Related
When it comes to android, you know that you have an outstanding range of hardware. From the low-end Optimus T/S to the titans of the OS such as the Galaxy S2, and everything imaginable in between. These days, you can even find generic china phones running an, often dated, android. Every carrier has it, they come in all price ranges, and they're available on demand. The question I pose to you, "Is android's key selling point the hardware?"
I understand that numerous XDA members and even some outsiders enjoy the limitless customization options made readily available in android and that's awesome. However, the general consumer is happy to end customization at setting their own ringtone. It's not a breaking factor for the majority that you can swap out kernels. Overall, android is a decent enough platform, but for the masses, I see little that it offers, hardware aside, that it's competitors don't.
Here recently, a thread was posted regarding the ASUS Transformer 2, a pentacore processor in a tablet. Now, most people have yet to exhaust the resources on their dual core phones. A penta-core device seems to be pushing the limits. Considering that it is running a mobile OS, by the time those cores could be utilized, wouldn't the tablet be long outdated? However, I know it will sell well because the word "Penta-core" sounds too awesome for the masses to pass up.
Another occurrence I've seen, having worked in retail shops for some time. A lot of customers, when asked about what OS their phone is running, will reply, "HTC" or, "Samsung." A lot of them have no idea what our little green friend is. Another point towards my personal opinion that the hardware is a huge selling factor.
Overall, android is a very complete platform. It is not my daily driver, but I do enjoy it whenever I have time to tinker. I am inquiring about this matter to get your opinions, what sells? Hardware or software?
I think for me its a little bit of both. I like the fact that the hardware is there in my 3d when I need to push the system really hard. Its not often I do, but its good that when I do, it executes the tasks with ease.
On the same hand there are huge software benefits for me. I love the UI and that I can set swype gestures to open particular apps or settings. It makes multi tasking tthat much easier and fluid for me.
Also, at least from what I have seen with iOS5 (my girl has the 4s) is that android seems to be ahead in certain areas of functionality. For example it is not an innovative thing (to me anyways, being an android user) to be able to back up your device without the use of a computer... I have been doing wireless backups and internal backups since I bought my first android phone.
I think one thing you mentioned before... I think it was you, anyways... was pretty much right on when you said that android is capable of meeting so many different needs in the sense that you have a wide range in variety of devices to choose from and at different costs. There are high end phones available such that perform to today's standards in the mobile world, and there are lower end ones available that are more cost effective.
I feel if you yourself are innovative and creative, you are way more capable of taking an android phone and building the UI to what you want/need. I don't sacrifice functionality for speed, ever. In the end it is still just a phone, but I prefer this platform because it caters to that need I have to customize my phone the way I want it to be, not what somebody else feels it should be.
---------- Post added at 02:19 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:13 AM ----------
And to address your comment about the bajjillion core tab....
Seems the hardware is way ahead of the software in this case... therefore, I am not impressed by it.
I have a Motorola xoom and it has plenty of power to do what I need it to do. I will not be taking it back to simply have two more cores under the hood. And somebody else mentioned the new kal el device only has 1gb of ram? In my opinion that is really disappointing for a device with that kind of processing power.
i buy phones based on hardware specs
the OS is optional
I prefer to load my OS of choice
just like my PCs / Laptops
z33dev33l said:
When it comes to android, you know that you have an outstanding range of hardware. From the low-end Optimus T/S to the titans of the OS such as the Galaxy S2, and everything imaginable in between. These days, you can even find generic china phones running an, often dated, android. Every carrier has it, they come in all price ranges, and they're available on demand. The question I pose to you, "Is android's key selling point the hardware?"
I understand that numerous XDA members and even some outsiders enjoy the limitless customization options made readily available in android and that's awesome. However, the general consumer is happy to end customization at setting their own ringtone. It's not a breaking factor for the majority that you can swap out kernels. Overall, android is a decent enough platform, but for the masses, I see little that it offers, hardware aside, that it's competitors don't.
Here recently, a thread was posted regarding the ASUS Transformer 2, a pentacore processor in a tablet. Now, most people have yet to exhaust the resources on their dual core phones. A penta-core device seems to be pushing the limits. Considering that it is running a mobile OS, by the time those cores could be utilized, wouldn't the tablet be long outdated? However, I know it will sell well because the word "Penta-core" sounds too awesome for the masses to pass up.
Another occurrence I've seen, having worked in retail shops for some time. A lot of customers, when asked about what OS their phone is running, will reply, "HTC" or, "Samsung." A lot of them have no idea what our little green friend is. Another point towards my personal opinion that the hardware is a huge selling factor.
Overall, android is a very complete platform. It is not my daily driver, but I do enjoy it whenever I have time to tinker. I am inquiring about this matter to get your opinions, what sells? Hardware or software?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First time I have to agree with you pal.BUT:
i)Those guys/gals whose customisation needs end with setting the ringtone are the ones who won't care or even won't realize if the OS is different between an iPhone and an Android device.
ii)Android offers most(if not all) of the things other OSes offer,plus the infinite customisation capabilities no other OS has.Now this is what matters for those of us who can do more than changing the ringtone.
Other than these two things,I generally agree.In the end,though,it's user preference that matters.And people's idiocy in fact.Hell,many people buy their phones depending on how many megapixels their camera can do!
AllGamer said:
I prefer to load my OS of choice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd prefer that too, but mobile hardware is pretty much completely closed, so this is not really possible in practice, except maybe on very very few models.
To answer the title question: I don't know about others, but for me it's definitely the OS. Android is the closest to Linux as I'll probably get on a phone, people are free to cook up their own ROMs (not completely free in many cases, there's closed components in every ROM, but oh well), vast customization capabilities, for getting software you're not limited to one store with draconian rules and sometimes arbitrary decisions.
Certainly a combination of software + hardware with a little bit of company preference.
But considering the range of manufacturers for android based phones, I find it hard to lag behind hardware wise.
1) I look for a device that I think will last me the three years of my contract or at least the majority of it
2) I look here on XDA and see what the dev community is like
3) I buy the phone
I would guess that for 80%+ of phone buyers the main factor is price. Sure they know about the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy devices, but for most those phohnes are out of their price bracket. So they find the device which has the same sort of idea but in a cheap package, which has helped Android no end since there are low end Android devices, and Apple have little interest in that.
For myself as a more techie person, I use Android becuase of the freedom to do what i want with my hardware. At least that's why i got into Android. Now I will continue to buy Android devices, but the major reason is I've invested in the app market, I have tens of pounds worth of apps for Android. To jump to anotehr platform now would mean having to start over with that. That's the power of these stores and markets, once you are invested changing platform is a lot more of a jump that just deciding which you like the most at the time.
countstex said:
I would guess that for 80%+ of phone buyers the main factor is price. Sure they know about the iPhone and the Samsung Galaxy devices, but for most those phohnes are out of their price bracket. So they find the device which has the same sort of idea but in a cheap package, which has helped Android no end since there are low end Android devices, and Apple have little interest in that.
For myself as a more techie person, I use Android becuase of the freedom to do what i want with my hardware. At least that's why i got into Android. Now I will continue to buy Android devices, but the major reason is I've invested in the app market, I have tens of pounds worth of apps for Android. To jump to anotehr platform now would mean having to start over with that. That's the power of these stores and markets, once you are invested changing platform is a lot more of a jump that just deciding which you like the most at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've seen the price comment being made multiple times but aren't these devices pretty close to each other in terms of price after a 2 yr contract? In fact if you shop around, you can find some of these highend units for nearly nothing from online stores such as amazon
As for me, overall package is what sold me to galaxy s2. Form factor, hardware specs, overall implementation of the OS (gpu acceleration various places), etc. Version number really doesn't really bother me (2.3.3 vs 2.3.4/5/6/7) as long as there aren't any key features missing in the current revision that exists in the newer revisions.
Gusar321 said:
I'd prefer that too, but mobile hardware is pretty much completely closed, so this is not really possible in practice, except maybe on very very few models.
To answer the title question: I don't know about others, but for me it's definitely the OS. Android is the closest to Linux as I'll probably get on a phone, people are free to cook up their own ROMs (not completely free in many cases, there's closed components in every ROM, but oh well), vast customization capabilities, for getting software you're not limited to one store with draconian rules and sometimes arbitrary decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
HD2 was a great example
then there are many other HTC devices that did the same
and a few Samsung devices as well
and there's the HP Touchpad
and...
For most people it's both.
They're attracted for the first time by the look and find the OS easy to use.
Despite people stating that the iphone is for people who just want to use a smartphone for the first time etc and Android is for techies and geeks to customise, if that were actually true then that would mean that there are a hell of a lot of geeks out there, which obviously isn't the case.
I would guess the majority of Android users' extent of customisation is changing the picture of their wallpaper, and that's the thing, with Android you can do that, it's easy to use, with the extra buttons it can seem more logical to new users compared with the single button on the iphone for instance.
It has the "apps and the wifis" that average users want, it looks good and you can make it look pretty much how you like.
Being able to just plug it into another computer and transfer files is a huge boon too, something a colleague was very disappointed with the iphone4 because of it's lack of ability.
There is 500+ android devices on the market globally, its the brand name and hardware specs that sell. Not the os.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
I'd rather say that that none of those sell the other: it's actually the price selling both, plus the "status symbol" factor thatbhas to do with Apple things. Androids are generally cheaper then both the iPhone and WP7 phones. This, plus the fact that most people don't seem to like WP7 tiled ui, basically because it doesn't "look like an iPhone" enough. That might sound harsh, like saying that most people are dumb, but it's not (only) that actually: people got used to icons since the day they got their first pc, no wonder they go for something that looks more familiar to them when they wanna buy a smartphone. Maybe Win8 will totally change the name of the game, but that's it for the moment (sadly enough I dare say).
I think we have to remember that 'most' people don't include the tiny fraction of the consumer market that are active on XDA. We make choices on a range of factors as we are better informed about both hardware and software. When we walk into a phone shop we want to assess the phone on build quality, size, Android version, display type, etc.
When the average punter walks into the same shop their buying choice usually boils down to no more than, 'Oh look, a shiny thing. I want that one'.
.
Thread moved to Android. Would advise you to read forum rules and post in correct section.
Failure to comply with forum rules will result in an infraction and/or ban depending on severity of rule break.
Do you review the content of my threads before moving them or do you see my name and play pin the tail on the donkey with the final location of the thread?
So ya I'm working on a research about the expending Chinese smartphone market
And I want to know what westerner like you guys think about Chinese smartphone, like what is your impression on Xiaomi or one plus one, and of course I'm a Asian so please help !!!!
If you can, I also want to know what phone you are using as a reference
thank you
As long as the company is reputable, and the phone is genuine, I see no problems with them. Pretty much all smartphones are made in china now anyways, and I have really heard no horror stories about established companies like Xiaomi, although OnePlus did have their weird and "questionable" marketing strategies. I use a oneplus one as my daily driver, and have had no problems with the actual phone its self, in fact I love it. I think many buyers are put off by some of the crap they have seen from Chinese phone manufacturers, that they haven't looked into the higher end stuff, just the cheap crap, which is, predictably for the price, crap. But at the higher end? I see no reason for there to be any difference between a Chinese phone, a Korean phone, or a Japanese phone in terms of build quality, as long as the company producing it puts in the effort and cost.
snekiam said:
As long as the company is reputable, and the phone is genuine, I see no problems with them. Pretty much all smartphones are made in china now anyways, and I have really heard no horror stories about established companies like Xiaomi, although OnePlus did have their weird and "questionable" marketing strategies. I use a oneplus one as my daily driver, and have had no problems with the actual phone its self, in fact I love it. I think many buyers are put off by some of the crap they have seen from Chinese phone manufacturers, that they haven't looked into the higher end stuff, just the cheap crap, which is, predictably for the price, crap. But at the higher end? I see no reason for there to be any difference between a Chinese phone, a Korean phone, or a Japanese phone in terms of build quality, as long as the company producing it puts in the effort and cost.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your rely, I see your point there, is very useful for my research
Um probably in the minority but I've always liked ZTE and Huawei. I'll never own a clone though from a questionable manufacturer. Mainly stock Android and unlocked bootloaders.
Sent from my Z667T using XDA Free mobile app
I have read this article:
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-revoke-huawei-android-ban-blacklist/
do you think other chinese brands like xiaomi, BBK brands (Oppo, Oneplus, Vivio), Meizu may suffer in near feature same problems and being disconnected from Google services?
g_oral said:
I have read this article:
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-revoke-huawei-android-ban-blacklist/
do you think other chinese brands like xiaomi, BBK brands (Oppo, Oneplus, Vivio), Meizu may suffer in near feature same problems and being disconnected from Google services?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would doubt it. Every company has some blemish on their record regarding privacy concerns, even Google themselves, but Hauwei is far and away the worst offender (in terms of smart phone manufacturers).
I'm doubtful, since OnePlus aims to really represent itself in the US and Europe vs Huawei is blatantly 'Chinese' in origin. As stupid as it sounds, part of it has to do with apparent association. Huawei has gotten a lot of attention because they haven't been concerned about keeping on a good face for the US government, unlike other brands which are quick to appeal to senators and representatives in order to stay in business. Huawei's size (2nd largest in the world) is also intimidating for US lawmakers since they see the company as a threat to becoming too powerful to control if left unattended.
That being said, Huawei has also been accused of some incredibly shady business practices, including stealing patented technology from companies like TMobile. No company is perfect, but these accusations are pretty serious. Companies like OnePlus are smart enough to not do anything that stupid lol!
You realize how many customers OnePlus will loose world wide if so .
It's geopolitics probably expect similar fates to other Chinese companies in the future.
You can't rule it out.
Since the whole Cisco router firmware debacle Huawei have had it coming.
I don't know if y'all remember but it was the same with ZTE a year ago or so. Luckily it turned out good for them. But was the same thing. Back then my Oreo update for my ZTE was cancelled. But they got back on track eventually
g_oral said:
I have read this article:
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-revoke-huawei-android-ban-blacklist/
do you think other chinese brands like xiaomi, BBK brands (Oppo, Oneplus, Vivio), Meizu may suffer in near feature same problems and being disconnected from Google services?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oneplus isn't worried.
https://www.thenational.ae/business...plus-unworried-by-china-us-trade-war-1.862281
Its not actually a war between google, US based companies are forcednot to deal with Huawei by the government
Sent from my OnePlus 6T using XDA Labs
The main problem with huaweii that is "owned" by the Chinese government? Plus they lie and lie..steal..you get the idea.
I've used the Galaxy S2 as my first phone when it was released (the day I decided to become an Android Fan Boy), I've used two <100$ phones that run Android including Redmi 5A. I made sure to get my hands on the OP2 when it was released in India and I've bought the Poco F1 twice (first got flushed drown a drain) all over a span of 8+ years.
I've installed over 50 custom ROMs on mine and my parents' phones (Redmi Note 4, Yu Yureka) and my on laptop too. I've loved CyanogenMod and consequently LineageOS too and they have always shown how powerful a phone can become if you've got the right software.
I've stayed up to date on the latest tech news on a daily basis and I've always looked for phones that have truly stood out (Most of the phones I've purchased have caught eyeballs and wallets of many during their times and in their categories). I've run my hands down a lot of other devices too.
Despite so many great devices being launched, 3 year old iPhones are still among popular best-sellers in the entry level premium segment.
If there's anything that can really challenge the mid-tier dominance of 3 year old iPhones, it is a mind blowing H/W (from someone like Poco) and the OS in it's purest form - Stock Android with UPDATES (this is not emphasized enough).
Though Nokia and Motorola offer these, they often cut costs on H/W.
Xiaomi always makes a "just good enough" implementation of Android One, so as to not cannibalize its own series.
After using the Poco F1, I've realized this phone is exactly everything I need and nothing I don't (which is their motto), but with Android One. I'm pretty sure a lot of Poco Users would resonate, the 90k Pixel Experience ROM downloads, beryllium(code-name) being one of the most popular phones for all major after-market ROMs is a big indicator of an underlying need. Given that Poco has become an independent unit (which basically means they have greater control over marketing and software) and they're planning to launch maybe 1-3 devices (too many rumors) this could be a great pivot point for them.
It's been a dream waiting to happen for years, a true Android One phone + High End H/W + A cost that puts everything else to shame. And I don't think anyone else is poised to do that better than Poco. It's a great strategy to pivot away into a quasi-premium line and compete with High End Chinese + Starting Range OnePlus/Nokia Premium Phones. This is the category that most first time buyers of premium-ish phones flock to.
If all the feedback all over the years has said anything it is this - People want the best H/W with the purest experience of Android and a bang for your buck. In the end it's Xiaomi (Mi, Redmi, Poco) vs BBK (Oppo, Vivo, OP, Realme) anyway (I don't assume Samsung and Huawei would really focus on this given their sheer size and investments in core technologies such as silicon, imaging and network technology).
Poco could be an outlet for all of Xiaomi's best performing H/W tweaked to their philosophy of keeping everything you need and nothing you don't to re-birth as Android One Phones.
I mean why isn't anyone doing this, and why isn't Poco doing it!
Because no one cares about Stock/Pure Android
If you're on XDA anyway might as well flash Pixel Experience and keep on keeping on. I dont know about the ins and outs of making an Android One device, but it would probably involve licensing with Google, and actually not that many people dislike MIUI as you might think. 100K downloads on PE means nothing compares to the total amount of users that didnt even bother to change away from MIUI, or changing ROMs at all
Hi all,
I'm the type of person that doesn't really renew hardware until it dies out, and don't usually care for too fancy things either, so I keep my budget as low as possible.
I do appreciate vfm choices though, so I do pay for what features I can fit in my budget.
I also highly value a clean, bloatware-free software experience, good support (security updates and updates in general), that's why I've always been at least somewhat in touch with the custom ROM community so that I can keep my phones alive for as much as possible).
That said, I have a Redmi Note 4X (served me well for about 4 years, currently running PixelExperience) that is dying on me, so I've been checking out budget options (ideally around the 200 +-25% euros range).
I'm very sad to see that Xiaomi (which I've always preached to friends as best vfm, despite my despise of MiUI) is adopting the anti-OSS approach of MTK hardware, while at the same time has resentfully moved away from it's Android One phones and initiative (https://www.xda-developers.com/xiaomi-deletes-twitter-poll-android-one-miui/).
Similarly other budget choices seem to follow way (eg Samsung budget lines).
I was hoping to buy into 5G with my new device since some 5G towers are starting to appear in my country's big cities, but with a quick search I see that if I back out of 5G, I might still have some 4G options that can keep me in the Snapdragon realm and therefore the custom ROM community.
All that said, what would be my best vfm low budget choices with the current market?
Also please feel free and encouraged to comment on my perception of Mediatek gaining market share and it's effect on the community.
I'd find it interesting to see a different perspective on it if anyone has one.
Hi, if you are fixed on the ~200,- Euro price range go for a used Pixel3 in good condition. In a big german portal ("ebay-Kleinanzeigen") you can grab one in the price range of 150-180,-. i buyed one for 110,- and another for 140,-. My other productive phone is a Pixel2 running LOS18.1 currently. I buyed it to play/test but it is a very good device, so i started to love it ( ) and i use it as my daily business driver. You should be able to get one at ~ 100,- Euros.
The other alternative is the Pixel5. Disadvantage: its new and used one are at €~400-500,- currently. I expect that the price will go down when the Pixel6 is out in the market . The P5 is well supported with LOS either.
Edit: Have to tell that a screen size of 6"/ Height of 145-150 Millimeter is the maximum for me. I dont want a tablet, yes most current phones are tablets!
I think used* or an older new* discounted phone are viable options.
5G is overrated and not needed.
I just picked up a second new N10+ 4G running on Q although my savings weren't tremendous, the phone is.
That's what I think about the latest generation of technology and Android OS... not much.
The chip shortage will continue into 2022-3 more than likely. Grab it while you can as prices are still climbing. Tough times and more are likely coming.
*only from known good vendors. Protect yourself fully! A lot of scamming and misleading advertising going on now. Best to talk to the vendor on the phone first.
zimral.xda said:
Hi, if you are fixed on the ~200,- Euro price range go for a used Pixel3 in good condition. In a big german portal ("ebay-Kleinanzeigen") you can grab one in the price range of 150-180,-. i buyed one for 110,- and another for 140,-. My other productive phone is a Pixel2 running LOS18.1 currently. I buyed it to play/test but it is a very good device, so i started to love it ( ) and i use it as my daily business driver. You should be able to get one at ~ 100,- Euros.
The other alternative is the Pixel5. Disadvantage: its new and used one are at €~400-500,- currently. I expect that the price will go down when the Pixel6 is out in the market . The P5 is well supported with LOS either.
Edit: Have to tell that a screen size of 6"/ Height of 145-150 Millimeter is the maximum for me. I dont want a tablet, yes most current phones are tablets!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I am kinda fixed on the price. Could maybe go up to 250 but anything over that would be a waste for my personal needs.
To be honest I'm slightly skeptical about the used market especially at this time since the shortage seems to have promoted scamming
That said a lot of people have suggested used Pixels as being great value so I'll still think of this option, thanks for your insight!
blackhawk said:
I think used* or an older new* discounted phone are viable options.
5G is overrated and not needed.
I just picked up a second new N10+ 4G running on Q although my savings weren't tremendous, the phone is.
That's what I think about the latest generation of technology and Android OS... not much.
The chip shortage will continue into 2022-3 more than likely. Grab it while you can as prices are still climbing. Tough times and more are likely coming.
*only from known good vendors. Protect yourself fully! A lot of scamming and misleading advertising going on now. Best to talk to the vendor on the phone first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As stated just above ^, I'm slightly skeptical of the current used market.
I bet the N10+ is an amazing device, however its way out of my budget (~870) and, honestly, an overkill for my needs.
Would you have any suggestions for an "older new" phone around that budget with a snapdragon
From my searches on the biggest local search engines for tech products since I posted this, the only new options that come up which mostly fill my needs appear to be:
- Moto G 5G Plus (4GB ~220)
- Oppo A72 (~210)
- Oppo A74 (~240)
- Xiaomi Redmi 9T (~170)
- Xiaomi Poco M3 (~170)
- Xiaomi Poco X3 (6GB ~200 / 8GB ~235)
Pretty much everything else has Mediatek.
Would any of those be a good choice with solid support for custom ROMs?
Are there any others out of this list available on EU vendors?
My area of interest in phones is pretty narrow.
Mostly Samsung as it crosses over to my device. The Note 9 seems nice and their price is down now.
I don't root so I'm not the best one to advise you on that.
Maybe get the phone through a carrier deal and distribute the payments over time.
Again it's better to avoid Android 11 and above.
You said your phone is "dying", it may be easier to repair it for now to get more room to maneuver.
@Joakpa
Taiwan's MediaTek has not suffered in any way from the global shortage in the semiconductor market
With regards to Custom ROMs:
Custom ROMs ( mostly ) simply are AOSP based de-bloated Android versions: they aren't compiled to be run on Android device with a specific SoC, they only must match SoC's architecture ( either 32-bit or 64-bit ).
With regards to SoC:
Only when it comes to play high-end games ( video editing, and similar CPU demanding tasks ) the type of SoC is of interest: MediaTek SoCs are a good choice for daily use tasks, whereas Qualcomm's Snapdragon and/or Exynos SoC and also Hisilicon Kirin SoC are the right choice if heavy task must get done, IMO.
In any case it should be at least a 8-cores 64-bit SoC to get Android flawlessly running.
@jwoegerbauer
Taiwan's MediaTek has not suffered in any way from the global shortage in the semiconductor market
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's my point exactly... the result of this has been that more and more phones (eg Xiaomi's budget lines) that used to be based on Qualcomm Snapdragon (which HAS suffered from the shortage: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chip-shortage-qualcomm-idUSKBN2B32OO https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/qu...hip-shortage-stretching-into-2022-11627504790) are now turning to MediaTek, therefore hurting the reach of the custom ROM community to the extent of the budget phone market.
With regards to Custom ROMs: / With regards to SoC:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do understand that. And it appears that you probably do understand exactly what I am referring to as well. Your own answers to this thread shows you do. MediaTek is a nightmare for custom development (Edit: mostly due to closed-source if it's not already clear enough), and compatibility of custom ROMs is a requirement as I've explained. Therefore MediaTek phones are out of the question for me.
My favorite budget phone for custom ROM is the Motorola Moto G8 Power. $220 CAD
Joakpa said:
@jwoegerbauer
That's my point exactly... the result of this has been that more and more phones (eg Xiaomi's budget lines) that used to be based on Qualcomm Snapdragon (which HAS suffered from the shortage: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chip-shortage-qualcomm-idUSKBN2B32OO https://www.wsj.com/amp/articles/qu...hip-shortage-stretching-into-2022-11627504790) are now turning to MediaTek, therefore hurting the reach of the custom ROM community to the extent of the budget phone market.
I do understand that. And it appears that you probably do understand exactly what I am referring to as well. Your own answers to this thread shows you do. MediaTek is a nightmare for custom development (Edit: mostly due to closed-source if it's not already clear enough), and compatibility of custom ROMs is a requirement as I've explained. Therefore MediaTek phones are out of the question for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't write for just writing an opinion.
But considering the same position I was in years ago as you write yourself today so I have a few pennies to donate.
Spoiler: read if you want
I was skeptical of mediatek phones until I researched more and asked more. I found a good person who explained and showed me how much mediatek phones would evolve over time. Yes! I was a loyal Qualcomm user for the rest of my life if I didn't have this guy to give me new insight.
Not! I haven't stopped using phones with Qualcomm. But I went to personally verify everything that was said precisely because I was urged to really have my opinion.
In the beginning everything was weird and hard to understand. But for those who have knowledge in qualcomm, even if little, it was very easy to deal with and understand the steps to have Custom recovery and Custom ROM.
There were 4 mediatek phones in my hands and what I saw over time was a large community of people helping each other and new knowledge that I didn't have.
So the lesson for custom recovery and many ROMs is to have a developer or person who has a lot of knowledge to create everything smoothly. Mediatek's Source Code has been a big issue in the past. Research the number of mediatek phones that have custom rom partially working and fully working. It's bigger than having exclusivity for a particular qualcomm phone with a fully functional ROM.
Yes! Qualcomm phones are faster and easier with custom ROM. It still needs a developer with the skills and time to have something bug free.
Many qualcomm developers also know how to do something with mediatek phones. So the word about Custom ROM development is: having a good developer.
The bad part: Many qualcomm users make donations either by phone or in $. But it is difficult or rare for mediatek users to make donations either by phone or $.
As for your current question: without good money to buy something new and decent, no doubt choose a good phone with qualcomm. To get a different view, buy 2 used phones one with qualcomm and one with mediatek (choose the best SOC, processor and good RAM, battery and processor) within budget. This will give you a unique experience and your opinion at the time.
We are now with GSI and many A9;A10;A11 phones already have the ability to handle minor bugs without having the help of developers.
Good luck on your journey.
DragonPitbull said:
I wouldn't write for just writing an opinion.
But considering the same position I was in years ago as you write yourself today so I have a few pennies to donate.
Spoiler: read if you want
I was skeptical of mediatek phones until I researched more and asked more. I found a good person who explained and showed me how much mediatek phones would evolve over time. Yes! I was a loyal Qualcomm user for the rest of my life if I didn't have this guy to give me new insight.
Not! I haven't stopped using phones with Qualcomm. But I went to personally verify everything that was said precisely because I was urged to really have my opinion.
In the beginning everything was weird and hard to understand. But for those who have knowledge in qualcomm, even if little, it was very easy to deal with and understand the steps to have Custom recovery and Custom ROM.
There were 4 mediatek phones in my hands and what I saw over time was a large community of people helping each other and new knowledge that I didn't have.
So the lesson for custom recovery and many ROMs is to have a developer or person who has a lot of knowledge to create everything smoothly. Mediatek's Source Code has been a big issue in the past. Research the number of mediatek phones that have custom rom partially working and fully working. It's bigger than having exclusivity for a particular qualcomm phone with a fully functional ROM.
Yes! Qualcomm phones are faster and easier with custom ROM. It still needs a developer with the skills and time to have something bug free.
Many qualcomm developers also know how to do something with mediatek phones. So the word about Custom ROM development is: having a good developer.
The bad part: Many qualcomm users make donations either by phone or in $. But it is difficult or rare for mediatek users to make donations either by phone or $.
As for your current question: without good money to buy something new and decent, no doubt choose a good phone with qualcomm. To get a different view, buy 2 used phones one with qualcomm and one with mediatek (choose the best SOC, processor and good RAM, battery and processor) within budget. This will give you a unique experience and your opinion at the time.
We are now with GSI and many A9;A10;A11 phones already have the ability to handle minor bugs without having the help of developers.
Good luck on your journey.
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Let me start by saying I really appreciate your message!
I always like to see a different perspective on any of my views and having them challenged
You are absolutely right about the effect of a good dev being in control of said custom ROM development for ANY device, however (in my experience) developing for something closed source is more often than not "guesswork" and "hacks/workarounds". A good dev surely can often guess right, but it is still guessing. Write some code that guesses the output of system A and the input of system B, then bind them together so that you establish an interface from A to B. Now, there is a driver update for system A (and/or B), your interface is broken and your hard work is void...
You might be right about donations playing a part in it (I have no knowledge around that but I could see it being true), but I can also see developers not wanting to put time and effort into developing something that could crumble down at any given time (and it being out of their control). Of-course you could ignore driver/firmware updates or whatever other updates, but then what's really the point of developing past official Vendor Support periods anyway?
To get a different view, buy 2 used phones one with qualcomm and one with mediatek (choose the best SOC, processor and good RAM, battery and processor) within budget. This will give you a unique experience and your opinion at the time.
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Click to collapse
My current finances do not encourage playing around with multiple phones at a time (I could, but it would not be ideal ) and I'm only looking to buy a new one mostly out of necessity, however I will keep your suggestion in mind for once I get the chance to have a bit more wiggle room in my budget. That said, do you have some specific MTK device in mind that you've seen having reasonable to solid support of ROMs?
Thanks again for taking the time to contribute to the conversation!
It tooks me a total of >~ 5 years to find "my" phone. I tried alot of them all buyed used or old ones from my wife & daughters. Huawei 8860, Mate20, P10, Xiaomi Redmi3, iphone5, Samsung A8, Samsung XCoverPro, GalaxyS5mini, GalaxyGIO, GalaxyS5 just some to name. At the end of the day i will stay with the famous GalaxyS5 as long as they run LOS and for real Production/Daily driver the Pixel2 and the Pixel3. I do not pay more than 120-150 € per phone. Point. I am able to select and buy used phones without getting ripped off. My next phone in ~ 2 years or so will be a used Pixel5. I dont want a phone without IP68. I am able to open a phone case and replace batterys, i have the knowledge and all necessary tools. And i like smaller phones.
I made a list of features i want: IP68, max height of 145mm, replaceable battery, headphone jack, good LOS support, good camera at night shots.
It is nearly impossible to get all of these so i removed the replaceable battery and the headphone jack.
And i end up buying..... PIXELS. Except the Pixel4 due to the bad battery and the Pixel4a due to the missing IP67/68.
mediatek and xiaomi are best supported rom in community if you want custom rom.