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[REVIEW] The Xiaomi Mi 4 Review! After more than a month's usage

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I’ve been quite a fan of Xiaomi products ever since I used the awesome little Mi 2S. Till date, the phone is among the most favourite ones that I’ve ever owned!
Come 2014, and I was tempted by more releases… iBuyGou sent over a Xiaomi Mi 4, and although I got to use a lot of phones this year, the Mi 4 and the OnePlus One remain to be among my favourites. And I’m a littlleeee skewed towards the Mi 4 thanks to my preference for smaller phones. Basically, phones that fit in my pocket.
I do a lot of traveling on the motorbike and prefer to have the phone in my pocket than anywhere else. 5.5 inch phones haven’t gotten to a level where they’d fit (in thee sitting position), and therefore the Mi 4 pretty much hits the bullseye as far as size is concerned.
Unboxing video
Form factor… and feel
The Mi 4 looks a lot like another popular phone. The latest edition of that ‘popular phone’ is known for a very unique feature, i.e., bending. However, the Mi 4 looks more like a mashup of the previous versions of the phone. If you are a sucker for original design, you should totally stay out. If not… let’s talk!
The bezels are extremely thin, thinner than any other phone I’ve ever owned. This is really what makes the 5-inch phone in a pocket a possibility, really. A lot of other phones have slim bezels, but the top and bottom part of these devices really makes up with abnormally large chunks of bezel. The Mi 4 however doesn’t do anything of that sort, and offers a very one-handed-usable experience.
The edges on the device are chamfered… or tapered if you like to call it that. This is more noticeable on the part that blends into the front than the rear. Not only does it give the Mi 4 a lovely visual appeal, but also makes the device easier to use… and your hands harder to slit.
Xiaomi phones traditionally featured buttons on the right, with the ability to change the look and feel because they’re attached to the rear cover. This changed with the Mi 3, which didn’t offer a removable rear at all. The Mi 4 does a bit better and does give you the liberty of taking off the rear… if you have a suction cup handy. And even if you do, you do not have the ability to swap the battery which is a bit of a shame. A bit. User replaceable batteries are overrated!
The front of the Mi 4, as I said before, will remind you of ‘the other phone that shan’t be named’. On the top there’s the earpiece in a little slot of its own. I like it when earpieces are at the same level as the body, they otherwise tend to be dust magnets. Anyway.
On the left of the earpiece you see a little back spot which hides the proximity and light sensors, on the left to which sits the famous Mi logo. On the extreme right, you can see the impressive 8MP camera.
Below the screen, there’s the usual set of buttons -- overflow, home and back. Depending on what OS you’re running (MIUI V5 or MIUI 6), the leftmost button will act as either the menu button or the recent tasks button. In my case, it is the latter… because I love the look and feel of MIUI 6.
The chin of the Mi 4 makes home for the reinforced micro USB port and of course the machine drilled speaker grill. Before talking about the sound of it, let me tell you that it looks pretty kickass
Nothing on the left besides the camouflaged SIM slot. The right edge is where you access the power and volume buttons, all covered in great-feeling metal.
The top is where it gets interesting… because not only do you see the standard 3.5mm earphone jack here, but also an IR sensor which is a first for Xiaomi. It is extremely useful as a feature, but unfortunately the range isn’t as much as you’d have liked, on the Mi 4.
Display
Out of all the phones that I’ve had a chance to use and play with, the Mi 4 sits right on top with the other 5 incher… the OPPO Find 5. I totally loved that device but had to let go of it earlier this year to fund another purchase. Anyway, the Mi 4 does look as good as the Find 5 on screen quality terms. Like I’ve said before, 5 inches of screen is the maximum I can handle, and displays like the one used on the Mi 4 really make it worthwhile. I have another phone for YouTube and video, but that phone is increasingly becoming obsolete due to the presence of the Mi 4!
MIUI (6, in my case) lets you choose between 3 color modes and 2 saturation modes. I usually like to have a very balanced and consequently natural display, but on the Mi 4 it is the ‘cool’ color mode I use everyday. To be very frank, the ‘warm’ mode is on the verge of being called yellow; standard and cool are the only modes you will ever choose in between.
Saturation has a couple of modes -- Brilliant and Standard. The difference between these two modes isn’t as pronounced as the ones between the color modes. I use my Mi 4 in Standard mode, Brilliant gives it a tinge of warmness. Comes down to personal preference, imo.
Backlight bleeding is something Chinese phones have been suffering from for a long, long time. Thankfully, it isn’t the case here. Minus a little part. There’s a slight bit of backlight bleeding on the right edge (bottom), which is hardly noticeable and definitely QC-able. You can certainly live with it and it’s far from a deal breaker.
In a nutshell, I’d rate the display a healthy 9/10, at par with the OPPO FInd 5!
Camera
If anything, smartphones from 2013 to 2014 have progressed leaps and bounds on the camera front. There’s of course difference in performance, but it isn’t as significant as the difference (read: improvement) in camera tech.
I LOVE the Xiaomi Mi 4 as a camera phone. It might not have the most number of pixels, or even the most features (it lacks a substantial slow shutter mode, for one), but the Mi 4 does a very good job at capturing moments for you. It’s all about the right timing, and thanks to the super fast focus mode on the Mi 4, I am able to take a lot of pictures at the right time. On terms of camera performance, I would rate the Mi 4 second only to the mammoth OPPO Find 7 (which surprisingly uses the same IMX214 sensor as the Mi 4! But it turns out, there’s a lot more to picture quality than just the sensor )
The Mi 4 carries a lot over from the Mi 3. As in, it features the same ‘vivid’ sort of a picture tone with a little bit of exaggeration; but it’s definitely less than the Mi 3, making pictures seem a lot more real. MIUI 6 might also be a bottleneck as far as hardware performance is concerned, but even then I’m pretty satisfied.
During the initial days with the phone, it had a naggy issue where the camera wouldn’t focus during macro shot attempts. This has since been solved thanks to a multitude of OTA updates (the perks of being on a beta channel…)
The camera app does lack a bit of functionality though, which I hope will be added with future OTA updates. Xiaomi are usually pretty quick in pushing new updates -- weekly, most often.
The camera also does 4K, but it isn’t relevant to me. It isn’t to you too, if you don’t have a 4K aka UHD television!
Another interesting feature is 'Refocus'. As the name clearly suggests, it allows you to focus on parts of an image AFTER clicking. I'm happy to report that it works wonderfully well.
Curious, I wanted to know how it worked. Xiaomi advertised a 0.3 second focus duration, so it wasn't all that difficult. Snooping around the phone's file system told me that the device actually takes multiple photos (4 if I remember right) with different points in focus so that you're able to achieve the magical refocus feature later on. Intelligent, I must say! (HTC had to add a whole another sensor to achieve this )
Battery
I’m very satisfied with the battery life on the Xiaomi Mi 4. It isn’t as good as the OnePlus One, but it falls short only by a shade. On the upside, I get a display that’s way more vibrant and an absolute treat to look at. And according to Android, I look at it about 6 hours before it the phone needs another trip to the wall socket. Speaking of wall sockets, make sure you use the bundled Xiaomi Mi 4 charging adapter. Or be prepared to give it a good few hours of charging (4-5). The stock charger charges up the Mi 4 pretty darn fast; any other charger (even the 2A ones) take way way longer for some reason. Xiaomi don’t advertise anything like VOOC so I’m assuming its some secret tech they’re employing here to get the battery charged fast (unless it is Qualcomm’s fast charging, lol).
My usage often greatly varies from day to day. Most days, I’m left with a good 50% charge at the end of the day, with the phone unplugged for around 18-19 hours along with 3 hours of screen on time. I think this is pretty respectable for a small phone with a 5-inch display, and one that’s so bright.
It might be worthy to let you know about the apps that I use the most, so you get a clearer image about battery life: feedly, Chome, WhatsApp, Pocket, Gmail and a couple other apps that keep changing depending what season it is
All in all I’d give the battery a decent 9/10. Please keep in mind that it took the device a good few weeks before the battery life got to this point; it was far far worse when I started off with using the Mi 4. It could also be the MIUI 6 ROM, but I suspect it has got to do with the hardware itself.
MIUI 6
Its hard to miss what the Mi 4 runs on. Not only because its pretty beautiful and even more functionally useful, but also because of the fact that the media loves to hate the MIUI ROM; at least that section which hasn’t ever used a Xiaomi phone. And I don’t blame them for that. The MIUI ROM does leave an impression of being a bit of an iOS lookalike, but there’s much more to MIUI than that. Calling MIUI a lookalike of iOS is like speaking only one side of the story… if you know what I mean.
Controversy aside, MIUI is pretty useful and handy, but it takes a while to get used to. Especially when you’re coming from another Android smartphone that runs a more closer-to-vanilla ROM.
While I’m yet to come across any significant functional improvements on MIUI 6 compared to the previous iteration of the ROM, I do very much like the look of it. A lot of the settings previously near-unreachable are now easier to get to, which does leave a good impression in the mind of the user. You can now easily switch launchers and other default apps, in a very steamlined manner unlike earlier.
Conclusion
I’ve had the privilege of using a lot of phones this year, including the HTC One M8, OPPO Find 5, Find 7, Xiaomi Mi 3 and of course the OnePlus One besides this… but guess which phone I like the most? Yeah you got it right. Of course this is a very subjective topic, since a lot of smartphone users these days tend to pick phones with displays larger than 5 inches. But I guess I’m just too old skool.
The way the Mi 4 is performing for me right now, I think I would be happy to use it as my main phone for a good one year. Like I mentioned before, battery is a very important component on a smartphone for me, and the Mi 4 hits the sweet spot. It almost lasts as long as the Mi 2S with a 3200mAh battery! (keep in mind that the Mi 2S has only a 4.3 inch 720p screen).
Stuff like an IR sensor (which needs a decent English language app at the moment) make the Mi 4 a real worthy smartphone for the money. I'm waiting to see how it performs in the market when it's available in more countries than just China, especially India. Untill then!
I would like to thank iBuyGou.com for shipping the phone. Go get the phone from them!

A great review! Thank you for your effort. You described most aspects of the phone but everything you wrote was positive. I am iterested in buying that phone so I really need to know things that you disliked.
Usually people that buy a phone and will use it in their everyday life tend to "hide" the flaws so after ALOT of effort I concluded that the weak points of Mi4 is the camera and audio quality. You seem satisfied by the camera but what about the sound?
Thanks again.

mi4 Google
hello
I'm Abhi from mumbai, 00919867788773
I buy mi4 from china last month. All box pack from reputed internet website official paid money.
I have trouble that, I'm not able to start any Google application. Like no Google play store a gmaps and so not able to download any app.
it alwa'ys show warning
No internet access, and security warning that ur Not access to Google application.
I can receive emails And well connected withe wlan and also will sim data.
Have gone in mi market and done all download for Google by Eric...
Also installed all Google framework
But not able to start Google play store and any Google appilcation.
Please give the solutions , how do I star Google play store to download all Apps.

Uninstall and reinstall the play store. Or flash the international version of MIUI at Xiaomi.eu
Sent from my Xiaomi Mi4

ioannis_n said:
A great review! Thank you for your effort. You described most aspects of the phone but everything you wrote was positive. I am iterested in buying that phone so I really need to know things that you disliked.
Usually people that buy a phone and will use it in their everyday life tend to "hide" the flaws so after ALOT of effort I concluded that the weak points of Mi4 is the camera and audio quality. You seem satisfied by the camera but what about the sound?
Thanks again.
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Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for the comment and sorry about the late reply.
The sound from the built in speaker is honestly disappointing. Other phones like the OnePlus One give a much better output. That said, the Mi 4 lacks mostly only on the volume. Quality is rock solid -- but volume is often insufficient.

@yash3339 how is the signal strength, 3g on the indian networks?

Good review!! :good:

I totally agree with this review cos I myself own a MI4 and its been one month since I'm using it and I can say its a power house without burning a lot of money... Outstanding phone... Can't wait for it to get the official Lollipop update

whosaysjohn said:
@yash3339 how is the signal strength, 3g on the indian networks?
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Signal is perfect. Been using 3G on Airtel without any issues
Krahe8 said:
Good review!! :good:
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Thank you! Glad it helped.
sidzcool said:
I totally agree with this review cos I myself own a MI4 and its been one month since I'm using it and I can say its a power house without burning a lot of money... Outstanding phone... Can't wait for it to get the official Lollipop update
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Click to collapse
Indeed, you got it spot on. Even without Lollipop MIUI 6 is plenty interesting!

I'm using the reliance network here and speed is not that bad... Battery life with wifi is superb
With 2g its almost similar but with 3g due to network strength theres a battery drain, this is a network issue though so its not the fault of the mi4. But hands down this the most powerful device available at this price range. Don't feel uncomfortable when ur friends say its cheap chinese. Just in case if ur friends make fun of ur device, jus laugh back at them cos they have no clue wat they r getting into ..
But Y these devices are priced so low is that ( this is jus my opinion) they dont sell much out of china and advertising is very minimal. yeah i know the mi3 and 1s got great ads in flipkart but stocks were limited and thats y the price is so low. U r paying for wat u actually want rather than wat the manufacturer wants.. But this is my opinion... opinions for me or against me are most welcome

sidzcool said:
I'm using the reliance network here and speed is not that bad... Battery life with wifi is superb
With 2g its almost similar but with 3g due to network strength theres a battery drain, this is a network issue though so its not the fault of the mi4. But hands down this the most powerful device available at this price range. Don't feel uncomfortable when ur friends say its cheap chinese. Just in case if ur friends make fun of ur device, jus laugh back at them cos they have no clue wat they r getting into ..
But Y these devices are priced so low is that ( this is jus my opinion) they dont sell much out of china and advertising is very minimal. yeah i know the mi3 and 1s got great ads in flipkart but stocks were limited and thats y the price is so low. U r paying for wat u actually want rather than wat the manufacturer wants.. But this is my opinion... opinions for me or against me are most welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They have not launched Mi 4 outside of China as yet...xiaomi phones are always priced low...they dont make much from phone but make up through services...
---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 PM ----------
yash3339 said:
Signal is perfect. Been using 3G on Airtel without any issues
Thanks, bought it a week back...working good so far...
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Click to collapse

whosaysjohn said:
They have not launched Mi 4 outside of China as yet...xiaomi phones are always priced low...they dont make much from phone but make up through services...
---------- Post added at 10:41 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:40 PM ----------
yash3339 said:
Signal is perfect. Been using 3G on Airtel without any issues
Thanks, bought it a week back...working good so far...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to know its working fine for you
sidzcool said:
I'm using the reliance network here and speed is not that bad... Battery life with wifi is superb
With 2g its almost similar but with 3g due to network strength theres a battery drain, this is a network issue though so its not the fault of the mi4. But hands down this the most powerful device available at this price range. Don't feel uncomfortable when ur friends say its cheap chinese. Just in case if ur friends make fun of ur device, jus laugh back at them cos they have no clue wat they r getting into ..
But Y these devices are priced so low is that ( this is jus my opinion) they dont sell much out of china and advertising is very minimal. yeah i know the mi3 and 1s got great ads in flipkart but stocks were limited and thats y the price is so low. U r paying for wat u actually want rather than wat the manufacturer wants.. But this is my opinion... opinions for me or against me are most welcome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, you got a point there... but I've been using Chinese devices long enough for my friends to truly realize their real value
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Hey I've been using device for 2 months and I feel that this device is worth its price.. Thats all..

Notification LED
Nice review Yash, addressed most of the queries the prospective users would have.
Hi MI4 users,
I would like to know if the MI4 has a notification LED.
In one review on youtube (I think, Ash's), he did mention that it has a notification LED which lights up to show the phone is charging.
What I want to know is if the LED blinks to notify unread notifications (missed calls, sms, emails, IMs, etc)? Is it a single color LED or does it light up in different colors as per the category of notification.
AP

Hi there,
The led does blink for notification such unread messages (texts, what's app, emails) calls even your clash of clan notification
Actually mi4's led does work as would work any regular led on other phones
Edit : it does light up in different colors as per category
Sent from my MI 4LTE using XDA Free mobile app

By the way, here's how my mi4 lte is doing on a French wireless operator using lte band 3 (1800mhz)
Sent from my MI 4LTE using XDA Free mobile app

This Device so far... is Awesome

Xiaomi Mi 4
Nice review indeed. Thanks a lot for sharing with us.
Recently xiaomi has released another great product xioami Note, which I personally think is cool and better than Mi 4 in many sense. Hope you will write a review on Mi note.

Any more comments on the Battery drain on 3G? I'm switching from a Nexus 5 to Mi4, I don't want to fall into the same low battery trap again :/

cyanide911 said:
Any more comments on the Battery drain on 3G? I'm switching from a Nexus 5 to Mi4, I don't want to fall into the same low battery trap again :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll be fine the mi4 has a much bigger battery. And my mi3 gets good battery life too : p
Sent from my MI 3W

[Review] Oppo Ace2 and Red Magic 5G Initial Impressions

Thought I'd share my initial impressions on the Oppo Ace2 since it has not gotten much coverage. I also owned the Red Magic 5G for a week before selling it.
I'm coming from a Oneplus 6 and have owned a lot of other Android devices, off the top of my head these include the Nexus 4, OnePlus One, Asus Nexus 7, Samsung Tab Pro 8.4, Galaxy S7 Edge, Huawei Nexus 6P, LG v20, Lenovo ZUK Z2, Mediapad T5, Red Magic 5g etc.
Let's start with the Red Magic 5G. I ordered this a few months ago off tradingshenzhen, it got to me fast enough and the price was fair, but their customer support was not very good (I will not be ordering from them again cause of this https://i.imgur.com/2qd4zPM.jpg). They'll get your phone to you and offer one year warranty but don't expect them to be nice or helpful in the event you dont like your phone or have any issues.
Either way, here my notes on the phone:
Software
I got the Chinese version of the phone. I found the software experience to actually be very good despite this, ignoring the fact that there were some chinese apps that I didnt understand. I'm sure if I removed these few apps I would have had a very good software experience. The software felt very smooth and stable. There were some pretty cool features, but not a ton. Experience felt close to stock android, but lightly skinned with the right theme after some setting up. It didnt come with play store, I just had to install the playstore from apk, chrome and google keyboard then I had an experience not all that different from my OnePlus 6. My red magic 5g got a lot of updates in the time I had it, with big change logs, I'm not sure if global rom users will get that same experience since these types of phones seem to get better support in China.
Display and Body
This is where my mind was blown. That 144hz screen is beautiful and smooth. This was definitely what I loved about the phone most. However, I had my gripes with this screen. For one the, bezels were huge, and the corners were too rounded (meaning less screen). They were so rounded that it was distracting to me, almost as much as having a notch.. This might be a gross exaggeration but I hope it gets my point across. As for the large bezels, it feels like they used the "gaming phone" identity as an excuse to cut corners here with bezel size. It bothered me that there's so much potential screen space being wasted with those large unused bezels. Now the body has very nice comfortable shape, so I don't have anything against that, but it is kind of big, and it is pretty heavy. It felt very premium and nice in hand, but at the same time, it was not comfortable to one hand for long periods of time, it's size and heft also made it a little unwieldy for one handing. This is the main reason I ended up selling this phone. I would often find myself going back to my oneplus 6 instead of using my new phone cause it was just way more comfortable to use with one hand.
Battery and Misc
Microphone was good according to those that I called, speakers sounded fine to me, werent bad at all. They were stereo speakers, one bottom firing and one in the ear piece, which was nice. Battery was meh. For a 4500mah battery phone, it died very fast. Battery felt about the same as my much older oneplus 6 in it's current state.. Around 6-7 hours of screen on time with regular use (not gaming). With gaming I got around a little more than half that. It charged at a decent speed, not slow but not astonishingly fast. My Red magic 5g benchmarked around 595k on Antutu, so it was very fast. The fan was barely audible in it's intelligent mode or whatever it's called. Personally I think the fan is pointless, and that good thermal design makes a much bigger difference. I loved having the shoulder triggers for gaming. playing games like codm, pubg, etc were great experiences. I sunk hours into these games even though I dont tend to really do any smartphone gaming. I don't really like that manufacturers are trying so hard to make phones into "gaming phones" cause they are still just phones at the end of the day. If anything I would like to have a good value flagship (or flagship killer) with shoulder triggers, it doesn't need to be a "gaming phone". For instance, I think the oneplus 8 (or pro) but with a flat screen + shoulder triggers would be the perfect and ideal phone for me.
I also ordered the Realme X2 Pro but the seller (realme's aliexpress store) cancelled this order due to shipping issues. Then I ordered the Poco F2 Pro but GearBest hadn't shipped it out even after 3 weeks so I cancelled the order. Finally I ordered the Ace2 off Giztop and this was a much better experience. Order placed Friday, shipped out Monday, then received next week Monday (today). The Ace2 was discounted to $589.99 and I got a further 4% discount with the GTRE4 code. Shipping was $30 (DHL) and duties/brokerage was $37, so I paid a grand total of around (roughly) $632. Not bad. The shipping, handling, duties and fees all together were still less than Canadian tax (13%). Canadian retailers sell phones like the Poco F2 pro for around $580 (USD), after taxes that's $655, not even including shipping costs. Much better to wait a little for longer shipping and buy from outside of Canada it seems. So let's talk about this phone.
First and foremost, I'd like to note I do get buyer's remorse (like I did with my red magic 5g), but I've never had any issues post-purchase rationalization. If I don't like something, I don't try to justify it, especially where phones are concerned and having owned so many different devices, both good and bad. For example, the LG V20 was my most expensive purchase and easily the phone I hated most out of all the devices I've owned. I had already paid for it, so I stuck with it even though I hated it for at least a year, before finally getting my current oneplus 6. The LG V20 was so bad that I thought my much older nexus 6p was wayyy better, I wanted to go back to it so bad but I had already handed it down to my mom. While I liked the red magic 5g, I didn't like it enough to keep it and ended up selling it at a loss. My point here is, that these are just my opinions, but I do try to be as unbiased as I can be. I bought the Ace2 knowing that I would sell or return it if I didnt like it, like I did with my Red Magic 5g, so I didnt have my hopes high or any plans to keep it if I wasnt happy with it.
Setup
The unboxing experience was very basic, like any other Chinese smartphone so I will skip this part, but it does come with a pre-applied screen protector and a surprisingly nice clear case. I thought it would be a cheap clear case that looked nasty on the phone.
First thing I did was update the phone's firmware, then do a full factory reset. I set it up fresh, uninstalled what chinese bloat I could (there was a lot), installed playstore with the first apk I found, then using that I installed chrome + google keyboard. After turning on the app drawer, and dark mode I felt I had a very usable experience similar to what I had on my oneplus 6. I hate migrating phones, but the experience here wasnt too bad, I downloaded and used oppo's phone clone app from my oneplus 6, it connected the two phones with direct wifi and copied 30 gigs of data over in around 15min. I did not get much control in what gets copied over but it was still a very simple and hassle free process that I could appreciate.
Software
I'm going to start with this phone's biggest weakness. So the software is.. a mixed bag. Say what you will about the design, but ColorOS and oppo launcher are really well optimized. ColorOS has really come a long way from what it used to be. I tested a bunch of different launchers on this phone but I ended up going back to the oppo launcher cause it was just wayyy smoother and responsive. I wish that's all I had to say about the software but there's a lot more to say.. like how bloated this phone comes. Just random chinese apps everywhere. Most of them can be uninstalled off the bat, but the rest need a little more work to get rid of, including ADB and a little research. I actually think I would have liked coloros a bit more than oxygenos had this been a global version and came with less bloat. It's just a big hassle that I'm sure nobody wants to deal with after getting a new phone. The software experience here is great- if you're chinese. If you're not, you have a whole lot of work to do to get it somewhere good. On the other hand, I thought coming from oxygenos I thought this would be a complete downgrade, but much to my surprise there are a lot of things it actually does better. There are way more features, yes I mean useful ones, it feels smoother and more responsive for some reason (the animations are way quicker and smoother). I think ColorOS isn't actually that bloated once you get rid of the apps you don't need (using ADB where you need to). OxygenOS is great and used to be way ahead of it's time, but I feel the other choices available have caught up while OxygenOS hasn't really gone anywhere. My OnePlus 6 barely gets updates and is slow to get them when it ever even gets any. I've noticed that's a common occurrence with OnePlus devices, you get a lot of quick updates when your device is still a new release, but then it gets put on the backburner as new devices come out.
Display
This display is amazing, it's breathtaking. Side by side with my oneplus 6 it looks and feels like an upgrade in every way. The colors are better, and the smoothness is so satisfying, every bit as much as the 144hz display I had on my red magic 5g, which further leads me to believe anything above 90hz isn't really worth the price premium and battery cost. The punch hole was a little distracting at first since I wasnt used to it, but I quickly got used to it and dont even notice anymore. It's a very small punchole and is a nice upgrade from the big notch my oneplus 6 had. I would rather have this punch hole then the huge top bezel (and lost screen space) the red magic 5g had any day. I didn't realize this until I had the red magic 5g in my hand and wish I realized this sooner. The whole point of notches and punch hole I think is to give us more screen where we used to have bezel, and this is something I appreciate a lot more now. One of the biggest things for me here is that the screen is flat. I'm soo glad that I didn't have to compromise with curved edges. After owned an s7 edge, I never want to deal with that again. I know they aren't as bad as they used to be, but I still think it's silly to have to compromise with how the light reflects off of curved edges, the accidental touches or touch rejection, finding screen protectors that work, etc. If flat screens are cheaper I dont see why more manufacturers dont choose to go this route on their budget flagships at least (looking at you mi 10 non pro and oneplus 8 non pro).
Body
This phone is very solid and quality feeling. It doesn't have any super outstanding premium feeling that a higher end flagship might give you, but it does not feel cheap at all. The body is your typical metal frame, gorilla glass 5 sandwhich build. I have to say though, I love this two tone color on the back. It's like a black/navy type color that looks really elegant and sexy in my opinion. I hate oreo shaped camera modules but this is the one phone that I think it actually looks good on because of it's simple minimalist design. My favorite part of this phone is the weight and size. It's almost the same as my oneplus 6, in both weight and size, but has a larger screen. To me, that's amazing, because looking at all the new SD865 phones released this year it felt like I was going to have to give up the light weight and compact size of the oneplus 6 to upgrade to a "better" phone. It's one of the smallest and lightest Snapdragon 865 phones available and it IS the smallest and lightest one available with a flat screen, which exactly what I wanted. It just feels soooo comfortable in hand compared to anything else I've recently used. They really nailed the comfort aspect with this phone. I had no idea this was going to matter so much to me until I used the red magic 5g for a week (which isnt even that big or heavy for a gaming phone, there are worse offenders out there like the black shark 3). I can see why some people really want smaller phones now. For me, I like having a big screen, so it's not smaller phones that I want, but phones that have better screen to body and weight ratios.
Sound
Now here's where I found a nice surprise. Good stereo speakers. Never thought I would ever care about having this. I'm a headphone guy, and phone speakers always suck anyways so why would I care (so I thought). These are by far the best phone speakers I've ever heard, and they somehow blew me away even though I've never cared about how good the speakers on a phone were. They get very loud, and they sound very full. Even at the loudest volume setting where I expected the fidelity to deteriorate, it still had nice clear, smooth, full sounding stereo audio. I saw someone on reddit asking for a phone recommendation with good stereo speakers, apparently it was a must for him, and I didn't get why until now. I no longer feel the need to grab my headphones when I want to watch a youtube video, the stereo experience on this is just much better. There is still a con to be talked about however, no headphone jack. Having a headphone jack would have been nice, and even cooler if the phone came with a nice DAC (pretty much the only thing LG does right in their phones). Not a huge deal for me, I would be using bluetooth or a USB DAC anyways if it didnt come with a good internal DAC but it does make things less convenient in a pinch.
Battery and Performance
Well, it has a snapdragon 865, haven't had a single hiccup yet. Phone is blazing fast as expected. Coloros is well optimized too. Battery is good too, I will report screen on times soon. Much better than my red magic 5g so far from what I can tell. The main star of this show though is that 40w wireless charging and 65w wired charging. Charging cable that it came with is kind of short but the phone charges so fast I don't think it matters. 4000mah might seem small compared to alternatives, but coloros is surprisingly very efficient with it, even with 90hz on and all the chinese bloat it came with. Im surprised they managed to fit a battery this size and a 40w wireless charging coil in such a compact and light phone (relative to similar spec phones).
Closing thoughts
I think this is what the OnePlus 8 should have been, and I hope for others that this is what the Realme X3 pro is going to be if not better. There are a lot of things more expensive oneplus 8 is missing out on here, like the 65w charging, wireless charging, flat screen, etc. The only thing I think it has going for it is that it seems like a nicer build/quality phone with better software. I think the Poco F2 pro on the other hand is a solid contender because it actually comes with global software, has a huge battery + great screen on time, has a decent camera and will have a big developer community. I ultimately ended up passing up on this phone because it doesnt have 90hz, wireless charging, 65w charging, doesnt support very many frequencies, has a slower face unlock and cause its a pretty heavy phone (so not as comfortable), but this phone will make sense as a better choice for many others that have different priorities. Pick what suits you and your needs best. All in all, this is a very underrated phone that doesn't get talked enough about outside of Asia. I think if you're interested in the Ace2, feel it fits what you want well at a price that you think is good that you shouldn't be afraid to buy it. It's a great phone and it's worth it. Just note that you may need to do some extra work to make the software experience good for you because of the chinese bloat (as you would need to with any chinese rom phone anyways). Not to say that the software is bad, it's very good software that's just marred by all the extra chinese stuff it comes with that most of us probably dont want or need.
If there's anything more you guys would like to know about any of the phones that I own or have owned please let me know. I'll try to answer them the best I can. Would love to see some form of an Ace2 community grow but I won't be surprised if it's just me even months later.

Inspiring
I think that based on your detailed review (That I read before on reddit) I’m convinced to purchase this phone, the only android experience I’ve had was an old samsung s7 edge so I’m convinced that the ace 2 will be smooth, so one question: can you guide me on how to debloat the phone once I get it?

Question OP9 vs Pixel 5

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Question Rogphone 5 or op9 pro

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

Rog 5 is great!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Considering moving on from the S9 (G960U1)

I have a Samsung S9 960U1 on AT&T. I purchased it on eBay a few years ago. Its been good for me. I wouldn't be thinking of another phone but I dropped my S9 in a parking lot a few weeks ago and the screen has a chip and crack in it. First time I've broken a screen since I've owned a cell phone, including all the smartphones I've owned since the Motorola i1 I bought in 2010. I used to root every phone I had and would like to again.
My requirements for a new phone are:
1) Memory Card Slot
Would like support for at least 128GB. Higher support is acceptable.
2) 3.5mm audio jack
I like the option of a physical connection with having to use any other adapters.
3) Rootable with ROM support
I have experience with one-click, TWRP, Cyanogen, etc., been rooting since my Epic 4G Touch. Before that, it was setting bits and bytes on Motorola flip-phones like the Razor V3.
4) 64GB or greater device storage
5) Device performance at least on par or similar to the S9 I have now. I don't need a screaming fast phone.
6) Would prefer something with less than or close to a 6" screen but bigger is acceptable to me since everyone else seems to want a tablet for a phone and that's where the market went.
7) Must be compatible with AT&T.
I've been perusing the OnePlus Nord offerings. They're not powerhouses but I like the price. I recently saw a BLU phone at Best Buy. I've looked at Nokia and Motorola phones also. I also know there are some Samsung phones that can be rooted and have ROM available. The other option is to repair my S9, of course. So what phones should I be looking at? Thank you for any advice.

No 3.5mm jack*, no variable rate display or 5G** but the Note 10+ N975U is a proven work horse with maybe the best display for color rendering even today. Excellent form factor, and good SOT (11-12 hours). It will need a good case.
New ones running on Android 10 can be had for $700, used for half that. Problem with used ones are they will be loaded with 11 or 12. This will slow it down ie scoped storage. Supports up to 1tb of expandable storage, a V30 rated Sandisk extreme runs well in them.
After the N10+ Samsung's flagship offerings are more flawed and less well balanced. Android 9 was Android's zenith so far, 10 is ok, 11 is screwed up, 12 is a mess and 13 is fubar... in my opinion.
*use Buds+ (SSC codec) or a LDAC bt set. Wired is a mess to deal with on this device.
**these tradeoffs net you better SOT, and a more accurately calibrated and trouble free display.

I can definitely do without the best display and 5G. I'll turn off 5G for the time being anyway. The Note 10+ is huge! I remember going from the S4 Active to the LG V10. The V10 was nice but just too big for me to keep. About six months later I got the S7 G930U. It was bigger than the S4 by a little bit. It worked fine and then a time zone OTA messed up the radios and I got the S9. The S9 is bigger still but useable for me.
I'd be okay with Android 10 but have no experience with anything after. It brought some features that I like. Another reason I was.looking at root was to completely forego OTAs and to be able choose my own software and ROMs.

josiahg52 said:
I can definitely do without the best display and 5G. I'll turn off 5G for the time being anyway. The Note 10+ is huge! I remember going from the S4 Active to the LG V10. The V10 was nice but just too big for me to keep. About six months later I got the S7 G930U. It was bigger than the S4 by a little bit. It worked fine and then a time zone OTA messed up the radios and I got the S9. The S9 is bigger still but useable for me.
I'd be okay with Android 10 but have no experience with anything after. It brought some features that I like. Another reason I was.looking at root was to completely forego OTAs and to be able choose my own software and ROMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've written a lot about the N10+, I have two them.
I saw where Samsung and Android were going and decided to give both a long time out when I bought the second new one 9 months ago.
The N10+'s display is sublime. Almost no bezel and square corners. The spen (which you will use) is on the right side, where it belongs. You absolutely need a good case like the Zizo Bolt or this corner hitting, face plant happy phone will be damaged. It's a 2 hand phone, no doubt about it.
I use my bdu cargo pants pocket to stash it, perfect. Pretty much a dual drive PC that's handheld. With 12gb of ram it just keeps going. It's cool running too.
If you insist on rooting there's the SM-N975F/DS variant. I recommend against it in favor of the Snapdragon; better chipset and cooling. The N10+ will run well stock if optimized. A package disabler or adb edits are needed. The current load on my Pie variant is over 2 years old, still fast and stable with minimal maintenance. It will be 3 yo in October, 1 replacement battery is the only repair. It looks and runs like new, no display degradation is observable, buttons still crisp and the c port jack has no wiggle.
That's what these devices are capable of. I'm not even close to be tired of this Note, it's just fun to use and easy to trick out the stock build.
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I would stay on Android 10 if possible. OTA updates is the first thing I disable This phone hasn't had any malware breach it* in over 2 years, it's reasonably secure if set up right and if you don't do stupid things.
*one scripted jpeg I downloaded damaged some files in the download folder, no big deal, deleted. A trojan preloader made it past the Samsung browser but got deleted from the download folder before it got its payload/opened. Both were prior to my current load. This device is heavily used.

Best bang for your buck(no Memory Card Slot though): Redmi Note 11T Pro for under $400. SoC D8100, very bright(easily usable under sunlight) 144Hz LCD. SHOULD be compatible with AT&T(check yourself for band support). Officially unlockable BL(so easily rootable). Maybe not easily get a warranty though if you are in NA.

blackhawk said:
I've written a lot about the N10+, I have two them.
I saw where Samsung and Android were going and decided to give both a long time out when I bought the second new one 9 months ago.
The N10+'s display is sublime. Almost no bezel and square corners. The spen (which you will use) is on the right side, where it belongs. You absolutely need a good case like the Zizo Bolt or this corner hitting, face plant happy phone will be damaged. It's a 2 hand phone, no doubt about it.
I use my bdu cargo pants pocket to stash it, perfect. Pretty much a dual drive PC that's handheld. With 12gb of ram it just keeps going. It's cool running too.
If you insist on rooting there's the SM-N975F/DS variant. I recommend against it in favor of the Snapdragon; better chipset and cooling. The N10+ will run well stock if optimized. A package disabler or adb edits are needed. The current load on my Pie variant is over 2 years old, still fast and stable with minimal maintenance. It will be 3 yo in October, 1 replacement battery is the only repair. It looks and runs like new, no display degradation is observable, buttons still crisp and the c port jack has no wiggle.
That's what these devices are capable of. I'm not even close to be tired of this Note, it's just fun to use and easy to trick out the stock build.
View attachment 5672395View attachment 5672393
I would stay on Android 10 if possible. OTA updates is the first thing I disable This phone hasn't had any malware breach it* in over 2 years, it's reasonably secure if set up right and if you don't do stupid things.
*one scripted jpeg I downloaded damaged some files in the download folder, no big deal, deleted. A trojan preloader made it past the Samsung browser but got deleted from the download folder before it got its payload/opened. Both were prior to my current load. This device is heavily used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my S9, you can choose to not install an OTA as soon as it's available but I think I waited and eventually it downloaded and installed it over one night. I didn't see a way to turn off updates completely.
I have every desire to stay with Android 10. Having learned that a lot of the things I like about a rooted phone can be done without root and with a package disabler and adb edits is certainly new to me and definitely opens up choices. Are you using an antivirus app on your Note?

iMoc said:
Best bang for your buck(no Memory Card Slot though): Redmi Note 11T Pro for under $400. SoC D8100, very bright(easily usable under sunlight) 144Hz LCD. SHOULD be compatible with AT&T(check yourself for band support). Officially unlockable BL(so easily rootable). Maybe not easily get a warranty though if you are in NA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll consult the official AT&T phone compatibility list before I purchase anything.

josiahg52 said:
On my S9, you can choose to not install an OTA as soon as it's available but I think I waited and eventually it downloaded and installed it over one night. I didn't see a way to turn off updates completely.
View attachment 5672459
I have every desire to stay with Android 10. Having learned that a lot of the things I like about a rooted phone can be done without root and with a package disabler and adb edits is certainly new to me and definitely opens up choices. Are you using an antivirus app on your Note?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can disable with Package Disabler or a adb edit. AT&T can also disable it on their end but I don't trust that!
These two:
Either of the Snapdragon variants are plug and play with AT&T. Put my old N10+ sim card into the new one (N975U1) and everything came straight up on AT&T. No worries.

blackhawk said:
You can disable with Package Disabler or a adb edit. AT&T can also disable it on their end but I don't trust that!
These two:
View attachment 5672483
Either of the Snapdragon variants are plug and play with AT&T. Put my old N10+ sim card into the new one (N975U1) and everything came straight up on AT&T. No worries.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you and for the screenshot showing the app you use along with the two services to disable. I guess what I'll do is go to Best Buy or somewhere and look at the S22 in person as it's similarly sized to the Note10.

josiahg52 said:
Thank you and for the screenshot showing the app you use along with the two services to disable. I guess what I'll do is go to Best Buy or somewhere and look at the S22 in person as it's similarly sized to the Note10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome.
S22; no expandable storage, rounded display corners which I hate so much. Only 8gb of ram.
Android 12 in all its hugeness... and inefficiency.
The N10+ has much better SOT.

blackhawk said:
You're welcome.
S22; no expandable storage, rounded display corners which I hate so much. Only 8gb of ram.
Android 12 in all its hugeness... and inefficiency.
The N10+ has much better SOT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm only using the S22 to judge the size of the Note10+. I'll give it's fair chance, size notwithstanding, but without a 3.5mm jack, I don't know if it's for me. I don't need the best screen, best SOT, or even best performance. I don't use my phone enough or for enough exotic purposes to warrant that. That's why I was even looking at budget phones like those from OnePlus but the S9 still is pretty good having been a flagship back in the day. It's only now I feel I'm seeing a decline in battery performance where I used to routinely go two days without charging, now I'm usually around 55% at the end of the day. I hate the notches and holes and would prefer a screen with a frame but those are exceedingly rare now.

josiahg52 said:
I'm only using the S22 to judge the size of the Note10+. I'll give it's fair chance, size notwithstanding, but without a 3.5mm jack, I don't know if it's for me. I don't need the best screen, best SOT, or even best performance. I don't use my phone enough or for enough exotic purposes to warrant that. That's why I was even looking at budget phones like those from OnePlus but the S9 still is pretty good having been a flagship back in the day. It's only now I feel I'm seeing a decline in battery performance where I used to routinely go two days without charging, now I'm usually around 55% at the end of the day. I hate the notches and holes and would prefer a screen with a frame but those are exceedingly rare now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it was silly to remove the 3.5mm jack but not near as inept as removing expandable storage. That cam also has larger file sizes... and no extra storage

To be clear, I don't want the S22. At all. After the S9, nothing appealed to me. Like I said, I'll look into the Note10+ because it seems like a neat device but the size might be its undoing.

josiahg52 said:
To be clear, I don't want the S22. At all. After the S9, nothing appealed to me. Like I said, I'll look into the Note10+ because it seems like a neat device but the size might be its undoing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that big. It's only 9mm thick and 30 gms lighter than the S22U. The larger display makes working with it easier and great for vids and pictures. It color calibration is excellent and the gamma correction falls right in line because of that. The N10+'s bezel ratio is smaller than the S22U... just one big gorgeous display.
The Note 9 is noticeably slower than the N10+, however when opening apps and games the difference between the N10+ and the S22U is slight. Short of high intensity games it holds it own well and even then does good. The 8gb version of the S22's does not do well against the N10+. Once the S22's ram gets filled the N10+ ripps it to shreds even opening apps. It's very apparent.
There are a lot of choices, I don't envy your task.
I got lucky Samsung had their act together with the N10+ and bought it early. Had it been the N9 or the N20U I would have been not as pleased.
Such is Samsung...

Finally got into Best Buy which might be the last place they still let you pick up the phones. I looked at the S22 Ultra 5G which is a 6.8" screen device. I admit I chuckled a bit when I picked it up. It's huge. Not as big as I expected, probably due to the smaller frame. I could or would almost live with it but it lacks a headphone jack.
I know that's an old feature that most consider ancient technology but I use it four or five times a week for seven or more hours. Bluetooth headphones don't last both in the battery department and also physically. After four sets, I'm occasionally using a set of not very expensive JBLs that have at least lasted close to a year but battery life sucks worst than they did new. I know there are USB C to 3.5mm adapters but they suck and it's another thing to carry around when I wouldn't if the phone has a 3.5mm jack. There's not really anything out there in the S9 or Note10+ class with a 3.5mm jack.

josiahg52 said:
Finally got into Best Buy which might be the last place they still let you pick up the phones. I looked at the S22 Ultra 5G which is a 6.8" screen device. I admit I chuckled a bit when I picked it up. It's huge. Not as big as I expected, probably due to the smaller frame. I could or would almost live with it but it lacks a headphone jack.
I know that's an old feature that most consider ancient technology but I use it four or five times a week for seven or more hours. Bluetooth headphones don't last both in the battery department and also physically. After four sets, I'm occasionally using a set of not very expensive JBLs that have at least lasted close to a year but battery life sucks worst than they did new. I know there are USB C to 3.5mm adapters but they suck and it's another thing to carry around when I wouldn't if the phone has a 3.5mm jack. There's not really anything out there in the S9 or Note10+ class with a 3.5mm jack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing in the Samsung flagship class. Oddly the 3.5mm jack is present on some of the midrange priced models of that era.
I have a pair of Buds(2.5+ yo) and Buds+(1 yo). Both case charge fast (2 charges per case charge). Both continue to work well.
The Buds+ easily last 8+ hours. It's rare I run them out...
The S9 generation is noticeably slower than the N10+. The N10+'s 12gb of ram (vs 4gb) makes a huge performance difference. The larger ram size impacts battery life very little. The N10+ is a large, powerful device that's design is well balanced... It's just fun to use.

blackhawk said:
Nothing in the Samsung flagship class. Oddly the 3.5mm jack is present on some of the midrange priced models of that era.
I have a pair of Buds(2.5+ yo) and Buds+(1 yo). Both case charge fast (2 charges per case charge). Both continue to work well.
The Buds+ easily last 8+ hours. It's rare I run them out...
The S9 generation is noticeably slower than the N10+. The N10+'s 12gb of ram (vs 4gb) makes a huge performance difference. The larger ram size impacts battery life very little. The N10+ is a large, powerful device that's design is well balanced... It's just fun to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I should have said flagship class, as the S9 was years ago. Of course, the Note10+ demolishes the S9. You still have me considering the Note. You've done well making a case for it. There's just nothing close with its hardware.
Stepping down, there is the A71 or A52. I still like the OnePlus Nord N10. All of those are a decided step beneath the S9 on paper and of course, not worth comparing to the Note10+.
I'll look at the Buds.

josiahg52 said:
Yeah, I should have said flagship class, as the S9 was years ago. Of course, the Note10+ demolishes the S9. You still have me considering the Note. You've done well making a case for it. There's just nothing close with its hardware.
Stepping down, there is the A71 or A52. I still like the OnePlus Nord N10. All of those are a decided step beneath the S9 on paper and of course, not worth comparing to the Note10+.
I'll look at the Buds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a beast, I never run out of ram or storage.
You also have the LDAC option for bt. Sony and Panasonic have a few choices. LDAC may be better than SSC. The pricier Sony ones are probably better for music.
Get the Buds+, the regular Buds aren't as nice but work well for calls. I would recommend using Poweramp as a Player. It's graphic equalizer is how I dial the Buds+ in. My whole 240gb wav file music collection is on the SD card.
I use the spen mostly for Smart Capture (a very useful tool), screen shot writing, as a bt remote shutter release, and magnifier comes in handy at times. I use it once a day sometimes more. That's a sometimes under appreciated Note feature. Lol, for the first couple months I didn't use it

All right, you've convinced me! So where should I buy one from? Best Buy has some available from $450. Say "refurbished" whatever that means to them. Can pick that up locally. I've had decent success on eBay. More recently, I had to return two S8 de-camera'd work phone) and an S9 for not being what they were supposed to be - wrong model numbers - but I returned them successfully. I'm always suspect of eBay "condition" also.