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Like the title says, I've wanted a One for a while now, and I'm somewhat bored with the Nexus 5 for some reason. Does anyone own both of these, I'm curious what people think if they have both in their hands.
Take this with a grain of salt....
My buddy hated his HTC one he switched to the s4. His camera sensor went out. Everything was like this pink color when he would take pictures in low light. Apparently it was a rather common problem.
How can you be bored with a nexus 5? What makes you think the HTC won't be boring after a while?
I've used Sense and TouchWiz and I will never go back to either. Switching to the N5 was the best thing I've done OS wise.
I understand that this is just my personal preference. I also havent used sense in a couple of years, so I'm sure it has matured.
HTC One is the most worst phone i've had. good thing i swapped with iPhone 5 on CL and then sold the iPhone 5 again its because this is the quickest way to sold on CL then ordered N5. i am a happy man right now lol
If you're bored with a Nexus you're doing it wrong.
You can emulate virtually every aspect of Sense with Play Store widgets.
You can flash TouchWiz UI with working clock and everything.
You can modify every aspect of everything on this phone with custom ROMs, such as size / quantity / color / shape of Nav Keys. You can modify the UI, battery, use functions like S2W and DT2W, notification drawer, custom launchers, etc.
So you want to downgrade your SoC and screen size and available development options and that will ease your boredom?
I've used both and the One is a great phone, but not sure how it is less "boring" than the Nexus 5.
Didn't expect the berating of the One, but I guess the main reason is for build quality. I RARELY use the camera on any phone I've owned, and I just like to switch it up a bit. The screen size is negligible, the on screen buttons of Nexus phones take up screen relestate anyway. The One is still considered the best built Android phone at this time, and the front speakers are really intriguing to me.
I'd still be using 4.4 Kitkat on the One, it's a build quality thing, mostly.
stevew84 said:
Like the title says, I've wanted a One for a while now, and I'm somewhat bored with the Nexus 5 for some reason. Does anyone own both of these, I'm curious what people think if they have both in their hands.
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I had the galaxy nexus, switched to the HTC One cause it seemed like a solid device. With in one week I traded it in for a Nexus 5. I will never own a non nexus device again. Nexus 5 is a much better device then the HTC One over all. If your not wanting to tinker with your device and just have a solid all around device, get the Moto X.
It's really all a matter of preference really. If you want it, go for it regardless of what anyone says. I mean it's your $$ right?
I agree that the build quality from my limit use of it and the reviews I've read is great.
stevew84 said:
Didn't expect the berating of the One, but I guess the main reason is for build quality. I RARELY use the camera on any phone I've owned, and I just like to switch it up a bit. The screen size is negligible, the on screen buttons of Nexus phones take up screen relestate anyway. The One is still considered the best built Android phone at this time, and the front speakers are really intriguing to me.
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True, it depends on what you want.
There can be no doubt the speakers on the One are better and the actual build quality I would agree with you.
The nav keys I have set at 24dpi so they take up a tiny amount of my screen.
I guess for me the more powerful CPU and awesome LED and kernel / ROM options for AOSP trump anything the One has to offer, but it is a very nice phone.
Better build quality, better speakers, and arguably better camera. Plus you can get a 64GB version if you really need more space.
Now if Cotulla actually gets Windows Phone 8 and/or WM6.5 booting on the One like he's been working on then I probably will trade my Nexus 5 for a One.
Honestly you cannot go wrong with either phone, if you want a One, just go for it.
orangekid said:
True, it depends on what you want.
There can be no doubt the speakers on the One are better and the actual build quality I would agree with you.
The nav keys I have set at 24dpi so they take up a tiny amount of my screen.
I guess for me the more powerful CPU and awesome LED and kernel / ROM options for AOSP trump anything the One has to offer, but it is a very nice phone.
Better build quality, better speakers, and arguably better camera. Plus you can get a 64GB version if you really need more space.
Now if Cotulla actually gets Windows Phone 8 and/or WM6.5 booting on the One like he's been working on then I probably will trade my Nexus 5 for a One.
Honestly you cannot go wrong with either phone, if you want a One, just go for it.
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Another important thing to remember is that the N5 is dirt cheap, in comparison to other phones. I get bored playing with the same device, and if I ever wanted an N5, i'll pick up a 16gb, right now I have the white 32gb.
I've owned both so I can give you a little perspective. The hardware of the HTC One is definitely outstanding. It looks good and feels good. The speakers are great, but like you with smartphone cameras...smartphone speakers are irrelevant to me. I don't listen to music on phone speaks as no matter how loud, they don't have a bottom end. Speed wise, the N5 is definitely snappier but the One holds its own.
That said, I don't think the hardware of the N5 is significantly worse. The N5 is a solidly built device and the screen is great. The screen on the One is probably slightly better in terms of vibrancy and black levels, but the N5 screen is nothing to scoff at.
In terms of camera (even if it isn't important to you), the One camera isn't great. Almost everyone complains of some level of purple tint unless they RMA their device many times.
Where the real difference lies between these phones is in the software. Personally, I'm not a fan of Sense. It looks okay, but it slows down updates to the device and HTC will stop updating the One sooner rather than later. It may not sound like a big deal but when you're stuck on 4.3 and the N5 is already on 5.1 or something, it'll make a difference. There is the option to root and take advantage of all XDA One forums have to offer but development over will pale in comparison to the development for the N5. The N5 will always have the latest, greatest, and most choices...by a long shot...and for a long time.
TL;DNR They're both great phones and it really comes down to what's most important to you. If update support, development community, and speed are important to you the N5 is the way to go. If sexier hardware, better speakers, and Sense are your thing go for the One. Like any device though, hardware gets "boring" after awhile and you're left with software experience to keep you preoccupied and that's where the N5 excels.
Another suggestion is keep the nexus 5 invest in a one from eBay. Then you can really compare the two. I forget where I saw somewhere on here but, use the one for two weeks then use the nexus 5 for two weeks and then go back and if the nexus 5 drives you nuts or vise versa you know what you have to do.
Sent from my Nexus 5
orangekid said:
If you're bored with a Nexus you're doing it wrong.
You can emulate virtually every aspect of Sense with Play Store widgets.
You can flash TouchWiz UI with working clock and everything.
You can modify every aspect of everything on this phone with custom ROMs, such as size / quantity / color / shape of Nav Keys. You can modify the UI, battery, use functions like S2W and DT2W, notification drawer, custom launchers, etc.
So you want to downgrade your SoC and screen size and available development options and that will ease your boredom?
I've used both and the One is a great phone, but not sure how it is less "boring" than the Nexus 5.
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THIS!!!
Seriously peeps if you come to nexus branding thinking you want a "ready phone", just.. DON'T.
HTC One is sexy
Sent from my Nexus 5
Seadra said:
THIS!!!
Seriously peeps if you come to nexus branding thinking you want a "ready phone", just.. DON'T.
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I think the N5 is a superb "ready phone", anyone can buy one and be perfectly happy with it stock. I really don't get why they wouldn't be. Feel free to explain it to me.
I also don't get all the hate for the HTC One, a family member has one and it's awesome, though I do dislike some things in Sense.
If you want to trade up to something special, currently I think the Moto X is the only phone worth having besides the N5. I had the HTC One, and then the S4, and now I have both the N5 and the Moto X. The X is my favorite of the bunch.
nemtan said:
I think the N5 is a superb "ready phone", anyone can buy one and be perfectly happy with it stock. I really don't get why they wouldn't be. Feel free to explain it to me.
I also don't get all the hate for the HTC One, a family member has one and it's awesome, though I do dislike some things in Sense.
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People who think touchwiz looks sexy and nexus is plain. Also people who think air gestures of s4 is super cool and having a camera called "ultrapixel"gimmick **** is cool.
Nexus phones don't have that, and frankly those things are not needed anyways. Nexus phones rock (oh and Moto X too). Period.
I plan on running a GPE ROM, since the One I'm getting is S-Off, I don't like sense or TW, it's a build quality thing.
I'd stay away from the One now. It is a really nice bit of kit, and sense is now a half decent skin if you like that kind of thing. But the M8 is coming out in February which will take the HTC dev focus off the M7. You'll probably get 4.4.2 on the One sometime after May next year, and that's going to be a big issue.
If someone here wants to trade me their HTC One for my 32gb white Nexus 5 pm me
Sent from my Nexus 5
I own an N5 for almost a year now (all stock), and I must say it has worked flawlessly ever since, I still find myself amazed with how snappy it is. BUT... I had a brief "encounter" with Z2 and it definitely caught my eye. Even more than that, I loved it; really loved it. However, one thing concerns me. It may be sexy as hell, it may have a better battery life and a better/bigger screen, but will it be as zippy as my N5? The price is not a factor, the only dilemma is whether Z2 will be able to deliver an experience as fluid as my N5 does.
What do you think?
Thanks in advance!
What you think about oneplus one ?
It looks nice, but my country is not on their "delivery list", and besides, I've heard that there is quite large number of OnePlus Ones that have yellow tint problems. Of all the other flagships, LG G3 is the only one that I MIGHT be tempted to get, if it didn't have that terrible overheating issues.
So, my dilemma is pretty clear - either I'm going to hold on to my Nexus 5, or go with Z2.
So, nobody here who used both phones?
Thanks!
Greatest roms and kernels for the nexus 5
Thanks, but as I said - I am running my N5 full stock, and I'd be doing the same with Z2.
Currently have a Moto X Dev Edition, bought it back almost a year ago I believe. I like the phone but the camera sucks and the battery could be better. It's super slick and smooth, rarely have any issues with it except for Bluetooth from time to time. But I'm also already noticing a little bit of screen burn-in, and I'm not on my phone 24/7 either. I've always questioned Motorola's AMOLED screen quality, I had an S3 and S4 and those screens were great. Plus I miss having expandable memory so I don't have to stream all of my 20+ GB of music through Google Play Music...
Long story short, it's time to replace the X. I thought about the Turbo but the lack of voice/data usage, the marginally better camera, and reports of poor wifi reception are keeping me away, not to mention the brightness also is subpar. After having the S4 and all it's laggy problems, I said no more Samsung phones, but it seems the S5 is greatly improved. However I've always had my eye on the G3, seems like LG has stepped up their game. I also had the Rezound when it came out and it was probably one of the best phones I've owned, and I didn't know the M8 supported expandable memory, I thought it was built-in only. My choices right now are the One M8, S5, G3, and possibly the Note 4 but that's pushing the size limit a little bit. My only concern with the M8 is possibly battery life and the fact that it's a tall phone.
Thoughts?
Only down side of purchasing the m8 at this point is that it's been out quite awhile and the next version of this phone will be out shortly. Battery life is no concern as it does great. The camera is nothing to write home about so the g3 wins that battle. I don't like all the bezel on the m8. The screen size is rather small for how large the phone is. I've had a lot of different devices and it's been one of my favorites but its just hard to recommend a device getting close to being replaced with a newer version. If you have to have a phone right now I guess I'd say go check out the g3 and m8 in store and see what feels better to you. I wish the phone had a bigger display and a slimmer size but other than that is been a great device. The g3 does have a removable battery which is nice after six months or so once they start losing battery performance they can be replaced. I'm moving to the nexus 6 just waiting for my order to arrive.
Sent from my One M8 using Tapatalk
First off, I'll say that the camera on this phone is unfairly maligned just because it's only 4mp. Honestly, I've been very happy with it. Over Thanksgiving, my brother-in-law (who uses a 2013 Moto X) was blown away by how clear my photos were turning out compared to his. I'm pretty picky about cameras, and I've found very little to complain about with this phone.
I also owned the G3 for about a week before ultimately going back to the M8, and I gotta say, I really miss the larger screen. The overall quality of the G3's display isn't as good as the M8, but the size really makes a difference. One thing I don't miss about the G3 is how laggy it is compared to the M8. The G3's UI drops animation frames like it's going out of style, and it just doesn't feel as fast as it should. Then again, the M8 is easily the fastest-feeling device I've ever owned (even compared to the Nexus 5), so I guess I'm a little spoiled.
The M8 also has a much better in-hand feel in my opinion. One thing I couldn't stand about the G3 is how plasticky it feels.
That said, I'm still torn between the M8 and G3. I'll probably end up just sticking with the M8 for a while, but I'm seriously tempted to go back to the G3 just for the screen size if nothing else. Plus, based on videos I've seen, it looks like LG has mostly taken care of the G3's lag issues with the upcoming Lollipop update. So who knows what I'll end up doing.
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
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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
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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.
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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
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?