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[Amateur Editorial] Next Generation of Phones will be the last for many

It is hard to argue that phones have not plateaued in terms of functionality. The iPhone 4S is simply an incremental upgrade to the iPhone 4. The next generation of Android phones are pushing pocket-able screen sizes to the limit. There is only so much you can do with a certain form factor, and this upcoming generation of phones is it. Applications run entirely smoothly, batteries are lasting entire days of moderate to heavy use, everything from a TV to a Vacuum Cleaner can interact with your phone through it's plethora of radios. And screens are so crisp that the human eye cannot even detect the pixels, perfect for watching full length, high definition movies on-the-go.
Two-year contracts sound like an eternity since the rapidly improving operating systems of Apple, Android, and Windows. However, there is an exponential decline of innovation between iterations of firmware. Donut to Eclair. HUGE. Eclair to Froyo. Big. Froyo to Gingerbread. Bug fixes and optimizations. Gingerbread to ICS. Superficial. What could possibly be next for a phone? Two years will surprisingly be too short for all but the nerdiest and niche interest groups. It's already been more than a year and a half with my Samsung Vibrant and other than tech-lust, there is no genuine reason for me to upgrade.
The next step for phones really isn't about phones at all. The next step is to systematically destroy every other gadget you currently own. The first to go? Laptops. The Atrix began this process, but it was for the most part a broken and overpriced experience. That will change as phones are becoming exponentially more powerful. One could argue that gaming laptops will still exist. Sure, for a couple more years. Kal-El, Wayne, Logan, Stark, Nvidia's superhero line-up of gpu/cpu chips. Stark being 100x more powerful than Tegra 2! One Hundred. These are theoretical, but the potential is staggering. Compounded with cloud-assisted browsing from Amazon Silk or Opera Mobile? Laptops are dead. Long Live Laptop Docks.
Next to go are dedicated tablets. Operating systems such as Android's Ice Cream Sandwich will unify the tablet and phone experience. ASUS wants to capitalize on this with their Padfone. Why buy a full price phone and tablet when you can buy just a phone and the tablet as an accessory for half the price? For myself, I would come home and plop my phone into the tablet. When I go out, I remove it. No more syncing. It's all consolidated. Not to mention when my tablet husk is home, it'll be charging all day. I won't even have to charge my phone or change my battery before I couch surf. Ah, laziness.
Last to go are game consoles. In fact, casual gaming is already on the horizon of being completely overrun by mobile devices. Portable gaming devices such as the Vita and 3DS are probably near the last of their kind. Nvidia's Stark will most certainly be able to support Full Stereoscopic HD output, if a processor before it cannot. This is my most speculative moment, but I can picture a future where your phone gets plugged into an HDMI/HDD Dock connected to your TV and you download most of the data for rented video games and stream the more volatile aspects such as sound effects, textures, and geometry. Discs will still exist due to their practicality, ownership, and offline use. Services like On-live will also become more prevalent as bandwidth costs decline. Okay, maybe consoles will be around for quite some time still, but their days are numbered.
In the meantime, phones will even make the phone part obsolete. Minute plans will be optional since not only is VoIP much cheaper, it's so much more clear and crisp. T-Mobile and Walmart are already headed down this direction. GPSs? Already dead. External webcams? Gone. Digital Cameras? Nope. External Hard drives? Cloud and SDXC will cover the masses.
Unless you are an IT or Content Creation professional, this next generation of phone will literally handle anything that you will ever need or want in a stand-alone phone device. For most of you, this is it. If you want a social networking, casual gaming, high quality photo-taking, VoIP/Webcam chatting, Global positioning, Netflix streaming, Hulu watching, cloud storing/syncing Super-phone, the wait is finally over. This is your year. This is not to say that phones will continue improving in performance and incremental updates, but there is literally NO more room for groundbreaking innovation within this particular form factor, only the hybridization and replacing of every other gadget that you own.
Oh, except for one feature I want. Built in noise-canceling support for headphones, like the Sony X-Series.

While this might be true, never forget that the platforms you use and love evolve. And that might get users to upgrade after all!
Take facebook for example. Right now, video calling is only available via Desktop operating systems. But I'm pretty sure that over the next few years this will come to mobile, meaning that your handset must be strong enough to handle it smoothly.
I don't think that even the average consumers will last with their 2011/12 handsets "forever".

This was a very good editorial.
I must say, that before every generation of new phones, people think "this is it, this will replace my pc/psp/etc...". While I do believe, that huge things are coming, I don't think this is THE generation yet.
We're getting more power, more apps, better screens, but we still lack (in my opinion) a solid OS that could replace Windows in every day use, and - perhaps more importantly - the average consumer lacks the mentality, that everything he wants done, can be done on his smartphone.
Also, to your list of killed devices, I would add "MP3 players"

good post and interesting read.
But isn't the next upgrade in generation of phones always been about replacing some other technology?
cameras, mp3 player, pda, operating system (android, ios) etc..
And all the while replacing these other things, the cell phone gets more efficient at it.

@smirny stuff like facebook specific video calling i would consider as incremental and non-essential. with upcoming generation, google talk is a viable option for video chat, plus there are many services such a Qik and Fring. I doubt (hope) that people aren't holding out on their phone purchase for facebook video. I couldn't imagine video chatting with an acquaintance from high school. All of your closest (video worthy) friends probably have another way of contacting you than facebook. I know that was just an example, but with quad-core devices on the horizon, video chat is covered.
@darktori i think that any OS that could replace Windows entirely would have to be on a different form factor than a phone. there will never be a way for a smartphone to do a better job creating a document than a laptop. that's where the hybridization comes in. my article discusses this is the end of the stand-alone smartphone road in terms of innovation. anything meant to replace windows in everyday use will break the phone form factor, whether it is tablet hybrids or laptop docks. those who want a smartphone, this is the year, because the only reason in the future to upgrade is to get this extra functionality. and yes, i did forget mp3 players
@dpmace yes it is. however, the phone has reached it's limit in its own form factor. everything from here on out will need a different form factor. to replace laptops, they need a dock, to replace game consoles, they need a controller built in (xperia play), to replace tablets, they need to become one. Phones themselves are maxxed out in terms what the can do as stand-alone devices. So this upcoming generation, the generation right before the mass hybridization of devices is the best time to buy a stand-alone smartphone for a long period of time. the upgrades afterwards will be superflous to those who don't need a laptop or tablet. their phones are already fast and capable of handling everything they need them to. they have an 8MP camera, why do they need a 16? they have a good phone GPS, why do they need a phone with a better one? they have a good GPU, why do they need a stronger one if they don't plan on outputting it to a TV? etc

Very nice and well thought out editorial piece. I'd have to disagree though, there's no way this is the best we're getting.
Regarding the iPhone 4S: Apple have always used incremental updates to get the most money possible from their users, and have mostly gotten away with it until now, because the earlier iPhones were missing really basic features. The iPhone 3G was big because it had 3G (what phone didn't even then?). The 3GS mostly upgraded the camera and I think the processor? The 4 was the only one that fundamentally changed anything in my honest opinion.
Software I'll mostly agree on, but I think ICS serves a great purpose of making android look better to the masses, standing out, and doing a much better job with multi-tasking.
Hardware is the big one. They still have a long way to go, in many ways.
Cameras are never likely to replace a dedicated camera, for the simple fact of space. A camera only gets so much space within the phone, and for every advance made in cameras that gets used on a phone, that same advance could be used on dedicated cameras, as well as extra ones that require more space.
Batteries are a big one, it's the reason you'll see so many posts on every phone's section of these forums, asking about battery life, and with kernels and mods aimed at giving extra battery life. It's why "battery extenders"can be downloaded so much in the market. If a phone came out next year, or the year after, where they concentrated their efforts on a great battery, and gave significantly more battery life, I'd definitely buy it.
I'll admit that the phones are reaching limits on what they've been concentrating on for now (screen size and processor/RAM) but they'll just expand in other ways. There's no way the phone manufacturers are just going to pump out similar phones and hope the customer prefers theirs to the one next to it on the shelf because of brand. There's still plenty of new ideas coming out every day, and they can add to the phone's functionality, not just superficially (like 3D). There's NFC, flexible screens (which on its own could bring about a lot of new ideas), added durability, and I'm sure a lot of things we haven't heard of.

Did you ever hear the quote that says "Technology has advanced more in the past thirty years than in the previous two thousand..."? That is 100% true and there is no sign of slowing down. Things that you can't imagine today can be possible within years. So I just can't agree to the fact that you are basically stating that besides a few tweaks and improvements, technology has come to a complete halt.

Excellent editorial. Love all your points except with gaming consoles becoming extinct. I find this to be untrue and impossible in the sense that phones, computers, Hard drives, or whatever, the concept of them storing your games, e.g. PS3 games which are at most 50gb (note gaming data size will grow too since it is proportional to graphics), is impractical. In the sense that you can only "hold so much", and our "so much" capacity isn't nearly close to our desire capacity. So gaming consoles will stay.
Unless you are suggesting we develop a different evolutionary storage medium or sort of micro usb which stores the game and the phone simply reads off the device and plays. Now that is plausible. The only problem there is will the phones withstand the heat exerted? As we all know in proportional to the graphic intensity of the game so will the amount of power demanded by the GPU or porcessor, which in turn will be expended as heat. So considering it will take a lot of power, it will give a "lot" of heat. Story short, our phones will not withstand the heat and melt.

Kailkti said:
Excellent editorial. Love all your points except with gaming consoles becoming extinct. I find this to be untrue and impossible in the sense that phones, computers, Hard drives, or whatever, the concept of them storing your games, e.g. PS3 games which are at most 50gb (note gaming data size will grow too since it is proportional to graphics), is impractical. In the sense that you can only "hold so much", and our "so much" capacity isn't nearly close to our desire capacity. So gaming consoles will stay.
Unless you are suggesting we develop a different evolutionary storage medium or sort of micro usb which stores the game and the phone simply reads off the device and plays. Now that is plausible. The only problem there is will the phones withstand the heat exerted? As we all know in proportional to the graphic intensity of the game so will the amount of power demanded by the GPU or porcessor, which in turn will be expended as heat. So considering it will take a lot of power, it will give a "lot" of heat. Story short, our phones will not withstand the heat and melt.
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The future of gaming lies with Onlive. Your device will just be a thin client, awaiting video from the Onlive servers that will do the heavy lifting for you. I envision a gaming world where you use a bluetooth controller to play a game that's streamed to your TV in HD resolution via your smartphone.
We have the technology to do this already, it's just not the kind of gaming experience hardcore gamers will accept, but give the technology a couple more years to develop.

Oh right. Forgot about OnLive, prolly cuz i haven't heard about it since the release. But you are right it is a promising feature. the only problem is it requires a steady data connection, which sadly, we know not everyone is blessed with. But soon enough the entire world will modernize to have data being able to flow to every where so that won't be a problem, the problem will be in the case of system failure, both data provider and server, which I am sure happens a lot.

Have you not seen Iron Man 2? I want a phone that is just a sheet of glass and is fully integrate-able with everything around it on the fly. When that comes out, I think the innovation has ceased.
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If any of you guys play Shadowrun 4th edition, you'll know that the ultimate is a display in your glasses, goggles, contact lenses, or even cybernetic implants in your eyes.
Pocketability be gone!

vadyr56 said:
Have you not seen Iron Man 2? I want a phone that is just a sheet of glass and is fully integrate-able with everything around it on the fly. When that comes out, I think the innovation has ceased.
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or remember when he was designing the suit, everything was virtual and he could touch it.
One day we shall have that!! Then maybe screen sizes will be obsolete.

vadyr56 said:
Have you not seen Iron Man 2? I want a phone that is just a sheet of glass and is fully integrate-able with everything around it on the fly. When that comes out, I think the innovation has ceased.
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Un What about graphene tech? Samsungs going to be releasing foldable and bendable phones. The first one using this tech is apparently due next year.

hungry81 said:
Un What about graphene tech? Samsungs going to be releasing foldable and bendable phones. The first one using this tech is apparently due next year.
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That would be cool too, how about a phone that can be used in a "normal" size mode (say around 4.5") and then can unfold into a 20" tablet!

Good first try. Not everyone willing to put down their thoughts in a form of long article.
However there are some fundamental flaw:
bdroc said:
The next step for phones really isn't about phones at all. The next step is to systematically destroy every other gadget you currently own. .
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I'm not sure you understand the word "systematically" and "destroy". I simply don't see phones "destroying" EVERY other gadget, especially the following few you mentioned.
bdroc said:
The first to go? Laptops.
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No, at least for a good decade. People been saying this to desktops when laptops became very popular. Now? Desktops are still being made and sold. Nowhere near "been destroyed".
And this paragraph gets ridiculous when you say cellphone SoC can replace dedicated GPU. You are saying essentially play Crysis (PC Game, 2008) on a cellphone, which is NEVER going to happen.
Once you understand how powerful a dedicated GPU is, you will realize how stupid it is to make such claim.
bdroc said:
Next to go are dedicated tablets.
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This is purely based on user habits. My cousins have both iphones and ipads. I have a G2x and a laptop. Unless you can make sure a 4 inch phone screen does not exhaust your eyes with extended use, then you can never make such claim.
bdroc said:
Last to go are game consoles.
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This is getting more ridiculous. Also mentioned above the "power of a dedicated GPU", cellphones are NEVER to replace game consoles.
I personally still prefer those gadgets you mentioned as separate gadgets and I am not a minority.
So let's calm down with the Android fanboyish hardware craze, and face the reality.

I don't think it's safe to say that phones have reached feature-completeness, although i agree that developers are going to have to start thinking in dimensions other than "what can we do without having to make any serious changes to the system".
When i look at the Android platform, especially, i see huge amounts of possibility. For example, your phone could basically obsolete a huge amount of what we encounter in our daily lives. Bus/train pass? Nope, NFC with a phone app. (These will still exist, of course, but for those with phones there won't be any interaction with them.) Credit cards, likewise, will be gone. Ultimately we'll be going to all-data, eliminating the phone/text/etc nonsense. Or at least, someone will. Probably not the US. That will become more useful in the long term, though.
But i think there's going to be more than just replacing other things with a more unified device.
For example, in the future your phone could ping your home PC and wake it up even if it was sleeping. Then you would be able to "log in" just like a normal user and get your full PC desktop on your phone. This isn't replacing your PC, it's using your phone as an additional way to access it--much like your mouse/keyboard/monitor! You could, for example, do an "OnLive" sort of thing but with your phone. This is actually already possible, but it's a pain to set up and we don't have phones that are strong enough/batteries that last long enough/data connections big enough to truly make it happen.
Or for another possibility, Google Goggles is something that already exists... but in the future it will operate in real time. Hold your phone up and you'll get all the information from Goggles overlaid on top of the image from the camera. You could take it a step further, too, and have a digital "message board" or comment system, where people can write things and attach them to real world objects which will then be displayed for others. (As someone suggested: really you want this sort of tech in your glasses, or something like that, but it will likely go through phones first.)
Heck, you could set that as your phone's wallpaper and not even have to open an app.
The "Tony Stark phone" could be a reality, although not at those precise dimensions. You could have a phone with no "UI" (although Stark's phone has a pretty interesting-looking UI on it if you examine it) but just have the Goggles-enhanced real world overlay on it. To interact with it you could issue voice commands--or touch it to bring up a UI.
Your phone could control your car in a tremendously "what the 1950s thought the future would look like" sort of way: get into the car, pull the phone out, then say "Car, take me to my house". Then sit back and relax, because the car will drive itself there. (Technically you don't even need the phone for that, but hey...)
This is all sort of crazy dreaming, but it's still not even "lateral thinking"--it's just extending things your phone can already do.

User Review: ZTE Blade V

Greetings fellow xda members and modders!
Having received my ZTE Blade V one week ago, I felt like posting a small review about the phone, its capabilities and my experiences from it, as i have noticed that this phone neither exists in XDA database nor has any relevant topics for it as well.
Before starting the review I would like to state that i live in Greece, where the phone is priced at 159€. For a quad-core phone with no sim-locking that is considered a real bargain. With that covered, we are ready to begin our review
Design
Design-wise, the Blade V is far from perfect, but fairly decent considering its price. Its corners are rounded off and the exterior of the device is clean and simple. It could be even better if the micro-USB port was placed to the bottom of the phone though, beacuse on the left side of the phone you can easily feel a small bump. A camera button would be a nice addtion as well. With dimensions of 126 x 64 x 10.9 mm and a weight of 130g, you might expect a somewhat big and heavy device, but it still manages to fit comfortably in your hand, whether you are left or right-handed, providing easy access to all of its controls.
When you see the back of the Blade V, you momentarily forget that you are holding a device in that price range. The back cover design is very similar to that of the Galaxy S3 (should you choose the black version) and there are no flaws to be found. The back camera could be a little more protected though. The overall quality of plastic seems to be pretty good, and even after removing the back cover many times, there was no squeaking to be heard. Last but not least, the battery is removable which is a big plus for many users.
Display
Many android users (including me) have a lot of requirements when it comes to the display, beacause it can either ruin or boost your experience. Fear not, because Blade V will not dissapoint you. It features a 4-inch IPS LCD multi-touch screen operating at 800x480 pixels which outputs 16 million colours. Sure it is not as sharp and vivid as displays featured at more expensive phones, but it provides a rewarding experience whether it comes to multimedia or daily use. It can be very bright if required and at maximum brightness the screen can be seen even under direct sunlight.
Camera
The device features 2 cameras, but the lack of video calling limits the use of the front VGA camera to taking selfies and using it for skype calls ONLY. The back camera is rated at 5 MP and the lens seems to be of decent quality. Pictures are shot at 2592х1944 pixels, with the user having the conveniences of auto-focus, panoramic shot,picture timer,photo filters (sepia,b/w,negative) and a LED flash which can be set to on,off or auto.
When it comes to video though, many will be dissapointed. While the quality remains decent and the movement fluid, the phone is unable to shoot in HD, with the user being limited to 480p, qvga or qcif quality. Additional choices for video capturing are light on/off (the LED one), the adjustment of white-balance, geo tagging and two codecs: AMRNB and AAC.
Internal Hardware
The main selling point of this phone is its hardware. For 159€, you get a phone with a quad-core CPU, 1 GB of ram, and 4GB internal storage (up to 32 GB with micro sd), with only 2.5 GB of internal memory accesible to the user though. Now let's dive into some technical details: The CPU is a Qualcomm MSM8225Q Snapdragon clocked at 1.2 Ghz. While not top of the line, in combination with the Ardeno 203 GPU and 1 GB of ram, it can promise a responsive,lag-free and fluid experience, from daily use to gaming. I have to mention that I installed A LOT of apps (aproximately 800MB) of varying requirements and still not managed to bring it to its knees. The internal storage is more than enough and gives you room for plenty of applications, but don't expect to be able to install large applications such as NFS Most Wanted, because you might run out of memory.
As for connectivity, the device lacks 4G features but in turn provides full 3G, wifi and bluetooth.
Software
There is not much to say here, as ZTE have done little to customize Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. What must been mentioned though, is a convenient application called Mi-EasyAcces, providing easy acces for up-to 6 user-set applications without having to unlock the phone. Last but not least is the really nice Mi-POP application which enables you to have a back button available anywhere on the screen in order not to have to move your finger down all the time. Otherwise the UI is the same like factory 4.1 Jelly Bean with a launcher
Battery
For the last part of my review, i feel like covering a very important issue of today's smartphones- battery life. The battery is rated at 1800 mAh and provides very good battery life, to the point that a full charge is able to last you two days with medium brightness, moderate use and good coverage.
Conclusion
Before i bought the phone, i believed that this level of experience could not be provided under the 200 euro price tag. Well, this phone proved me wrong. The device sure is not high end but it provides a really impressive and smooth performance. Rooting it was a piece of cake and many people here expect it to become a great modding platform, given its Qualcomm CPU and the spec/price ratio. Even for the basic user, who has no modding knowledge or experience, it is a great entry-level phone for a great android experience
I would like to thank everyone for your time, patience and support you have shown me since i registered at XDA, no matter what problem i have faced. I would be very delighted to see your comments, opinions and experiences with the device, as well as constructive critisism for future posts.
PS: Mods and staff, please feel free to edit/do as desired with the following article

UPDATE:
ATTENTION FELLOW READERS! After ROUGHLY one month of regular use, the screen started showing flashing white pixels on dark images at the bottom left part. They appear to flash rapidly and range from 3-5 pixels per blink. I REALLY hope ZTE covers this, otherwhise they gained one VERY unhappy customer

DarksonDAP said:
UPDATE:
ATTENTION FELLOW READERS! After ROUGHLY one month of regular use, the screen started showing flashing white pixels on dark images at the bottom left part. They appear to flash rapidly and range from 3-5 pixels per blink. I REALLY hope ZTE covers this, otherwhise they gained one VERY unhappy customer
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What a thorough review, and an interesting read. I feel your pain with the display issues that you're experiencing and, like you, really hope that ZTE comes through and does the right thing. If they don't fix or replace your phone, you should write a letter to the editor of one of the local techie publications and get some exposure on the issue...and, in so doing, help others to avoid a similar fate.
Best of luck and please let us know how it turns out!

Thank you for reading my review and providing me with all this great support, I am really grateful. The issue has mysteriously vanished when i booted up the phone this morning and has not occured ever since (knock on wood). I will try having a Drag Racing marathone to stress it a little bit, in order to check the stability of the device or if any issue will appear again. As you might guess, ZTE's reply to the issue is no-existant and i really hope that they should have reached a solution if this unacceptable problem ever plagues me again.

DarksonDAP said:
Thank you for reading my review and providing me with all this great support, I am really grateful. The issue has mysteriously vanished when i booted up the phone this morning and has not occured ever since (knock on wood). I will try having a Drag Racing marathone to stress it a little bit, in order to check the stability of the device or if any issue will appear again. As you might guess, ZTE's reply to the issue is no-existant and i really hope that they should have reached a solution if this unacceptable problem ever plagues me again.
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Hi, this pixel error is returned? This is ROM bug? You tried the latest Virgin frimware?

No, this pixel error has fortunately not returned since the last time i posted about it. It could have been either a ROM or an application bug by the looks of it. The phone is still running on the stock ZTE rom and is rock solid. In Greece the phone is sold unbranded and unlocked

any chance of a link to the stock rom please?

the only link i have been able to find is this one https://mega.co.nz/#!5Ig3ECwD!R21Vik...2PLpeXW1eFZJFI
which was included in this topic http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2440697
and this link from another forum
http://www.modaco.com/topic/365062-zte-blade-v-stock-roms/
i have not tested them myself though
PS: I apologize to the administration and the community if the use of external links is forbidden, my purpose is to help a fellow friend. If, for any reason, I break any posted rule please notify me and i will edit my post immediately

I also have this phone and I have had not problems at all with it. Great value for money

Update android zte blade v
Good afternoon,
I have ZTE BLADE V from October 2013 Android version is 4.1.2. I am looking to find a later version for my phone but I'm confused about what I read.
If someone can give me some information about whether a new version (unofficial) and the installation process.
Thanks in advance.

Sony SmartWatch 3 now available for pre-order on Amazon!

FYI I was having a look on Amazon for a screen protector or any alternative watchbands for my SmartWatch 3 and noticed that it is now available for pre-order for $249 link
.
Is anyone joining the club and getting a SmartWatch 3?
For those who need some help making up their minds, I've written a detailed review on my developer version here: http://xperiazultra.weebly.com/

julz said:
Is anyone joining the club and getting a SmartWatch 3?
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I am, but I'd preffer amazon.co.uk. Unfortunately it costs £189.99 up there. I think I'll wait for it to be accessible in Poland.

nwg said:
I am, but I'd preffer amazon.co.uk. Unfortunately it costs £189.99 up there. I think I'll wait for it to be accessible in Poland.
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Wow that is quite expensive. Cheaper to buy from the US site I think?

julz said:
Wow that is quite expensive. Cheaper to buy from the US site I think?
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I'm afraid I'd have to pay customs duty.
BTW: price in EUR is expected to be 230, as far as I know. Adding the cheapest SIM card it'll give quite an impressive amount in Polish currency: about 1000 PLN.

Caution, bad quality of Sony Smartwatch : SW1 clip broke, SW2 watch unstick from frame.

The SW3 looks awful. Doesn't look like the strap can be easily replaced and there other android wear watches with far better display quality.

gandalf_grey91 said:
The SW3 looks awful. Doesn't look like the strap can be easily replaced and there other android wear watches with far better display quality.
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It's much nicer seeing it in person and being able to play around with it. I had the exact same view as you when I saw it online. The build quality of the SmartWatch 3 is exceptional and the display is very nice especially when coming from the SW2.

gandalf_grey91 said:
The SW3 looks awful... other android wear watches with far better display quality.
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Hey I hate this watch with passion, but I gotta stop you there. This is a transflective screen. It's going to be just as readable in direct sunlight as the SW2 is. IMO that makes it the best Android wear display by a huge margin... and that's the only nice thing I have to say about this piece of junk.

kill_dano said:
Hey I hate this watch with passion, but I gotta stop you there. This is a transflective screen. It's going to be just as readable in direct sunlight as the SW2 is. IMO that makes it the best Android wear display by a huge margin... and that's the only nice thing I have to say about this piece of junk.
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I hear that, none of this generation of Wear watches really stands out. They all seem to be based around the reference hardware configuration, without variation. But even the Samsung Gear 2 had a better screen than the SW2 and that is a whole gen older now.
Incidentally one of the big issues with the SW2 is the way it off loads a huge amount of its memory requirement on to the host phone. I will admit, I look forward to getting a device that is more autonomous and gaining back all the phone battery that gets sucked by Sony choosing to hold every single 3rd party watchface, extension, app, etc. in the host phone's main memory when it is connected to the SW2.

gandalf_grey91 said:
I hear that, none of this generation of Wear watches really stands out. They all seem to be based around the reference hardware configuration, without variation. But even the Samsung Gear 2 had a better screen than the SW2 and that is a whole gen older now.
Incidentally one of the big issues with the SW2 is the way it off loads a huge amount of its memory requirement on to the host phone. I will admit, I look forward to getting a device that is more autonomous and gaining back all the phone battery that gets sucked by Sony choosing to hold every single 3rd party watchface, extension, app, etc. in the host phone's main memory when it is connected to the SW2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a plus, not a minus. If you load up the watch memory with all these things you get something as bulky as the moto 360. Your phone will always have way more memory to spare (not to mention cpu power) and it's wise to take advantage of this if it's already connected to the watch. Also, it does not drain your phone battery to keep things unused in memory.

lexman098 said:
This is a plus, not a minus. If you load up the watch memory with all these things you get something as bulky as the moto 360. Your phone will always have way more memory to spare (not to mention cpu power) and it's wise to take advantage of this if it's already connected to the watch. Also, it does not drain your phone battery to keep things unused in memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I have run tests, with all the watchfaces, apps, extensions etc. loaded on the host phone, the SW2 used 383Mb of phone memory and I lost a little more than a day of battery life. Then uninstalled all the watchfaces etc. that I don't use and trimmed the memory usage back to 161Mb and gained back almost all the battery life that was lost. As far as I am concerned, it is the main flaw in Sony's proprietary system used on the SW2.
Why would any one want an extra day of battery life for a limited function watch that cost 100 and lose a day of battery life on a phone with many functions costing 600. Doesn't make any sense, most people will use the phone more..
And for the record, requiring an OS system to write to and from memory constantly when it needs to access data or run apps, because a large amount of the available memory is being hogged by data that isn't being used, wastes both time and battery life (in mobile devices). This is whole reason memory management is always so important, especially in mobile devices.

the batteries in those watches are way too small to support fast cpu's
that's why all those Wear watches only last a day
almost all the info shown on the watch comes from the phone anyway, so why not let the phone handle it
(my G3 has a 3000mah battery and can handle the sw2 apps just fine)

JarlSX said:
the batteries in those watches are way too small to support fast cpu's
that's why all those Wear watches only last a day
almost all the info shown on the watch comes from the phone anyway, so why not let the phone handle it
(my G3 has a 3000mah battery and can handle the sw2 apps just fine)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually a better way to say it is that these devices would benefit from cpus built on the latest (and thus thinest fabs) that have the lowest available power consumption but the price increase would make them prohibitively expensive. True, the batteries are small and only last a day but these are 1st generation Android Wear.
There is a huge difference between sending small amounts of data via blutooth and stressing the device by saddling it with 400 Mb of unused data limiting available RAM.

gandalf_grey91 said:
Actually a better way to say it is that these devices would benefit from cpus built on the latest (and thus thinest fabs) that have the lowest available power consumption but the price increase would make them prohibitively expensive. True, the batteries are small and only last a day but these are 1st generation Android Wear.
There is a huge difference between sending small amounts of data via blutooth and stressing the device by saddling it with 400 Mb of unused data limiting available RAM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think there is a bit more going on than the cpu
Chinese smartwatch (MTK6572)- Engineering build full Android, 550mAh battery, two weeks standby, over two days running full gapps, a week as a companion
LG G Watch G- Wear, 400mAh battery, two days as a companion
My guess on Wear devices the governors are the wrong one for the usage case, scaling is wrong for the load profile, memory management is not tuned. Case in point, the Chinese smartwatch listed above was lucky to get 5 days standby before I tuned it.

Lokifish Marz said:
I think there is a bit more going on than the cpu
Chinese smartwatch (MTK6572)- Engineering build full Android, 550mAh battery, two weeks standby, over two days running full gapps, a week as a companion
LG G Watch G- Wear, 400mAh battery, two days as a companion
My guess on Wear devices the governors are the wrong one for the usage case, scaling is wrong for the load profile, memory management is not tuned. Case in point, the Chinese smartwatch listed above was lucky to get 5 days standby before I tuned it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very interesting, sounds like custom firmware is going to be a hot topic for all Wear watches. Lets hope the SW3 sources go full AOSP as soon as possible.

didnt care for this one much, prefer my SW2 and i think i will stick to it.

Good chance that I'll stick with the SW2 for a while.
The Google Wear devices seems rather "new" and is missing a lot of features I'd like.
See, here's my situation: I used to have a polar watch to keep track of my runs. When I had to change it, I decided to go with a smartwatch and have everything synced up.
Only problem, I used to have a BlueTooth heart Sensor, but with the watch and my headphones, the bluetooth got saturated. I began to lose the signal here and there... So I had to lose the heartrate sensor.
Now, another problem is that the only runner apps supported by the SW2 is runtastic...
Not only that it doesn't support the sleep mode but the data is not correct. The speed is somewhat not precise enough for my needs...
So, I'm now with a "smartwatch" that only serves me for the stopwatch when I run...
I realy like the integration with the phone (reject / answer calls, text on screen, audio track controll) but it mises for the reason I bought it in the first place.
Now, the SW3 doesn't have a hearRate sensor, so it's out of the question...
The other one (LG and Samsung) seems to offer about 1 day of use... who in it's right mind would buy a watch that lasts only one day!
THe only one that seems to fit my need so far is the FitBit Surge (ETA Early 2015), but it's not Android Wear, so I might hold up on this one too!!
So, for my wishlist for a useable smartwatch:
Android Wear
Heartrate Monitors
GPS, gyro, accelero, etc...
Holds more than a day
IP 68 (or something you wouldn't be afread to use under the rain for a long run)
I don't know if I'll see something that fits my needs anytime soon... But the FitBit might be the only real alternative for now!

t1mman said:
(...) See, here's my situation: I used to have a polar watch to keep track of my runs. (...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank God I've been tracking my workouts with Endomondo for years now. Its integration with SW2 is pitiful, but lately they added Android Wear watches to supported devices. Can't wait for Smartwatch 3 to become available in Poland.

OMG, it was slightly stressful, but finally: "vielen Dank für Ihre Bestellung. Wir werden Sie benachrichtigen, sobald Ihr(e) Artikel versandt wurde". BTW: buying at amazon.de is not a penny cheeper than at amazon.co.uk. They have thievish euro exchange rate.

Finally!
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Leagoo lead 7 Unboxing and Hands on review-- 5inch HD JDI IPS screen and 4500mAh smar

Leagoo is a new brand for most customers as one of China famous smartphones' supplier, but in the past year, Leagoo has developed fast and swiftly with various products, competitive price and superior service. Since the great success of Leagoo Lead 3, Leagoo lead 1, Leagoo has acquired the powerful encouragement to continue to make every effort to produce better products. Now, this time, Leagoo
brings a flagship smartphone, Leagoo Lead 7, it's well-known for the large capacity battery with 4500mAh. I have got this smartphone, and would like to share my experience about this smartphone.
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First amazing feature: 4500mAh battery
As a professional user, a large capacity battery is very inevitable and vital to have a good experience of a smartphone. It's built in 4500mAh battery, and it can support up to 450hours standby time after one-time charging, and i can talk in one day without stop. This is the charm of leagoo lead 7. I would like to let you know the power of this smartphone. Meanwhile, i can listen to the music and watch movies without stop.
Second wonderful feature: MTK6582 Quad core 1.3GHZ Processor
It may be not outstanding that it is powered by mtk6582 quad core 1.3ghz processor, becauase nowadays, 64bit processor mtk6732 or mtk6752 has become popular and hot, that's ok about the mtk6582 quad core cpu, especially 4G LTE has not been in common, i don't need to 4G LTE network, therefore, quad core smartphone is good enough for me to play games, and search the Internet.
No. 3 feature: 5.0 Inch 1280 * 720 HD JDI IPS Screen
I prefer to the 5inch screen size when i choose a smartphone. Due to the hand feel, and the size of my palm, and i can put in my pocket freely. Meanwhile, it uses HD JDI IPS screen with 1280*720p screen resolution. Although it's not FHD IPS screen, i should be disappointed in this smartphone, but when i watch TV plays, play games or do other tasks. The screen playing quality and clearity are very high and vivid. That's the one highlight that i like most.
No.4 feature: 13.0MP Master camera and 8.0MP Front camera
The other function that i propose most is the dual camera with 13.0MP back and 8.0MP front camera. Most smartphones don't have the main camera with 13.0MP. That is to say, Leagoo lead 7 has made big progress that it has made the camera to support 13.0MP. The higher pixels the camera is, the clear-cut the photos taken are. I try to take pictures in the day and at night. There is no bad picture quality shooting in the day, but it may be a little dark taking pictures at night. But the light can be adjusted according to the smartphone. It's awesome about the dual camera.
No.5 feature: OTG, 3G, Google play store, multi-language
Other practical features like OTG function, google play store and multi-language and so on. It supports OTG function which lets i charge my smartphone and other smartphone freely because of the large capacity battery. And i can download trendy and hot apps for free in google play store. About multi-language, it brings me much convenience to set up in my local language. Much stronger users' experience have made me excited.
In conclusion, leagoo lead 7 has 4500mAh large capaticy battery which is the most satisfied feature i think. Currently, a large capacity smartphone is not as many as it can produce, including those big brand such as Apple, Samsung and so on. As for Chinese smartphone, Elephone P5000 is said to have more than 5000mAh battery, and thl has released THL 5000 with 5000mAh battery, and thl 4400mAh battery, and others don't manufacture like them. Whether like it or not, just have a try. Miracle can happen in our real life.

@cdd3111: stop posting cheap china-phone shop marketing and tell us the real stuff for xda: is there a Custom ROM for MTK6582 or has MediaTek released hardware sources for KitKat or Lollipop???

A real user posting about the Lead 7
I purchased a Lead 7 phone from Geekbuying. It's a Chinese Marketplace. I paid with PayPal (to provide some level of protection) and had it shipped DHL. Just to add more believability (besides the fact that I type in American English) my DHL tracking number was 2723845025. I don't know how long it can be tracked, but at least it gives you something to verify if you happen across this soon.
I bought this phone because I wanted a decent camera on my phone, I was hoping that the battery life was what they are claiming it would be, and I am planning on spending some time in Africa where having two SIM cards is a plus. In short I am satisfied with the camera, but I am not satisfied with the battery life.
I am a casual phone user and I am very cheap, so take all of this through that filter. I am also an electrical engineer, so I have some technical ability, though my expertise is in embedded electronics. I am moving up from a Sony Xperia Tipo Duo (yeah... I know).
I have no complaints about the shipping or packaging. The phone itself is a nice size and a nice build. It doesn't feel cheap. The screen is beautiful, very bright, very wide viewing angle. I am very happy with the camera. I am not a photography expert, I just want good pictures of my kids and family from my phone. It has touch to focus. Actually both front facing (8MP) and back facing (13MP) cameras take nice pictures, as a casual user I am very satisfied.
The UI is ok. I don't particularly like their audio app or their photo app/ window that is permanently one of the windows you slide to, but I can live with it. I was able to get root using Kingo Root. Though I can't update the binaries for SuperSU. I have tried both normal mode and TWRP but wasn't successful (Installing the .zip failed in TWRP). I haven't messed with it much further to figure that out (any suggestions to save me some time would be appreciated).
Now the biggest issue. The battery capacity seems too good to be true, I knew that purchasing it, but still it was worth a try. This is one thing that I can talk completely competently about. I was not satisfied with what I was getting run time wise out of the phone (About 26hrs. of moderate use before needing to charge). Nothing near what the mfg. was claiming. I checked usage some with Better Battery Stats. The hardware does seem to quickly suck juice. Well, I decided to do a battery test outside the phone. See attached picture and chart. Basically, the battery is performing more like at 3500mAHrs. They are lying about the 4500mAHrs. Not to surprised, but still disappointed. If they see this and want to send me a new battery that is up to specs I would be glad to check it out for them. But I doubt that's going to happen. I am sending a e-mail about it, but expect to get Chinese technical support, which means the run-around.
Hope this is helpful to someone out there. I'll try to respond to questions as I am able if you have any.
AW

Battery recharge
I forgot one more thing. They claim the battery will recharge to 80% in one hour. That also appears to be a lie. My battery was at 51% after recharging for exactly 1 hour, this was after my battery drain test that is attached to the above post.

Pic samples? Front/back?

Voiceferous: I did not post pics of the phone because the pictures in the first post adequately show the phone. My phone looks exactly like those pics.

leagoo lead 7
hello, just bought this phone 3 days ago, the phone can't access media in my sd card, can't move app to sd card.. i search for solution i later realize its the way google designed kitkkat.. now i have installed nextapp sdfix, and phone can now access media in my external sd card but still cant move app to sd card and my HD games can't read data and obb on external card but when i move them into internal storage, the game will play well..
please anyone know how to fix this? i love this phone. thanks

Proximity sensor seems glitchy.
I have lived with this phone for close to a month now. Overall I still like it, though I don't know that I would purchase it again if I had a "do over" opportunity. The main thing that has annoyed me is that when I am talking on the phone the screen turns on. I don't think the proximity sensor is working correctly. While I am talking on the phone (holding the phone up to my ear) the screen keeps turning on. If I remove the phone from my ear for a moment, and then put it back up to my ear the screen turns back off, but soon after (sometimes 5 seconds, sometimes more like 20 seconds, it varies) the screen turns on again.
I have been able to help the battery life through removing a few wakelocks. There was an item that was keeping it from going into deep sleep. So when I am not using it much it is great on battery power (for example, overnight it will only use 2-3%) However, once the screen is on it drops much quicker. You can see my battery graph in the attachment to get an idea. I have been getting 40-50% per day with my normal usage. Not what I was originally hoping for in battery life, but it is usable.
I was able to switch the launcher. Again I didn't hate their default launcher, but I found the audio player window and photograph window useless to me. I like having an app drawer too, which they did not have.
There is only one other annoying thing, but I am not sure if it is phone related or app related. I use Yahoo mail. Mainly because I have used that account for 18 years. My yahoo mail app doesn't seem to pick up new mail notifications with this phone as well as my last phone. I only use data over Wi-Fi, but I am definitely in range of connected Wi-Fi networks when I have missed notifications. Wi-Fi optimization is on in Advanced Wi-Fi settings, I don't know if that could be effecting it? I don't know exactly what that setting does other than what it says about minimizing battery usage.
Again, I hope this info is helpful to someone.
AW

ChriMo said:
@cdd3111: stop posting cheap china-phone shop marketing and tell us the real stuff for xda: is there a Custom ROM for MTK6582 or has MediaTek released hardware sources for KitKat or Lollipop???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is the mtk6582 ROM tips, http://goo.gl/BGnJGE, you can check it, and i bought from Chinese store 1949deal,it runs quite well to play3d games. i just want to share my review with others to make wise choice.

thanks for sharing with me, i also face the same problem about the battery, but i am still very sastified with it, because i got the big coupon from 1949deal, i will consider getting a battery backup from them. :laugh:

ibrash600 said:
hello, just bought this phone 3 days ago, the phone can't access media in my sd card, can't move app to sd card.. i search for solution i later realize its the way google designed kitkkat.. now i have installed nextapp sdfix, and phone can now access media in my external sd card but still cant move app to sd card and my HD games can't read data and obb on external card but when i move them into internal storage, the game will play well..
please anyone know how to fix this? i love this phone. thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe you should get the ROM from them to flash your phone, but you need to do it with much experience. :good:

cdd3111 said:
this is the mtk6582 ROM tips, http://goo.gl/BGnJGE, you can check it, and i bought from Chinese store 1949deal,it runs quite well to play3d games. i just want to share my review with others to make wise choice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but IMHO a Custom ROM is one build by xda developers or someone else from public hardware source-code and not connected to hardware sellers. So this is not what I have asked for...

a_wolfie said:
...Well, I decided to do a battery test outside the phone. See attached picture and chart. Basically, the battery is performing more like at 3500mAHrs. They are lying about the 4500mAHrs. Not to surprised, but still disappointed. ...
AW
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome work. I would love to see that test conducted on many more phones like the THL5000.

audio calls
Hello, I have a Leagoo Lead 7 and i feel very satisfaced with this phone, the screen is good, the battery last two days, the cameras are only ok, but the only bad thing is the audio when I in a call, I mean the voice of the other person that I hear in a phone call. Someone who has happened this too? Or is the top speaker that sound "mettalic"?
Thanks!!!

Official ROM and internal memory
Hello everyone I'm looking for the official ROM of Leagoo Lead 7 and the way to resize the internal memory. If anyone could give me a hand, I will appreciate it. Thanks.

leocampos77 said:
Hello, I have a Leagoo Lead 7 and i feel very satisfaced with this phone, the screen is good, the battery last two days, the cameras are only ok, but the only bad thing is the audio when I in a call, I mean the voice of the other person that I hear in a phone call. Someone who has happened this too? Or is the top speaker that sound "mettalic"?
Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had issues with the audio too. The loudspeaker tends to buzz at high volume, and the microphone makes me sound like I'm talking into a tin can.

Why are smartphone brands installing Google Dialer?

As of end of 2022, only Samsung phones come with their own Dialer (with automatic silent call recording feature).
Most other popular brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and others are now using Google Dialer on their phones (in Global markets except China). This is to the point that one can't even install the OEM dialer without dangerous workarounds that will have other implications.
Can anyone share precise reasons (no speculation) on why this is so?
Even though I read about how nations are penalizing Google for anti-competitive practices, the situation on the ground continues to get worse: more and more Google apps out of the box.

TheMystic said:
As of end of 2022, only Samsung phones come with their own Dialer (with automatic silent call recording feature).
Most other popular brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and others are now using Google Dialer on their phones (in Global markets except China). This is to the point that one can't even install the OEM dialer without dangerous workarounds that will have other implications.
Can anyone share precise reasons (no speculation) on why this is so?
Even though I read about how nations are penalizing Google for anti-competitive practices, the situation on the ground continues to get worse: more and more Google apps out of the box.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OEMs would rather use the Google suite than develop their own software. The only outlier is Samsung, who for whatever reason, still thinks they're a software company.
Why dedicate additional resources to unnecessary development when there is a fully developed and polished common Gapps suite available?

V0latyle said:
OEMs would rather use the Google suite than develop their own software. The only outlier is Samsung, who for whatever reason, still thinks they're a software company.
Why dedicate additional resources to unnecessary development when there is a fully developed and polished common Gapps suite available?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The dialer is the most basic application and all OEMs (except Nothing and may be Motorola too) were/ are having their own Dialer. In China and some other markets, the phones come with OEM dialer even today.
They don't have to dedicate additional resources to compete with Google Dialer (which has smart features), but why aren't they letting the user make that decision?
The global software actually blocks their own Dialer from working if it is sideloaded. This appears to be just another instance of Google's monopolistic dominance, despite all the regulations and penalties prohibiting such behaviour.

TheMystic said:
The dialer is the most basic application and all OEMs (except Nothing and may be Motorola too) were/ are having their own Dialer. In China and some other markets, the phones come with OEM dialer even today.
They don't have to dedicate additional resources to compete with Google Dialer (which has smart features), but why aren't they letting the user make that decision?
The global software actually blocks their own Dialer from working if it is sideloaded. This appears to be just another instance of Google's monopolistic dominance, despite all the regulations and penalties prohibiting such behaviour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that would be more to blame on the firmware OEM than Google, but I suppose it's a matter of perspective.

V0latyle said:
The only outlier is Samsung, who for whatever reason, still thinks they're a software company.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ha, ha! Samsung - I really used to like 'em. Now? I spread my indifference as thick as your sarcastic observation here.

GOOGLE_USER said:
Ha, ha! Samsung - I really used to like 'em. Now? I spread my indifference as thick as your sarcastic observation here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the Sammy dialer, never crashes but it has its quirks.
Samsung... has done nothing but disappoint and drop balls since the N10+, the zenith point for Sammy. Even today after 3+ years it remains my weapon of choice. Unfortunately Samsung has given me zer0 incentive to buy a newer Samsung flagship model. They suck now. So bad that a year ago I bought another new N10+ running on Q, no regrets especially now.
After Android 10 Google made a big smelly mess of the Android OS, it reeks of iPhone now. Pie remainder my favorite OS and my original N10+ will never be upgraded.
Gookill...
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V0latyle said:
The only outlier is Samsung, who for whatever reason, still thinks they're a software company.
Why dedicate additional resources to unnecessary development when there is a fully developed and polished common Gapps suite available?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So should monopoly be encouraged?
And Bixby is very good these days, even though it hasn't been able to get rid of the bad reputation it gained for itself initially.
V0latyle said:
I think that would be more to blame on the firmware OEM than Google, but I suppose it's a mtter of perspective.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my OnePlus 8T, when it was on Android 11, there is a OnePlus Dialer apk (either a mod or one extracted from the Chinese ROM) that worked perfectly fine.
But after upgrading to Android 12 and now 13, it doesn't work. It's been over a year since Android 12 was launched, and yet there is no compatible apk. The workarounds involve rooting the device or installing a ROM from another region such as China/ Indonesia, etc, all of which shouldn't be necessary.
It appears Google is paying these brands a lot of money, in violation (in principle) of the regulations prohibiting anti-competitive practices.
blackhawk said:
I like the Sammy dialer, never crashes but it has its quirks.
Samsung... has done nothing but disappoint and drop balls since the N10+, the zenith point for Sammy. Even today after 3+ years it remains my weapon of choice. Unfortunately Samsung has given me zer0 incentive to buy a newer Samsung flagship model. They suck now. So bad that a year ago I bought another new N10+ running on Q, no regrets especially now.
After Android 10 Google made a big smelly mess of the Android OS, it reeks of iPhone now. Pie remainder my favorite OS and my original N10+ will never be upgraded.
Gookill...
View attachment 5802393
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know why you keep saying this about OneUI. I have OneUI on my S22U and it is excellent (ofcourse there are some deficiencies and areas requiring improvement).
I'm going to stick with Samsung as my primary phone for primarily two reasons:
1. Excellent cameras (zoom feature is unmatched ).
2. Silent Automatic call recording feature.
There are other good reasons too, but these are my primary considerations now.

TheMystic said:
The dialer is the most basic application and all OEMs (except Nothing and may be Motorola too) were/ are having their own Dialer. In China and some other markets, the phones come with OEM dialer even today.
They don't have to dedicate additional resources to compete with Google Dialer (which has smart features), but why aren't they letting the user make that decision?
The global software actually blocks their own Dialer from working if it is sideloaded. This appears to be just another instance of Google's monopolistic dominance, despite all the regulations and penalties prohibiting such behaviour.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since Samsung started with their Tizen crap, they have been trying to copy Apple's tactic of trying to separate themselves from everyone else with a white knuckle grip on their hardware and software. Apple crap only works with Apple crap and Samsung crap only works with Samsung crap.

Droidriven said:
Since Samsung started with their Tizen crap, they have been trying to copy Apple's tactic of trying to separate themselves from everyone else with a white knuckle grip on their hardware and software. Apple crap only works with Apple crap and Samsung crap only works with Samsung crap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Trying to be self reliant, even if it means copying a competitor, is a good thing. And having more options to choose from is essential to limit/ prevent monopoly. This not only helps with innovation, but also translates into lower prices for consumers.
It is unfortunate that Tizen failed. But i wish they could revive it and come up with an alternative to iOS and Android.
Talking of crap, Apple is still unbeatable in some areas, no matter how much crap a section of consumers talk about it.

TheMystic said:
So should monopoly be encouraged?
And Bixby is very good these days, even though it hasn't been able to get rid of the bad reputation it gained for itself initially.
I don't know why you keep saying this about OneUI. I have OneUI on my S22U and it is excellent (ofcourse there are some deficiencies and areas requiring improvement).
I'm going to stick with Samsung as my primary phone for primarily two reasons:
1. Excellent cameras (zoom feature is unmatched ).
2. Silent Automatic call recording feature.
There are other good reasons too, but these are my primary considerations now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bixby and Google Assistant are always disabled by me. Read Bixby's EULA, eek, not to mention battery usage.
I like One UI a lot but the new Samsung flagships hardware sucks elephant balls bad. Power hogs that lack good balance and form factor. The S22U has excellent an layout and frame, but it comes to a grinding halt there. No SD card.
Worse this 3 yo N10+ is only slightly slower in day to day usage and sometimes faster in spite of the S22U's higher benchmark scores and faster, more efficient ram. 12+ hour run times on an optimized N10+ with a smaller battery and way better form factor.
Even the latest incarnation of the discontinued Buds+ has lousy battery life. meh.
Like Google Samsung is now more hype and smoke than rubber biting into the asphalt. 3 years of expensive disappointments. The worst losing streak in Samsung history. That's not counting the Fold series of travesties. That's what I think... be glad you're not the next Samsung rep I speak with feel the wuv.

TheMystic said:
So should monopoly be encouraged?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like to think I'm rather outspoken about the problems of monopolies in Big Tech, when the majority of the Internet is controlled by a few large companies who all work together on censorship and suppression of information. I was simply pointing out the "why" from a purely business perspective - these OEMs are using Google's apps so they no longer have to maintain their own - and was not implying that I agree with it.
TheMystic said:
And Bixby is very good these days, even though it hasn't been able to get rid of the bad reputation it gained for itself initially.
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I personally would much rather use Google software over Samsung, but that's just me.
TheMystic said:
On my OnePlus 8T, when it was on Android 11, there is a OnePlus Dialer apk (either a mod or one extracted from the Chinese ROM) that worked perfectly fine.
But after upgrading to Android 12 and now 13, it doesn't work. It's been over a year since Android 12 was launched, and yet there is no compatible apk. The workarounds involve rooting the device or installing a ROM from another region such as China/ Indonesia, etc, all of which shouldn't be necessary.
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I agree with you, but my evidently vague point was that OEMs are usually acting in what they think are their own business interests, not so much their consumers' interests.
TheMystic said:
It appears Google is paying these brands a lot of money, in violation (in principle) of the regulations prohibiting anti-competitive practices.
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I'm not so sure. While AOSP is maintained by Google, they've done a good job (in my opinion) of keeping Google services separate from the core OS components. As far as I know (haven't tested this myself so this is largely conjecture) there is nothing within AOSP itself that prevents you from using third party software for device functions, so anything that does has been implemented in OEM firmware by the OEM themselves. This is why many people prefer to run AOSP if it all possible.

blackhawk said:
Bixby and Google Assistant are always disabled by me. Read Bixby's EULA, eek, not to mention battery usage.
I like One UI a lot but the new Samsung flagships hardware sucks elephant balls bad. Power hogs that lack good balance and form factor. The S22U has excellent an layout and frame, but it comes to a grinding halt there. No SD card.
Worse this 3 yo N10+ is only slightly slower in day to day usage and sometimes faster in spite of the S22U's higher benchmark scores and faster, more efficient ram. 12+ hour run times on an optimized N10+ with a smaller battery and way better form factor.
Even the latest incarnation of the discontinued Buds+ has lousy battery life. meh.
Like Google Samsung is now more hype and smoke than rubber biting into the asphalt. 3 years of expensive disappointments. The worst losing streak in Samsung history. That's not counting the Fold series of travesties. That's what I think... be glad you're not the next Samsung rep I speak with feel the wuv.
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Battery life and absence of SD card are the only two things here.
Are you also not able to debloat the newer devices like you have done the N10+?
You won't find sd card on any flagship device today. So blaming Samsung alone is pointless.
As with battery life, it is quite average though. But the quality of cameras are enough for me to choose Samsung over every other brand.

V0latyle said:
these OEMs are using Google's apps so they no longer have to maintain their own
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You're missing this point: they still maintain these apps for some of the markets like China. There is no additional maintenance required in making that available for other markets.
What is difficult to understand is that their own dialer apk extracted from supported ROMs doesn't work in their global ROMs. There are so many dialer apps on Google Play Store that work fine. But not OEM's own dialer.
That tells me they are being paid by Google to create a restriction like that. Makes business and commercial sense because they are getting free money.
V0latyle said:
I personally would much rather use Google software over Samsung, but that's just me.
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Same here, although I don't use any digital assistants. But that's because Google's products are available on other platforms too like iOS, and it won't be incorrect to say that they are still better too.

Just found these two links:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1344617037964800000
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/knozmc
Not much detail is available though on either of them.

TheMystic said:
Just found these two links:
https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1344617037964800000
https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/knozmc
Not much detail is available though on either of them.
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Interesting, I'd definitely like to see more information on this.
I did find this although it doesn't seem to be addressing the same concept:
Device Tier Targeting allows you to deliver different versions (e.g. resolutions, etc.) of the same asset to devices based on their hardware. For example, you may choose to deliver low resolution assets to lower end devices to improve performance, and deliver high resolution assets to higher end devices to improve graphic quality - all without incurring any increase in overall game size by only delivering the necessary assets to users' devices.
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Perhaps it means Tier 1 manufacturers, meaning direct suppliers of the final product - Samsung, LG, Foxconn, Motorola, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc
vs Tier 2, subcontractors or suppliers for tier 1, so this would be who manufactures the subassemblies such as completed PCBs, screens, batteries, etc
Tier 3 are the suppliers/subcontractors for tier 2, meaning who provides bare PCBs, electronic components, display panels, touch digitizers, display glass, etc
But this doesn't really suss out because Google doesn't force the use of Google services on Samsung phones, or even Pixels for that matter.

TheMystic said:
As of end of 2022, only Samsung phones come with their own Dialer (with automatic silent call recording feature).
Most other popular brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and others are now using Google Dialer on their phones (in Global markets except China). This is to the point that one can't even install the OEM dialer without dangerous workarounds that will have other implications.
Can anyone share precise reasons (no speculation) on why this is so?
Even though I read about how nations are penalizing Google for anti-competitive practices, the situation on the ground continues to get worse: more and more Google apps out of the box.
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There are no monopolistic practices on the dialer. You can download a simple dialer from the store and install it, then set it as the default dialer.

TheMystic said:
Battery life and absence of SD card are the only two things here.
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Huge things that effect the core usability greatly.
TheMystic said:
Are you also not able to debloat the newer devices like you have done the N10+?
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Since scoped storage was fully implemented Android is a mess. I'm running 9 and 10.
TheMystic said:
You won't find sd card on any flagship device today. So blaming Samsung alone is pointless.
As with battery life, it is quite average though. But the quality of cameras are enough for me to choose Samsung over every other brand.
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I waited 3 years and can wait 3 more. I don't care.
No trophies for losers Sammy. I'm not particularly the forgiving kind and Samsung's credibility is now that of pond scum. No better than the worst slimy used car salesman that tried to con me with lies, falsehoods and sure to be broken promises.
The cams aren't that great; the sensors are too small with not enough corrective elements in lens for one thing. A pro cam/lense will rip them to shreds. I take pictures with it but it's awkward and not nearly as useful as a pro cam for many reasons including you look like another a hole Tiktok wannabe influencer shooting with a smartphone.
Far more important is color/gamma accurate display, and having a dual drive with a 1tb data drive. Color/gamma accuracy as well as display reliability suffer on all the Samsung variable refresh rate displays. The N10+ still has the best display to bezel ratio, is lighter, slimer, best SOT, highest storage capacity and more than likely the best color/gamma accuracy/calibration.
Lol, the dialer is the least of Samsung's issues. Samsung has much bigger elephants in the room now.
3 years... is that all you got Samsung?
Give me your best shot or I will TKO you.

V0latyle said:
Interesting, I'd definitely like to see more information on this.
I did find this although it doesn't seem to be addressing the same concept:
Perhaps it means Tier 1 manufacturers, meaning direct suppliers of the final product - Samsung, LG, Foxconn, Motorola, Huawei, Xiaomi, etc
vs Tier 2, subcontractors or suppliers for tier 1, so this would be who manufactures the subassemblies such as completed PCBs, screens, batteries, etc
Tier 3 are the suppliers/subcontractors for tier 2, meaning who provides bare PCBs, electronic components, display panels, touch digitizers, display glass, etc
But this doesn't really suss out because Google doesn't force the use of Google services on Samsung phones, or even Pixels for that matter.
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I think there are two aspects to this:
1. GDPR
2. All these OEMs except Samsung are Chinese companies.
Given the timing, it appears there is a link between these.

ze7zez said:
There are no monopolistic practices on the dialer. You can download a simple dialer from the store and install it, then set it as the default dialer.
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There are many dialers that work. Only the OEM dialer doesn't work.

TheMystic said:
There are many dialers that work. Only the OEM dialer doesn't work.
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That's pretty fking funny.
What good is a phone that can't be dialed?