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Hi all, just discovered the Essential Phone yesterday while getting ready to buy a Sony Xperia XZ2 compact. I like a sleek, small(er) phone and there are very few options that will work on Verizon's CDMA network.
I've been researching all I can on this phone and would likely buy one certified refurbished off Amazon. The price seems amazing!
I've been reading a bit about cellular quality (people losing signal) and other small issues. Of course you always hear about issues online but rarely do people post their pleasant experience with a product.
How popular are these phones? Did they sell well? Do you think there are many out there that have never had any issues or, are these a better 2nd phone next to a more reliable daily driver?
One thing I would like to do is use a new Samsung Galaxy Watch with my new phone. I've read Pie has had some issues playing nice with smart watches (Galaxy watches in particular?)
I also have read the Essential Phone is easily rootable which is fantastic. I've rooted phones in the past (it's been a while) and have no issue doing so again if it would help make this amazing phone more stable, reliable or work better with a smart watch.
SO - Should I (or would you) buy the Essential Phone again or should I skip to the Sony Xperia XZ2 compact? The major driver of my decision is reliability.
Thanks for any comments or recommendations. I'll keep reading up and researching.
I would most certainly buy another Essential. They are smooth, reliable, the custom rom community has grown exponentially recently, and the battery life is decent if you aren't heavy into mobile gaming. As a plus, it also gets updates as soon as (or in a couple cases, faster) than the Pixels. It's a good size and the screen quality is really great for the price. The signal reception issue can be a bit of a hassle, but I've managed to work with it. I won't be getting another phone until this one dies, or I have heaps of cash to get a Samsung Note whatever the new one is when I can buy it.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
I'd buy again, definitely. Just not for the original price. Try ordering yours in China, you can buy one for 100-130USD, but what you get is a lottery. i bought 3 pieces and 2 were perfect, one was a bit heavily used with scratches and poor battery.
Overall, phone is still great in 2019. I use it as daily driver since 13 months. XZ2 looks medieval compared to essential.
Cons:
- probably hard to resell
- impossible to replace battery, use it till it dies 1-2 years later and rip the phone
- a bit heavy, but it's thanks to great build materials
Almost everything is good for me. The camera could be better, but gcam helps with that. The biggest issue I have is the touchscreen being janky.
The best of the PH1 support and the construction of the terminal, I never had signal or screen problems, the camera is good (although in low light the pictures have a lot of noise). I always liked it from the moment it came out but as it was not positioned to score for many, the sale price was its most negative point. It became a viable option when its low price to $ 450, in that value had no competition. If a PH2 comes out, it will be my next cell phone, in terms of support, without counting Pixel, it is far the best support and customer service. After having flagships of Samsung and Lg, in Android there are 3 options Pixel, OnePlus and Essential.
I would definitely buy it again, but only if I could find a great deal for it (I won't pay a full price for ANY phone, period). Managed to get my PH1 for under US$150 (that's including a 360 camera and a DIY replacement for a shattered screen), and couldn't be happier with it. Everyone's usage pattern is different, so the opinions may vary, but for me it's by far the best phone I ever owned. Speaking of reliability, this phone has never let me down so far, it just works. Rooting of Android Pie is indeed easy with Magisk. I don't use TWRP, and keep this phone full stock (rooted).
I don't care for smartwatches, so can't comment on using them with the Essential, sorry.
I concur with other posters, would buy again. Came from OnePlus 5, intended this to be a backup phone as the OP USB port is janky. The PH1 is now my daily driver, really like the device. Use the Gcam for a better camera, easy to root. Screen is fantastic IMO too. Battery life gets me thru a day no problem, normal usage. Price is good...snagged one with the 360 cam for 180.
Thought I'd share my initial impressions on the Oppo Ace2 since it has not gotten much coverage. I also owned the Red Magic 5G for a week before selling it.
I'm coming from a Oneplus 6 and have owned a lot of other Android devices, off the top of my head these include the Nexus 4, OnePlus One, Asus Nexus 7, Samsung Tab Pro 8.4, Galaxy S7 Edge, Huawei Nexus 6P, LG v20, Lenovo ZUK Z2, Mediapad T5, Red Magic 5g etc.
Let's start with the Red Magic 5G. I ordered this a few months ago off tradingshenzhen, it got to me fast enough and the price was fair, but their customer support was not very good (I will not be ordering from them again cause of this https://i.imgur.com/2qd4zPM.jpg). They'll get your phone to you and offer one year warranty but don't expect them to be nice or helpful in the event you dont like your phone or have any issues.
Either way, here my notes on the phone:
Software
I got the Chinese version of the phone. I found the software experience to actually be very good despite this, ignoring the fact that there were some chinese apps that I didnt understand. I'm sure if I removed these few apps I would have had a very good software experience. The software felt very smooth and stable. There were some pretty cool features, but not a ton. Experience felt close to stock android, but lightly skinned with the right theme after some setting up. It didnt come with play store, I just had to install the playstore from apk, chrome and google keyboard then I had an experience not all that different from my OnePlus 6. My red magic 5g got a lot of updates in the time I had it, with big change logs, I'm not sure if global rom users will get that same experience since these types of phones seem to get better support in China.
Display and Body
This is where my mind was blown. That 144hz screen is beautiful and smooth. This was definitely what I loved about the phone most. However, I had my gripes with this screen. For one the, bezels were huge, and the corners were too rounded (meaning less screen). They were so rounded that it was distracting to me, almost as much as having a notch.. This might be a gross exaggeration but I hope it gets my point across. As for the large bezels, it feels like they used the "gaming phone" identity as an excuse to cut corners here with bezel size. It bothered me that there's so much potential screen space being wasted with those large unused bezels. Now the body has very nice comfortable shape, so I don't have anything against that, but it is kind of big, and it is pretty heavy. It felt very premium and nice in hand, but at the same time, it was not comfortable to one hand for long periods of time, it's size and heft also made it a little unwieldy for one handing. This is the main reason I ended up selling this phone. I would often find myself going back to my oneplus 6 instead of using my new phone cause it was just way more comfortable to use with one hand.
Battery and Misc
Microphone was good according to those that I called, speakers sounded fine to me, werent bad at all. They were stereo speakers, one bottom firing and one in the ear piece, which was nice. Battery was meh. For a 4500mah battery phone, it died very fast. Battery felt about the same as my much older oneplus 6 in it's current state.. Around 6-7 hours of screen on time with regular use (not gaming). With gaming I got around a little more than half that. It charged at a decent speed, not slow but not astonishingly fast. My Red magic 5g benchmarked around 595k on Antutu, so it was very fast. The fan was barely audible in it's intelligent mode or whatever it's called. Personally I think the fan is pointless, and that good thermal design makes a much bigger difference. I loved having the shoulder triggers for gaming. playing games like codm, pubg, etc were great experiences. I sunk hours into these games even though I dont tend to really do any smartphone gaming. I don't really like that manufacturers are trying so hard to make phones into "gaming phones" cause they are still just phones at the end of the day. If anything I would like to have a good value flagship (or flagship killer) with shoulder triggers, it doesn't need to be a "gaming phone". For instance, I think the oneplus 8 (or pro) but with a flat screen + shoulder triggers would be the perfect and ideal phone for me.
I also ordered the Realme X2 Pro but the seller (realme's aliexpress store) cancelled this order due to shipping issues. Then I ordered the Poco F2 Pro but GearBest hadn't shipped it out even after 3 weeks so I cancelled the order. Finally I ordered the Ace2 off Giztop and this was a much better experience. Order placed Friday, shipped out Monday, then received next week Monday (today). The Ace2 was discounted to $589.99 and I got a further 4% discount with the GTRE4 code. Shipping was $30 (DHL) and duties/brokerage was $37, so I paid a grand total of around (roughly) $632. Not bad. The shipping, handling, duties and fees all together were still less than Canadian tax (13%). Canadian retailers sell phones like the Poco F2 pro for around $580 (USD), after taxes that's $655, not even including shipping costs. Much better to wait a little for longer shipping and buy from outside of Canada it seems. So let's talk about this phone.
First and foremost, I'd like to note I do get buyer's remorse (like I did with my red magic 5g), but I've never had any issues post-purchase rationalization. If I don't like something, I don't try to justify it, especially where phones are concerned and having owned so many different devices, both good and bad. For example, the LG V20 was my most expensive purchase and easily the phone I hated most out of all the devices I've owned. I had already paid for it, so I stuck with it even though I hated it for at least a year, before finally getting my current oneplus 6. The LG V20 was so bad that I thought my much older nexus 6p was wayyy better, I wanted to go back to it so bad but I had already handed it down to my mom. While I liked the red magic 5g, I didn't like it enough to keep it and ended up selling it at a loss. My point here is, that these are just my opinions, but I do try to be as unbiased as I can be. I bought the Ace2 knowing that I would sell or return it if I didnt like it, like I did with my Red Magic 5g, so I didnt have my hopes high or any plans to keep it if I wasnt happy with it.
Setup
The unboxing experience was very basic, like any other Chinese smartphone so I will skip this part, but it does come with a pre-applied screen protector and a surprisingly nice clear case. I thought it would be a cheap clear case that looked nasty on the phone.
First thing I did was update the phone's firmware, then do a full factory reset. I set it up fresh, uninstalled what chinese bloat I could (there was a lot), installed playstore with the first apk I found, then using that I installed chrome + google keyboard. After turning on the app drawer, and dark mode I felt I had a very usable experience similar to what I had on my oneplus 6. I hate migrating phones, but the experience here wasnt too bad, I downloaded and used oppo's phone clone app from my oneplus 6, it connected the two phones with direct wifi and copied 30 gigs of data over in around 15min. I did not get much control in what gets copied over but it was still a very simple and hassle free process that I could appreciate.
Software
I'm going to start with this phone's biggest weakness. So the software is.. a mixed bag. Say what you will about the design, but ColorOS and oppo launcher are really well optimized. ColorOS has really come a long way from what it used to be. I tested a bunch of different launchers on this phone but I ended up going back to the oppo launcher cause it was just wayyy smoother and responsive. I wish that's all I had to say about the software but there's a lot more to say.. like how bloated this phone comes. Just random chinese apps everywhere. Most of them can be uninstalled off the bat, but the rest need a little more work to get rid of, including ADB and a little research. I actually think I would have liked coloros a bit more than oxygenos had this been a global version and came with less bloat. It's just a big hassle that I'm sure nobody wants to deal with after getting a new phone. The software experience here is great- if you're chinese. If you're not, you have a whole lot of work to do to get it somewhere good. On the other hand, I thought coming from oxygenos I thought this would be a complete downgrade, but much to my surprise there are a lot of things it actually does better. There are way more features, yes I mean useful ones, it feels smoother and more responsive for some reason (the animations are way quicker and smoother). I think ColorOS isn't actually that bloated once you get rid of the apps you don't need (using ADB where you need to). OxygenOS is great and used to be way ahead of it's time, but I feel the other choices available have caught up while OxygenOS hasn't really gone anywhere. My OnePlus 6 barely gets updates and is slow to get them when it ever even gets any. I've noticed that's a common occurrence with OnePlus devices, you get a lot of quick updates when your device is still a new release, but then it gets put on the backburner as new devices come out.
Display
This display is amazing, it's breathtaking. Side by side with my oneplus 6 it looks and feels like an upgrade in every way. The colors are better, and the smoothness is so satisfying, every bit as much as the 144hz display I had on my red magic 5g, which further leads me to believe anything above 90hz isn't really worth the price premium and battery cost. The punch hole was a little distracting at first since I wasnt used to it, but I quickly got used to it and dont even notice anymore. It's a very small punchole and is a nice upgrade from the big notch my oneplus 6 had. I would rather have this punch hole then the huge top bezel (and lost screen space) the red magic 5g had any day. I didn't realize this until I had the red magic 5g in my hand and wish I realized this sooner. The whole point of notches and punch hole I think is to give us more screen where we used to have bezel, and this is something I appreciate a lot more now. One of the biggest things for me here is that the screen is flat. I'm soo glad that I didn't have to compromise with curved edges. After owned an s7 edge, I never want to deal with that again. I know they aren't as bad as they used to be, but I still think it's silly to have to compromise with how the light reflects off of curved edges, the accidental touches or touch rejection, finding screen protectors that work, etc. If flat screens are cheaper I dont see why more manufacturers dont choose to go this route on their budget flagships at least (looking at you mi 10 non pro and oneplus 8 non pro).
Body
This phone is very solid and quality feeling. It doesn't have any super outstanding premium feeling that a higher end flagship might give you, but it does not feel cheap at all. The body is your typical metal frame, gorilla glass 5 sandwhich build. I have to say though, I love this two tone color on the back. It's like a black/navy type color that looks really elegant and sexy in my opinion. I hate oreo shaped camera modules but this is the one phone that I think it actually looks good on because of it's simple minimalist design. My favorite part of this phone is the weight and size. It's almost the same as my oneplus 6, in both weight and size, but has a larger screen. To me, that's amazing, because looking at all the new SD865 phones released this year it felt like I was going to have to give up the light weight and compact size of the oneplus 6 to upgrade to a "better" phone. It's one of the smallest and lightest Snapdragon 865 phones available and it IS the smallest and lightest one available with a flat screen, which exactly what I wanted. It just feels soooo comfortable in hand compared to anything else I've recently used. They really nailed the comfort aspect with this phone. I had no idea this was going to matter so much to me until I used the red magic 5g for a week (which isnt even that big or heavy for a gaming phone, there are worse offenders out there like the black shark 3). I can see why some people really want smaller phones now. For me, I like having a big screen, so it's not smaller phones that I want, but phones that have better screen to body and weight ratios.
Sound
Now here's where I found a nice surprise. Good stereo speakers. Never thought I would ever care about having this. I'm a headphone guy, and phone speakers always suck anyways so why would I care (so I thought). These are by far the best phone speakers I've ever heard, and they somehow blew me away even though I've never cared about how good the speakers on a phone were. They get very loud, and they sound very full. Even at the loudest volume setting where I expected the fidelity to deteriorate, it still had nice clear, smooth, full sounding stereo audio. I saw someone on reddit asking for a phone recommendation with good stereo speakers, apparently it was a must for him, and I didn't get why until now. I no longer feel the need to grab my headphones when I want to watch a youtube video, the stereo experience on this is just much better. There is still a con to be talked about however, no headphone jack. Having a headphone jack would have been nice, and even cooler if the phone came with a nice DAC (pretty much the only thing LG does right in their phones). Not a huge deal for me, I would be using bluetooth or a USB DAC anyways if it didnt come with a good internal DAC but it does make things less convenient in a pinch.
Battery and Performance
Well, it has a snapdragon 865, haven't had a single hiccup yet. Phone is blazing fast as expected. Coloros is well optimized too. Battery is good too, I will report screen on times soon. Much better than my red magic 5g so far from what I can tell. The main star of this show though is that 40w wireless charging and 65w wired charging. Charging cable that it came with is kind of short but the phone charges so fast I don't think it matters. 4000mah might seem small compared to alternatives, but coloros is surprisingly very efficient with it, even with 90hz on and all the chinese bloat it came with. Im surprised they managed to fit a battery this size and a 40w wireless charging coil in such a compact and light phone (relative to similar spec phones).
Closing thoughts
I think this is what the OnePlus 8 should have been, and I hope for others that this is what the Realme X3 pro is going to be if not better. There are a lot of things more expensive oneplus 8 is missing out on here, like the 65w charging, wireless charging, flat screen, etc. The only thing I think it has going for it is that it seems like a nicer build/quality phone with better software. I think the Poco F2 pro on the other hand is a solid contender because it actually comes with global software, has a huge battery + great screen on time, has a decent camera and will have a big developer community. I ultimately ended up passing up on this phone because it doesnt have 90hz, wireless charging, 65w charging, doesnt support very many frequencies, has a slower face unlock and cause its a pretty heavy phone (so not as comfortable), but this phone will make sense as a better choice for many others that have different priorities. Pick what suits you and your needs best. All in all, this is a very underrated phone that doesn't get talked enough about outside of Asia. I think if you're interested in the Ace2, feel it fits what you want well at a price that you think is good that you shouldn't be afraid to buy it. It's a great phone and it's worth it. Just note that you may need to do some extra work to make the software experience good for you because of the chinese bloat (as you would need to with any chinese rom phone anyways). Not to say that the software is bad, it's very good software that's just marred by all the extra chinese stuff it comes with that most of us probably dont want or need.
If there's anything more you guys would like to know about any of the phones that I own or have owned please let me know. I'll try to answer them the best I can. Would love to see some form of an Ace2 community grow but I won't be surprised if it's just me even months later.
Inspiring
I think that based on your detailed review (That I read before on reddit) I’m convinced to purchase this phone, the only android experience I’ve had was an old samsung s7 edge so I’m convinced that the ace 2 will be smooth, so one question: can you guide me on how to debloat the phone once I get it?
I currently have an S9+, and aside from the battery dying much quicker than it used to, it still runs fine. I was looking at trading in for the S21+ since T-Mobile has a decent offer, but I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth it. The specs don't look to be that huge of a leap above what I have now, slightly faster processor and slightly more memory, and the screen resolution is actually a downgrade. Plus, no SD card.
The Ultra looks like it would be, but I don't want to spend quite that much. I'm not seeing enough to convince me on the 21+ Am I missing something or is it really not worth upgrading?
BradHP said:
I currently have an S9+, and aside from the battery dying much quicker than it used to, it still runs fine. I was looking at trading in for the S21+ since T-Mobile has a decent offer, but I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth it. The specs don't look to be that huge of a leap above what I have now, slightly faster processor and slightly more memory, and the screen resolution is actually a downgrade. Plus, no SD card.
The Ultra looks like it would be, but I don't want to spend quite that much. I'm not seeing enough to convince me on the 21+ Am I missing something or is it really not worth upgrading?
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Click to collapse
Jump on the hype train my dude ! Look at funny camera holes, not good 4 trypophobia lul
Spoiler: Me ranting about the design
No seriously, I think the upgrade is more on the look and feel side than anything else, and my personal tastes don't really hate the new design but don't love it either. It's like they tried to be revolutionary, then someone on twitter told them the first design was offensive to the [insert random common point, physical trait, interests and tastes] group of people, so they sanatized it so everyone would not feel it's awful. Well it worked, I don't think it awful but damn that's booooooorrriiiiiiiiiinnng.
in short I think you're fine with what you have, and i may even say try to look elsewhere a little, you might find your true love (in phone of course) in another brand
Have a nice day.
Raiz said:
Jump on the hype train my dude ! Look at funny camera holes, not good 4 trypophobia lul
Spoiler: Me ranting about the design
No seriously, I think the upgrade is more on the look and feel side than anything else, and my personal tastes don't really hate the new design but don't love it either. It's like they tried to be revolutionary, then someone on twitter told them the first design was offensive to the [insert random common point, physical trait, interests and tastes] group of people, so they sanatized it so everyone would not feel it's awful. Well it worked, I don't think it awful but damn that's booooooorrriiiiiiiiiinnng.
in short I think you're fine with what you have, and i may even say try to look elsewhere a little, you might find your true love (in phone of course) in another brand
Have a nice day.
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Thanks, I'm already leaning towards not getting the S21. I don't understand how it's barely an upgrade (and in some ways a downgrade) from the phone I've had for 3 years. Looking into the OnePlus 8T right now.
BradHP said:
Thanks, I'm already leaning towards not getting the S21. I don't understand how it's barely an upgrade (and in some ways a downgrade) from the phone I've had for 3 years. Looking into the OnePlus 8T right now.
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I have a OP8. OnePlus is. A good brand, but if you prefer smaller phones (which I doubt since you had samsung phones lol), check Google Pixels
Yeah, I like the biggest screen I can afford. Watch a lot of Netflix/Prime/Youtube on the go. I already went ahead and ordered that OnePlus 8T after reading more reviews and the forums here. Can't beat the price of free when I trade in the S9.
I decided to upgrade from my Note 9 to the 21+. Why? Because I felt like it and got a great deal from AT&T on my trade in. My Note was running fine, but it is getting a little long in the tooth since It's been 2+ years.
I chose the Plus because I wanted the bigger screen and bigger battery. The glass vs plastic wasn't an issue for me, I'd have been fine with either. I also didn't want to spend the $$$ for the Ultra since I'm not a big photo person, just a casual photographer for personal purposes. The plus was just in that nice sweet spot for me, and I knew this would be the last flagship that I'd get the big $800 credit from AT&T for a trade-in, so I figured I might as well take advantage while I could.
How much the battery on your S9+ last?
With the S21+ you will have twice the battery time. The 1080+ screen actually increases battery time by about 20-30% over the unncecessarily high (IMO) QHD+ resolution
And apart from battery is far better in processor power of course, and an upgrade in genearl in many ways... On screen fingerprint reader, much faster one, far better cameras, better audio, and so on
Definitely worth it. My last phone is exynos s9+ and definitely s21+ (exynos) double performance and double the battery life
I came from a VZW Pixel 3aXl....to a Unlocked phone... seems like an upgrade to me, plus I got 200 bucks tradein
BradHP said:
I currently have an S9+, and aside from the battery dying much quicker than it used to, it still runs fine. I was looking at trading in for the S21+ since T-Mobile has a decent offer, but I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth it. The specs don't look to be that huge of a leap above what I have now, slightly faster processor and slightly more memory, and the screen resolution is actually a downgrade. Plus, no SD card.
The Ultra looks like it would be, but I don't want to spend quite that much. I'm not seeing enough to convince me on the 21+ Am I missing something or is it really not worth upgrading?
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Click to collapse
The s21 Plus looks great but honestly I went from Samsung to Sony to Huawei to Xiaomi and I find Xiaomi to be the best, decent custom ROM support and good hardware, a lot cheaper than Samsung devices too. Maybe take a look at the Mi 10 Ultra? Not sure about where you are from though, afaik you have to import them into the UK. If you don't mind flashing a new ROM to your phone and tinkering around with it, I'd go for a Xiaomi. Big fan of Sony's though, the hardware is awesome and they're pretty much bloat free out of the box
I moved from S10+ to S21+ and I'm happy with the change because S21's screen is flat, the battery life improved, the camera improved a lot, the fingerprint scanner is way much better than s10+, I like the screen to be setup to 96Khz for example, still it has the crappy amoled with terrible PWM like most of the phones... If you have the S9+ that has much worse battery than s10+, the s21+ could be a good choice in all senses.
Take in consideration that Android 11 is still not very good in general and we need to wait 6 month till we will see an improvement.
I never been interested in the ultra because its curved screen, is not practical.
Like everyone else whether a device is an "upgrade" comes down to preferences, useful features which make a difference. Price is a consideration but not an issue if the device stacks up. Trade-in promotional pricing doesn't motivate me for a number of reasons. First off, I don't want to deal with carrier bloatware. Secondly, I don't care to enter into a muli-year commitment with any Service Provider. Lastly, all US Galaxy variants are bootloader locked.
My daily driver is an SM-G9750, S10 Plus, Hong Kong variant. I would enjoy Snapdragon's latest SoC found on the S21 but that's not saying the S10 Plus is slow, it's not. A larger battery is also appealing but I'm pretty sure I'll still need to charge the battery once a day. The cameras on the S21 Plus are the same as the S20 Plus and the only difference from the S10 Plus is a bit larger appiture. 5G is in it's infancy but at this time many of the useful iOT it will enable aren't yet available. Additionally, many 5G users state it's not much faster if any, than a good 4G pipe but at this time for device manufacturers and service providers 5G is a goldmine, the greatest marketing scheme since light beer. Based on my preferences these are issues I have with the S21 Plus.
1) No MicroSD. Sorry but I have zero faith in Cloud Storage, not only for data security but privacy as well. Samsung has also reduced internal storage capacity. 256 GB isn't enough, I have to close double that amount on my MicroSD already and adding more every week. It also saves time when you need to transfer data to a new device.
2) Camera Housing. The S21 camera module is an improvement over the S20 which is awful. It blends into the frame a bit better but it still doesn't lay flat and will snag coming in and out of pant pockets. It also degrades the device's symmetry. Samsung has like many of their competitors have gone overboard with multiple lenses. I'm certain if you had a photo from an S10 and another from an S21 side by side, you wouldn't be able to tell which device created the snaps. That's the trend in mobile phones but if you want really great photos, use a camera not your phone.
3) 3.5mm Jack. Wired audio is the gold standard, Bluetooth doesn't compare and who wants the hassle with charging buds? Yes, I can buy new earphones with a USB connector if I don't want to use a dongle but then I can't charge my device while listening to audio files, which I do often. Plus I really like my earphones, they sound great!
3) Flat Display. I like the look of Immersive Displays. I do a lot of gaming and watch a ton of movies or videos. A curved display doesn't bother me at all.
4) Size. The s21 Plus and Ultra aren't pocket phones. They're huge, closing in on tablet size, just too big! I prefer a device I can easily slip in and out of my front pocket. If I went with an S21 it would fit well but sacrifice a number of features.
5) Screen Resolution. Not sure in most instances if I could tell the difference between 1080 X 2400 and 1440 X 3040 Pixels but why downgrade on an "upgrade"?
6) No Earphones or Charger. Not my biggest issues but then again isn't the S21 Plus supposed to be an "upgrade" over my current device?
samsung offered me a crazy good deal. traded in my note 20 which sucked anyway. gave me a huge trade in credit. only 199 which they jacked to 260 something with bogus shipping fee and tax. free galaxy buds plus. 200 dollar credit towards accessories. it was a crazy good pre order deal. its always the cheapskates who ask questions like this. of course your old phone battery is ****. thats gonna happen. is it worth it? if the phone has better features [except for losing MST] and costs next to nothing in trade hell yes it is. samsung gives me great offers and has since 2 years ago when I traded my S8+ in for an S10+.
I just bought it and upgraded from S8+
Apart from battery I can barely see any notable improvement so I imagine that from the S9 the improvement is even smaller.
I thought my phone was dead so I bought a new one. I then starting playing with the OS and "Odin"ed the **** out of it and now I have 2 almost identical phones.
Still worth for me as my old S8+ is not working properly with the camera and GPS but if the hardware would have been ok, I probably wouldn't have upgraded.
For me: Worth it 100x over. My previous phone was an lg g7 thinq.
That thing took a beating and was quite the loyal device.
However, it was my carrier that ultimately decided I jump ship and upgrade. After their recent merger, I began to roam in my upstairs office. Started to miss calls and texts. Bad bad bad.
So, as I said I jumped ship; to a carrier affiliated with my internet provider *cough*.
I looked over their offerings, and the S21+ jumped out as being the "best bang for the buck".
Never had a Samsung device before, but so far I'm loving it! My wife got one too, and she feels the same.
Got the 256GB variant, and that gave me some relief, as the lg was starting to act funky as I had to move a lot of apps to an sd card so I wouldn't run out of space.
Again, for me, totally worth it. Feels like I went from a buick to a lamborghini!
Am I late to jump on the bandwagon? Anyway, I just received mine a week ago and here are my thoughts why this should be worth or doesn't worth to be upgrade.
I came from Huawei P20 Pro. IMHO if you're holding last year models such as P40 Pro or Galaxy S20, you shouldn't upgrade to this one unless you're offered with a crazy trade-in deal.
So, if your phone is older than last year models? Like S9, S10, Huawei P20 Pro, or iPhoneX etc, the specs worth an upgrade, but the price is still arguable. You shouldn't get this one on MSRP. Only do it if there is some sweet deals. For example, in Brazil, they added a SF charger for free. That's the least deal you should go for. For me, in SG, I've received Galaxy Buds Pro and a Samsung 10k mAh Wireless Charging Power Bank, and a Samsung Clear Case. That deal is a can't miss one.
Storage-wise, on my previous P20 Pro, which is 128 gb, it barely hit to 80 gb after 2 years of photos and video recording. Have a few gb of songs downloaded but nothing else. I didn't install big-ass games. So, for this one, 256 Gb should last long enough for me. In case if the storage run out, I'll simply backup the large files to my PC and carry on. No big issue on the storage.
No audio jack is a bummer. My P20 Pro also doesn't come with a round hole, but at least, they throw a cheap USB to 3.5mm adapter in the box. Samsung even doesn't bother with it. So unless if you get a pair of Buds Pro like me, you should get some Bluetooth headphones, or if you still prefer your wire earphones, get those kind of adapters that you can plug-in your charger and 3.5mm audio jack at the same time.
For display, I didn't buy any of the previous Galaxy phones because of that waterfall edge display. Didn't fancy a curve edge especially because it's very hard to get a good screen protector. This flat screen is perfect for me. The issue comes where I have to decide between FHD 120Hz and UHD 60Hz display. I used to use UHD display on my LG V20, and if someone said the pixels are not noticeable, I'd surely give him a pair of glasses. They're very noticeable, but 120Hz wins over the 60Hz, so, I have to pick-up the FHD again.
For an Asian, I got a pretty big hands, so size of this phone is not a problem, especially it is even slimmer than some other smaller screen phones. But when your screen is 6.7" and FHD, the pixel density goes below 400 dpi (398 dpi to be exact). If you've got an OCD for this, get an S21, because it has got higher dpi than the S21 Plus.
To wrap things up, the deciding factor for me to choose this phone over other contenders such as OnePlus 8T, Mi 11 etc are as follows.
- Not Chinese Brand (currently, we're boycotting as much Chinese brands as possible)
- Excellent camera setup. (Easy win over OP 8T)
- larger battery
- sweet deals (to receive $300 worth of freebies for a $1000 phone is undeniable).
Not sure if there's any definitive info out yet except for the Hassleblad partnership but anyone showing any interest for this phone. I've become a huge fan since the release of the OnePlus 8 Pro (my favorite phone of all time, lol) so I have high hopes for the next iteration. I'm hoping for better cameras and maybe an sd card slot?
Looking good!
OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 9R buyer's guide: What you need to know
This definitive OnePlus 9 series buyer's guide contains all the info you need, including specs, price details, release dates, and more.
www.androidauthority.com
The cam and its software may be good or a bomb.
However...
No SD card and limited internal storage means I never would touch it. At this point a SD card is mandatory for me.
While 128gb be more than enough storage for me for the OS/apps* it's not even half of my data requirement.
Meh, get up to speed or get out of my way... a pretty cam with no storage isn't a good trade off.
*currently using about 30 of 512gb internal.
341 gb on the SD card data drive.
blackhawk said:
The cam and its software may be good or a bomb.
However...
No SD card and limited internal storage means I never would touch it. At this point a SD card is mandatory for me.
While 128gb be more than enough storage for me for the OS/apps* it's not even half of my data requirement.
Meh, get up to speed or get out of my way... a pretty cam with no storage isn't a good trade off.
*currently using about 30 of 512gb internal.
341 gb on the SD card data drive.
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Yep, I know what you mean. It's not mandatory for me but it makes things so convenient. Especially with google photos eliminating unlimited storage. I have a 1 terabyte card with almost half the thing full of my lossless music, videos, and photos.
chetly968 said:
Yep, I know what you mean. It's notandatoey for me but it makes things so convenient. Especially with google photos eliminating unlimited storage. I have a 1 terabyte card with almost half the thing full of my lossless music, videos, and photos.
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The dream of a dual drive 1.5 tb computer in your hand has come true. Simply outstanding.
My XPx64 tower uses more power to boot up than takes my 10+ to run for the whole day.
Without a data drive life is much harder, at least if you make full use of the data drive.
Being able to do a full reload with no laptop, anywhere, anytime makes the phone completely self sufficient barring a hardware failure.
I'm interested in this phone.. always liked the oneplus but never got round to buying it as user reviews were mixed for the phone and customer service. I'm saying this as I am looking to upgrade from my much beloved Google Pixel 2. However it seems there are lots of announcement and releases this month...Asus Rog phone 5 today, Oppo Find X3 pro tomorrow Xiaomi Mi 11 next week and OnePlus 9 soon after,was also hoping for the Sony Xperia 1 III to be announced.... decisions decisions decisions!
I'm an 8t owner , and I'm pretty satisfied with my purchase they have been good with updates and yes there have been bugs but mostly all phones on R11 have some bugs , but the updates have fixed most , and let's see what they come with here one the 1+9 and the pro
After the slightly disappointing launch of the Oppo X3 keeping my fingers crossed for the OnePlus launch tomorrow... Or maybe hold out for the Sony Xperia 1 III
MoMayat said:
After the slightly disappointing launch of the Oppo X3 keeping my fingers crossed for the OnePlus launch tomorrow... Or maybe hold out for the Sony Xperia 1 III
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Yup let's see what they got for tomorrow
8Pro was a reference flagship, perfect in many microscopic details, so i did preorder cases for both newer models. Despite having another flagship on way, i expect to buy this one too. My hope is I can buy the base model for better WEIGHT, and hoping it won't be crippled in Samsung way (who made e.g. Note20 and any other non-Ultra totally avoidable). The great news is the base model has got wireless charging, and superfast charging and superfast-not-so-crippled compatible charging (45W PD). However last year they made model 8 redundant by having almost no improvements and trashy camera, so it's hard to say.
I'm expecting camera under display in model 10, so i'm buying cases as soon as possible I kind of hope they will run out of innovations and come back to geekness (bring back sd card, notif light) in model 10.
So what do people think....under the hood it is identical to the Oppo Find X3 pro...just cheaper and with free wireless charger and ear buds...this might be the one...
I currently have a OP8T and after watching the launch & the early reviews, I can safely say that I'm going to skip the OP9Pro... The generation jump is not noticeable and the new cameras didn't really live up to the hype. Xiaomi's Mi 11 Pro/Ultra looking more solid with no Hasselblad gimmick whatsoever.
watched the intro, and then review was added to gsmarena and phone was published in our top seller website in an coordinated way. battery rating is funny for 1+, but i believe phone will be holding charge for at least twice the time as Samsung despite. Just look at the huge 3G standby time - industry best. In my use case, that will mean it will make it to 3rd day easily and some more. For the video, they might fix it later, but i do not watch videos all day and do not run background script to prop display frequency either... not real use case. Camera great in wide and night, and not so great for the main sensor. Let's see more reviews. Base model defly with Qi and ultrafast 65T charging, however the weight is still 192g, which is disappointing. That actually makes the "compact" model obsolete if price insensitive. So there are some mild disappointments, and the best thing we can do is to buy it and moan later
I'm considering it. Currently I (still) have OP3 and I think it's time to upgrade. Looking at 256G version (absolutely no need for SD card here). I wouldn't mind, if it was somewhat smaller though...
Any idea how long we will have for root? as this is kinda essential (and I know OP was always kinda very good for modding community)
I just placed an order for the OP9 and it said free z buds but when I checked out, it didn't show on order confirmation.
Thought maybe you had to add them to the cart as well and the discount will be at check out but did that and it wasn't showing either. Talked to customer service and they said free gifts are not available and in stock?
dy2592 said:
I just placed an order for the OP9 and it said free z buds but when I checked out, it didn't show on order confirmation.
Thought maybe you had to add them to the cart as well and the discount will be at check out but did that and it wasn't showing either. Talked to customer service and they said free gifts are not available and in stock?
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I just checked their online store and you need to select the free gift in the cart before checkout. On that screen, it shows "out of stock". That is pretty lame!
Have 2 OP9 coming. I am upgrading from 6T and she from 7. I am perpetually disappointed by Google Pixel series and the 5 is the worst. I keep hoping they remember what made Nexus phones great. Oneplus continues to be the closest to what Nexus experience was.
We both did get the OP buds free. And we got 110-140 for our old phones. I got education discount. Not bad deal for me to get the OP9
I may be in minority but I never liked phone camera pics. They always look fake to me because of colors. I always was dissapointed by green of vegetation and how bright red people's skin are. Call Hasselblad color calibration boring but its a huge relief to me pics won't make everthing look plastic.
Do think its weird they added a monochrome sensor when any software can do that just as well. Why they didn't use a telefoto instead on the 9 is baffling. I would bet at least 80% of users will never use it after testing it.
I am disappointed they didn't go with the rear hardware fingerprint like the Nord. I have problems with 6T fingerprint reader. I really hope OP9 will be vastly imoroved.
.wojtek said:
I'm considering it. Currently I (still) have OP3 and I think it's time to upgrade. Looking at 256G version (absolutely no need for SD card here). I wouldn't mind, if it was somewhat smaller though...
Any idea how long we will have for root? as this is kinda essential (and I know OP was always kinda very good for modding community)
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Rooting with Magisk now is instant availability. You install the Magisk APK. Extract the boot image. Modify the boot image with Magisk. Use the modified image to flash via adb. Done. You don't need to wait TWRP etc.
bluishdaven said:
I currently have a OP8T and after watching the launch & the early reviews, I can safely say that I'm going to skip the OP9Pro... The generation jump is not noticeable and the new cameras didn't really live up to the hype. Xiaomi's Mi 11 Pro/Ultra looking more solid with no Hasselblad gimmick whatsoever.
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I don't understand people who upgrade from one series to the next or why anyone would expect it to have enough tech advancements to make it worth it.
Instead considering how late the 8T release was, I would have waited for OP9.
But to each their own, but amazed you are even looking at phones considering my guess you have had the 8T less than 6 months.
But I agree Oneplus should have spent more time on the hardware, and software than with the gimmick collaboration with Hassleblad that didn't really happen.
- Would have been nice is Hassleblad actually had something to do with the hardware, cameras etc.
- Would have been nice if Hassleblad influence was consistent with all cameras including front but seems we will have color shifts among all the cameras. Kinda defeats the whole collab for Hassleblad natural color tech.
zymphad said:
I don't understand people who upgrade from one series to the next or why anyone would expect it to have enough tech advancements to make it worth it.
Instead considering how late the 8T release was, I would have waited for OP9.
But to each their own, but amazed you are even looking at phones considering my guess you have had the 8T less than 6 months.
But I agree Oneplus should have spent more time on the hardware, and software than with the gimmick collaboration with Hassleblad that didn't really happen.
- Would have been nice is Hassleblad actually had something to do with the hardware, cameras etc.
- Would have been nice if Hassleblad influence was consistent with all cameras including front but seems we will have color shifts among all the cameras. Kinda defeats the whole collab for Hassleblad natural color tech.
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But the 2 new lenses are nice , especially the wide with no more distortion on that wide angle lens
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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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..
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.