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[Q] The Edge or Nexus 6

Hey guys!
New member and first post
If you dont want to read all of those words down below...haha
Ended up getting the Edge and Nexus 6 shipped to me at the same time... Cant open both devices up and test drive them. Leaning towards the edge just because of all the "phablet" features it has. And the N6 is just a big ol phone with stock android...right? Which phone should i keep? Purely suggestions/opions. Please no arguements. Thanks!
I have a bit of a situation and just wnted to get some opinions. I ordered the Nexus 6 the day it was able to be ordered from TMobile, i ordered the 64GB and that went to backorder. Since ive ordered the N6 Ive been looking at the Edge and was swayed to getting the Edge instead of the N6. So the last 2 weeks I callied tmobile to cancel my N6 order and to see if there were any dates on when theyll be getting the Edge back in stock and i kept getting no dates or info. Finally, i checked again last night and the rep told me that the Edge was definitely in stock and if i ordered it it would def ship. So i went ahead and ordered the Edge, but i noticed that my N6 order was still not cancelled so i asked the rep to process a cancellation on it again. The rep did and i was told it may take up to 48hrs.
This morning, i got an email and text stating that my Edge had shipped. Yay. Then about an hr ago i get another email and text saying my phone had shipped, i thought that was weird so i checked the details and, of course, my 64GB N6 just shipped as well haha.
So since i cant open both boxes to test them out i would like to get some input on which phone to keep. What swayed me to the Edge was just the amount of features it has over the N6. Im wanting a phablet to use for work and just to easily take notes, schedules and whatnot and the Edge just seems like the better choice. Please no arguements just want opinions.
Thanks in advance for any replies. Sorry for the long write up, just wanted to get all the details out of the way.

I think you already made your decision. As a basketball coach, I like the Note series because of the options that are available. So, if it's mainly about business use get the Edge.

I would suggest you try them both for about 3 to 5 days. You should not let a 50 dollar restocking fee stand between you and your true love

Keep the edge. Nexus 6 has one cool feature I wish the Edge had (front facing speakers) but other than that the Edge trumps the N6 IMO
I've had a ton of phones and the Edge is hands-down the best phone I've ever owned, easy

If you want maximum Performance from latest Snapdragon 805 your choice need to be a Nexus.
I got Edge and I want to tell you I'm about to get Nexus 6 White.

I have both of them as we speak and honestly, The Edge is better in terms of options and need. My Nexus is for my business line and Its basically just simple task phone. i pull it out 2-3 times a day. Just my opinion, but the Nexus is much more "boring" to me. The Edge is versatile and i like that.

Here are a couple of good comparison articles that might help choose which device is right for you.
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nexu...-match-Samsungs-cutting-edge-offering_id61787
http://www.androidheadlines.com/201...ogle-nexus-6-vs-samsung-galaxy-note-edge.html

Thanks for the replies, gentlemen.
Been using the N6 for a couple of days and I just tried out the Edge for a couple of hours today. My thoughts so far...
-The N6 is nice but I like the features that the Edge offers and TouchWiz isn't that bad.
-Not that it matters too much, but the Edge is noticeably lighter than the N6.
-I like the Edge's screen compared to the N6. It seems sharper, to me, and overall looks better.
-And like ingenious247 said, the N6's front speakers is the best feature and it's what's making the decision so hard since I watch a lot of videos and listen to music.
I

I have both currently... And I am keeping...
I have been an android phone junky, flasher, and modder for years. I sold my note 3 and bought a nexus 6 (was on sprint). I then changed over to tmobile. Luckily the nexus 6 is factory unlocked (yes the Sprint model is). I used the nexus for 2 weeks and loved a lot about it. I picked up a T-mobile Note Edge yesterday. In the End I am going to sell my nexus and stick with my Note Edge:
Nexus 6:
Pros:
Truly unlocked and can be used with any carrier (Sprint, Verizon, Tmobile, ATT)
Beautiful 6 inch screen
Great front facing speakers (only phone that beat it was my htc m8... thats saying a lot)
Pure stock android OS with quickest update support
Extremely fast performance without slowdown with daily tasks even with tons of apps open
Battery Life (yes, even though the battery is non removable, it lasted me 1.5 - 2 days without recharging)
Turbo Charging - 15 mins gives 6 hours, this is actually true!
No Carrier bloat pre installed (also a con....)
Accessories: Like most phones can get decent cases and tempered glass screen protectors cheaply (although with the nexus you need to order most not much in stores currently)
Wireless charging: Built in support for QI wireless charging (helps makeup for the non removable battery)
Cons:
Signal strength ( some places I have had no issues with other devices, it struggled to hold signal)
Sound quality over some calls was full of static
No wifi calling yet
Non removable battery (i know I said that the battery life is amazing but still option to switch is great)
No sd card slot
Gaming performance disappointing ( Madden nfl has some noticeable slow down... doesn't make any sense with the specs of this phone and no extra bloat from another launcher interface)
Installing carrier apps gave mixed results, some worked but visual voicemail etc, gave problems
No extras : fingerprint reader, stylus, heart rate scanner etc ( i knew this ahead of time, but just saying in comparison with competing phones)
No one handed support (I usually have no issues with large phones even on the note 3/4 ,but did with the nexus). Samsung got it right with the shrinking down to make one handed easier.
Camera : Pictures overall are good, but the built in apps and the speed of camera to react left me disappointed.
Overall: If you want the biggest screen on the latest hardware, want constant up to date software, and no bloat the Nexus is great. It is truly what the "android" experience is meant to be without any adultery. The sound is great as well from the speakers for music and speakerphone conversation. Some disappointment with signal strength and sound on handset during calls but not deal breakers. Truly unlocked for any carrier, so take it to any network and not be tied down.
Note Edge:
Pros:
Amazing Screen (may not be as big as the nexus, but the picture and pop is better and noticeable side by side)
Call quality and signal strength are great. The noise canceling features make a huge difference for those on the other end and never had breakup or static on my end.
Interface and speed : Amazingly fast even with the touchwiz interface
Touchwiz : Yes I am saying this is a plus, Many things like messages coming across the edge screen, quick responses, and being able to send a text to a number that called straight from the history or dialer without adding them as a contact first is something you truly are grateful for once you move to a phone that doesn't have it. The quick are useful as well.
Edge Screen : I have found the tickers and shortcuts to be useful. Some of the features are gimicky but most overall are nice.
Extras: S-pen (great for creativity and productivity), fingerprint scanner, and heart rate scanner.
Camera: Front and back cameras are great and good built in editing options (pictures taping the heart rate scanner makes it a breeze)
Modding support: Samsung devices in general are booming with support for modifications (if you don't care as much about this, this means nothing lol)
Carrier support: Tmobile version is unlocked for ATT as well, this is a plus (not for all carriers like the nexus)
Gaming performance: Pointing out to Madden NFL that I noticed had performance issues on the nexus, runs smooth as silk, no slowdown whatsoever.
Removable battery : Easy swapping of spare
SD card slot: memory expansion and no worries if something happens to the device if you can still pull the card out.
Cons:
Software updates: No official Lollipop from samsung yet, should be out soon. Updates drag a bit with samsung and TW integration.
Accessories: Not many options for phone due to design and limited production. No tempered glass screen available yet (one coming soon supposedly). To me this is a decent concern, I have always counted on tempered glass to protect the screen and avoid scratches. Has saved my screen a couple times from drops. Replacing a screen protect for $15 bucks vs hundreds is huge.
Touchwiz: If you are anti bloat this could be a con, to me its not, but trying to fair to all.
Price: Even with contract extensions the price of the edge is crazy.
Speaker placement: While the speaker may be better than some of the past Samsung devices, the rear placements makes it a pain at times when listening to stuff on speaker.
Battery life: It isn't as good as what I saw on the nexus, doesn't come close to 1.5 -2 days on a charge.
Fast charging: is faster than past samsung devices, but nowhere near as fast as the nexus on turbo charging
Lack of built in wiress charging : At this price point , it is disappointing that this wasn't built in.
Overall: My favorite phone that I have owned so far. The modding support for me will be a huge factor as well. You are paying a hefty price with or without a contract to get it though. The lack of accessories is a bit worrying as well. User experience is very user friendly. Device is extremely fast and multitasks well even with Touch Wiz. Extras like finger print scanner , heart rate sensor and S-pen to me enhance the experience and productivity (heart rate sensor is trivial). One handed support and many things in the software show that it was thought out for user experience to make day to day life easier. Battery life is not what you can get from the nexus but you can carry spares. Addition of "fast charging" is good but not as good as the Nexus. The lack of built in wireless charging is a let down as well. Still the quality, features, and performance to me makes it a clear cut winner.

impossible question to answer
I also have both, if you are into developing and seeing how far you can push your phone with tweaks mods and hacks than obviously you would want to go with the Nexus, if you are looking for ease of use and everyday functionality than you would want to go Edge..... In my opinion there is really no answer as to which one is better its just personal preference. I can say this though, I only had my Note Edge for about 3 or 4 days when my Nexus arrived from Google Play and I have been using the Nexus ever since. That being said I pulled out the Edge for an issue I had with a wearable and am seriously considering switching back for my daily driver. The S pen and the Gear Manager are the two features that I have decided make it the best choice for daily use. I will keep the Nexus no matter what because it is just the way to go for development purposes. It also allows you to keep your daily user nice and clean and even away from rooting if you are the type that likes to not mess with something thats not broken. Keep em both my friend! I know that if I got rid of one a couple weeks later I would be wanting it back. And I agree with the previous poster, the one feature aside from the development aspects that I really hate about the edge is the lack of forward firing speakers. That and the full 5.9 inch of quad HD display is hard to be beat. I really dont understand why manufacturers spending billions on development cant hire someone to implement forward firing speakers.....

There is a surround sound mod for the edge that fixes this issue. I no longer have anything to complain about on the edge besides the lack of accessories which changes soon hopefully
Sent from my SM-N915T using XDA Free mobile app

Swtiched to S8+ from S7E, and I am not sure it is worth the upgrade, you?

Hello,
I got the S8+ a few days ago, and it definitely feels better in the hand, but to me the overall experience is about the same. Certainly, some things are improved but not feeling it is worth $850 upgrade- the S7E is really good and still is working well for me. What are your thoughts? what do you think are the killer features that are that much better than the S7e?
thanks,

aaronc_98 said:
Hello,
I got the S8+ a few days ago, and it definitely feels better in the hand, but to me the overall experience is about the same. Certainly, some things are improved but not feeling it is worth $850 upgrade- the S7E is really good and still is working well for me. What are your thoughts? what do you think are the killer features that are that much better than the S7e?
thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To early to tell but I am getting double the battery life without having to disable anything. That in itself is worth it to me. Also, my S7edge would get real slow and I would have to do a hard reset to fix it. Even now it takes forever for my S7e to boot up and work smoothly. I just feel that the S8 plus beats it hands down. I am not to excited about the screen real estate though. Most apps are not optimized for the new screen ratio so with the exception of the OS most apps make it seem like you have bezels and if you run it in full screen it cuts part of the screen off.
Reminds me when wide screen TVs were coming in. The tech is there but software will need to catch up and not sure if the new aspect ratio will catch on.
But the battery and performance are enough of a difference for me to justify it. The S7e was a solid phone but this one beats it out so far for me.

I'm on the Sprint Galaxy Forever plan and since I didn't root the S7e I had nothing to lose but some time.

My S7 Edge lagged so much. Going to the S8+, its so smooth! I'm loving this phone!!

Thanks, my S7E is still performing rather well except for battery. My S8+ battery has not been performing as well as some of you but that may because of my app choice and only a few cycles.
Appreciate the opinions...
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Sirdragonx said:
To early to tell but I am getting double the battery life without having to disable anything. That in itself is worth it to me. Also, my S7edge would get real slow and I would have to do a hard reset to fix it. Even now it takes forever for my S7e to boot up and work smoothly. I just feel that the S8 plus beats it hands down. I am not to excited about the screen real estate though. Most apps are not optimized for the new screen ratio so with the exception of the OS most apps make it seem like you have bezels and if you run it in full screen it cuts part of the screen off.
Reminds me when wide screen TVs were coming in. The tech is there but software will need to catch up and not sure if the new aspect ratio will catch on.
But the battery and performance are enough of a difference for me to justify it. The S7e was a solid phone but this one beats it out so far for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have to agree with Sirdragonx, my S8+ gets better battery life, the camera is better than the S7 and the screen real estate is well worth the upgrade?
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Same here, i thinks its worth the upgrade. Im not a fan of the s7e's home button which scratches easily.

dmbfan13 said:
My S7 Edge lagged so much. Going to the S8+, its so smooth! I'm loving this phone!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah. my s7 edge is really slow and lagging after I updated to nugget. just like those people with iphone said after the update on their phone, phone gets really slow and lagging. maybe they do this on purpose to make people upgrade to a newer phone.

I agree that the S8+ is not a "big" of an upgrade over the S7Edge as maybe I've been used to in upgrading phones in the past. There are a a few little things and the upgraded hardware should make for a better overall experience, but this is not a huge upgrade really plus I've had some issues like half of my fast wireless chargers that worked just find with the S7 Edge won't work with the S8+ for some reason. But I have noticed that so far the S8+ seems to be a little snappier and the battery life seems somewhat improved. The "bigger" screen though doesn't really seem to be much of an upgrade - it's not really that much bigger at all, just a little longer which actually sometimes gets in the way or looks worst than on the S7Edge due to a lot of apps not really built to take advantage of it.

IMO it is an upgrade. I'm very happy! Looking forward to Dex thanks to the USB C. I love the longer screen, it makes reading stuff much more enjoyable. The speaker sounds much better too I think.
Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I too went from S7e to S8+. It wouldn't have been worth it for the full $850, but after AT&T's $360 for the Next trade-in, Best Buy's $100 pre-order refund, the $50 gift card Best Buy gave me for having me come in two days early because of their erroneous "Ready for pickup" announcement, and the $25 AT&T promotion I'm getting, I do think it's worth the $315 it's costing me to upgrade my phone along with my Gear VR.

Definately worth it to me.
S7e:
-Scratches easy gorilla 4
Rarely had keys in so i assumed it scratched from pocket carrying.
-Got dead pixels (twice)
-Battery drained
-Got too hot
I could keep going but im sure you all know. Loving the S8+.

I'm coming from an S7 Edge on Sprint to an S8+ on Verizon. I wouldn't say it's "worth" the upgrade but we can all agree it's a better spec phone. Software wise it's not that much different, I guess you get bixby with a dedicated hardware key.
Things I don't care
- Bixby, let alone a dedicated hardware button for it.
- Finger print sensor location
- Losing of physical home button
The big screen is great, it's a nice looking device. Those of us that always want the latest flagship, yea it's an upgrade.

I upgraded from the S7, which was my first Samsung/Android smartphone, having been using iPhones since their initial launch.
I switched to the S7 from the iPhone 6 Plus. I loved the big screen but hated the way the phone felt in my hand. That coupled with the fact the device was only 16gb made the thing useless.
I went for the smaller of the S7 devices has I hadn't had the best experience with the 6 Plus. But as soon as I saw the S8+ I knew that I'd be getting a larger screen in a device that wasn't uncomfortable to use.
That's worth the upgrade alone to me. Just wish the borders of the screen didn't have this red tinge on white!

The number one reason for me is that I no longer feel like throwing the phone against a wall due to touch sensitivity. I would always have to reset the phone in my hand to use the keyboard or hit buttons. Not an issue on the S8+. Also, everything is more responsive - even on the Day 1 installing stuff. The S7E would basically die when installing and would be utter tar after a few days without a reboot.
There are a lot of little things that are better. I'll go 36 hours on a charge where I barely got 24 on the S7E (my use case is different - I mostly use push email, Spotify, Listen Audiobooks playing constantly throughout the day. Maybe a hour of phone calls a day. I have no friends who are social, so no texts)

My S7E was lagging despite my efforts to keep it clean and performing well. Battery life was probably the biggest advantage the S8+ has over the S7E. I'm pretty impressed with how far TW has come along also - I would be using it if they offered vertical scrolling in the app drawer. So far I think the S8+ is a worthwhile upgrade - and it costs me $5/mo less at AT&T than I was paying for my S7E.

I have come to only upgrade my Samsung devices every other generation. And then I upgrade my other Sony / Nexus whatever device every other year from that again, so I have a new toy every year. That's pretty much all I can afford of these not too cheap flagship phone models, hehe.
That is, I've always been a Note-guy, and I had Note II and Note 4, and had the Note 7(6) ordered last fall, but we all know what happened then, and when they came with a 6.2 inch screen on the S8+ now, it wasn't really a question, I had to have it.
But I won't get S9 when that comes, and I will certainly see to Note again, since I have to say that I think that 6.2 inch screen is way to narrow and small. My old Note 4 screen appears bigger when they lay besides each other, and that was somewhat disappointing.

aaronc_98 said:
Hello,
I got the S8+ a few days ago, and it definitely feels better in the hand, but to me the overall experience is about the same. Certainly, some things are improved but not feeling it is worth $850 upgrade- the S7E is really good and still is working well for me. What are your thoughts? what do you think are the killer features that are that much better than the S7e?
thanks,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With respect and zero confrontation I think only you can answer your own question. :good:
I made the change. The S8+ is no Note 7 so in my case I am not excited about the change BUT I do like the S8+ it certainly has its + points. Now when the Note 8 is released................
Ryland

Ryland Johnson said:
With respect and zero confrontation I think only you can answer your own question. :good:
I made the change. The S8+ is no Note 7 so in my case I am not excited about the change BUT I do like the S8+ it certainly has its + points. Now when the Note 8 is released................
Ryland
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I just was wondering what you guys were thinking where the killer features over the S7 Edge... As I'm not completely feeling it...
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

dmarco said:
I have to agree with Sirdragonx, my S8+ gets better battery life, the camera is better than the S7 and the screen real estate is well worth the upgrade?
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's the same camera as the s7 edge. Just worked on the wide aperture.
Also the aspect ratio is different and most apps and videos will show black bars and when changing its too big. Eventually the software will catch up, but why release a half finished product. Heck even the Bixby assistant don't work fully...
That's the reason I didn't upgrade. It's nice to look at, about it.
Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

Buying an S7 2017

Is it worth buying an S7 now in mid 2017? What do you guys think? I really have to upgrade to a new device. I passed on OnePlus5 because of the jelly effect, and all sorts of problems. The S7 is not flawless I know that, but I'm curious what recent users, or previous users think about it. Would you recommend buying it? I hope you guys can help me with this. Thanks in advance

ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.

RiTCHiE007 said:
ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir

I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.

Tados99 said:
Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this Spigen Rugged Armor case, highly recommended
https://www.spigen.com/collections/galaxy-s7/products/galaxy-s7-case-rugged-armor-black
Takes 2 seconds to put on and take off

The S7 is a fine phone, but not exceptional. I had a Xiaomi Mi5 before it and I replaced it because of the rubbish software releases when it moved to Nougat. The Mi5 was lighter and sexier. the S7 is heavy and reliable like a family car but nothing really leaps out. Video is good, Stills camera is remarkably not sharp. S7 comes with the usual lorry load of bloatware. I use one of the battery saving modes.. its no where near as good as the Mi5 was on battery. so there you go, Strong and Stable

the\downslash\ said:
I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.

Tados99 said:
I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.

the\downslash\ said:
Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!

Tados99 said:
Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it cold be find to find a brand new one right now... In that case, the S7 is probably your best option. You might consider some of the other last-year-flagships as well, such as the HTC 10. Anyway, good luck with your purchace.

It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.

Androidlover99 said:
It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!

Tados99 said:
WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! Just saying my honest opinion on the phone, if you need anything just ask!

Red magic 3 after a few days my opinion.

So I have a Note 9. Got into Call of duty and decided it was time to get something to play it on sice I was just beating on that battery. Looked at all the gaming phone's and ended up getting a Red magic 3 256gb, with 2 cases, dock, controller, screen protectors everything mind like new for $455. Not a mark on the phone.
First impression. This does not come packed like a cheap phone. You get flagship level packing here.
It's a big phone. But with the case on it. And my text 22 case it's just a hair bigger then my note 9. But it feels great in the hand. It's thicker but you can't tell it hides it well. I haven't felt a phone like this since my Droid DNA. Build quality is great and I was shocked at he nice it really was. I keep looking for that catch. Why this is not a $1,000+ phone. You can't tell. I wish the phone did not have the red accents on it and the logo on the back but since I got a case a little black vivid automotive vinyl and it looks amazing. The diamond camera lenses lets you know this is not a typical phone. The red switch on the side is a hint that it's packing some serious power.
Display. This can make it break a cheap phone. The display is 90hz and is butter. Play 90hz then play 60. You will then hate 60hz. Scrolling is smooth. Does it have the horrible cheap AMOLED display color shift? Nope looks great! Is it note 9 and 10 great? No. But it's a great display and not really trailing far behind the best.
Camera. Stock app is meh. No ois and all that. But the sensor is good. The foundation is there it just needs polish. Gcam app pics look great. Not the best but more then enough for the typical person. I will say the slow no blows my note 9 out of the water. The note 9 looks like trash why this phone looks very clear. That 1920fps is no joke. But I did notice my orange was a bit bighter and the note 9 was more accurate in color but looked grainy where this phone was extremely clear. And the difference between the 940fps and the 1920fps is amazing. Some of my slow mo videos look absolutely amazing and are so crisp and detailed I was blown away. It does 8k...low fps but it ties into the gamer aspect of my phone does 8k..at 15fps...what's your phone do 8k at? Mine doesn't... exactly. 15fps is more then 0.
Android. Is pretty much stock but with some tasteful additions. They respected Android and did not over do it. Runs smoothly and is what you would expect from a pretty much stock Android. Flip the switch and the game space starts. It pick games up automaticly and it's easy to add apps to it. Screen recording is very easy and works great. Settings are easy to adjust and mapping your shoulder buttons are as easy as dragging them to here you want them. Game space is great.
That fan tho! It works. It's not loud but some times you can hear it. If you screen record with the mic on you can year it in the video. But most of the time you won't notice it. I found my temps playing games and heavy benchmarking never hit over 40.6c even after a few hours of call of duty. It works great
Nubia is a name I never heard of. But Nubia is now on my list of phone's to watch. I will take a serious look at the red magic 4 and if they improve on this I will buy one. This phone is that good.
I really hope they offer an all blacked out version. With just the red button. Clean look till the RGB comes on. I love the look of it all blacked out in my case and the RGB on.
And for those who have Verizon. I have Verizon and not having band 13 sucks but I have always had 4g. I did notice that its slightly slower then my note 9. But still pulling good 4g speed and no issues. Put the Sim in and it worked great.
And those worried about updates. Most phone's don't get them anyways so who cares if they don't. I'm on Verizon so it's not like my phone updates have ever been fast.

bignazpwns said:
So I have a Note 9. Got into Call of duty and decided it was time to get something to play it on sice I was just beating on that battery. Looked at all the gaming phone's and ended up getting a Red magic 3 256gb, with 2 cases, dock, controller, screen protectors everything mind like new for $455. Not a mark on the phone.
First impression. This does not come packed like a cheap phone. You get flagship level packing here.
It's a big phone. But with the case on it. And my text 22 case it's just a hair bigger then my note 9. But it feels great in the hand. It's thicker but you can't tell it hides it well. I haven't felt a phone like this since my Droid DNA. Build quality is great and I was shocked at he nice it really was. I keep looking for that catch. Why this is not a $1,000+ phone. You can't tell. I wish the phone did not have the red accents on it and the logo on the back but since I got a case a little black vivid automotive vinyl and it looks amazing. The diamond camera lenses lets you know this is not a typical phone. The red switch on the side is a hint that it's packing some serious power.
Display. This can make it break a cheap phone. The display is 90hz and is butter. Play 90hz then play 60. You will then hate 60hz. Scrolling is smooth. Does it have the horrible cheap AMOLED display color shift? Nope looks great! Is it note 9 and 10 great? No. But it's a great display and not really trailing far behind the best.
Camera. Stock app is meh. No ois and all that. But the sensor is good. The foundation is there it just needs polish. Gcam app pics look great. Not the best but more then enough for the typical person. I will say the slow no blows my note 9 out of the water. The note 9 looks like trash why this phone looks very clear. That 1920fps is no joke. But I did notice my orange was a bit bighter and the note 9 was more accurate in color but looked grainy where this phone was extremely clear. And the difference between the 940fps and the 1920fps is amazing. Some of my slow mo videos look absolutely amazing and are so crisp and detailed I was blown away. It does 8k...low fps but it ties into the gamer aspect of my phone does 8k..at 15fps...what's your phone do 8k at? Mine doesn't... exactly. 15fps is more then 0.
Android. Is pretty much stock but with some tasteful additions. They respected Android and did not over do it. Runs smoothly and is what you would expect from a pretty much stock Android. Flip the switch and the game space starts. It pick games up automaticly and it's easy to add apps to it. Screen recording is very easy and works great. Settings are easy to adjust and mapping your shoulder buttons are as easy as dragging them to here you want them. Game space is great.
That fan tho! It works. It's not loud but some times you can hear it. If you screen record with the mic on you can year it in the video. But most of the time you won't notice it. I found my temps playing games and heavy benchmarking never hit over 40.6c even after a few hours of call of duty. It works great
Nubia is a name I never heard of. But Nubia is now on my list of phone's to watch. I will take a serious look at the red magic 4 and if they improve on this I will buy one. This phone is that good.
I really hope they offer an all blacked out version. With just the red button. Clean look till the RGB comes on. I love the look of it all blacked out in my case and the RGB on.
And for those who have Verizon. I have Verizon and not having band 13 sucks but I have always had 4g. I did notice that its slightly slower then my note 9. But still pulling good 4g speed and no issues. Put the Sim in and it worked great.
And those worried about updates. Most phone's don't get them anyways so who cares if they don't. I'm on Verizon so it's not like my phone updates have ever been fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is volte working?

suzook said:
Is volte working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said? Put COD down and answer the freaking question!

SavageCat-TX said:
What he said? Put COD down and answer the freaking question!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is

Yeah volte for me on Verizon is working. Sorry been typically going 30+ and 0 I'm cod lol. Phone kicks ass.

Display under magnification.

bignazpwns said:
Display under magnification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...im-td-lte-256gb-nx629j/t-mobile-united-states
Can some one confirm I selected the right phone based upon this thread? I thought THIS phone was it but now not sure. Might be close enough to run by Tmo (USA) and get a second opinion.
Why do these phone makers market a phone to a country with not enough coverage! (rhetorical question)

SavageCat-TX said:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...im-td-lte-256gb-nx629j/t-mobile-united-states
Can some one confirm I selected the right phone based upon this thread? I thought THIS phone was it but now not sure. Might be close enough to run by Tmo (USA) and get a second opinion.
Why do these phone makers market a phone to a country with not enough coverage! (rhetorical question)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T mobile you should be good. I don't know what bands they use but on on Verizon with no issues so you should have even more band support then me with t mobile. Usually phones don't work well with Verizon

SavageCat-TX said:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...im-td-lte-256gb-nx629j/t-mobile-united-states
Can some one confirm I selected the right phone based upon this thread? I thought THIS phone was it but now not sure. Might be close enough to run by Tmo (USA) and get a second opinion.
Why do these phone makers market a phone to a country with not enough coverage! (rhetorical question)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works for me...

Ordered by RM3s last night. Excited and nervous at the same time.

I paid the extra $6 to have it shipped faster and arrived in 3 business days. I ordered LATE on Black Friday 2019 and had it in my hands on Wednesday.
First, let me provide a bit of history. I'm play PUBG a lot. I'm not on a squad mainly due to lack of the ability to setup a schedule to play with teammates to learn behaviors and work out strategies so I'm forced to play solo. I have been playing on an iPhone 6S plus. The phone did fine on I was hoping that a larger screen would help and WOW what an improvement the size makes (yes, size does apparently matter). The screen of the RM3s is larger than the entire screen and bezels of the iPhone 6S plus. I understand the brightness is only like 400nits or something like that. It's plenty bright enough for me. This was a concern previously but not now.
Buttons: The buttons have a solid clicky feel. I like them. The lock button and the volume rocker are close together so I keep hitting the volume down button. I suspect this might be an issue when my wife calls me and I've accidentally turned down the volume. My iPhone only had one button along the right side of the phone so the extra buttons will take some getting used to.
Face Unlock: This is new to me. With my wife's Note 9, she can lift the phone and it'll detect the movement and unlock. I THINK with the RM3s, you have to push the button on the side to activate the face scanner. Doesn't bother me but it might someone else.
PUGB Mobile: The bootup times for PUBG are effectively the same between the RM3s and the iPhone 6s Plus, we are talking millisecond differences. The iPhone is 4-5 years old and I bought it new. Not sure if this is a testament to Apple technology or not. As I understand UFS 3.0, you primarily see the benenfits when loading large files. My guess here is PUBG has a lot of little files so the performance benefits for loading times of PUGB are a marginally improvement over UFS 2.0. I mention this as I was considering the Samsung S10+ but the screen is smaller than what I wanted to buy.
First MINOR Gripe: Just to prove I'm being objectionable here, I would like to have had the charge port off center like the headphone jack is. I love that the ROG2 can be charged using the side port. When playing games in landscape mode, the cords would be balanced in your hands. That said, there is a freaking 5000mAh battery in this thing so I an easily play several classic matches and not have an anxiety that my battery will be dead before I get home.
Speakers: this was not a big factor for me as when I'm gaming I'll have on headphones but I like to play music or watch YouTube while cooking dinner. The speakers do not disappoint. Are they the best things on earth? Of course not. Are they an improvement over the iPhone 6s Plus? Oh hell yeah. While I am not an audiophile, this speakers are pretty damn good. They get loud. At the volume level of zero, clicking the volume up rocker once makes the speaker loud enough to listen to while working at your desk (w/o a headset). Any louder and my wife will immediately come tell my to turn it down. While the ear piece doubles as a speaker, the volume balance between the two is pretty good. The OnePlus 7t (the other phone I was considering) has a dedicated speaker so I'm sure it sounds perfectly balanced. If I want a higher quality speaker, I'm going to rely on a dedicated unit. Same goes for my TV, computer, or media center, etc. Use the right tool for the job.
Size and Weight: I don't think the phone is big but rather it is long (and I like it "tall" - using tall here for obvious reasons). It does NOT feel heavy and actually feels lighter than my iPhone 6s plus (plus case weight). I will be ordering a silicone case for the RM3s but I doubt it'll had any significant heft. The phone feels solid and not cheap but any means. Perhaps the lack of rear glass and the use of metal cuts down on the weight?
Air Triggers/Bumpers: In a word, "FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!" They are better than what I had hoped for. Before I found out about the RM3s, I considered getting the OnePlus 7t and ordering button attachments from Amazon. The air triggers/bumper buttons respond immediately and without any lag. The finger unlock can also be programmed for a 3rd button. No clue yet what to use for that except maybe the revive button but since I primarily play solo, I'll probably program it for the scope or the exit button while in the vehicle. The beauty of the button is I can stack the icons in PUBG and the center button will activate the applicable button (in a vehicle, the unlock sensor becomes the exit button, outside of the vehicle, it activates the scope or perhaps the reload. So many choices. The placement isn't super easy to tap during extreme game play but after developing some muscle memory, it'll end up being a great addition.
It came with a pre-applied screen protector. I had heard mixed comments about whether or not it would come with one. As a result, I did order one with the phone so I guess I'll put it in a drawer. Of course when I need it, I wont be able to find it, I'll order another one, and then I'll find the one in the drawer. :/
The LED on back is pretty slick (albeit a gimmick but I like flashy lights). You can configure it for a multitude of things, There is an app with the phone to control the LED behavior. I also really like how the LED can flicker when playing music and for notifications. When playing music, I place the phone face-down so the sound from the speakers are bounced back from the counter which amplifies the sound (and you an see the LED).
Storage Space: Mine is the 128GB version. After signing in and before installing any apps, only 11% was used. No complaints there at all. I activated developer mode and then enabled OTG support, connected my OTG adapter and then attached a 512GB jump drive. The phone had no issues reading the contents. If I end up filling up the 128GB, it'll be easy to off load data so no concerns for me here.
Charge: When I unboxed the phone, the battery was around 80% (this is very normal). I placed on charge while I ate lunch, came back and it was 100%. 5000mAh battery. Awesome.
UI: My wife has a Samsung Note 9 so my experience with Android is limited to the time I've used her phone and the Samsung UI (can I say I hate curved screens? They look great but the usability is severely limited IMO.) and her phone feels heavy. I don't know what "bloatware" or "stock android" looks like but I've heard that the UI of the RM3s is very close to stock Android. I like what I am seeing. In all honesty, I like OnePlus's UI better visually speaking. I know you may be saying you can install Nova Launcher but the RM3s launcher cant permanently change to use a different launcher. Even if I can't install a 3rd party launcher, coming from iOS, I'm used to only effectively being able to change the wallpaper so I'm already have more customization options now. The stock live wallpaper is pretty cool.
ROOT: I do not have any plans to ROOT the phone or unlock the bootloader. I also thought I'd never leave iOS but I've seen the errors of my ways so we'll see what happens. I did see in Developer Options there is a slide switch to unlock the bootloader. Nice!
Phone: I stuck my Tmobile sim card in an Tmobile immediately detected the phone needed some carrier updates. After applying them, I made a single call. It connected quickly. I did not pay attention to if it was connecting using VoLTE. After the initial test call, I removed the SIM. My case hasn't arrived yet so I'm waiting to use the phone. Once I make the official switch, I'll add a reply on the phone call since no one on YouTube mentions how it works as a phone. ?

SavageCat-TX said:
I paid the extra $6 to have it shipped faster and arrived in 3 business days. I ordered LATE on Black Friday 2019 and had it in my hands on Wednesday.
First, let me provide a bit of history. I'm play PUBG a lot. I'm not on a squad mainly due to lack of the ability to setup a schedule to play with teammates to learn behaviors and work out strategies so I'm forced to play solo. I have been playing on an iPhone 6S plus. The phone did fine on I was hoping that a larger screen would help and WOW what an improvement the size makes (yes, size does apparently matter). The screen of the RM3s is larger than the entire screen and bezels of the iPhone 6S plus. I understand the brightness is only like 400nits or something like that. It's plenty bright enough for me. This was a concern previously but not now.
Buttons: The buttons have a solid clicky feel. I like them. The lock button and the volume rocker are close together so I keep hitting the volume down button. I suspect this might be an issue when my wife calls me and I've accidentally turned down the volume. My iPhone only had one button along the right side of the phone so the extra buttons will take some getting used to.
Face Unlock: This is new to me. With my wife's Note 9, she can lift the phone and it'll detect the movement and unlock. I THINK with the RM3s, you have to push the button on the side to activate the face scanner. Doesn't bother me but it might someone else.
PUGB Mobile: The bootup times for PUBG are effectively the same between the RM3s and the iPhone 6s Plus, we are talking millisecond differences. The iPhone is 4-5 years old and I bought it new. Not sure if this is a testament to Apple technology or not. As I understand UFS 3.0, you primarily see the benenfits when loading large files. My guess here is PUBG has a lot of little files so the performance benefits for loading times of PUGB are a marginally improvement over UFS 2.0. I mention this as I was considering the Samsung S10+ but the screen is smaller than what I wanted to buy.
First MINOR Gripe: Just to prove I'm being objectionable here, I would like to have had the charge port off center like the headphone jack is. I love that the ROG2 can be charged using the side port. When playing games in landscape mode, the cords would be balanced in your hands. That said, there is a freaking 5000mAh battery in this thing so I an easily play several classic matches and not have an anxiety that my battery will be dead before I get home.
Speakers: this was not a big factor for me as when I'm gaming I'll have on headphones but I like to play music or watch YouTube while cooking dinner. The speakers do not disappoint. Are they the best things on earth? Of course not. Are they an improvement over the iPhone 6s Plus? Oh hell yeah. While I am not an audiophile, this speakers are pretty damn good. They get loud. At the volume level of zero, clicking the volume up rocker once makes the speaker loud enough to listen to while working at your desk (w/o a headset). Any louder and my wife will immediately come tell my to turn it down. While the ear piece doubles as a speaker, the volume balance between the two is pretty good. The OnePlus 7t (the other phone I was considering) has a dedicated speaker so I'm sure it sounds perfectly balanced. If I want a higher quality speaker, I'm going to rely on a dedicated unit. Same goes for my TV, computer, or media center, etc. Use the right tool for the job.
Size and Weight: I don't think the phone is big but rather it is long (and I like it "tall" - using tall here for obvious reasons). It does NOT feel heavy and actually feels lighter than my iPhone 6s plus (plus case weight). I will be ordering a silicone case for the RM3s but I doubt it'll had any significant heft. The phone feels solid and not cheap but any means. Perhaps the lack of rear glass and the use of metal cuts down on the weight?
Air Triggers/Bumpers: In a word, "FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!" They are better than what I had hoped for. Before I found out about the RM3s, I considered getting the OnePlus 7t and ordering button attachments from Amazon. The air triggers/bumper buttons respond immediately and without any lag. The finger unlock can also be programmed for a 3rd button. No clue yet what to use for that except maybe the revive button but since I primarily play solo, I'll probably program it for the scope or the exit button while in the vehicle. The beauty of the button is I can stack the icons in PUBG and the center button will activate the applicable button (in a vehicle, the unlock sensor becomes the exit button, outside of the vehicle, it activates the scope or perhaps the reload. So many choices. The placement isn't super easy to tap during extreme game play but after developing some muscle memory, it'll end up being a great addition.
It came with a pre-applied screen protector. I had heard mixed comments about whether or not it would come with one. As a result, I did order one with the phone so I guess I'll put it in a drawer. Of course when I need it, I wont be able to find it, I'll order another one, and then I'll find the one in the drawer. :/
The LED on back is pretty slick (albeit a gimmick but I like flashy lights). You can configure it for a multitude of things, There is an app with the phone to control the LED behavior. I also really like how the LED can flicker when playing music and for notifications. When playing music, I place the phone face-down so the sound from the speakers are bounced back from the counter which amplifies the sound (and you an see the LED).
Storage Space: Mine is the 128GB version. After signing in and before installing any apps, only 11% was used. No complaints there at all. I activated developer mode and then enabled OTG support, connected my OTG adapter and then attached a 512GB jump drive. The phone had no issues reading the contents. If I end up filling up the 128GB, it'll be easy to off load data so no concerns for me here.
Charge: When I unboxed the phone, the battery was around 80% (this is very normal). I placed on charge while I ate lunch, came back and it was 100%. 5000mAh battery. Awesome.
UI: My wife has a Samsung Note 9 so my experience with Android is limited to the time I've used her phone and the Samsung UI (can I say I hate curved screens? They look great but the usability is severely limited IMO.) and her phone feels heavy. I don't know what "bloatware" or "stock android" looks like but I've heard that the UI of the RM3s is very close to stock Android. I like what I am seeing. In all honesty, I like OnePlus's UI better visually speaking. I know you may be saying you can install Nova Launcher but the RM3s launcher cant permanently change to use a different launcher. Even if I can't install a 3rd party launcher, coming from iOS, I'm used to only effectively being able to change the wallpaper so I'm already have more customization options now. The stock live wallpaper is pretty cool.
ROOT: I do not have any plans to ROOT the phone or unlock the bootloader. I also thought I'd never leave iOS but I've seen the errors of my ways so we'll see what happens. I did see in Developer Options there is a slide switch to unlock the bootloader. Nice!
Phone: I stuck my Tmobile sim card in an Tmobile immediately detected the phone needed some carrier updates. After applying them, I made a single call. It connected quickly. I did not pay attention to if it was connecting using VoLTE. After the initial test call, I removed the SIM. My case hasn't arrived yet so I'm waiting to use the phone. Once I make the official switch, I'll add a reply on the phone call since no one on YouTube mentions how it works as a phone. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You absolutely can permanently change the launcher.

Do tell. IIRC, you also have this phone.

SavageCat-TX said:
Ordered by RM3s last night. Excited and nervous at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SavageCat-TX said:
I paid the extra $6 to have it shipped faster and arrived in 3 business days. I ordered LATE on Black Friday 2019 and had it in my hands on Wednesday.
First, let me provide a bit of history. I'm play PUBG a lot. I'm not on a squad mainly due to lack of the ability to setup a schedule to play with teammates to learn behaviors and work out strategies so I'm forced to play solo. I have been playing on an iPhone 6S plus. The phone did fine on I was hoping that a larger screen would help and WOW what an improvement the size makes (yes, size does apparently matter). The screen of the RM3s is larger than the entire screen and bezels of the iPhone 6S plus. I understand the brightness is only like 400nits or something like that. It's plenty bright enough for me. This was a concern previously but not now.
Buttons: The buttons have a solid clicky feel. I like them. The lock button and the volume rocker are close together so I keep hitting the volume down button. I suspect this might be an issue when my wife calls me and I've accidentally turned down the volume. My iPhone only had one button along the right side of the phone so the extra buttons will take some getting used to.
Face Unlock: This is new to me. With my wife's Note 9, she can lift the phone and it'll detect the movement and unlock. I THINK with the RM3s, you have to push the button on the side to activate the face scanner. Doesn't bother me but it might someone else.
PUGB Mobile: The bootup times for PUBG are effectively the same between the RM3s and the iPhone 6s Plus, we are talking millisecond differences. The iPhone is 4-5 years old and I bought it new. Not sure if this is a testament to Apple technology or not. As I understand UFS 3.0, you primarily see the benenfits when loading large files. My guess here is PUBG has a lot of little files so the performance benefits for loading times of PUGB are a marginally improvement over UFS 2.0. I mention this as I was considering the Samsung S10+ but the screen is smaller than what I wanted to buy.
First MINOR Gripe: Just to prove I'm being objectionable here, I would like to have had the charge port off center like the headphone jack is. I love that the ROG2 can be charged using the side port. When playing games in landscape mode, the cords would be balanced in your hands. That said, there is a freaking 5000mAh battery in this thing so I an easily play several classic matches and not have an anxiety that my battery will be dead before I get home.
Speakers: this was not a big factor for me as when I'm gaming I'll have on headphones but I like to play music or watch YouTube while cooking dinner. The speakers do not disappoint. Are they the best things on earth? Of course not. Are they an improvement over the iPhone 6s Plus? Oh hell yeah. While I am not an audiophile, this speakers are pretty damn good. They get loud. At the volume level of zero, clicking the volume up rocker once makes the speaker loud enough to listen to while working at your desk (w/o a headset). Any louder and my wife will immediately come tell my to turn it down. While the ear piece doubles as a speaker, the volume balance between the two is pretty good. The OnePlus 7t (the other phone I was considering) has a dedicated speaker so I'm sure it sounds perfectly balanced. If I want a higher quality speaker, I'm going to rely on a dedicated unit. Same goes for my TV, computer, or media center, etc. Use the right tool for the job.
Size and Weight: I don't think the phone is big but rather it is long (and I like it "tall" - using tall here for obvious reasons). It does NOT feel heavy and actually feels lighter than my iPhone 6s plus (plus case weight). I will be ordering a silicone case for the RM3s but I doubt it'll had any significant heft. The phone feels solid and not cheap but any means. Perhaps the lack of rear glass and the use of metal cuts down on the weight?
Air Triggers/Bumpers: In a word, "FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!" They are better than what I had hoped for. Before I found out about the RM3s, I considered getting the OnePlus 7t and ordering button attachments from Amazon. The air triggers/bumper buttons respond immediately and without any lag. The finger unlock can also be programmed for a 3rd button. No clue yet what to use for that except maybe the revive button but since I primarily play solo, I'll probably program it for the scope or the exit button while in the vehicle. The beauty of the button is I can stack the icons in PUBG and the center button will activate the applicable button (in a vehicle, the unlock sensor becomes the exit button, outside of the vehicle, it activates the scope or perhaps the reload. So many choices. The placement isn't super easy to tap during extreme game play but after developing some muscle memory, it'll end up being a great addition.
It came with a pre-applied screen protector. I had heard mixed comments about whether or not it would come with one. As a result, I did order one with the phone so I guess I'll put it in a drawer. Of course when I need it, I wont be able to find it, I'll order another one, and then I'll find the one in the drawer. :/
The LED on back is pretty slick (albeit a gimmick but I like flashy lights). You can configure it for a multitude of things, There is an app with the phone to control the LED behavior. I also really like how the LED can flicker when playing music and for notifications. When playing music, I place the phone face-down so the sound from the speakers are bounced back from the counter which amplifies the sound (and you an see the LED).
Storage Space: Mine is the 128GB version. After signing in and before installing any apps, only 11% was used. No complaints there at all. I activated developer mode and then enabled OTG support, connected my OTG adapter and then attached a 512GB jump drive. The phone had no issues reading the contents. If I end up filling up the 128GB, it'll be easy to off load data so no concerns for me here.
Charge: When I unboxed the phone, the battery was around 80% (this is very normal). I placed on charge while I ate lunch, came back and it was 100%. 5000mAh battery. Awesome.
UI: My wife has a Samsung Note 9 so my experience with Android is limited to the time I've used her phone and the Samsung UI (can I say I hate curved screens? They look great but the usability is severely limited IMO.) and her phone feels heavy. I don't know what "bloatware" or "stock android" looks like but I've heard that the UI of the RM3s is very close to stock Android. I like what I am seeing. In all honesty, I like OnePlus's UI better visually speaking. I know you may be saying you can install Nova Launcher but the RM3s launcher cant permanently change to use a different launcher. Even if I can't install a 3rd party launcher, coming from iOS, I'm used to only effectively being able to change the wallpaper so I'm already have more customization options now. The stock live wallpaper is pretty cool.
ROOT: I do not have any plans to ROOT the phone or unlock the bootloader. I also thought I'd never leave iOS but I've seen the errors of my ways so we'll see what happens. I did see in Developer Options there is a slide switch to unlock the bootloader. Nice!
Phone: I stuck my Tmobile sim card in an Tmobile immediately detected the phone needed some carrier updates. After applying them, I made a single call. It connected quickly. I did not pay attention to if it was connecting using VoLTE. After the initial test call, I removed the SIM. My case hasn't arrived yet so I'm waiting to use the phone. Once I make the official switch, I'll add a reply on the phone call since no one on YouTube mentions how it works as a phone. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bignazpwns said:
So I have a Note 9. Got into Call of duty and decided it was time to get something to play it on sice I was just beating on that battery. Looked at all the gaming phone's and ended up getting a Red magic 3 256gb, with 2 cases, dock, controller, screen protectors everything mind like new for $455. Not a mark on the phone.
First impression. This does not come packed like a cheap phone. You get flagship level packing here.
It's a big phone. But with the case on it. And my text 22 case it's just a hair bigger then my note 9. But it feels great in the hand. It's thicker but you can't tell it hides it well. I haven't felt a phone like this since my Droid DNA. Build quality is great and I was shocked at he nice it really was. I keep looking for that catch. Why this is not a $1,000+ phone. You can't tell. I wish the phone did not have the red accents on it and the logo on the back but since I got a case a little black vivid automotive vinyl and it looks amazing. The diamond camera lenses lets you know this is not a typical phone. The red switch on the side is a hint that it's packing some serious power.
Display. This can make it break a cheap phone. The display is 90hz and is butter. Play 90hz then play 60. You will then hate 60hz. Scrolling is smooth. Does it have the horrible cheap AMOLED display color shift? Nope looks great! Is it note 9 and 10 great? No. But it's a great display and not really trailing far behind the best.
Camera. Stock app is meh. No ois and all that. But the sensor is good. The foundation is there it just needs polish. Gcam app pics look great. Not the best but more then enough for the typical person. I will say the slow no blows my note 9 out of the water. The note 9 looks like trash why this phone looks very clear. That 1920fps is no joke. But I did notice my orange was a bit bighter and the note 9 was more accurate in color but looked grainy where this phone was extremely clear. And the difference between the 940fps and the 1920fps is amazing. Some of my slow mo videos look absolutely amazing and are so crisp and detailed I was blown away. It does 8k...low fps but it ties into the gamer aspect of my phone does 8k..at 15fps...what's your phone do 8k at? Mine doesn't... exactly. 15fps is more then 0.
Android. Is pretty much stock but with some tasteful additions. They respected Android and did not over do it. Runs smoothly and is what you would expect from a pretty much stock Android. Flip the switch and the game space starts. It pick games up automaticly and it's easy to add apps to it. Screen recording is very easy and works great. Settings are easy to adjust and mapping your shoulder buttons are as easy as dragging them to here you want them. Game space is great.
That fan tho! It works. It's not loud but some times you can hear it. If you screen record with the mic on you can year it in the video. But most of the time you won't notice it. I found my temps playing games and heavy benchmarking never hit over 40.6c even after a few hours of call of duty. It works great
Nubia is a name I never heard of. But Nubia is now on my list of phone's to watch. I will take a serious look at the red magic 4 and if they improve on this I will buy one. This phone is that good.
I really hope they offer an all blacked out version. With just the red button. Clean look till the RGB comes on. I love the look of it all blacked out in my case and the RGB on.
And for those who have Verizon. I have Verizon and not having band 13 sucks but I have always had 4g. I did notice that its slightly slower then my note 9. But still pulling good 4g speed and no issues. Put the Sim in and it worked great.
And those worried about updates. Most phone's don't get them anyways so who cares if they don't. I'm on Verizon so it's not like my phone updates have ever been fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Nova launcher prime with zero issues on my 3 and 3s.
If you wanna chat get the USB port location for gaming you can pick up a dock for the phone from RM. I got one the added a micro SD card slot to it. The dock is pretty nice overall.

bignazpwns said:
I'm using Nova launcher prime with zero issues on my 3 and 3s.
If you wanna chat get the USB port location for gaming you can pick up a dock for the phone from RM. I got one the added a micro SD card slot to it. The dock is pretty nice overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I uninstalled and reinstalled and now have the option. It wasn't there before.
When I'm back at the computer, I'll update my original post.
Thanks for the feedback to the dock. I almost ordered it but wanted to the try OTG adapter from my wife's Note9 first.
Thanks guys!

SavageCat-TX said:
Well, I uninstalled and reinstalled and now have the option. It wasn't there before.
When I'm back at the computer, I'll update my original post.
Thanks for the feedback to the dock. I almost ordered it but wanted to the try OTG adapter from my wife's Note9 first.
Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! Really great phone. I don't understand the complaints about buggy sw. I have zero issues. I did enable aod(root). Wish I could add the weather on the aod too.

Assuming AOD is always On Display, is that only on when charging (screen saver)?
No issues with bugs here either. It's been very stable.

SavageCat-TX said:
Assuming AOD is always On Display, is that only on when charging (screen saver)?
No issues with bugs here either. It's been very stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not screensaver. It's always on. There's a substratum overlay to enable it.

This is the closest I could find to AOD.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/red-magic-3/help/phone-display-t3945086/amp/

SavageCat-TX said:
This is the closest I could find to AOD.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/red-magic-3/help/phone-display-t3945086/amp/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you rooted?
I have AOD working with root.

General Just got my pixel 7 pro. Here are my first impressions

Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar

Nice review details! Kudos

Thanks for sharing, I find myself in a somewhat similar situation. I have an S21U for personal use and an iPhone XR for work that I traded in for the Pixel 7 Pro.
I can definitely relate to the weight difference. I didn't like it at much first but now I've noticed it's a bit easier to hold laying in bed on my back. I'm always dropping the S21U on my face
I've never used an optical fingerprint scanner before so right now the light is oddly amusing /fun for me, but it will probably get old after a while.
So did you keep your iPhone or did you trade it in?

early days here and teething problems I think will be worked out. screen is definitely an improvement over the 6. my main concern tho is the tele lens. so far i'm finding it not as good as the 6p tele lens, which I absolutely love.

Love your review thank you first one I read

does it do usb-c to hdmi output?

Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info, shared. Thanks.
Could you crank up the brightness to the max, use the phone for some 15 mins like that and share the battery drain experience? Various reports like THIS ONE suggest that under direct sunlight the battery drains abnormally.

Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there. Nice review. I totally agree with you on two points. I managed to fiddle with a 7 pro at a local target store (a day before launch if you can believe that they had the demo station set up).
The hollow feel while typing on it's screen is something I'd never felt before. It made me send back the 6pro last year and keep my OnePlus 8 pro as it felt like a more solid device. The 7 pro felt the same. I wonder why the hollow feel? Is it possible that it's a feature? Maybe the screen has more give so that it's less susceptible to cracking if dropped? Who knows...
Also agree about the speakers. I blared some YouTube music on the demo phone in the store like a weirdo (Motown) and wasn't exactly impressed. Especially when compared to the 14pro (wife's phone).
I want to love the new 7 pro but am shying away. OnePlus isn't exactly wonderful right now and my 8 pro is aging but I feel like I need more to make the jump

For me it was simply time to make a change from my Note 10 Plus. It's a 3 year old phone and it shows, particularly the camera which wasn't the best when the phone was released and is well behind the times now. I fully expect the feel of the 7 Pro to be less premium (one aspect in which the Note 10 Plus shines and still does) but it looks to me like this is the best Android device out there right now, especially for this price. And I hate iPhones.

Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.

innit said:
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Pixel 6 Pro did that all the time, its annoying.
One thing i have noticed it my P7P runs much cooler than my P6P did.

galaxys said:
Nice review details! Kudos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
grangermoch said:
Thanks for sharing, I find myself in a somewhat similar situation. I have an S21U for personal use and an iPhone XR for work that I traded in for the Pixel 7 Pro.
I can definitely relate to the weight difference. I didn't like it at much first but now I've noticed it's a bit easier to hold laying in bed on my back. I'm always dropping the S21U on my face
I've never used an optical fingerprint scanner before so right now the light is oddly amusing /fun for me, but it will probably get old after a while.
So did you keep your iPhone or did you trade it in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to have it on my one plus 7 pro and I loved that but after the speed of the s21 s sensor I'm a bit disenchanted with optical sensors for now. My iPhone is for work so that's staying but the main question is will I be upgrading from my s21 ultra or returning this new pixel. So far I'm not fully sure..
whatsisnametake2 said:
early days here and teething problems I think will be worked out. screen is definitely an improvement over the 6. my main concern tho is the tele lens. so far i'm finding it not as good as the 6p tele lens, which I absolutely love.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must check that out and see what it's like. What are the differences? Was the 6p wider?
liggerz87 said:
Love your review thank you first one I read
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate that thank you
apoklyps3 said:
does it do usb-c to hdmi output?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me check it out and get back to you
Virgo_Guy said:
Good info, shared. Thanks.
Could you crank up the brightness to the max, use the phone for some 15 mins like that and share the battery drain experience? Various reports like THIS ONE suggest that under direct sunlight the battery drains abnormally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah sure. I'll do that this morning
bacon612 said:
Hey there. Nice review. I totally agree with you on two points. I managed to fiddle with a 7 pro at a local target store (a day before launch if you can believe that they had the demo station set up).
The hollow feel while typing on it's screen is something I'd never felt before. It made me send back the 6pro last year and keep my OnePlus 8 pro as it felt like a more solid device. The 7 pro felt the same. I wonder why the hollow feel? Is it possible that it's a feature? Maybe the screen has more give so that it's less susceptible to cracking if dropped? Who knows...
Also agree about the speakers. I blared some YouTube music on the demo phone in the store like a weirdo (Motown) and wasn't exactly impressed. Especially when compared to the 14pro (wife's phone).
I want to love the new 7 pro but am shying away. OnePlus isn't exactly wonderful right now and my 8 pro is aging but I feel like I need more to make the jump
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you that's a good question, oddly it's something I noticed on the iPhone too, it's like theres an air gap between the sreeen and the actual panel or something so maybe the more give thing is a good call. Either way it's a very small gripe but it's one that's honestly making me consider returning. That along with the weight does not make this feel like a 1k phone to be perfectly honest.
I too want to love it.. But I just don't so far and I don't see any good alternatives left if I send it back
Beefheart said:
For me it was simply time to make a change from my Note 10 Plus. It's a 3 year old phone and it shows, particularly the camera which wasn't the best when the phone was released and is well behind the times now. I fully expect the feel of the 7 Pro to be less premium (one aspect in which the Note 10 Plus shines and still does) but it looks to me like this is the best Android device out there right now, especially for this price. And I hate iPhones.
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Click to collapse
Yeah I'm fully with you on that. Part of me wishes I didn't have the s21 ultra to compare as I'd probably be less disappointed. I absolutely hate Samsungs android software, but their phones are better build for sure.
innit said:
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points! I'll be honest the status bar is also driving me mental. I'm used to full immersive everything on the Samsung so this status bar and tbh the ui in general really vexes me. The little black bar for the pill also does my head in. Why don't we have status bars that have a gradient so we know it's there but it's not a literal banner plastered across the top of the phone. Another point that I'm trying to decide if I can live with. Must check out points 2 and 3 and report back.
MrBelter said:
My Pixel 6 Pro did that all the time, its annoying.
One thing i have noticed it my P7P runs much cooler than my P6P did.
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Click to collapse
That's a positive at least. I never had a P6P so I appreciate peoples input that ran them last year.
Apologies if it seems like I have a negative bias towards the phone having only had it a day. But the cost of smartphones Is so high these days that I don't expect perfection but there are certain things for me that are absolute deal breakers and unfortunately the pixel ticks quite and amount of those for me. Gonna run it for a few more days and see can I live with the aspects I don't like or is it time to return it and struggle on with the s21

Bxperiaz3 said:
Yeah I'm fully with you on that. Part of me wishes I didn't have the s21 ultra to compare as I'd probably be less disappointed. I absolutely hate Samsungs android software, but their phones are better build for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an S21 Ultra but, ironically given the subject at hand, it stopped working after a fairly innocuous drop and Samsung refused to fix it because I'd previously rooted it (despite removing the root and it being back to a factory image). As a result I swore I would never buy another Samsung and I'm sticking to that, the only reason I have the Note 10 Plus is that a friend upgraded to a iPhone 13 late last year just after my S21 broke and he let me have it on a deal that was too good to refuse (£200), especially given that Samsung had just replaced the screen and battery for him so it was effectively brand new. My son is now getting it to replace his crappy old Poco M3 but I'm done with Samsung and their hateful Knox e-fuse.
I've just gotten a notification from the Royal Mail that my 7 Pro is due for delivery today rather than Monday which is a bonus.

innit said:
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The display on the 6Pro and 7Pro is edge bonded meaning it's attached to the frame underneath around the edge. This makes it easier to replace but it gives it that "hollow" feel. Most phones today, Samsung etc are mid frame bonded,they're bonded to the frame half way up the display as well as around the edge also, so they don't have that air gap underneath and feel more "solid". The edge bonded display despite being easier to replace have the disadvantage of trapping heat in the phone because of the air gap.

I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.

JamesR913 said:
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.

Beefheart said:
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not getting truly top hardware with the Pixel though, it's only an LTPO 1.0 display for eg so there's a trade off for price.

Beefheart said:
I had an S21 Ultra but, ironically given the subject at hand, it stopped working after a fairly innocuous drop and Samsung refused to fix it because I'd previously rooted it (despite removing the root and it being back to a factory image). As a result I swore I would never buy another Samsung and I'm sticking to that, the only reason I have the Note 10 Plus is that a friend upgraded to a iPhone 13 late last year just after my S21 broke and he let me have it on a deal that was too good to refuse (£200), especially given that Samsung had just replaced the screen and battery for him so it was effectively brand new. My son is now getting it to replace his crappy old Poco M3 but I'm done with Samsung and their hateful Knox e-fuse.
I've just gotten a notification from the Royal Mail that my 7 Pro is due for delivery today rather than Monday which is a bonus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah even with the better build most new phones can't handle any sort of a drop. Nice, let us know how you find it.
Batfink33 said:
The display on the 6Pro and 7Pro is edge bonded meaning it's attached to the frame underneath around the edge. This makes it easier to replace but it gives it that "hollow" feel. Most phones today, Samsung etc are mid frame bonded,they're bonded to the frame half way up the display as well as around the edge also, so they don't have that air gap underneath and feel more "solid". The edge bonded display despite being easier to replace have the disadvantage of trapping heat in the phone because of the air gap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes perfect sense, Thanks for clearing that up. Makes me like the pixel even less now that that's been confirmed
JamesR913 said:
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a sim in mine yet but that would be another deal breaker. Similar to you I only have small complaints so far. But I have more than I was expecting..
Beefheart said:
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah in a way I agree, phones absolutely shouldn't cost that much. What's a shame though is the phone feels physically cheaper and that's a bit of a deal breaker considering it was still over 1000 euros.. My s21s camera system is so poor it still makes sense to upgrade, plus a few quid back when I sell the old phone and the pixel watch but I have to say I'm still a bit let down. I absolutely despise apple software but there's no denying when I unboxed the 14 pro I was far more impressed with the quality
Batfink33 said:
You're not getting truly top hardware with the Pixel though, it's only an LTPO 1.0 display for eg so there's a trade off for price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah and it sort of shows tbh. If I could have the s21 ultra with the software advantages of the pixel 7p right now that would be the ideal hybrid.

Bxperiaz3 said:
Yeah even with the better build most new phones can't handle any sort of a drop. Nice, let us know how you find it.
That makes perfect sense, Thanks for clearing that up. Makes me like the pixel even less now that that's been confirmed
I don't have a sim in mine yet but that would be another deal breaker. Similar to you I only have small complaints so far. But I have more than I was expecting..
Yeah in a way I agree, phones absolutely shouldn't cost that much. What's a shame though is the phone feels physically cheaper and that's a bit of a deal breaker considering it was still over 1000 euros.. My s21s camera system is so poor it still makes sense to upgrade, plus a few quid back when I sell the old phone and the pixel watch but I have to say I'm still a bit let down. I absolutely despise apple software but there's no denying when I unboxed the 14 pro I was far more impressed with the quality
Yeah and it sort of shows tbh. If I could have the s21 ultra with the software advantages of the pixel 7p right now that would be the ideal hybrid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd pay the extra for a truly flagship pixel with all the latest hardware. Yes phones are way overpriced but it would be nice to have Pixel software on a phone with the quality build of an iPhone or Samsung. An Sd8+ Gen 1 (or gen 2) Pixel would be amazing.

It's arrived, and it doesn't feel less premium at all. Maybe that's me and, being an engineer, I know weight doesn't equate to more premium. I love the feel of it, solid.
In terms of opinion, I've not got much else at the moment, still setting it up.