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P8 Max in Fall of 2016

Is it worth it to buy a P8 Max now in 2016 even though it came out in July of 2015 more than a year ago? What is your opinion? There does not seem to be much choice for smartphones at the 6.8 inch size. I had a 6 incher but now I know I need something bigger. Buying a more year old phone has advantages and disadvantages. The OS is old and may not get an update. Would it even be available in a new condition from a trustworthy source? ( My friend got burned by unknowingly buying a waterlogged phone off of Ebay). On the other hand the price should come down a lot because not many want it at that point.

It depends what you need it for and what amount you can get it for.
we got two of these in household and sofare very happy with them, one silver 64gb premiumversion purchased summer15 at BG 490US and the other late 2015 32GB titanium grey for 290US.
Im very fund of the camera in this fellow, and pretty amazed of the light its sensor contains, in fx putting on a tripod and nightsky and shutterfeatures. (it carries a 4 colored sensor, that includes white RGBW in regards to RGB for most) and handles it on dedicated socalled DSLR signal processor ' i for one ' like the result it performs.. the OIS is okay with 1.2 angle drift, not the best in class anymore, but at the time it was the double OIS effect of like contenders like Iphone+6 with 0.6 degrees, not sure how many axes the OIS is based on but will reckon its 2..
the overall-finish and thiness, its pretty outstanding.... its an fascinating piece of hardware.... -the battery shouldnt be that difficult to change if needed.. based on a few screws behind the bottomstrip on the back and cost around 16US for an original huawei 4230..
the GPU that Huawei suited this fellow up with is not flagship worthy, the CPU is pretty potent, but if you big 3dgamer on your mobile.. there is better alternatives, but overall at the release it was on par with the contenders, on stock non rooted tops out around 4175 in Geekbench3 32bit...
also cherise the landscape-homescreens based in thumps management, - and in my view is an quite impressiv quality-LTPS-fhd-panel they have suited in this fellow..
otherwise take an look at the Honor Note8. it aint 6.8 but 6.6 inch. it weighs the same as the p8max and is little thicker but seems to be an interesting fellow as of 3q 2016 with decent specs, and partically if your looking for an big screen mobile, but they are both on the emui4 as i recall..

DaneLaw,
Wow, nice post. Thank you for taking the time to respond. The Honor Note 8 does look pretty good but the 2/8 of an inch smaller screen might bother me. There is the Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra with a not so nice processor.
I just wish tablets could make phone calls. Then I would be all set. LOL.

The SD in the Asus is so much better than the Kirin if you wanna get the latest Android.

Personally, am a little irked that the P8Max has no NFC. Am actually thinking about switching to the Mate 8..
Not sure if it will be worth the change P8Max has a great screen size
Sent from my HUAWEI P8max using XDA Labs

eastcyber, once you go big you cannot go smaller. At least I would not do something like that.
DaneLaw, I wanted to buy the P8 Max when it came out but it was priced out of my budget. I ended up getting the Huawei Ascend Mate 7 a long while after it came out when the price came down. I really loved it. I have to say Huawei makes some great phones.

Hi! Here is ny take on the subject;
-If you just want a large phone and not that interested in rooting or customizing the ROM of your phone, then the Huawei P8 Max will be more than sufficient. Go and Get It I say! It has one of the best designs of recent times an has a very powerful audio setup. I am also using my at DPI 288 with TFS Launcher.
-If you want something more up to date with a CPU that does not lag when multiple apps are launching and you are looking for a bit of customization of the ROM and rooting etc…-lets say you are an advanced usur that wants to feel unique with his device, then stay away from P8 Max and consider the Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra, which is what I am looking to get soon but hard at work to get the 128GB version which is very rare to find or does not exist-wish any forum user from Taiwan could help help me buy it.
-Huawei to me makes great hardware in great designs but their painfully slow approach to updates and the lack of support for the developer community makes me think of it as the Apple of the Android world-a control freak that does not care about user satisfaction. I have the model DAV-701L and still waiting for Android 6.0 update. I have put my one on sale on ebay so if anyone is interested then you can PM me as this is the International model Google Play Services/Store are preinstalled and works on all European FDD-LTA bands unlike the China/Asia only version.

AWFRONT said:
Hi! Here is ny take on the subject;
-If you just want a large phone and not that interested in rooting or customizing the ROM of your phone, then the Huawei P8 Max will be more than sufficient. Go and Get It I say! It has one of the best designs of recent times an has a very powerful audio setup. I am also using my at DPI 288 with TFS Launcher.
-If you want something more up to date with a CPU that does not lag when multiple apps are launching and you are looking for a bit of customization of the ROM and rooting etc…-lets say you are an advanced usur that wants to feel unique with his device, then stay away from P8 Max and consider the Asus Zenfone 3 Ultra, which is what I am looking to get soon but hard at work to get the 128GB version which is very rare to find or does not exist-wish any forum user from Taiwan could help help me buy it.
-Huawei to me makes great hardware in great designs but their painfully slow approach to updates and the lack of support for the developer community makes me think of it as the Apple of the Android world-a control freak that does not care about user satisfaction. I have the model DAV-701L and still waiting for Android 6.0 update. I have put my one on sale on ebay so if anyone is interested then you can PM me as this is the International model Google Play Services/Store are preinstalled and works on all European FDD-LTA bands unlike the China/Asia only version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's the argument with rooting and customizing? P8max can easily be rooted and customized. There is a lack of custom software support, but you can do a lot on your own, if you're an "advanced user".
I also experience no lag at all if I'm running multiple apps, Kirin is doing a great job here.
I'd go for a P8max again anytime. The only competitor I see is the Asus Zenfone Ultra, but I like the design of the P8max a lot more.
I'm pretty sure I'll keep this phone for a long time now.
Sent from my HUAWEI P8max using XDA-Developers mobile app

m00h, Huawei does make nice designs. I like how the bezel is small on such a big screen. It makes the phablet not as bulky. By the way guys, does it have a radio receiver to listen to local stations? I do not see that information listed on any website.

cryingthug said:
m00h, Huawei does make nice designs. I like how the bezel is small on such a big screen. It makes the phablet not as bulky. By the way guys, does it have a radio receiver to listen to local stations? I do not see that information listed on any website.
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Click to collapse
Yes it do got an FM radio, like we often see' where it ask for headphones to be used as antenna, and with speaker symbol op left ' if you need its own speaker to carry the radiosound while headphones or just an jack-antenna is connected.

Don't fall into the Corporation/Media hype that you HAVE to have the latest and greatest otherwise you're left behind, especially when the phone is only a year old because this is how they get your money.
If you need to buy a phone right away just do it, but if you can wait there is no harm, but keep in mind as of right now there is no "P9 Max", only P9 Plus which is a 5.5" phone I believe, so if you need a big phone P8 Max is your best bet for sure.
I have done my research a lot recently before buying the P8 Max and I chose it because it had the best design and performance in the big phone class, it has an Octa-Core cpu which is already overkill and a really good battery, I would say go for it.
Also Note: If you do end up purchasing it, make sure you get the 703L, because they get updates often, I already have the Android 6.0 while the rest still don't have it.

Save $$$
Torguy said:
Don't fall into the Corporation/Media hype that you HAVE to have the latest and greatest otherwise you're left behind, especially when the phone is only a year old because this is how they get your money.
If you need to buy a phone right away just do it, but if you can wait there is no harm, but keep in mind as of right now there is no "P9 Max", only P9 Plus which is a 5.5" phone I believe, so if you need a big phone P8 Max is your best bet for sure.
I have done my research a lot recently before buying the P8 Max and I chose it because it had the best design and performance in the big phone class, it has an Octa-Core cpu which is already overkill and a really good battery, I would say go for it.
Also Note: If you do end up purchasing it, make sure you get the 703L, because they get updates often, I already have the Android 6.0 while the rest still don't have it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info Torguy. Buying a year old flagship will also save the user money, similar to buying a two year old car. This phone was super expensive when it first came out. I could not afford it.

cryingthug said:
Thanks for the info Torguy. Buying a year old flagship will also save the user money, similar to buying a two year old car. This phone was super expensive when it first came out. I could not afford it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be honest I was in the same boat as you until recently, I didn't buy it when it came out because it was like almost a $1000 after shipping and all, then ended up getting it for like $400.
Anyways good luck with whatever you decide or have decided!

Android 6.0?
Torguy,
Is the DAV-703L for Android 6.0 worth it? I saw an Ascend Mate 7 Android 4.4.4 get updated to Android 5.0.1 and did not really see a difference because EMUI covered most changes. I did not see the point in upgrading the OS. What do you guys think?

cryingthug said:
Torguy,
Is the DAV-703L for Android 6.0 worth it? I saw an Ascend Mate 7 Android 4.4.4 get updated to Android 5.0.1 and did not really see a difference because EMUI covered most changes. I did not see the point in upgrading the OS. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My apologies, I didn't iterate correctly when I said "I already have Android 6.0" in my prior post, I meant to say I already have the update available but have not downloaded it because I heard Android 5.1 is running much better.
I mean if it ain't broke why fix right, I will just leave it as is until there is ever any updates that really do require me to update.
What sucks for me now is that it turns out that my phone will not work for Wind Mobile, a Carrier I am switching to in Canada, due to the fact that 703L is kind of limited on supported networks, where as 701L has international supported Carriers and would work with Wind Mobile, so now I have to sell my phone soon which really really sucks

Torguy said:
My apologies, I didn't iterate correctly when I said "I already have Android 6.0" in my prior post, I meant to say I already have the update available but have not downloaded it because I heard Android 5.1 is running much better.
I mean if it ain't broke why fix right, I will just leave it as is until there is ever any updates that really do require me to update.
What sucks for me now is that it turns out that my phone will not work for Wind Mobile, a Carrier I am switching to in Canada, due to the fact that 703L is kind of limited on supported networks, where as 701L has international supported Carriers and would work with Wind Mobile, so now I have to sell my phone soon which really really sucks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
are you sure there isnt any international 4G'support.. we got two p8max in household (1silver premium 64GB-703L and 1xtitaniumgrey32GB-703L) both now takes 4G after latest EMUI 4.0 M6 and it works brilliantly..
Im left with the feeling that Huawei activated more of the phones 4G bands with EMUI4.0 like perhaps band20 since Im now got high 4G speeds n Copenhagen, that Didnt before.
Wrote about it here and the hardware on 703L hence 4g simply was software related and been acti´vated with latest upgrade.. we are getting solid 4G speed all the time now here in Scandinavia. / we didnt before on 703L.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/p8max/general/703l-4glte-support-emui4-0-android-6-0-t3444090

Android 6.0?
DaneLaw:
Are you running Android 6.0 on your P8 Max phones?

Honor 8 Still worth buying in May 2017?

Hi everyone,
My Xperia Z3 which I love is unfortunately dying and I need to replace it.
I'm buying either Honor 8 or Redmi Note 4 (if I decide to save some money - and also I like the big screen).
So, my question is: is Honor 8 still worth buying now around 320-330€? Is it worth double the price of the Note 4? I know it has no custom rom support, but:
-will it get Android O?
-how's the display in sunlight?
-how's the battery?
If the answer of all these questions is meh, I'll go with Redmi Note 4.
Thanks to everyone who will reply!

Yes still worth buying. Honor /Huawei have a sale on the Honor 8 if the phone fits your needs go for it.. It's a great device.. Just my 2 cents worth..

francesco_mnz said:
Hi everyone,
My Xperia Z3 which I love is unfortunately dying and I need to replace it.
I'm buying either Honor 8 or Redmi Note 4 (if I decide to save some money - and also I like the big screen).
So, my question is: is Honor 8 still worth buying now around 320-330€? Is it worth double the price of the Note 4? I know it has no custom rom support, but:
-will it get Android O?
-how's the display in sunlight?
-how's the battery?
If the answer of all these questions is meh, I'll go with Redmi Note 4.
Thanks to everyone who will reply!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Display in sunlight and battery, camera , average performance very good, things that i dont recommend this device to other probably low in loud speaker quality.

Rumor: There's going to be a new version announced/released in the next two to three months at an event in Taipei. I'd guess it'll have a Kirin 960 which has a much nicer GPU.
Huawei has been VERY bad with updates. I was using the B360 release until yesterday or the day before when B385 was pushed to me via OTA. A number of posters still haven't received that update and they're none too happy about it. B360 came out at the end of December 2016 and B385 just came out a week into May which is an unacceptably long time to be running months out of date security.
B385 may have introduced battery life problems I wasn't experiencing, but which others have been on B360. I have only been using it a day or two though, so it's hard for me to say for sure as of yet as my phone has spent most of its time on my PC or next to my bed charging.
Hopefully, the people who are still on B360 get B385 soon, hopefully the worse battery on my phone is just my imagination, and we'll get a timely update next month, but those things are all yet to be seen. If Huawei gets the update out to other Honor 8 owners within the next week, gets the May security update out in early June, and starts keeping up to date, then I'll be happy with the phone, but that remains to be seen.
It is a great phone, but if you buy one you may be stuck using 5 month out of date software indefinitely, and even if you get B385 right away we don't know that the next update will be out in a month. It could be not until November or never to get the update after it. Combine that with that a new version of the phone will probably be announced and available in a couple months and I'd say to wait. We don't know if or when Android O is coming to the Honor 8. As much as I like this phone I can't recommend buying it at the current time.
We still aren't getting any communication from Huawei/Honor as to what to expect as far as future updates. And that's really troubling.
I would suggest waiting for this years release which I would expect to be out soon or looking at the One Plus 3T. One Plus is rumored to be coming out with the One Plus 5 sometime soon too, so right now is not really a great time to be buying a phone if you can wait.

Thanks all for replying. Honor seems to be a big disappointment, it's good but something form Huawei is always lacking...
I can wait hoping that my phone survives until the summer one plus 3t is a bit too expensive, I'm still thinking of saving some money and go for Redmi Note 4 or Lenovo P2, even if I know Honor feels more like a "top phone".
If anyone will give some other opinion it will be so much appreciated.

Well, just to say my opinion
Fisrt of all, I had a lots of smartphones
Just the last 20 months I had more then 5 phones changed
The thing is, I am reading on xda for every phone the same like I wont buy LG or Sony or Samsung ever again.. its allways the same talk..
Like allways people searched for the best thing for the money and then got disapointed by something and than started like I wont buy LG anymore
Next thing thay do is buying something else.. the best for the money and again talk bad about it..
WHY??
Well, guys you must realize that the one usually are disapointed were looking for the perfect one for the money
Well, there is not evan one phone on the market wich is PERFECT FOR THE MONEY
Couse it always will be short on something
Like locked bootloader and no xda support or like no support from the manufacturer but then a bit of xda support or the build qualitie maybee good but then it is maybe fingerprint magnet..
Just be aware of that you will never get all for the money.. it is and will be allways like that..
So when you want to buy any phone be ready to be satisfide with it as is.. dont be wanting all of it for the money.. no phone has it
Soo, if you want now to consider things and this Honor 8 be prepared to like it in a way that allmost everything is ok.. allmost.. like awesome look.. premium feel but easy to scretch or be a fingerprint magnet.. able to unlock the bootloader and root and install twrp.. great battery like 9hours of SoT on B381.. great speed.. allmost perfect..BUT for now not much of custom rom support wich can change with getting the source code.. soo the best is yet to come
Soo, its almost perfect.. but dont look for perfect
You will never find it
Not evan iPhone is perfect
Look for something you will like it as is
And after like 20 smatphones I had this one is the best of it
In real world beating phones like double the priceed like pixel.. not benchmark numbers but real time speed of opening apps or things like that
Look on you tube real time speed and performance
You just can not go wrong with this phone for that money
Hope you will think about my advice
Not be looking for the best on the market
Evan samsung s8+ users are after one week of use complaining about things couse they also thought for that money s8 would be the best.. and that got dissapointed with it too..

I'll just leave this here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aypUksJ647c
Going back to the original question, it's a fantastic phone but you can try to get it for less than you mentioned. Don't know where you live but in the UK every now and then the price gets really good. The other day one of the supermarket chains was selling them for £200 and for that kind of money it's a no-brainer.

Bii @sysak
Thanks for the you tube link
That is what I try to say about this phone and real time performans.. ?

brljak83 said:
Bii @sysak
Thanks for the you tube link
That is what I try to say about this phone and real time performans..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on what you value.
It's a "value" phone so it sits on a sweet spot. If you value bug correction and updates, I would say definitely no. If you want a nice phone and are a basic user, then yes, get it.
Please just don't go on any trade-in program with Honor/Huawei. My Honor7 had zero scratches (always tempered glass and protective case) and after receiving my phone on their side, they lowered £10 on the evaluation. i rejected it in the 20th March. I haven't received my phone back yet. :crying:
The brand cares about new customers, not so much about existing ones (it's my 2nd Honor). Hence why the budget goes to advertisement and not to supporting developing community or regular updates/fixes.

Hii @zinko_pt
Thanks for the answer
And I must say I had evan phones wich were missing evan what we have right now with this honor 8
Couse this phone has some software support but its slow like for the ota updates
But had some cheaper phones from like LG wich were stuck at what came out of the box and that was it.. but then I had some phones like Samsung A5 2016 wich are the same price but are not evan close to this phone with its premium build and better support and for the same price evan better benchmarks.. so that is also for A5 2017 where you pay just the overpriced Samsung name..
So yes, it indeed is in some kind of price to value sweet spot..and I would recommend it evan now after one year.. so evan this year of 2017 it is a good phone to buy... Like an flagship for the midrange class

francesco_mnz said:
Hi everyone,
My Xperia Z3 which I love is unfortunately dying and I need to replace it.
I'm buying either Honor 8 or Redmi Note 4 (if I decide to save some money - and also I like the big screen).
So, my question is: is Honor 8 still worth buying now around 320-330€? Is it worth double the price of the Note 4? I know it has no custom rom support, but:
-will it get Android O?
-how's the display in sunlight?
-how's the battery?
If the answer of all these questions is meh, I'll go with Redmi Note 4.
Thanks to everyone who will reply!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just upgraded from the Z3 compact, and although the large format is hard to handle with one hand, mostly everything else about the phone is a huge step up from the Z3 series. The Honor's camera is very sharp with greater detail than the Z3 and at nearly half the price, it's hard to beat for the money. Like any phone in this price range, it's not perfect, but it's flaws are outweighed by it's value.
It doesn't hold charge while sleeping the way Sony does, but it sips battery while in use like a tiny bird. I easily get 6-7hrs of screen on time where I couldn't get more than 4 with the Z3C.
The single speaker is louder than the dual Sony speakers but won't win any awards for sound quality.
And though it has its quirks, EMUI is way more customizable than Sony ever could be, and I'm not talking about silly themes.
Finally, nothing beats this fingerprint reader.
Go for it! The Honor 9 might be better, but there's always something new coming out. If you really want to upgrade again, sell the Honor 8.

francesco_mnz said:
Hi everyone,
-will it get Android O?
-how's the display in sunlight?
-how's the battery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honor 6 was released with android 4 and later updated to 5.x and then to 6.0.x, if we are lucky, probably honor 8 will get O as well.
Display and battery are good.

Thanks to everyone. I don't know why, but the Honor 8 price is rising instead of dropping:/ a couple of months ago I could get it for more or less 320€, now it's like 345€:/

I'm in a very similar situation since I got my Honor 8 to replace a dying Sony Z2.
I really liked my Z2, and even being as old as it was, there is no phone out there that I would have voluntarily given up my Z2 for.
That said, I am happy with my H8, and I am not looking back.
In their times, the Z2 and Z3 were both high-end phones. I would call the H8 a mid-range phone.
If you are willing to spend upwards of US$500, then there are better phones out there -- Sony XZ, Huawei P9 Pro... etc.
Like a previous post said, the H8 does not have stereo speakers, but the sound from the single speaker at the bottom is better than my Z2 was. The Z2 had a specific problem with the speaker phone being low... I can now actually use my speaker phone.
The H8 also lacks the water proof feature of the high-end Sony's. While I never immersed my Z2, it seemed to die of something that could have been moisture intrusion.
Point is that I really do not miss either of those features in daily use.
Sony was excellent with updates. Only a Nexus device (or Pixel, or whatever) could have been better. I am hoping that Huawei supports this phone for a while, but I would have to say that IMHO expecting them to be as good as Sony was in this respect is not a reasonable expectation. Notice also that I said ..."as good as Sony was". Sony seems to be shrinking in the market, so going forward, they may not be as good as they were.
Camera: My Sony would shoot 4K video --- for about 30 seconds before it would either produce an file that ate all available storage, or it would over heat. I never used it. For anything other than comparing specs (anything practical) I think I can actually do more cool/impressive photography with the H8.
Speed: I have no speed complaints at all with the H8. I've never noticed a lag or anything happening at a speed that would even begin to cause frustration. Processor speed and cost caused the H8 to easily win out for me over the XZ.
Another thing that should not be ignored is Huawei's reputation for building better radios. With both this phone and an old Honor 2, I notice better signal (real, and number of bars) in fringe areas.
Lastly, the feel of the H8 must be mentioned. The feel/build quality/whatever you want to call it is better than any other phone in it's price class.
I agree with the other poster that said (as you mention -- especially in May of 2017) don't over pay for it. Today it should be viewed strictly as a mid-range daily use phone. Decide which range you are in and act/pay accordingly.

Sony have a great reputation for SW update. I've witness this. Z3C phone and tablet had update until 6.0.1, from a SD801. The only reason there is no oficial Nougat update is because Google doesn't want it to happen. But Z3C was beta for Nougat. I can't even remember how hold is my tablet but runs fantastic, zero bugs.
Now moving on to Huawei/Honor, Emui5.1 is coming out on new devices, not available on old.
P9 flagship is still Emui5. Not even mentioning 7.1.1 or latest security updates. When and if they're implemented, they're already outdated.
Honor7 got 1 OS version update and no Nougat. Not even the promised 2 year support.
If we take examples from other brands (OnePlus is also under fire due to false promises about software updates) software updates might be, if not are actually be, the number one thing users get disappointed.
There's definitely a trend amongst some manufacturers to drop support too soon for devices. Apple, very much bashed, is an example of OS support, which is sad.

I heard Honor US has promised to provide this region with two years of updated. Even if they don't, root.

Aside from being able to have exploits run that require root and breaking whatever OTAs we get It's unclear what the point of rooting would be on the Honor 8. There isn't much you can do unless I'm missing something.

Windvcloud said:
Recommend you consider the P10 lite
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
P10 lite instead of Honor 8?
P10 lite:
1. Micro USB
2. No IR
3. Kirin 658< Kirin 950
4. DDR3 RAM
5. Mali T830MP2 (40.8 GFlops)
Honor 8:
1. USB- C
2. IR blaster
3. Kirin 950> Kirin 658
4. DDR4 RAM for 4Gb version
5. Mali T840MP2 (122.4GFlops)
6. Fast battery charging

If you are concerned about constant update flagship phone are your best bet. Honor 8 is in a bad position because of it is a sub brand and has a smaller team you won't get update as often. However it is still a flagship of honor brand thus might qualify for 2 yr support. If you can buy it at the price of midrange phone like p10lite go ahead coz it's a capable phone you won't feel like it's a cheap phone performance wise come android O.

brljak83 said:
Hii @zinko_pt
Thanks for the answer
And I must say I had evan phones wich were missing evan what we have right now with this honor 8
Couse this phone has some software support but its slow like for the ota updates
But had some cheaper phones from like LG wich were stuck at what came out of the box and that was it.. but then I had some phones like Samsung A5 2016 wich are the same price but are not evan close to this phone with its premium build and better support and for the same price evan better benchmarks.. so that is also for A5 2017 where you pay just the overpriced Samsung name..
So yes, it indeed is in some kind of price to value sweet spot..and I would recommend it evan now after one year.. so evan this year of 2017 it is a good phone to buy... Like an flagship for the midrange class
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It all comes down to promises: if a brand makes a promise to support a device for 2 years and release the source code, and then disregard them, it makes untrustworthy. Simple.
---------- Post added at 11:55 ---------- Previous post was at 11:53 ----------
Rommco05 said:
Huawei have allready implemented features from 7.1.1 they dont need this update (except security patch). P8lite rollout with EMUI 4.0 and after some time was updated to EMUI
4.1. Its true Honor and users was confused with Nougat updates, but now start (slowly) pushing realy good updates... In my opinion, one time push to our devices EMUI 5.1 and maybe Android O...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That "except" is the tricky part isn't it? It's security, something with you should roll your dices and see how it goes. We can discuss features but not so security. And Huawei/Honor is always way behind schedule to release security patches. Just not acceptable.

Question - P20 pro or wait for Mate 20 Pro or other?

So, I managed that rarest of all things, I got a good deal out of my mobile provider - unlimited everything including data, tethering, roaming and a new handset for £25 upfront and £30 a month for 2 years. The handset is a P20 Pro, black, unlocked and dual SIM. Not too a shabby deal I think.
However, now I'm left with a bit of a First World issue. Should I keep the P20 Pro or sell it on Fleabay and wait for the new Mate 20 Pro, or even the Pixel 3 XL?
I should say that right now I have a Mate 10 Pro for work and a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S for private. I could combine obviously and get my It guys to enable the P20 on the work network and have one phone with 2 SIMs. BUT, the new Mate 20 Pro is coming, I don't mind MIUI (I especially like the desktop mode, most underrated and best feature by far!). The phone is lovely in hand and the camera is fantastic ( I imagine, I haven't switched it on).
but I do like Google "au naturel", ie Pixel phones. On the other hand I really. really don't like notches.... The Pixel 3 XL has got the mother of all notches (unless the rumours are true) and the P20 Pro has one too. The Mi Mix 2S doesn't have a notch and is bezel-free. I am not a narcissist, I know what I look like, I don't feel the need to validate myself to others by constantly taking and sharing selfies, so the location of the front camera is not an issue in the slightest (not that it makes much difference in use any ways). Also the screen gesture navigation system on Xiaomi is excellent. Cons, it is heavy, the camera is not on a par apparently.
So, the P20 Pro, keep or swap?

I'm in the same boat as you to be honest. I love my P20 Pro don't get me wrong and I was one of the lucky ones that got a bootloader unlock code in time.
However the Mate 20 Pro and the Kirin 980 are very appealing, just the thought of no bootloader unlock is my concern.
I think I'll wait to see what the Pixel 3 offers then make my decision then as it might be the likely contender for me. Just hoping the P20 Pro holds a good value is all.

I had the same fortune as OP, my P20 Pro has been literally given by my network provider... 7€, that's it no payment hidden in a new type of subscription, just plain offered, just for being in tacitly reconducted deal on a special offer from theirs (130go per month data plan, unlimited calls to aunty destination mobile or landline in the world and of course no roaming in the EU, and some other goodies) so I jumped on their offer, as I am not tied to them, I can jump ship to any other provider at any time no cost. But I also had this really first world problem, I already had the OnePlus 5t and the Pixel 2XL...
And I feel common sense, no need for more than one, or ok, two for a backup or travel device, but three devices, mhm, really odd.
But the phone itself is really reliable, and battery wise is a beast by itself, and I have looked at the Pie beta for it, and seeing first hand what it brought to my Google pixel unit, in terms of freshness and optimizations, I am sure it will improve the experience.
The only thing that I don't like about the P20 Pro is that the settings are really not coherent, like something's there, but not in the place where you would like to find them. For everything else it is a serviceable device. And in the Pie update settings are found to be streamlined a bit better. So, I hope to see it in action.
If only the os were a little less hungry and aggressive sometimes, power wise, and stick more to Google's or OnePlus presentation, it would be perfect.
I don't know what to expect from the 3XL, but it will be another good phone. So if you are happy toying with the camera, the P20 Pro, now, or later on Pie, will be excellent to keep. Bi monthly updates and security patches, that's at least how it worked out for me and it's fine.

Putting the Pro up for sale un-opened. Very difficult, but I think it's worth having the money in the bank for the new phone coming.

If I had the choice of of get rid, I like flashing ROMs and this has very few. Treble are ok but lots broken.
Shame as it's a great device

I would definitely wait. My P20 Pro isn't as fast or smooth as my cheaper Mix 2S. The next generation Kirin chip will be in the Mate 10 Pro and P20 Pro that are coming out and it's supposed to be about 20% faster than the CPU in this phone.

bye bye Huawei

Got the OnePlus 8 Pro and coming from this turd of a device it is a refreshing change.
The smoothness and higher refresh rate is staggeringly superior.
Wish that Huawei would have left the bootloader alone, the p10 Pro was going places.
Now it's pretty much dead, shame.
Hopefully see some of you in the OnePlus 8 Pro forum, highly recommend the phone, is flawless.

I switched from MI 9t to P20 pro and I really regret it

dladz said:
Got the OnePlus 8 Pro and coming from this turd of a device it is a refreshing change.
The smoothness and higher refresh rate is staggeringly superior.
Wish that Huawei would have left the bootloader alone, the p10 Pro was going places.
Now it's pretty much dead, shame.
Hopefully see some of you in the OnePlus 8 Pro forum, highly recommend the phone, is flawless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bye bye my friend ...also bad company and i will see you in telegram group for p20 pro

maahmd said:
bye bye my friend ...also bad company and i will see you in telegram group for p20 pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Course mate no worries.

achour7 said:
I switched from MI 9t to P20 pro and I really regret it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohhh I feel you, that's like me swapping out my OnePlus 5 for the Pro. I got the phone and tried why I got it (camera) then after the novelty of that wore off and development on XDA died, I realised that it is a dog turd.
So much potential, literally killed with several bad decisions.

I wouldn't change my P20 Pro for the world (well perhaps for the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro). Its easily the best phone I've ever owned. I honestly cannot fault it for anything other than the lack of development.

dladz said:
Got the OnePlus 8 Pro and coming from this turd of a device it is a refreshing change.
The smoothness and higher refresh rate is staggeringly superior.
Wish that Huawei would have left the bootloader alone, the p10 Pro was going places.
Now it's pretty much dead, shame.
Hopefully see some of you in the OnePlus 8 Pro forum, highly recommend the phone, is flawless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is battery life of OP8 Pro compared with the P20 Pro? You get almost same SOT?
And for the camera quality?

mickrick said:
I wouldn't change my P20 Pro for the world (well perhaps for the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro). Its easily the best phone I've ever owned. I honestly cannot fault it for anything other than the lack of development.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Splintered variants
Poor GPU
Poor CPU
Poor overall performance
Bloated software
Awful customer service
Woeful development
Disgusting software updates.
Do I need to go on?
Sorry mate, each to their own but honestly, I dropped the ball when I got a Huawei, against my better judgement, I'm much happier now that I have the performance I need and the freedom that android deserves.

Albe95 said:
How is battery life of OP8 Pro compared with the P20 Pro? You get almost same SOT?
And for the camera quality?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's only day one but so far it's been pretty good.
I managed to get 14 hours 45 minutes on my OnePlus 5, usually averaged around 10 hours.
My average on the P20 Pro was a little less at about 7-9 hours
Soon as I get a ballpark I'll respond.
So far it's looking good, I think a minimum of 7, better in mind I've got 120hz on constantly.
Camera is phenomenal and that's compared to the P20 Pro. It's a huge leap forward, 4k 60fps is brilliant, the OIS stability is vastly improved and the super macro I love. I'm yet to find a fault with the phone besides one thing which I'm getting used to and that's the waterfall screen, I sometimes touch it by accident but I think that's habit of having edges on my Huawei.
Free wireless bullets 2 came with the phone and a case in the box which will do for now.
12GB RAM and 256GB storage, just a crazy phone mate.

dladz said:
Got the OnePlus 8 Pro and coming from this turd of a device it is a refreshing change.
The smoothness and higher refresh rate is staggeringly superior.
Wish that Huawei would have left the bootloader alone, the p10 Pro was going places.
Now it's pretty much dead, shame.
Hopefully see some of you in the OnePlus 8 Pro forum, highly recommend the phone, is flawless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I absolutely understand you, i will switch over time too. I'm not happy with the Huawei phone.

spityu85hun said:
I absolutely understand you, i will switch over time too. I'm not happy with the Huawei phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird thing about me with huawei, I usually get 1-2 phones each year, this time is the first time I've stuck it out with one phone for two years.
So yea I was really say the end of my tether.

dladz said:
Weird thing about me with huawei, I usually get 1-2 phones each year, this time is the first time I've stuck it out with one phone for two years.
So yea I was really say the end of my tether .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it lasted for me too. so far a phone has been on for max half a year.

spityu85hun said:
it lasted for me too. so far a phone has been on for max half a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife still has hers and she loves it. Much simpler needs though.
She has had an envious look at my OnePlus though and is now I'm guessing feeling like hers is in need of a refresh
Root already achieved btw and twrp. Not complete but it's very early. I think it'll be hugely popular, going to try to get some of my old Devs to jump in.

People started reporting the green screen problem in low brightness with OP8 Pro. Did you experience anything like this?

boradu said:
People started reporting the green screen problem in low brightness with OP8 Pro. Did you experience anything like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, also heard something similar on every single thread is every single phone one ever owned. You need to be extremely unlucky for this to happen to you. On any of the aforementioned phones. (list in my sig)

dladz said:
Splintered variants
Poor GPU
Poor CPU
Poor overall performance
Bloated software
Awful customer service
Woeful development
Disgusting software updates.
Do I need to go on?
Sorry mate, each to their own but honestly, I dropped the ball when I got a Huawei, against my better judgement, I'm much happier now that I have the performance I need and the freedom that android deserves.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, but I don't see all of this. My phone runs just fine. I don't find the software bloated. I've never had to use customer service. I don't see any perceptible lack of performance. Sure, software updates are slow to arrive, but this is the same with the vast majority of manufacturers. And how many of them still support devices over 2 years old?
As I previously said, the lack of development, due mainly to Huawei's intransigence over bootloader unlocking, is the only real issue I have with it.

mickrick said:
I'm sorry, but I don't see all of this. My phone runs just fine. I don't find the software bloated. I've never had to use customer service. I don't see any perceptible lack of performance. Sure, software updates are slow to arrive, but this is the same with the vast majority of manufacturers. And how many of them still support devices over 2 years old?
As I previously said, the lack of development, due mainly to Huawei's intransigence over bootloader unlocking, is the only real issue I have with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I didn't want to do this (get pulled into a silly back and forth) especially seeing as what I said is correct.
Bloat:
The ROM download is 4.7GB in size? In what way is that not bloated dude? What the hell Is it?
Customer service:
OnePlus, called to RMA, phone sent and back in 3 days, for free, I asked Huawei for MY information, all correspondence, GDPR , this is my information, that was seven months ago, I'm still waiting, they won't send me anything.
Performance?:
Oh dear where to start, install lawn chair launcher, add the Google feed (on the left) it lags when opening it, a OnePlus 5 doesn't lag when you do that? A OnePlus 3, 2 maybe even a 1!!
Dolphin emulator lags, unplayable in most instances, psp, modern combat, normal games like cod, or just 3D games in general have sub standard performance compared to any of the phones out at the same time as the Pro, unless it's a Huawei / honor / Samsung (EU) device, the problem is mainly the awful Mali but the CPU isn't great either, plus it heats up a lot too.
Software updates:
OnePlus - one variation
Huawei - I can even answer this, how many different variants and regions are there for Huawei? L09 L29 c432 c783 A100 ?? I have no idea, it's just a stupid avoidable mess, how long have people been waiting for Android 10? How many people managed to get the beta? Lol it's shocking, OHHH and yes some of the updates relock the damn bootloader, some of the services (funky) completely broke the ability to unlock the bootloader? It's a disgusting, avoidable sh*tshow.
Let me tell you something about software updates, a phone with a healthy after market development community will not need updates after two years, they will continue to get tweaked, optimized, newer modded ROMs released, look at the HD2, I think it's still being developed now. Huawei will never have that, ever, or is a dead platform on XDA.
Lastly :
I'm not bashing your here, I know people who bought this device did so in good faith, I'm one of them, and bitterness is rife as well as a bias for your device but you can't stand by what you said pal, it's just BS, get any Snapdragon device and you'll see what I mean. My only hope for the Huawei community is that they never buy another Huawei ever again, Huawei teamed up with XDA and became popular, created a following and then just pulled the rug out from everyone's feet. I hope they go down the route HTC did, the former surely deserve it.

dladz said:
Got the OnePlus 8 Pro and coming from this turd of a device it is a refreshing change.
The smoothness and higher refresh rate is staggeringly superior.
Wish that Huawei would have left the bootloader alone, the p10 Pro was going places.
Now it's pretty much dead, shame.
Hopefully see some of you in the OnePlus 8 Pro forum, highly recommend the phone, is flawless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I couldn't afford the 8 Pro so actually went for a reduced 7T. Saved me a few hundred and still way better than the 20 Pro experience.

maddoguk said:
I couldn't afford the 8 Pro so actually went for a reduced 7T. Saved me a few hundred and still way better than the 20 Pro experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, if the 8 didn't come to carriers in the UK I was thinking of doing the same mate. Totally get your choice.
Lot of similarities and you've got that high refresh rate too.

With you on the sh*t show that has been Huawei. Remember the days when you could actually unlock the bootloader and we clung on to some hope that there'd be light at the end of the tunnel but they quickly stopped that. I had to send my back for a repair after it hard bricked and they sent it back bootloader locked
I couldn't warrant the extra £200 for the OP8 Pro so got the standard OP8. I'm seeing that Pro forum is already more active with some ROM's that I hope will quickly filter down to its little brother and the hardware is not much different.
So yeah, 2 years of the P20 done & dusted, phone sold, only regret I have is putting up with it for so long.

General Pixel 6 v OP9

What do you guys think of the new Pixel 6 that was (sort of) announced? Anyone planning to switch over when it gets released this fall?
Personally, I've constantly being going back and forth between Pixel and OnePlus devices.
I was thinking of sticking with OnePlus this time around but I've been dealing with poor RAM management on this device as well as feeling like the camera partnership with Hasselblad didn't live up to its hype. Tweaking just the colour science isn't enough for me, and it's unfortunate there's no OIS on the standard OnePlus 9 either.
The enhancements to the camera, particularly video recording on the Pixel 6 seems promising, so I'm pretty excited and I'm most likely going to switch!

I mean, even if the base model has OIS it'll be a vast improvement over the OP9. Hell, even EIS will destroy the OP9.

and it's unfortunate there's no OIS on the standard OnePlus 9 either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
im still so amazed how my OP6 has OIS and my "hasslebrand" advert focused 9 does not. it baffles me that call was made.
Ive tried every ROM and many camera apps on each of them, all of them have such terrible camera issues with auto-focus times and whitebalance bleeding. Its hardly noticeable in videos and pictures but try to scan QR codes with it off another screen, if that QR code is a succession of them (say, for secure crypto wallet confirmations on a hardware wallet) it makes it IMPOSSIBLE to do without optimal lighting and YOU moving the phone around until its focus/lighting can play along. its so bad, Ive kept my OP6 instead of selling it.
I have other issues but Id like to end on a positive for OP. My 9 has had 2 issues and both were caused by me flashing ROMs. both times left the phone unable to use MSMToolkit and both times ive sent my phone in, free of charge, and got it back in complete working condition, free of charge. One was even a complete phone replacement. Not the easiest support system to utilize but as a non-warranty user, the 2nd time really shocked me i didnt have to pay a dime. I flashed the phone with MSM right when i got to to assure it worked and sure enough, it does. (and i didnt learn a damn thing because im running crDroid and loving it.) I'm almost certain both times were caused by the unofficial TWRP port for 9/9Pro, so I would avoid that at all costs.

Simply put, I will be making the switch.

Switching. Definitely switching.

I don't really care about phone cameras that much, so for me I'd rather keep the OP9 than go to a phone with a brand new SoC from a company known for very crappy first iterations, bad documentation, and bad support of their own products. These phones are going to be way too expensive for what they are (ugly as hell), when you can get a OP9 for probably half the price of the new Pixel phones.
I'd rather have an iPhone or overspend on a Samsung with a snapdragon than buy the pixel 6

orangekid said:
I don't really care about phone cameras that much, so for me I'd rather keep the OP9 than go to a phone with a brand new SoC from a company known for very crappy first iterations, bad documentation, and bad support of their own products. These phones are going to be way too expensive for what they are (ugly as hell), when you can get a OP9 for probably half the price of the new Pixel phones.
I'd rather have an iPhone or overspend on a Samsung with a snapdragon than buy the pixel 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can understand that but personally I tried iphone recently for about 2 months and I had to switch back to android. The 12 pro max was just too heavy and had too many things that annoyed me because android did it better lol. I haven't owned Samsung since the note 5 and I'll probably never own another Samsung phone. Their skin and their bloat apps are just not for me. Been with OnePlus a while but the OnePlus 9 really disappointed me. My phone overheats just browsing the internet or using WhatsApp. It's annoying and the battery life is crap especially compared to the 12 pro max I had.

toyanucci said:
I can understand that but personally I tried iphone recently for about 2 months and I had to switch back to android. The 12 pro max was just too heavy and had too many things that annoyed me because android did it better lol. I haven't owned Samsung since the note 5 and I'll probably never own another Samsung phone. Their skin and their bloat apps are just not for me. Been with OnePlus a while but the OnePlus 9 really disappointed me. My phone overheats just browsing the internet or using WhatsApp. It's annoying and the battery life is crap especially compared to the 12 pro max I had.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ya my iPhone/Samsung comment was really more joking. My point is that if your OP9 overheats then that's a specific unit problem, like I would just get a different one, or a Oneplus 8 Pro, or even a xiaomi 11 Ultra. I feel like the new Google device is going to have major issues like new google stuff always does. If you think your phone has issues now wait until you play wiht a brand new SoC from the one company notorious for putting out half baked, half finished products that usually get canned.

orangekid said:
I don't really care about phone cameras that much, so for me I'd rather keep the OP9 than go to a phone with a brand new SoC from a company known for very crappy first iterations, bad documentation, and bad support of their own products. These phones are going to be way too expensive for what they are (ugly as hell), when you can get a OP9 for probably half the price of the new Pixel phones.
I'd rather have an iPhone or overspend on a Samsung with a snapdragon than buy the pixel 6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The s21 overheats to bad I sold mind and got OnePlus 9 I don't think I will be going back to Samsung anytime soon I ain't sure if it's just the chip or just the phone but I did notice that OnePlus phone don't get hot like Samsung does

I'm keeping a watch on the Pixel 6 Pro as a possible next device....
Google Pixel 6 Pro
The Google Pixel 6 Pro is a 6.71" phone with a 1440x3120 120Hz display. The Google Tensor chipset is paired with 12GB of RAM and 128/256/512GB of storage. The main camera is 50+48+12MP and the selfie camera is 11.1MP. The battery has a 5003mAh capacity.
forum.xda-developers.com

P6 100% The ride has been good but will be coming to an end.

I love my Oneplus 9 honestly. No bugs or issues, no overheating. Battery life is good. no curved screen (I cannot STAND curved screens). I mean for me it just works. That 120hz screen is awesome. there's not too much bloat and it's easily rooted.
Plus you can get it for a really good price right now. The warp charge it comes with is cool basically a full charge from nothing in 25 minutes or so. And wireless charging. No other frills needed, camera is good enough for me.
I will see what hte Pixel 6 has in store for me, but honestly I think it's going to be overpriced and not much or any better than the current snapdragon 888 offerings. I like competition, and I hope the new tensor SoC will make Qualcomm worry and start pushing their chip designs (like what AMD is doing to Intel).
But for me, I really feel like I am going to ride or die with the OP9 until OP11 or Xiaomi Mi Mix 5/6 or something that is actually really cool. Samsung has a horrible UI, is overpriced, and is a bit boring for me. Pixel phones have been outdated when they are released with older chip hardware and small screens while having a high price tag.
Let's keep a close eye on the Pixel 6, I could always jump ship too if I it blows me away..

orangekid said:
I love my Oneplus 9 honestly. No bugs or issues, no overheating. Battery life is good. no curved screen (I cannot STAND curved screens). I mean for me it just works. That 120hz screen is awesome. there's not too much bloat and it's easily rooted.
Plus you can get it for a really good price right now. The warp charge it comes with is cool basically a full charge from nothing in 25 minutes or so. And wireless charging. No other frills needed, camera is good enough for me.
I will see what hte Pixel 6 has in store for me, but honestly I think it's going to be overpriced and not much or any better than the current snapdragon 888 offerings. I like competition, and I hope the new tensor SoC will make Qualcomm worry and start pushing their chip designs (like what AMD is doing to Intel).
But for me, I really feel like I am going to ride or die with the OP9 until OP11 or Xiaomi Mi Mix 5/6 or something that is actually really cool. Samsung has a horrible UI, is overpriced, and is a bit boring for me. Pixel phones have been outdated when they are released with older chip hardware and small screens while having a high price tag.
Let's keep a close eye on the Pixel 6, I could always jump ship too if I it blows me away..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm skeptical yet excited at the same time. Really hoping Google blows us all away with a beast of a device!

rickysidhu_ said:
I'm skeptical yet excited at the same time. Really hoping Google blows us all away with a beast of a device!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I loved the Nexus One, which might still be my favorite new phone release to this day, so I guess it's not impossible.

still on cdDroid. love the built in buds control. other roms are reporting bluetooth playback issues, mine isnt.
My pixel dialer features broke for a day but the latest module fixed it https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/GoogleDialerFramework (just know, i run beta releases of messages, phone and carrier services alone with having the originals disabled.
if you want pixel 6 AI voicscreening, install the modual then clear cache of google play, google services and reboot!
we do not deserve the generosity of /u/audalics

Well Google proved once again they think it's OK to provide old hardware with flagship pricing again, because camera gimmicks.
The Pixel fanboys are hard at work forgiving Google for providing inferior CPU, modem, display, battery charging, fingerprint, aesthetic design, and more for the privilege of being Google's buggy software beta testers.
Android in weird place with OnePlus now settling on everything they once bragged or made fun of others for doing.
I don't think there will be much improvement I switching from OP9 to Pixel, just going from one set of annoyances to another. All I can say for certain is the display modem and CPU are superior on OP9. Will see if A12 improves OP9 experience.

zymphad said:
Well Google proved once again they think it's OK to provide old hardware with flagship pricing again, because camera gimmicks.
The Pixel fanboys are hard at work forgiving Google for providing inferior CPU, modem, display, battery charging, fingerprint, aesthetic design, and more for the privilege of being Google's buggy software beta testers.
Android in weird place with OnePlus now settling on everything they once bragged or made fun of others for doing.
I don't think there will be much improvement I switching from OP9 to Pixel, just going from one set of annoyances to another. All I can say for certain is the display modem and CPU are superior on OP9. Will see if A12 improves OP9 experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pixel 6 screen is a blotchy OLED mess, sent my first one back and ordered a second. If the second one is terrible I'm rooting the op9 and getting Google dialer features. The screen is the single most important part of a smartphone.

redeyss said:
Pixel 6 screen is a blotchy OLED mess, sent my first one back and ordered a second. If the second one is terrible I'm rooting the op9 and getting Google dialer features. The screen is the single most important part of a smartphone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man that is crazy.
Waiting to see how your second ones comes in because I was eyeing this phone and ya can't handle a bogus screen.

orangekid said:
Man that is crazy.
Waiting to see how your second ones comes in because I was eyeing this phone and ya can't handle a bogus screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a pixel fanboy for sure but after returning the pixel 6 I tried two pixel 5a phones and both had horrible OLED displays, both returned. I bought a pre owned OnePlus 9 from Amazon and this screen is freaking amazing, uniform and even lighting and smooth as butter. If the second p6 screen isn't great I'll keep the op9 or go back to my pixel 4xl.

My big gripe on the 9 is the reception is terrible and I have BT issues all the time in my Hondas. Works ok with wireless Buds Z.
I was hoping the Pixel 6 would be better. I guess I can always go back to my 7 Pro.