Database Info

What do you think of the A9?

I think it's got a cute camera, but all around it just... sucks. The battery is even worse than my Nexus 5, and the phone is just ugly, especially in the front, in my opinion.

Actually I like the design much better than the M9, not too worried about the battery, and it seems HTC has finally overcome it's greatest flaw in its camera.

Wish it has a dual SIM function (it's important in SE Asia and developing countries) and waterproof.
Otherwise, it's pretty nice.

I just can't believe they are still plastering a fugly logo on the front taking up valuable screen real-estate. I'll never buy another HTC as long as they keep doing that. At the very least they got rid of the "hardware" buttons... except then they replaced it with a larger hardware button copying samsung and apple. The waste of space is just terrible. Nexus 6 has slightly more than half an inch in top/bottom bezeling combined while these things look like they are rocking 1.5 inches or more!
Not to mention it's looks like a sad copy attempt at newer samsung/iphone styles - hardly unique at all. I don't think the copy-cat ploy is going to work for the third guy doing it. I'd bet money that this is yet another flop.
http://www.xda-developers.com/the-a9-is-not-the-hero-htc-needs-nor-the-one-it-deserves/

Xenosis said:
I just can't believe they are still plastering a fugly logo on the front taking up valuable screen real-estate. I'll never buy another HTC as long as they keep doing that. At the very least they got rid of the "hardware" buttons... except then they replaced it with a larger hardware button copying samsung and apple. The waste of space is just terrible. Nexus 6 has slightly more than half an inch in top/bottom bezeling combined while these things look like they are rocking 1.5 inches or more!
Not to mention it's looks like a sad copy attempt at newer samsung/iphone styles - hardly unique at all. I don't think the copy-cat ploy is going to work for the third guy doing it. I'd bet money that this is yet another flop.
http://www.xda-developers.com/the-a9-is-not-the-hero-htc-needs-nor-the-one-it-deserves/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think the design is necessarily a bad thing. It may be emulating Apple, but it's still metal and it will appeal to quite a number of people, if not for the design then for the build quality alone. With that being said, the battery is most likely gonna drag the phone down, unless they can do what the Moto G is doing with their battery, which by the way is larger than the A9.
Also, I hope there are capacitative back and recent apps buttons to complement the physical home button. Otherwise, the home button kinda becomes redundant, even with a fingerprint scanner, because you have the full set of controls on the screen right above the home button.

Using HTC 8 years now but couldn't find new model for me. Like the design but inside phone is not what you expecting from phones these days.
Just to hang for time that HTC makes serious phone I switched to OnePlus 2.

HTC A9
Very bad design, I think they need to change thier concept designer and CEO then they try to find another inspiration like One M7 & 8 and I think they will not be able to do that until they think out of Apple hater Box

bennaye said:
I don't think the design is necessarily a bad thing. It may be emulating Apple, but it's still metal and it will appeal to quite a number of people, if not for the design then for the build quality alone. With that being said, the battery is most likely gonna drag the phone down, unless they can do what the Moto G is doing with their battery, which by the way is larger than the A9.
Also, I hope there are capacitive back and recent apps buttons to complement the physical home button. Otherwise, the home button kinda becomes redundant, even with a fingerprint scanner, because you have the full set of controls on the screen right above the home button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bad? nah. Sad? I think so. Who needs more of the same thing? It's because they are failing that they decided to copy what they thought would be a safe bet. Personally I'm not even too bothered by the small battery as I pretty much always keep my phones around 50% and up as wherever I am there is usually a place to charge them. Fast charging will make that even more feasible. (Probably their logic)
In my opinion, the fingerprint scanner should be on the back of every phone, like many are already doing, not the front. Or even on the side makes more sense. It should be in a place that is easy to access with only one hand. The bottom of the front of the phone makes it so you have to support it with the other hand while swiping to do it comfortably.
My point is that any capacitive/hardware buttons that can be done in software are redundant and they are especially atrocious when taking up screen real estate. When done in software, the screen can be 1/3 inch to 1/2 inch larger.
When I got my One m7 way back, I thought it was awesome and compared to what was out there, it was. That is until other phones came out that were the same size but had smaller bezels, didn't waste space with a giant logo and capacitive buttons. A clear successor in design IMO.
Maybe it's just me but since everyone can do nice specs, a decision on a phone comes down to smaller things and for me, screen size/quality is one of the most important. The way the front of the phone looks is important, and how well utilized the space is is important. HTC has always done a horrible job utilizing space well so far as I've seen.

I hate it. The design is fine but why? Don't copy Apple just to get a few new users to switch. Stick with the M8 style design with some differences. Bezeless? The specs are not that great. They even removed boomsound wtf. (unless it is considered a mid range phone).
They need to spend some money and get ultra specs. They need a 4k screen, ultra boomsound speakers that are really loud with a pop out speaker like the old HTC Surround while keeping it a thin phone, Snapdragon 820 with 2 gh and 3-4 gigs of ram, a 25 ultra pixel rear camera with Nikon DLSR sensors to bring the ultimate in picture taking and making it the best camera phone ever even better than some stand alones, 6 ultra pixel front facing cam, 3500 MaH battery. Now if they did that, I'd buy that in a heart beat or are these features too unrealistic?
HTC needs to realize people care about what is written on the specs sheet next to the phone in a phone store. People see low numbers (even though the processor may optimize it to make the low numbers feel like higer for example battery MaH) they will go to another phone that has higher numbers on the specs sheet.

I just really hope they change their mind about their design philosophy to me its not a good change, but I applaud the hardware and the fact they have marshmellow running on it already

MsEvyLynch said:
I hate it. The design is fine but why? Don't copy Apple just to get a few new users to switch. Stick with the M8 style design with some differences. Bezeless? The specs are not that great. They even removed boomsound wtf. (unless it is considered a mid range phone).
They need to spend some money and get ultra specs. They need a 4k screen, ultra boomsound speakers that are really loud with a pop out speaker like the old HTC Surround while keeping it a thin phone, Snapdragon 820 with 2 gh and 3-4 gigs of ram, a 25 ultra pixel rear camera with Nikon DLSR sensors to bring the ultimate in picture taking and making it the best camera phone ever even better than some stand alones, 6 ultra pixel front facing cam, 3500 MaH battery. Now if they did that, I'd buy that in a heart beat or are these features too unrealistic?
HTC needs to realize people care about what is written on the specs sheet next to the phone in a phone store. People see low numbers (even though the processor may optimize it to make the low numbers feel like higer for example battery MaH) they will go to another phone that has higher numbers on the specs sheet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't agree with you on this, HTC hasn't copied from Apple. But it is other way round.

This is the design that HTC has pioneered and continued to evolve. There is a reason why iPhones and Samsung devices now look like they do, because HTC has a superior design. They always seem to fall short when it comes to specs and marketing.

Xenosis said:
My point is that any capacitive/hardware buttons that can be done in software are redundant and they are especially atrocious when taking up screen real estate. When done in software, the screen can be 1/3 inch to 1/2 inch larger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My point was that since HTC already went with a physical home button at the front which doubles as a fingerprint scanner, they might as well include the other capacitive buttons. Having just one button on the front seems kinda pointless. But I do agree that the fingerprint sensor should be on the side or on the back.

MsEvyLynch said:
I hate it. The design is fine but why? Don't copy Apple just to get a few new users to switch. Stick with the M8 style design with some differences. Bezeless? The specs are not that great. They even removed boomsound wtf. (unless it is considered a mid range phone).
They need to spend some money and get ultra specs. They need a 4k screen, ultra boomsound speakers that are really loud with a pop out speaker like the old HTC Surround while keeping it a thin phone, Snapdragon 820 with 2 gh and 3-4 gigs of ram, a 25 ultra pixel rear camera with Nikon DLSR sensors to bring the ultimate in picture taking and making it the best camera phone ever even better than some stand alones, 6 ultra pixel front facing cam, 3500 MaH battery. Now if they did that, I'd buy that in a heart beat or are these features too unrealistic?
HTC needs to realize people care about what is written on the specs sheet next to the phone in a phone store. People see low numbers (even though the processor may optimize it to make the low numbers feel like higer for example battery MaH) they will go to another phone that has higher numbers on the specs sheet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, first of all, anything that has to do with Nikon sucks. Second of all, complaining like that just makes you look bad.

herzig.grant said:
Dude, first of all, anything that has to do with Nikon sucks. Second of all, complaining like that just makes you look bad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not complaining, I'm just stating what HTC needs to do to get back where they need to be. Going this route is just making it worse for them.

Honestly I think it is a dumb a** phone and it seems like HTC is in self destruct mode

MsEvyLynch said:
I'm not complaining, I'm just stating what HTC needs to do to get back where they need to be. Going this route is just making it worse for them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah you have a point.

I've used HTC phones basically for almost every upgrade I had. I found their build and quality to always be top notch. What I liked about HTC is that you can almost always unlock the bootloader and go the custom rom route and the boomsound speakers. The One A9 ditched everything to try to get more people to like HTC. What I want is a HTC phone with top notch specs 5.1-5.5" screen, I could care less about finger print scanning but sure whynot, a nice shooter with OIS and a competitive price point and I think they should be able to get back. Sense skin on the HTC is what makes the experience unique.

nice especially the design though I'm not impressed with its built and other stuff. sticking with the N5 ndysf

Best thing about HTC these days is still Sense interface. Stock android, Samsung etc...OS/look/feel is garbage. I remember when I first got the Nexus, the one with the led trackball..years ago. I almost dumped that thing in 1 day until I found the ability to get an updated Rom with better apps/design and look/feel of the phone. HTC was a saving grace. Get rid of Blinkfeed, keep the clean/polished apps of Sense and interface...and put some real serious hardware in the phone.
Only good thing about this is going to be marshmellow/developers and the ability to have all carriers supported and unlocking out of the box in the US. Otherwise, from the forums, you can see how support of the M9 and later variants have decreased over the years.
Don't know. Maybe sell the M9 and try the A9...I don't do much with my phone, and the little I do, I really need a better polished interface that Apple/MS have done well for years versus the Android.
Shoot, been playing with Candy 5 on my M9 which is pretty close to Marshmellow and standard Android, what a piece of garbage interface/apps they still produce Google....pretty pathetic considering.
Unfortunately, I'm on Verizon for the next year...likely jump ship in 14 months and go back to something like ATT/Cricket and universal/GSM phones. Good thing my wife/kids have iPhones that will work on any network already. Just need to dump my VZW M9 and move on with my life...gheez. The mobile/cell phone business is really a joke with many manufacturers, such a cluster these days and so many options, most Android.

How many of you Like the Notch?

Do you guys like the Notch on OnePlus 6

Oh,I just hate it.

Actually, could someone explain to me why the notch is so bad apart from the fact that it's "copied from Apple". Most iPhone X users say that after using for just a few days you learn to ignore the notch. Moreover, It's considerably smaller on the OP6 than the iPhone X. Considering there is no other alternative to have a bezel-less display on all sides without a notch, I don't really see why so many people are hating on it.

I voted yes, but to be honest i don't really care. It will be strange at first, but i'll get used to it later

Personally I don't care. I know they do it to increase the screen real estate but does that little bit really make a big difference? I'm running the 3T currently and I'm perfectly happy with the screen size. I wish they would spend the development on other areas.

notch or no notch, but oneplus device will be top notch as always. (overall)

Ash110 said:
Actually, could someone explain to me why the notch is so bad apart from the fact that it's "copied from Apple". Most iPhone X users say that after using for just a few days you learn to ignore the notch. Moreover, It's considerably smaller on the OP6 than the iPhone X. Considering there is no other alternative to have a bezel-less display on all sides without a notch, I don't really see why so many people are hating on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It hinders status bar space. You have to expand your status bar which you used to not have to.
It's not the end of the world, but I prefer my phone without the notch (unless it's compact like the Essential.)
The picture below is how Asus has it configured on their newest device.

I hate notch.
It's waste of screen space and I don't care for selfie cam.
For me it might be Oneplus 6 but I prefer Mi Mix 2S

Phoost said:
I hate notch.
It's waste of screen space and I don't care for selfie cam.
For me it might be Oneplus 6 but I prefer Mi Mix 2S
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, if the price is too high, i'll buy the Mix 2S for sure.
But.. Oh god IPS

Seems absolutely rubbish.

I hate notch. I buy mix 2 s also. Notch is not a flagship killer :laugh:

If the notch can be hidden then it's ok. I really have no experience with notch but I didn't like what I saw from others with notch. That when you put the video to full screen there's a missing part of the video on where the notch is. But if thats not the case then I guess I'm OK with it.
There should be an option where you can shift the status bar below the notch line and put black bars on the notch line to hide the notch.
Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

I'm not a big fan of the notch but if the screen is AMOLED (which is practically confirmed) then I wouldn't mind hiding it.

The notch makes sense to me. The added screen is essentially for design and to prevent the status bar from taking space away from other apps. I think it looks better than Essential or Apple.

I would be able to look past the notch if they included expandable storage.

People will vote with their wallets. Of the op6 bombs cause of the notch it's a safe bet the 6t will be notchless. Just hold out and wait. Their 't' devices tend to end up being what consumers really want and there main version devices seem to be a public test device to figure out how they're consumers will react.

I would like to buy OP6, but this Notch looks crap..
So going to buy Nokia 8 Sirocco..
---------- Post added at 07:00 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:50 AM ----------
Well, But point is Android is Android.. Apple is Apple..
No need to copy Apple product design because Android is already 2-3 years ahead of Apple in Technology..
+ iPhone X didn't sold as expected so they have dropped it's Production... So there is Many things Android Phone Manufacturers should learn...
People's want more Battery Juice along with Camera...

Ash110 said:
Actually, could someone explain to me why the notch is so bad apart from the fact that it's "copied from Apple". Most iPhone X users say that after using for just a few days you learn to ignore the notch. Moreover, It's considerably smaller on the OP6 than the iPhone X. Considering there is no other alternative to have a bezel-less display on all sides without a notch, I don't really see why so many people are hating on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I recall correctly the first phone with a notch was not Apple I know many folks think it was but the first phone with a notch came from Essential and in fact was a small notch then Apple came out with there's which I think is big.

Notch is a perfect example of something that users never asked for, but they did it anyway. It's a horrible way to achieve a bezel-less phones (who cares?), cutting the screen. So now we all know that only a few percentage of programmes will care about optimize their apps for notched screens.
We don't need a notch and bezel-less phones. We need a phone that's durable, last long, have a good camera and it's good for everyday use. Why then adding notch? Look at the P20 Lite, a perfect example of the fact that notch is only a trend: put the phone at 180' and then remove the notch from the bottom. They couldn't do it like this? No! Cos Apple (yes, essential to it first) decided to make this fatal move and say to everyone "hey, notch is here, let's make this sh*t". Every producer now wants it, but Apple is rumoured to remove it on next iPhone. Brilliant, stupid fools. Now everybody will have cutted screens BUT Apple not. #Genius
I want a full screen phone. We want a full screen experience without compromising our screens. If you aren't able to make the full screen phones, just don't try to workaround it, especially if the way to do it is so useless, ugly and no-sense

I don't mind the notch but if we can have a full screen without then I'm all for it, but if iinorder to remove the notch you need a pop-up camera I can see that going wrong and the camera breaking off in your pocket or as you turn around and it gets cought on something and the camera gets riped off or the phone gets locked out of your hand and Bam new phone time.
That would be good for the manufacturer and stores but not the consumer.
I do not believe we will ever be able to make a phone everyone will like and that is why we have more than one manufacturer some everyone should be able to find something they will like or is willing to live with.

Just bought it online!

So, after following OP1 from 2014 till now, i am finally going to get my hands on OP6. So excited!

IAmRC1 said:
So, after following OP1 from 2014 till now, i am finally going to get my hands on OP6. So excited!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did the same thing a couple of days ago. I ordered the red but this color is back-ordered about 1 week...no big deal.
I have a pixel 2 xl and always buy the google devices from the nexus one. Always wanted to try the OP because of the software. Looking forward to it!

You can be excited, honestly I never had a better all-in-one pack of a smartphone in my hands.
It has some minor disadvantages, but many more awesome things to offer!

Overall best phone I've ever used. Haven't had one complaint. The notch doesn't bother me at all. And the navigation gestures, in place of the navigation bar, are very well executed.

Having owned most flagships over 5 years of many different OEM's I have to say that OnePlus I find most compelling. Having also had the 3T and 5T and perhaps should nhsve waited for the 6T, the red just got me.
Some say it's close to others flagship price and then slate OnePlus for this or that. £519 compared to £860+ is a significant saving in comparison. For this there is obvious things OnePlus has to save on and balance things out properly. I think they do this reasonably well. I say this as dual speakers would have been easy, and some IP even 67 would have been nice.
So no the 6 is not perfect but when you factor in the price and really see what your getting it's very very nice indeed.
1)The performance on the 6 is best in class, it just works and very well.
2)OOS some dislike, I love as it's a stock Android experience with just the right flavouring.
3)Camera (now this can be subjective) but for the price it's great and almost keeps up with higher end devices.
These are a few things that for me make using a device great.

I'm disappointed with look of my oneplus6,
I bought it only because of software possibilities and flat display and 256gb of storage and snapdragon845.
Oneplus6 is very ugly and poorly designed phone with retarded glass back for zero reason, back of the phone must be high quality plastic as wireless charging coil under it.
phone must not have notch and any bezels, especially when all technologies are available.
I hope next model is going to be better.
sams s9+ could be the choice but it has lower specs, even uglier design, retarded curved display and higher prices on top of it.
And that's it, we do not have any other phones with needed specs and software possibilities.

dmlv said:
I did the same thing a couple of days ago. I ordered the red but this color is back-ordered about 1 week...no big deal.
I have a pixel 2 xl and always buy the google devices from the nexus one. Always wanted to try the OP because of the software. Looking forward to it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ordered my red Sunday got it Wednesday. On mondya it went backorder I was supped. Lol. Sick color and device. I sold my midnight black to get this one.

x111 said:
I'm disappointed with look of my oneplus6,
I bought it only because of software possibilities and flat display and 256gb of storage and snapdragon845.
Oneplus6 is very ugly and poorly designed phone with retarded glass back for zero reason, back of the phone must be high quality plastic as wireless charging coil under it.
phone must not have notch and any bezels, especially when all technologies are available.
I hope next model is going to be better.
sams s9+ could be the choice but it has lower specs, even uglier design, retarded curved display and higher prices on top of it.
And that's it, we do not have any other phones with needed specs and software possibilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you probably need to return it. But a huge fan of the nice but the device is very nice looking and specs and superior.

x111 said:
I'm disappointed with look of my oneplus6,
I bought it only because of software possibilities and flat display and 256gb of storage and snapdragon845.
Oneplus6 is very ugly and poorly designed phone with retarded glass back for zero reason, back of the phone must be high quality plastic as wireless charging coil under it.
phone must not have notch and any bezels, especially when all technologies are available.
I hope next model is going to be better.
sams s9+ could be the choice but it has lower specs, even uglier design, retarded curved display and higher prices on top of it.
And that's it, we do not have any other phones with needed specs and software possibilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. What did you do to piss off the OnePlus design team. Sounds like they were out to get you!

x111 said:
I'm disappointed with look of my oneplus6,
I bought it only because of software possibilities and flat display and 256gb of storage and snapdragon845.
Oneplus6 is very ugly and poorly designed phone with retarded glass back for zero reason, back of the phone must be high quality plastic as wireless charging coil under it.
phone must not have notch and any bezels, especially when all technologies are available.
I hope next model is going to be better.
sams s9+ could be the choice but it has lower specs, even uglier design, retarded curved display and higher prices on top of it.
And that's it, we do not have any other phones with needed specs and software possibilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think you were looking for a flawless phone and op6 is not that. all owners know that ? next time dont get swept up in the hype ?

x111 said:
I'm disappointed with look of my oneplus6,
I bought it only because of software possibilities and flat display and 256gb of storage and snapdragon845.
Oneplus6 is very ugly and poorly designed phone with retarded glass back for zero reason, back of the phone must be high quality plastic as wireless charging coil under it.
phone must not have notch and any bezels, especially when all technologies are available.
I hope next model is going to be better.
sams s9+ could be the choice but it has lower specs, even uglier design, retarded curved display and higher prices on top of it.
And that's it, we do not have any other phones with needed specs and software possibilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if it dont fit ur eager for design return it get ur money back
then make a design an build it ur self then u get the look u want
i think op6 is a great looking phone
thats why i got it
i woult never ever buy a phone only because of the specs

oneplus
lacAPERZ said:
i think you were looking for a flawless phone and op6 is not that. all owners know that ? next time dont get swept up in the hype ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, oneplus6 is pretty smooth and has all the software I need for now,
thanks to all devs for their hard work.
it's still very poorly optimized but it is about any other phone on the market, thanks to Google team of software developers with broken hands and mental disorder.
regardless hardware design, oneplus6 is extremely ugly and poorly developed phone.
it has absolutely unnecessary ugly notch and HUGE bezel on front side.
on the back it has retarded glass cover which can easily break.
No wireless charging coil which cost a few dollars more.
No ip68 which cost the same a few dollars more.
no microsd card reader, a few dollars more.
so here we have retarded oneplus seo who cannot think clear or just simply highly disrespect customers.

x111 said:
oneplus
nope, oneplus6 is pretty smooth and has all the software I need for now,
thanks to all devs for their hard work.
it's still very poorly optimized but it is about any other phone on the market, thanks to Google team of software developers with broken hands and mental disorder.
regardless hardware design, oneplus6 is extremely ugly and poorly developed phone.
it has absolutely unnecessary ugly notch and HUGE bezel on front side.
on the back it has retarded glass cover which can easily break.
No wireless charging coil which cost a few dollars more.
No ip68 which cost the same a few dollars more.
no microsd card reader, a few dollars more.
so here we have retarded oneplus seo who cannot think clear or just simply highly disrespect customers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why dont u just sell the phone an stop complaining about it
an just buy a phone u like an stop all ur it dont have this an it dont look like this
a ton if user love this phone an thats it

x111 said:
oneplus
nope, oneplus6 is pretty smooth and has all the software I need for now,
thanks to all devs for their hard work.
it's still very poorly optimized but it is about any other phone on the market, thanks to Google team of software developers with broken hands and mental disorder.
regardless hardware design, oneplus6 is extremely ugly and poorly developed phone.
it has absolutely unnecessary ugly notch and HUGE bezel on front side.
on the back it has retarded glass cover which can easily break.
No wireless charging coil which cost a few dollars more.
No ip68 which cost the same a few dollars more.
no microsd card reader, a few dollars more.
so here we have retarded oneplus seo who cannot think clear or just simply highly disrespect customers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, I really don't understand you and what u r doing on this op6 forum...

Why so much hate for the 3 XL ?

Wow the Pixel 3 XL is getting bagged and dogged on left and right as if it's the worst smartphone ever made. Yes it could have been designed better for sure. Try to go the more minimal notch like Essential or something, and no bottom chin, do the stereo speakers like the HTC 10, or and the iPhone XS, and Note 9's, do, etc... to allow a more full screen design. Yes give us 6GB RAM.
Mainly in tech forums I keep reading so much hate for the Pixel 3 XL;
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/pixel-3-pixel-3-xl.2106788/page-68#post-26666374
And YouTube channels dogging on the phone big time
But I still wouldn't go iPhone, just not an iOS fan whatsoever. And Samsung Touchwiz not my thing either. So if I hate the iPhone, don't like Galaxy phones and the Pixel 3 is sub par, what's the other options? I wish we had a third option, a Windows Surface phone or something.
Oh well, I still have my White Pixel 3 XL on order, and not changing. Yes the notch is ugly, and more RAM would have been nice, but I still value stock Android, updated directly and quickly from Google, and the smooth fluid vanilla UI, and the amazing camera, and A+ rated display, and IP68 rating, and wireless charging. Maybe I'm a sucker, but that's my choice.

Honestly, I didn't even notice the notch when I was checking out the display phone at Verizon. I love the feel of the phone, very well balanced and light compared to my old Nexus 6. Can't wait to get my phone call on Thursday (I hope) to come and pick up my phone.

I think manly they are charging Flagship prices but not delivering on flagship hardware /specs compared to whats already on the market and instead are betting on software to carry them. Now i love pure android how its meant to be not a fan of all tweaks each manufacture adds to the phone, If Samsung offered a note 9 /S9 pure (ie stock android no mods) i think the pixel would be left in its dust. The Pixel's have always seemed to be a generation behind. I love my pixel 2 xl i know i just wanted something more to go with the great feel of stock android and what not. maybe next year, i have my 3 XL ordered and will use it for a week or two to see if its worth the upgrade over my 2 XL

How would I have like to see Google design the Pixel 3 XL? Well on a realistic manner not some unrealistic futuristic design but a realistic version could have been a cross between like the LG V30 shape and size with the minimal bezels but give it the Essential notch and stretch the screen out on the top and bottom. And then do the stereo speakers like on the Note 9 or iPhone so they don't have to be front-facing, and allow for full display with almost no bezels at like 6.2" or so. And give it 6GB RAM. And a bigger 4,000MaH battery.

At the end of the day, for October 2018, I still think FOR ME, the Pixel 3 XL is the best phone out.
- Stock vanilla Android is my bread and butter OS. I go back to owning the Nexus-One when it was new, then waiting in line for the Nexus-S at launch. I just have a thing for stock Android, all other versions of Android just irritate me, or frustrate me.
- Updates first and quickly
- A+ rated display
- Best camera
- Wireless charging now
- IP68 rating is nice
- Phone can easily be rooted, mainly for the best ad blocking and Substratum themes
No other phone right now interests me. The Note 9 or S9+ ? Not at all, no way, Lagwiz still exists no matter what people say. The LG V40, yeah that's cool, but not a fan of the LG skin, and they suck at updates. iPhone XS Max looks super cool, a very beautifully built device, really liked it a lot, but man I hate iOS, and on the XS Max the OS looks out of place, dated like something from a decade ago. OnePlus 6T, yeah will be a great phone, but they always skimp somehow.
Is the Pixel 3 XL the best phone of 2018 ? NO, not at all. But for me a stock Android nerd, it's really the only option.

Yeah if the Iphone XS Max ran android it would be a dream phone lol IMO ... That said i do think the Note 9 Running stock android with all the software options of the pixel 3 would be a great option as well .

PSA:
Don't read Mac/Apple websites for reviews on Android devices. They are quite happy being locked into their apple ecosystem and will never appreciate the open source model of a pixel device.

No hate here, just wish the display was LARGER......Note9/V40 temp me with their larger displays......but I can't get away from pure google... C'mon google, 6.5 next year!!!

Why the hate? Did you notice that big black malignancy at the top of the screen? What about specs that are less than impressive? My guess is the answer is right there between those two things. Flagship means flagship, you want to charge this kinda money you need some wow factor and the ability to say you're second to none and have that hold water.
These devices don't give me that vibe. Too me they're like the second toughest guy on the block saying "Look, I can juggle!" As to the former enough has been said about it. I personally found my Best Buy experience to fall between what some said. At points when I was busy manipulating the GUI I forgot about it completely. Any time I stepped back from specific tasks the thing jumped out at me, it was like getting mugged with an ugly stick every timei looked at the phone as an object.
Yeah, I'm stupid so I'm still thinking about buying even though I'm not convinced I won't be sorry.

razor237 said:
I think manly they are charging Flagship prices but not delivering on flagship hardware /specs compared to whats already on the market and instead are betting on software to carry them. Now i love pure android how its meant to be not a fan of all tweaks each manufacture adds to the phone, If Samsung offered a note 9 /S9 pure (ie stock android no mods) i think the pixel would be left in its dust. The Pixel's have always seemed to be a generation behind. I love my pixel 2 xl i know i just wanted something more to go with the great feel of stock android and what not. maybe next year, i have my 3 XL ordered and will use it for a week or two to see if its worth the upgrade over my 2 XL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't agree with this at all. The pixel 3 xl has a Samsung screen which looks amazing (and I bet is par or at least close to what you see on a Samsung phone), it has the latest Quallcom processor, the best cameras and software, same day updates, wireless charging, front facing speakers, I mean, what else does it need to be 'flagship specs' to you? What, because it only has 4 GB of RAM? That's literally the ONLY thing I can come up with, and that's only because many OEM's have stuffed more RAM in their phones this year. And honestly, it's not really necessary, at least not for 90% of people who use smartphones. Sheet, iPhones only have 4 GB or RAM. They only had ONE GB or RAM for a looonnnggg time. No one complained about that.
To me, this is a premium flagship, no question. The hate is mostly the RAM and notch. It's superficial. Last year it was the blue shift. Which, I think that plus the terrible quality control was actually warranted. This year, it's not much to hate on. Either you like it, or don't get it. And you can hide the notch. Either way, I'm excited about it coming today. I LOVE 2 xl, but I'm definitely ready for this upgrade, even though I was very on the fence before I checked one out in the store. My point here is, people are going to hate on something every time. Every time. If you don't like something, don't get it. It's really that simple.
My $0.02

gettinwicked said:
I don't agree with this at all. The pixel 3 xl has a Samsung screen which looks amazing (and I bet is par or at least close to what you see on a Samsung phone), it has the latest Quallcom processor, the best cameras and software, same day updates, wireless charging, front facing speakers, I mean, what else does it need to be 'flagship specs' to you? What, because it only has 4 GB of RAM? That's literally the ONLY thing I can come up with, and that's only because many OEM's have stuffed more RAM in their phones this year. And honestly, it's not really necessary, at least not for 90% of people who use smartphones. Sheet, iPhones only have 4 GB or RAM. They only had ONE GB or RAM for a looonnnggg time. No one complained about that.
To me, this is a premium flagship, no question. The hate is mostly the RAM and notch. It's superficial. Last year it was the blue shift. Which, I think that plus the terrible quality control was actually warranted. This year, it's not much to hate on. Either you like it, or don't get it. And you can hide the notch. Either way, I'm excited about it coming today. I LOVE 2 xl, but I'm definitely ready for this upgrade, even though I was very on the fence before I checked one out in the store. My point here is, people are going to hate on something every time. Every time. If you don't like something, don't get it. It's really that simple.
My $0.02
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was simply stating why i think so many people hate the new pixel 3 xl from reading it sure does seem like a lot don't like it.
I agree the screen looks great but it should since they woke up and used a Samsung panel this time yay , my issue with it is its basically the same size as the 2 xl when you look at the usable part of the display and that is kinda disappointing to me i wanted a screen the size of the note 9 / XS max on the pixel 3 xl instead they went with a huge notch that takes away from the phone in stead of adding to it i honestly think they would have been better with out it at all, in person the notch isn't bad at all its big but once you play with it for a bit i didn't notice it as much and i don't mind the bottom chin as people call it since i love front firing speakers always hated cupping the end of the phone to direct the sound lol . They added an extra front camera and notch but no type of face id another missing feature that would have been a great addition to the pixel but we got wireless charging back so i guess its a trade off.
I said nothing about the ram because i think that's a mute point for most for the exact reason you said, apple has had little ram for a long time there is a difference between the two since apple designs the cpu they can help optimize it for the amount of ram they are using but mostly they iOS optimized for how it can handle the ram. google does the same with the pixel, most of the other phones need the extra ram because all the bs they add uses so much of it. for me as of now my daily usage on my 2 XL is 2.4-3.2 or so, 4gb is enough for me in 6 months that may not be the case but i doubt it
everyone has different ideas of what makes a phone flag ship quality or not, so this is just my opinion and you can agree or not for me i feel they could have done better and they came up a bit short compared to other phones only time will tell though and i still cant wait to get mine and use it to see if its worth the upgrade from the 2xl or not for me.

Nah, I don't buy it. Flagship is flagship. Almost flagship if it weren't for one big weakness is not flagship, it's second rate. I'm one of those people that can take advantage of more than 4 gigs of ram, I'm currently using 3.2 at home which is about average for me but usually hit in the upper 4s, lower 5s at work. Go ahead and name the one phone which is claiming flagship status and charging flagship prices but does not have me covered? See where I'm going?
Flagships is flagship, not second best with software optimization that every rooted oneplus will have installed not too far down the road on a phone that costs little more than half the price. Yeah, I'm talking about the camera. Still perhaps best in class overall but more than one reviewer has noted that telephoto shots lag behind other flagships including the fruit devices. They need to up their game here, flagships don't polish turds, they deliver the best hardware and polish that.
One that doesn't bother me in the slightest that I noted is the phones perceived build quality is a step behind Samsung and Apple. I cant point to one particular thing, either of those two just felt a little more expensive. As I said, I don't care because the phone will go into a case and I wont see it again until I give it to one of my kids or grand-kids in the spring.
So yeah, to me it feels like it's not quite up to flagship par except in price. It's all those things combined that give me that impression. And yeah, I'm still thinking about buying it, last night I got as far as putting it in my cart. Pixel has always been more the whole than the sum of its part, they are satisfying to own even if some things about them are underwhelming. The doubletake on the notch has me spooked though, when I was moving around the GUI it faded out of existence but when I just looked at the phone I kept doing this "whoa, what the hell were they thinking" thing. Cant figure out if that's ever going to go away or if it's going to be like a sore tooth. Still, buy in or not I'll never really consider it flagship hardware and every redraw I get will remind me of it should I start to forget.

The flagship price, the poor software utilization of the notch, the smaller battery and 4 GB RAM were the deal breakers.
The Note 9 is every bit as fast as the Pixel 3 XL, has a much better screen, better battery and SPen for the same price. The Pixel 3 XL may very well be a great phone but when priced with the Note 9, it needed SOMETHING to justify the price. Also, one can easily get a great condition LG V35 ThinQ or S9+ with better specs for hundreds less. Once the price drops, then it might be a better competitor.

For me a premium device needs to last me 2 years and be a useful companion for the duration.
The phone needs to be well built to last, have a good screen and the hardware features need to be ergonomic.
In addition to this the phone must have quick, well thought out software that ties in nicely to my favourite services.
For me, my best option is the Pixel 3 XL. I was considering the new Mate 20 pro as it is very similar in price here in the UK but there is now way I'll be putting up with their software and clutterware for two years. I'm also put off by their storage media and awful to uae, curved screen.
The pixel is getting stick for having underwhelming specs but this is a very short-sighted view unless your sole purpose for the device is to run benchmarks. People needs to evaluate what they use their phones for and what they need to achieve that.
I'm running the original Pixel XL 32Gb and it is still fantastic for all of my everyday uses. My wife is in fact selling her Samsung s9 and will be having my Pixel now that I've upgraded to the 3 XL.
Just as a side note, iPhones are brilliant for many as they offer a great experience across their devices and therefore are useful for their duration. This is more important than having a 40MP camera and 8Gb of RAM for the vast majority.

A lot of that was subjective: I find the Apple experience awful, spread it out across more devices and I call that cancer. I have to say however that your concept in general is on the mark in that the experience is what matters rather than the numbers. It's a fair summation.

for the peeps that hate on the notch and the ram .. just go buy the OnePlus 6T and be done with it

It's all just opinion as we have stayed here. The easy to pick on parts of any product is the visual appearance and listed specs. The new pixel XL appears to be poor in this area for a lot of people. Usabilit of the entire package is impossible to judge from online reviews.
If it is anything like the original Pixel, the phone will be great. If it's like my old Samsung phones or my iPhone 7, no thank you.

The phone is what it is. If you don't like it for the way it looks or a feature that it has or doesn't have, don't buy it. If all you have to say is you hate the notch, spare us. There are a lot of phones I don't like. I don't buy them and I don't seek out their communities and complain about them. This forum is here for the people that have the phone, not for those that hate it.

dmb219 said:
The phone is what it is. If you don't like it for the way it looks or a feature that it has or doesn't have, don't buy it. If all you have to say is you hate the notch, spare us. There are a lot of phones I don't like. I don't buy them and I don't seek out their communities and complain about them. This forum is here for the people that have the phone, not for those that hate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This! Sooo much this! Last year with the pixel 2 xl, there were so many trolls who had zero intention of ever buying the phone who came onto the forum just to talk sheet. One thread went hundreds of pages. It was ridiculous and stupid. If people like that really have that much time on their hands that they have to go troll things that have nothing to do with them, get a hobby or a life. Seriously. I'm surprised there isn't more yet on here. But, people have only begun to start getting their phones, so, I'm not holding my breath that it won't start.

It still looks like a toy next to any Samsung phones.
My note 9 looks like a monster next to my xl3.
I hate the notch. I'm not those people that will get over it.
I never will.
Anyway, display on xl3 looks great to me.
Camera is amazing.
Anything else

Why Do You Prefer the XL?

For months leading up to the release of the Pixel 3 series, I read all the comments online about how much people hated the over-sized notch and how much of a deal-breaker it would be. Many even said they'll choose the regular Pixel 3 instead of the XL. These sentiments continue online to this day... And yet, it appears the XL is outselling the regular Pixel 3 by significant margins. Even the volume of activity on the xda forums is night and day in favor of the XL variant.
So, can you all please share what made the unforgivable notch so forgivable?

I've had the phone about a week now... You do kind of get used to the notch.. It's not as annoying as some make it out to be, IMO. You can always find a wallpaper that hides it on the home screen at least haha.

i was strongly against the notch since before it even came out, i even considered the regular P3....
after having the P3 XL for a week, i am now at peace with it and dont hate it as bad as i thought i would.

presence06 said:
I've had the phone about a week now... You do kind of get used to the notch.. It's not as annoying as some make it out to be, IMO. You can always find a wallpaper that hides it on the home screen at least haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But why did you select it over the Pixel 3 if you were so worried about the notch?

PuffDaddy_d said:
But why did you select it over the Pixel 3 if you were so worried about the notch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I found out you can hide the notch, it was an easy decision. I like the bigger screen, bigger battery and more software development.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

I was always an Android guy but earlier this year I decided to get the iPhone x coming from a galaxy s8, well I wanted to see if iPhones wore any better since I haven't had one since the 5. Missed my return period and was stuck with it (TMobile financing). The iPhone does have a significant notch as well and got used to it really quickly. Then the pixel 3 and 3 xl got announced and yes everyone hated the notch, except it didn't bother me a single bit. I didn't have the money to cough up for it so I went with the one plus 6T and had that for a couple weeks untill Black Friday when 3xl was discounted send jumped on it real quick. For me it was the form factor, I hated how small the iPhone was, you couldn't enjoy videos or see much really the bigger screen makes a big difference. The notch is something I never even notice now, it's just there. It be great if Google utilized the space a little bit better, hopefully they will do that.

I had the original Pixel XL.
loved the big screen
Updated to 3XL and within a day ... what notch?

PuffDaddy_d said:
But why did you select it over the Pixel 3 if you were so worried about the notch?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wanted the bigger screen. I wasn't really worried about the notch.. I had seen the iPhone X and the Essential Phone both having notches and didn't find them annoying really.

Honestly, I dont know why people hate the notch so much. I like it. It forces the notifications and the other icons to the top (on either side of the notch) freeing up screen real estate for apps. I never hated the notch and now that I have it, I dont even notice it.
I truly believe people overreacted with the notch. Who cares about it...seriously. it's fine. not even noticeable when you use the phone daily.

nyydynasty said:
Honestly, I dont know why people hate the notch so much. I like it. It forces the notifications and the other icons to the top (on either side of the notch) freeing up screen real estate for apps. I never hated the notch and now that I have it, I dont even notice it.
I truly believe people overreacted with the notch. Who cares about it...seriously. it's fine. not even noticeable when you use the phone daily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
People hate the notch because it's new, different, and they don't have one. Once these style phones have been out for a while, everybody will get used to it, and then the people who say they hate it now will be telling everyone how much they love it.

PuffDaddy_d said:
For months leading up to the release of the Pixel 3 series, I read all the comments online about how much people hated the over-sized notch and how much of a deal-breaker it would be. Many even said they'll choose the regular Pixel 3 instead of the XL. These sentiments continue online to this day... And yet, it appears the XL is outselling the regular Pixel 3 by significant margins. Even the volume of activity on the xda forums is night and day in favor of the XL variant.
So, can you all please share what made the unforgivable notch so forgivable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Notch never concerned me.
I have large hands so a bigger phone is just easier to use.

spotmark said:
People hate the notch because it's new, different, and they don't have one. Once these style phones have been out for a while, everybody will get used to it, and then the people who say they hate it now will be telling everyone how much they love it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
totally agree lol
parakleet said:
I have large hands so a bigger phone is just easier to use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also agree. I have larger hands and I came from the OG - Pixel XL and then switched to a company phone (Galaxy S9, which didnt have a small screen either), i just like the larger screens.

Interesting, it seems that most of you wanted the bigger phone simply because it's bigger.
That make sense, but I'm curious if that takes away google's incentive to improve the design if people still purchase one of the the ugliest phones of the year in droves?

I wouldn't call it one of the ugliest phones of 2018. I upgraded from my old Nexus 6 to the Pixel 3 XL and absolutely love it. Enabling dark mode makes it so I don't even notice the notch. There were a couple of initial hiccups, there always are with a new device. Google addressed the battery issues and distortion/vibration issues when listening to music at lower volume. I love the dual front facing speakers which is why I held out for so long before upgrading from my Nexus 6. Battery life is outstanding for my purposes. I don't have much time at work to fool around with my phone, so normally when I'm headed home after a 9 hr day I'm still sitting at around 80% battery.
Comparing the feel and weight of the Pixel 3 XL to my wife's iPhone 8+, the Pixel feels so much better to hold and is definitely lighter in weight.

PuffDaddy_d said:
Interesting, it seems that most of you wanted the bigger phone simply because it's bigger.
That make sense, but I'm curious if that takes away google's incentive to improve the design if people still purchase one of the the ugliest phones of the year in droves?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
being as unbiased as I can, calling it "ugly" is a little harsh. That's really all personal preference. Some might like it. Some may not. If you think it's ugly, I can respect that as it's your opinion. Personally, i like it and the notch doesnt bother me at all (never did, even before I bought the device).
On a personal level, I dont understand how anyone can call ANY phone ugly. Majority of phones are rectangle. When powered off, they all look the same (for the most part). The backside is where the variations occur. I dont use a case on any phone because the manufacturer spent a lot of time and money designing the feel of the device for a reason. Putting a case on it, ruins the entire reason they made it that way. Other than customizing your cases (which i can understand), many people will say they put a case on it to protect it from breaking. My answer to that is - hold your damn phone. Dont drop it. Dont put it on your lap while sitting down. You're going to forget its there and drop it when you stand up. Besides, you paid a lot of money for a device that you end up covering it with a crappy plastic cover (but I digress) ....
the backside is where most of the variations occur on different phones. If you put a case on it, you cant see the back anyway. So that brings me back to the front, which is why I originally said "i dont understand how anyone can call any phone ugly". The front is almost the same on every (popular) phone.

Well I certainly don't intend to start a discussion about the phone's attractiveness, but we have to be honest and recognize that the large notch, relatively large chin, and inconsistent radius corners, are what made the P3XL stand out from the competition (and not in a good way). The design is so offensive that it caused many to declare they would never buy it or would only but the smaller version.
Clearly, we are quick to condemn and even quicker to forgive ?

I need a bigger screen because my eyes are getting bad, and I like the bigger screen size. Also I can type on a bigger screen easier. I always hit the wrong keys on a smaller screen. If they made a bigger screen, I would get it.