZ2 is not up to Pixel 2 standards but I've yet to play with it properly.
I like the XZ2 - I hope I feel this way in six months time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for dull. That's the first thought I had after setting it up. I want to root/unlock the bootloader so I can put xposed on it for customisation but I don't want to lose the DRM keys either.

Love it! I came from Z3... Fast, good battery life in my opinion. Nice screen, doesn't feel that thick to me. The only thing I dislike is how slippery it is. Bought a Qi charger that I put it on first night I had it. Looked like It was laying still. 20 minutes later it woke me up when it had slid off and hit the floor ? it survived, but I instantly ordered a case for it.
I will charge it on the floor for now ?

Devzz said:
As the title asks: has anyone here got the phone yet? What are your thoughts on it? I got mine yesterday. So far, I'm impressed yet slightly bored due to the lack of new features.
The phone itself is amazing, quick and beautiful. The fingerprint scanner is fast, the phone is comfortable to hold but lacks anything exciting from it!
Post some thoughts below!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right the phone is a little boring but that's not a bad thing.. As it works as expected.
I got the s9 returned it now as couldn't make phone calls with it (a highly reported bug)
Also Samsung blocked call recording apps

pepzin said:
Love it! I came from Z3... Fast, good battery life in my opinion. Nice screen, doesn't feel that thick to me. The only thing I dislike is how slippery it is. Bought a Qi charger that I put it on first night I had it. Looked like It was laying still. 20 minutes later it woke me up when it had slid off and hit the floor it survived, but I instantly ordered a case for it.
I will charge it on the floor for now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is why Sony built Wireless Charging Dock WCH20 like this
https://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/accessories/wireless-charging-dock-wch20/

Great phone, snapy, it boots like a beast, camera is awesome and i think i will get used to the shape, it feels ok in hand, nice UI, bu unfortunately after i got it i realized botom speaker is making strange noises, allmost unberable, so i bring it back for exchange tomorrow, bought in Slovenia, seal was broke, so watch out for that

stipi69 said:
Great phone, snapy, it boots like a beast, camera is awesome and i think i will get used to the shape, it feels ok in hand, nice UI, bu unfortunately after i got it i realized botom speaker is making strange noises, allmost unberable, so i bring it back for exchange tomorrow, bought in Slovenia, seal was broke, so watch out for that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! That's a really good tip, people need to ensure the device is new and the phone hasn't been used before! Sorry to hear it's making noises though. Good luck with getting a working version after exchanging!

Devzz said:
Thanks! That's a really good tip, people need to ensure the device is new and the phone hasn't been used before! Sorry to hear it's making noises though. Good luck with getting a working version after exchanging!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After couple of updates, reboots and full night charge speakers settled, it works o.k. I am buffled... I had an apointment today for immediate phone exchange but will cancel it leter, cause i cant be sure if that was software related between updates.
I tried so hard today in morning, max loudness and shaking etc, it performed flawlessly... So i keep it, if error reocurs i still have waranty ?
I encourage you all to buy it, it is a beast

The phone it's good, fast and stable. But sincerely if I could go back i buyed a pixel 2 xl. I've enabled volte but don't work, camera it's not impressed me also front camera it's average. Impossible to use without cover, i buyed a cover from amazon. For tempered glass i advice brotect airglass, it's the only with no halo and no brightness lost

Zazzinho said:
The phone it's good, fast and stable. But sincerely if I could go back i buyed a pixel 2 xl. I've enabled volte but don't work, camera it's not impressed me also front camera it's average. Impossible to use without cover, i buyed a cover from amazon. For tempered glass i advice brotect airglass, it's the only with no halo and no brightness lost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only trouble for me with pixel us that call recording does not work on it otherwise I would have got one

After a few days of use, the phone is a solid choice.
Striking a good balance with a decent screen size & still manageable to use one-handed.
The display is plenty bright , even in sunlight outdoors, colors are excellent, right up there with the best AMOLED displays on the market.
Sound from the FF Dual speakers is plenty voluminous, quality is there as well, tweak with your music/equalizer app of choice or, as I do, use what's on board.
The addition of wireless charging is welcome, THX Sony!
Ditto for the US model having a working FPR.
I'd prefer a front or side-mounted FPR, but, use of the FPR is waaay down on my list of desired features, I can take or leave it, regardless of position, or, missing altogether.
Battery life, well, JMHO, you'd be hard pressed to find any phone that's not at least acceptable & this one is no different. The discussions on battery life are subjective at best & range to the ridiculous.
My 2¢ on the subject:
If you're employed/in-school, or otherwise engaged in activities that take priority over using your phone full time, odds are you can make it 1.5-2 days between charges on any phone. If you have more free time than that, YMWV.
No phone is perfect & this one, while I think is a keeper, has a few areas in need of improvement.
1) No 3.5 mm jack. While this is of no consequence to me, nevertheless, it was a boneheaded decision to drop the option, 'nuff said.
2) It's gotta be the slickest (read:SLIPPERY) phone I've ever used. If you're gonna use a case, this is moot, but, when I'm @ home, I like to shed the case for a more comfortable grip. The fit in hand is perfect, but, I do wish Sony woulda/coulda done something with the back glass to ensure a more secure grip. (Textured glass, a la Sandstone finish, just spit-ballin' here).
3) The super-sized vibration motor is, IMHO, total nonsense. The space it occupies would have been better utilized for the MIA 3.5 mm jack, larger battery, an I-R Blaster.
One or all of these would be welcome, compared to the gimmicky vibration motor.
4) No 6GB RAM option Stateside (possibly in other markets as well,worth looking into before buying).
I bought a 6GB RAM model on Swappa, but, having the different RAM versions, especially in the price range, is a head-scratcher.
Overall, a very nice phone for every day use. As for recent offerings (six months or so), I've used the following:
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Note FE
Mi Mix2 (highly recommend)
Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design
Note 8
Xiaomi Mi A1
RazerPhone
Moto X4 (Android One)
OnePlus 5T
Galaxy S9+
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
I'd take this one, the Sony Xperia XZ2, every time, without hesitation. Still have the Xiaomi Mi Note2 as a 2nd phone..........................,the Mi Mix2, OnePlus 5T & Samsung Galaxy Note FE were/are viable daily drivers,can't go wrong w/either one of 'em.
They're all great phones, but, for my use, the XZ2 is tops.
Put a stylus on your phone already Sony,& I'd probably never give the competition more than a casual glance....

I was going to send it back after a few days but it is growing on me, the screen is really really nice, with good deep blacks and superb brightness and clarity (it is hard to believe it is not a higher resolution), it is very fast and it has a very premium feel (if a little slippy). I also have the XZ1 and prefer the form factor of the XZ1 but the XZ2 has more going for it as an overall package. Some online reviews have been quite dismissive at times of this phone but it does have something, a bit of character?
Personally, I'd never buy a Samsung for a lot of reasons and I suppose you could call me a bit of a Sony fanboy in that I've owned lots of them down the years. This is the best Sony phone for a good long while, a great all rounder.
Very pleased with this one.

KOLIOSIS said:
After a few days of use, the phone is a solid choice.
Striking a good balance with a decent screen size & still manageable to use one-handed.
The display is plenty bright , even in sunlight outdoors, colors are excellent, right up there with the best AMOLED displays on the market.
Sound from the FF Dual speakers is plenty voluminous, quality is there as well, tweak with your music/equalizer app of choice or, as I do, use what's on board.
The addition of wireless charging is welcome, THX Sony!
Ditto for the US model having a working FPR.
I'd prefer a front or side-mounted FPR, but, use of the FPR is waaay down on my list of desired features, I can take or leave it, regardless of position, or, missing altogether.
Battery life, well, JMHO, you'd be hard pressed to find any phone that's not at least acceptable & this one is no different. The discussions on battery life are subjective at best & range to the ridiculous.
My 2¢ on the subject:
If you're employed/in-school, or otherwise engaged in activities that take priority over using your phone full time, odds are you can make it 1.5-2 days between charges on any phone. If you have more free time than that, YMWV.
No phone is perfect & this one, while I think is a keeper, has a few areas in need of improvement.
1) No 3.5 mm jack. While this is of no consequence to me, nevertheless, it was a boneheaded decision to drop the option, 'nuff said.
2) It's gotta be the slickest (read:SLIPPERY) phone I've ever used. If you're gonna use a case, this is moot, but, when I'm @ home, I like to shed the case for a more comfortable grip. The fit in hand is perfect, but, I do wish Sony woulda/coulda done something with the back glass to ensure a more secure grip. (Textured glass, a la Sandstone finish, just spit-ballin' here).
3) The super-sized vibration motor is, IMHO, total nonsense. The space it occupies would have been better utilized for the MIA 3.5 mm jack, larger battery, an I-R Blaster.
One or all of these would be welcome, compared to the gimmicky vibration motor.
4) No 6GB RAM option Stateside (possibly in other markets as well,worth looking into before buying).
I bought a 6GB RAM model on Swappa, but, having the different RAM versions, especially in the price range, is a head-scratcher.
Overall, a very nice phone for every day use. As for recent offerings (six months or so), I've used the following:
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Note FE
Mi Mix2 (highly recommend)
Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design
Note 8
Xiaomi Mi A1
RazerPhone
Moto X4 (Android One)
OnePlus 5T
Galaxy S9+
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
I'd take this one, the Sony Xperia XZ2, every time, without hesitation. Still have the Xiaomi Mi Note2 as a 2nd phone..........................,the Mi Mix2, OnePlus 5T & Samsung Galaxy Note FE were/are viable daily drivers,can't go wrong w/either one of 'em.
They're all great phones, but, for my use, the XZ2 is tops.
Put a stylus on your phone already Sony,& I'd probably never give the competition more than a casual glance....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the detailed feedback.
Does VoLTE work on T-Mobile?

dachao said:
Thanks for the detailed feedback.
Does VoLTE work on T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the H8296 model (non-US).
As for does it have VoLTE?
Short answer: Maybe?
Here's why I say that:
Using the search function in settings nets the following result:
{
"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"
}
However,when navigating from that,I don't "see" it:
If I go here:
I get this:
When I select this option,I lose all APNs & have to manually enter the APN,wash/rinse repeat.
I do see the LTE+ icon in the status bar,not sure if that's related or not:
If you have a dialer code that might reveal hidden settings, that'd be awesome & I'll take a look...
Perhaps flashing US Firmware will show the settings,or,it's already active,but,the setting is unaccessible(?) (a future root solution,perhaps).
If you have a method/app to check/confirm VoLTE,I'd be glad to check it out & share the results ......... :good:
EDIT:
I used T-Mobile's BYOD App to verify VoLTE & judging by their wording, not definitive:
Could be B.S. to get you to buy one of their phones,T-Mobile US just got fined $40 MILLION USD by the FCC for being less than truthful regarding rural service connections/calls...........
https://www.tmonews.com/2018/04/t-mobile-pay-40-million-fcc-settlement-failed-rural-calls/
FWIW,T-Mobile's DIGITS app works just fine:

@KOLIOSIS
The settings are the same as the settings on my XZ.
I don't understand why Sony phones don't support VoLTE but most of the Chinese phones do.

Question OP9 vs Pixel 5

Normally I always go for the top model of a phone that comes out, but this year is a little bit different.
I currently have a pixel 5 and I'm thinking of switching back to a OnePlus device. Before prices were officially announced, I had already set my mind on a 9 Pro.
However, here in Canada, the difference between the regular 9 and the 9 Pro is $500...
Aside from the price, I really like the fact that the regular 9 has a flat screen rather than curved edges. I hate any screen protector other than glass and there are no proper glass screen protectors for curved screens.
The reason I'm torn is because the camera setup is not the same on the regular 9, it does seem quite a bit inferior. It's using the same sensor as the 8 Pro and I think it's missing the telephoto camera entirely as well. It's also missing OIS, which I'm sure can't be good for video stabilization as well as low light photography.
However, the reason I'm still considering it is because I think it still may be an upgrade from my Pixel 5 in every area, except for the camera. I don't know how much better my Pixel 5 camera would be, compared to the OnePlus 9, or if they would come close enough where I wouldn't mind the subtle differences.
What does everyone else think? Anyone else out there with a pixel 5 and looking to switch? Unfortunate how big the price Gap is in Canada compared to the US. I think in the US the price difference is about $240, compared to Canada's $500.
Any opinions or feedback would be appreciated!

Not a Pixel 5 but a Pixel 2, I'm still using this phone as with Android 11 it's still a great phone...granted it does not have the high specs that most phones come with nowadays. But it's just the right size in my hand, works well except for poor battery life.
There are so many new phones out or coming soon...Asus Rog 5, Xiaomi range, Oppo Find X3, and now the OnePlus. A part of me still wants to hold out for the Sony Xperia 1 III if and when it is released....but I would really love a new phone now...not sure which one to go for or wait a while...I'm really leaning towards the OnePlus 9 pro...

I use my phone to make phone calls, Pixel 5 is unusable for call quality. I didn't buy a Pixel 5 but the only person I know who did returned his for that reason. And using his, I agreed with his decision. Google always makes cool phones but ultimately it's an undesirable phone. Pixel 4 physical design was a complete failure. Pixel 5's under screen speaker complete failure. I wish Google would just make the basics amazing, and stop doing dumb ****.
But even physical design Google failed with Pixel 5. That plastic finish is there because they had to do a cutout in the aluminum shell to allow for wireless charging and then covered up that hole with that resin. I swear, Google might have some of the dumbest designers.
I got the Oneplus 9 for $600. That's good enough for me, I think phones are phones. Spending over 1K is insane to me. And this phone should last me 3 years.
As for camera, I would be surprised if OP9 isn't an upgrade since all the reviews are saying in many times OP9 is head to head with Samsung and Apple, Pixel 5 fell behind in the game. I also am believer if camera quality isn't up to snuff, buy a camera... I have never seen a picture from a phone that is half as good as from a camera.
You say the camera is quite a bit inferior, reviews I've seen so far have said for the average user between OP9 and OP9 Plus would not know the difference between the pictures taken. I'm in that camp, I always assume phone camera pics are garbage. After all the rave reviews and hype for iPhone camera, I'm always amazed how bad the photos are. That's what I learned, regardless if it Samsung Ultra or Apple, it's always more suprising to me how bad the pictures are really not much better than a $500 phone's picture.
I think phones might be the biggest tech scams. Just think about how little you get for the money, they are horrific value. But they claim their profit margins are tight, I don't believe them considering their sales volume. Processor that can barely play games. Cameras that are reality worth $20 and nothing more. 6" screen. Horrific audio quality, from speaker and buds. Overall phones are horrific tech in terms of quality, and incredibly expensive.

After that rant, I seriously hope Google doesn't screw over their fans with Pixel 6 and release a solid phone and stop using their fans like guinea pigs for idiotic ideas with half baked implementation. Give them a phone that others can look at and think, gee if I didn't already buy (blank) I'd get that. They have failed with every single Pixel phone in that regard, especially when Oneplus has been doing exactly what Nexus and Pixel fans wanted.
Google should make phones that show Apple users Android can be beautiful, reliable, intuitive. Not making things like under glass speakers, hideous physical designs both front and back etc. Let the other manufacturers like Samsung experiment. Google Pixel should be the best that Android has to offer IMO.

I'm somehow in the same boat.
I've used the pixel 5 for some time and i slowly started missing a bigger screen and oxygen os but most of all decent sound quality so i started looking..
I tried s20fe 5g but traded it within a few weeks for a OnePlus 8t just to see if I'm in to Oneplus again. So far i really enjoy it, except i would love to have a slightly better camera.
So far I've seen quite some reviews of the 9 series and I'm thinking of switching.
I believe it's not the spectacle as they advertised it but it's a great device.
At least the normal 9, the differences with the pro are to little given the price difference.

Normally I would be waiting to see what Pixel 6 will be, but Google has never failed to do something that a Pixel phone would be unusable for me. They always do something stupid and seriously shaft their users. Like they could use better hardware but continue to use the same cameras for every Pixel year after year.

Appreciate all the feedback guys,
I understand your point about phone cameras not being as good as a dedicated camera, but the thing is it's not as convenient to lug around a dedicated camera for those quick shots you want to take. That being said, it's nice to have as good of camera as you, can given that it's on a phone.
In terms of the Pixel 5's design, I've never been one to be picky about a design of a phone in general so it's not an area of concern for me. I tend to throw a case on my phones anyways, so the design is a non-factor.
However, that under screen speaker is definitely a real thing and something that bugs me a lot. I don't consider the Pixel 5 having a stereo speaker setup because of how bad that top speaker is.
Phone calls are fine if you're in a quiet environment, but if outdoors it's very hard to hear the other person. It's not a good sign when a smartphone is having trouble doing its job as a phone...
This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest reason I want to switch over to the OnePlus 9. It has a dedicated cutout for that speaker grill and there's no nonsense of the speaker being under the screen.
Going back to that camera, it's not so much about the actual hardware as it is about image processing. Even though the Pixel 5 is using an older camera sensor, the pictures that come from it are incredible because of Google's image processing.
Looking up camera comparisons online, to my eye at least, the Pixel comes out with the better shot. It has a lot more contrast and vibrancy compared to OnePlus. There is also a lot more dynamic range and areas such as the sky are not as blown out as they look to be on the OnePlus 9.
I can probably get away with some of those issues by editing the picture after the fact, but sometimes, some aspects of a picture cannot be saved no matter how much editing is done to it.
I'm torn because it seems that in every other aspect, the OnePlus 9 is a superior device to the Pixel 5.
Many people have not complained about performance on the Pixel 5, but I have personally experienced lag and slow down from time to time. I am the type of user who tends to switch between apps and just generally navigate the UI very quickly, and I think sometimes the Pixel 5 has trouble keeping up with that.
After reading your replies though, I am starting to lean towards the OnePlus, as it seems like the pros far outweigh the cons, even though the one pro the Pixel has is of great value to me.
Any additional feedback or opinions are welcome of course, in the meantime I will continue thinking this decision over to see if it would be worth grabbing that OnePlus 9.

The way I see OP9 for me is it's the cheapest way to get premium hardware, $600 for me at least. The hardware and screen matters to me more than camera. And I truly believe among any of the phones $400 and above, most users won't see difference between photos taken on phones. They are all within that margin nowadays.
I truly hope Pixel 6 will offer premium hardware with solid software and no stupid gimmicks. Google offers are truly solid, awesome phone that doesn't use their users as beta testers for stupid ideas.
If so, then yeah I'd trade in the OP9 for a Pixel 6. Cause no question, Google makes the best software on Android platform still, best camera app, best phone and messaging apps and of course best Android experience. But Pixels always have really stupid ideas and treat their paying customers like unpaid beta testers. That's disrespectful.

Ended up caving and grabbed the OP9. As I mentioned in my previous post, there only seems to be one pro for the Pixel 5, which is the camera. In every other category, the OnePlus 9 outshines the Pixel 5.
Regardless of how much significance I hold to that one upside of the Pixel 5 (camera), all the pros for the OP9 made me think it makes more sense to go for the 9 instead.
Not to mention, that under-screen earpiece speaker is hard to deal with. Like @zymphad said, I can also look into the Pixel 6 and see if it's worth switching back to Google for. Otherwise I'll stick with the 9.
As a workaround for the OP9's camera, I can simply just take a handful of shots of whatever I am taking pictures of (hopefully getting one or two good shots out of the handful), and rely on apps like Snapseed for them to "pop" a bit more.
Looks like the phone is going to ship out today, should have it by next week! Thanks again for the input, everyone.

Mine arrived. At work, tomorrow will post modified boot.img to root. Little doubt phone will be great and the Haselblad hype ruined the phone release since the pics are up to stnadard with Samsung and Apple just does not live up to hype, IMO Haselblad failed and they only had one job to provide consistent natural colors across all footage and cameras.

OP9 is a must-skip for me. No dual sim for North America, bad fingerprint scanner, expected OnePlus camera flub, and base OP9 display has low DPI while OP9 Pro has a curve. For iPhone prices they aren't offering iPhone quality. Battery issues seem to be common too. My P5 will last another year.

Unsurprising you whine about a camera that so far from what I've seen from people who make a living reviewing Android phones, OP9 camera is now within the same league as Samsung, loses some, wins some.
Fingerprint reader hasn't failed for me, in all lighting conditions and environment so far. Love it, it's fast and precise.
Battery lol? It's the best in class, fastest charging and seems to last forever.
Whines about the display but bought a Pixel 5. Is this a joke?
For how I use my phone compared to the Pixel 5 failure. Honestly this isn't even vs OnePlus, this is just Pixel 5 being a failure compared to all competition, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, etc.
I use my phone to text, make phone calls, watch youtube, netflix, gaming, reading forums / blogs / news, chatting on discord, sharing memes, listening to music. For what I use my phone, Pixel 5 is dead last compared to all other phones I considered sub $800.
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I have always been a Google phone fan, from the g1, og Nexus, Nexus 5, 6p, og pixel, 2xl, 3xl. I love the monthly update and the "pure os". But I just got a op9 from tmo (USA) for a great deal 1/2 off so it comes out to be about 360 over 2 years. For that price I'll deal with the shortcomings of the op9...

I know this is a little old, but I've had the Pixel 5 for a little less than a week and will be returning it. My last phone? OnePlus 6 that I got at launch. I also ordered a OnePlus 9 today.
It's the little things that just kill the Pixel 5 for me:
*Under screen speaker is awful
*The notification/ringer volume either can't be heard or can be heard by everyone, there's no middle ground.
*Can't remove Google Bar or Widget from the homescreen or lockscreen, and Nova keeps bugging out with gestures, so it's not even worth it sometimes.
*The processor. I've installed several apps that just sit there for a while after downloading and don't install for a few minutes. Unacceptable.
*have to switch hands to take a screenshot with the shortcut.
The size is great, but the lack of certain things that should be standard in 2021 is just flat out unacceptable even with some nicer things (call screening is phenomenal). I have a dream that one day all phones will be less than 6.2" so I'm not lugging a tablet around...

XNine said:
I know this is a little old, but I've had the Pixel 5 for a little less than a week and will be returning it. My last phone? OnePlus 6 that I got at launch. I also ordered a OnePlus 9 today.
It's the little things that just kill the Pixel 5 for me:
*Under screen speaker is awful
*The notification/ringer volume either can't be heard or can be heard by everyone, there's no middle ground.
*Can't remove Google Bar or Widget from the homescreen or lockscreen, and Nova keeps bugging out with gestures, so it's not even worth it sometimes.
*The processor. I've installed several apps that just sit there for a while after downloading and don't install for a few minutes. Unacceptable.
*have to switch hands to take a screenshot with the shortcut.
The size is great, but the lack of certain things that should be standard in 2021 is just flat out unacceptable even with some nicer things (call screening is phenomenal). I have a dream that one day all phones will be less than 6.2" so I'm not lugging a tablet around...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm right there with you on a lot of these points. That under screen speaker was just horrible. It's basically a mono speaker, I don't even consider that under screen speaker a speaker to be honest.
I like my big phones though so that's one area we see different but for the majority of it I pretty much switched for the same reasons.

OP9 has its deficiencies mostly in camera, lack of OIS and below average front camera that I NEVER use.
But sometimes it can shine.

Did you take that picture using Portrait Mode or PRO mode?
The only way to get 50MP is using the PRO mode on the app.
First Picture is PRO mode...
Second Picture is Portrait....
My Opinion. I prefer Oneplus over anything.
If your looking for specs yes, I can't believe I would say this but the "new" Red Magic 6R is only $499 and the specs are even higher..
But I'm a OnePlus user through and through. Wont ever change unless they go out of business.

rickysidhu_ said:
I'm right there with you on a lot of these points. That under screen speaker was just horrible. It's basically a mono speaker, I don't even consider that under screen speaker a speaker to be honest.
I like my big phones though so that's one area we see different but for the majority of it I pretty much switched for the same reasons.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You know the microphone is under glass because it's water resistant. I agree though some of googles developers must be some real gems.

Question Rogphone 5 or op9 pro

Hi guys,
I need to decide between those 2 devices.
I'm not a gamer but the Asus phone is really amazing piece of hardware .
In the other hand the camera is not good enough and it's quite important for me.
My question is if there is any way to make camera better , for example gcam and if it's really help?
Second thought
What you think about rog phone as non gamer phone?
Thanks

Rog 5 is great!!

ROG Phone 5 is great if you are heavy into gaming, need the added battery to still use GPS, and don't mind a few missed notifications or emails in the background.
OnePlus is better if you want to stay current on the latest software updates and security improvements, prefer a wider selection of or more affordable accessories, and value a larger community for support or development.
Further reading:
The ROG Phone 5 packages security updates into the firmware versions, so they are not released separately. This means they are a bit slower to arrive and tend to skip incremental versions.
GPS and 5G are expensive on your battery life and despite having a rather large battery and quick charging, gaming needs most of it. A lot of the ROG Phone 5 features for gaming include disabling background tasks and minimizing network traffic, which are hard to do if you actually need those.

Thank you all!
The battery is never been issue for me since I got available charger must of the day.
I'm not such a gamer honestly , but this phone is so cool that I just can't ignore it .
What about the camera ?
It's my main concern, is there any way to make it better with root ?

sagiag said:
Thank you all!
The battery is never been issue for me since I got available charger must of the day.
I'm not such a gamer honestly , but this phone is so cool that I just can't ignore it .
What about the camera ?
It's my main concern, is there any way to make it better with root ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. You can improve the perceptual quality, but the (lens) resolution won't actually change. It was silly to add that AR feature to Armory Crate knowing they cut corners on the camera because it only made it more obvious.

Got you .
So I guess I'll skip this one and choose the OP thanks guys

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Personally I had the same dilema, I picked the rog phone 5. No regrets so far. The battery is so much better, I can make it last 2-3 days on a single charge. The screen is amazing. Speakers are literally among the best speakers on a smartphone, possibly THE best. Software is amazing too. I had an OP3T before and I loved oxygen OS more than stock android, unfortunately OnePlus is going in a different direction. Thanks to the cooling, performance is pretty darn great too, beats the OnePlus any day . ZenUI has almost all features of oxygen os and MORE. Design is pretty cool, and so is the camera if I'm being honest. Here's some photos that I took a couple of days back. Not really a huge sample but perhaps it'll help you. No editing or retouching was done.

After looking a bit deeper, it appears the OnePlus 9 camera is 50MP. Reviews keep saying how amazing it is, but its still a budget lens.

thejus44 said:
View attachment 5362951Personally I had the same dilema, I picked the rog phone 5. No regrets so far. The battery is so much better, I can make it last 2-3 days on a single charge. The screen is amazing. Speakers are literally among the best speakers on a smartphone, possibly THE best. Software is amazing too. I had an OP3T before and I loved oxygen OS more than stock android, unfortunately OnePlus is going in a different direction. Thanks to the cooling, performance is pretty darn great too, beats the OnePlus any day . ZenUI has almost all features of oxygen os and MORE. Design is pretty cool, and so is the camera if I'm being honest. Here's some photos that I took a couple of days back. Not really a huge sample but perhaps it'll help you. No editing or retouching was done. View attachment 5362947
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have the photos been made in any mode, and in 64mp?

ChrisFeiveel said:
have the photos been made in any mode, and in 64mp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No no, absolutely zero tinkering. Tried it using default settings. I took them in 64MP but had to downscale as XDA wasn't accepting higher resolutions. More than a couple of people have remarked on the camera quality so you should be perfectly fine in that regard.
Also btw, Asus actually won the MKBHD blind camera test of 2020 so camera quality wouldn't be an issue. The Sony sensor here is really good, I can confirm.

thejus44 said:
Also btw, Asus actually won the MKBHD blind camera test of 2020 so camera quality wouldn't be an issue. The Sony sensor here is really good, I can confirm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the ZenFone 7 pro (the winner) doesn't have the same camera does it? At least my research revealed those are different one.

thejus44 said:
No no, absolutely zero tinkering. Tried it using default settings. I took them in 64MP but had to downscale as XDA wasn't accepting higher resolutions. More than a couple of people have remarked on the camera quality so you should be perfectly fine in that regard.
Also btw, Asus actually won the MKBHD blind camera test of 2020 so camera quality wouldn't be an issue. The Sony sensor here is really good, I can confirm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Results From This Blind Smartphone Camera Test Will Surprise You
Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, hosted his third annual, 17-minute blind smartphone camera test featuring 20 new smartphones. The phones were
petapixel.com
Brownlee is using the default settings with no focus on still images.
What you can take from it is that on Twitter, Brownlee's followers chose the generic photos of the Zenphone 7 Pro. The second you click anything or the target begins to move, the results are obsolete.

Hi guys
Thank you all for your help!
I found out that the Sony IMX686 sensor is the sensor in the Zenfone 7 and also in the rogphone 5
It's a pretty decent sensor.
The issue is that I have kids and when I taking a pictures ia can't guarantee that they will stand still .
About night shot , must of my photos is in daylight or indoor so almost no nightshots in my case.

I would say if you really want decent photos - get neither of them and buy something that has a focus on cameras.
Sources told me OnePlus never had such a decent image quality (Cannot say for myself, I have a OnePlus but I could not care less about image quality nor do I even recognize "high/good" quality as good quality because they mostly look ugly to me compared to "lower" quality)
However if it's only between those two I would say buy an Asus - take some pictures and return it in case the quality is not good enough for you or take a look at reviews with their photos and decide if that's enough.
I wouldn't agree that gaming phones are only for gaming. They have decent hardware, large batteries and high display quality. If you care about those things - then even a gaming phone might be something for you.
They are still smartphones. you can call with them, chat with your friends/family and so on. Even GPS works and doesn't drain more battery than on average phones.
The only thing that might matter are updates.
If you care much about those things OP is better. It all depends on your needs and requirements. For example I don't care about manufacturer updates. The last one I installed was about 2012 before I started to flash my phones.

Anubarak16 said:
I would say if you really want decent photos - get neither of them and buy something that has a focus on cameras.
Sources told me OnePlus never had such a decent image quality (Cannot say for myself, I have a OnePlus but I could not care less about image quality nor do I even recognize "high/good" quality as good quality because they mostly look ugly to me compared to "lower" quality)
However if it's only between those two I would say buy an Asus - take some pictures and return it in case the quality is not good enough for you or take a look at reviews with their photos and decide if that's enough.
I wouldn't agree that gaming phones are only for gaming. They have decent hardware, large batteries and high display quality. If you care about those things - then even a gaming phone might be something for you.
They are still smartphones. you can call with them, chat with your friends/family and so on. Even GPS works and doesn't drain more battery than on average phones.
The only thing that might matter are updates.
If you care much about those things OP is better. It all depends on your needs and requirements. For example I don't care about manufacturer updates. The last one I installed was about 2012 before I started to flash my phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tnx bro .
Really appreciate your answer
Honestly I'm flashing my devices like crazy so OTA is not big deal for me .
I'm really disappointed with OP 8 can feel that they go to a very bad way oxygen OS have plenty of bugs and the product feels to me like not completed product.
Let's say that you have the option to choose any smartphone in the world.
What would you take?
Samsung is not an option btw

Well... I'm not the best choice to answer your question. In my opinions notches, punch holes, curved displays and no bezels are disgusting.
I hate none symmetrical phones so all those are totally a no go for me. Plus I mostly have my phone in my hands when I use it so small bezels / curved displays result in faulty touch recognitions.
That being said most phones in the world are nothing for me. Out of those I care about power and performance because I buy my phones for 4/5 years. An outdated chipset / lesser power might be a pain in the ass in 3 years when I still want to use chrome with my 30 tabs, play games simultaneously and write messages between loading screens by switching apps in <1s.
So currently my choice is the Asus cause it fulfills nearly all my criteria. If OnePlus had no Notches/Punch holes + a larger battery I would take those. I considered many other phones but all of them either look not so good and are weaker compared to Asus. Funfact: Buying a new Smartphone usually takes me around 4/5 months every 4/5 years

Shame Samsung isn't an option. The Note 20 Ultra takes great photos. The pinhole camera is a silly design, but at least they centered it. The raised camera lens is awkward, but easily fixed with a case.
I've taken pictures of people flying past that look like they stopped to pose. Samsung makes good cameras, so you may still want the lens inside someone else's shell.

Sometimes someone makes bad experiences with certain brands. Let it be customer support or defective devices.
I would never buy a Samsung device for myself as well because no other brand caused me so much trouble in the past. Let it be unlocking the bootloader or other related things.

Anubarak16 said:
Sometimes someone makes bad experiences with certain brands. Let it be customer support or defective devices.
I would never buy a Samsung device for myself as well because no other brand caused me so much trouble in the past. Let it be unlocking the bootloader or other related things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fundamentally, the internals are only one of a couple sets each generation. Even the software and entire support staff are changed out. You may not want to support Samsung, but you did. Guess who made your display panel?

I never said I don't want to support or harm them. I know many use their panels.
It's the same for OLED TVs and LG.
Of course they may also change the software but I rooted several Samsung devices and except for my very first one (Galaxy s1) all of them were not as easy as OnePlus devices or Nexus.
It's a combination of many things together that disappointed me or friends - not only with phones It's the same with other devices. (I had to work with the software of their TV devices once and it was a pain in the ass compared to LG WebOS or Sony to make my software running).
I'm open to give them a chance again when I think it will become better (I highly doubt this will ever be the case since I guess I'm not their peer group) but until that day I won't buy devices directly from Samsung.
I don't just say "it's trash" for no reason or "hate" them or whatever... I keep in touch with the company and inform me about their products but mostly they don't suit my requirements