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Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Honor 7X, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Honor 7X is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Honor made a phone with impressive phone with great build quality at such price range without any doubt.
Hands on to Honor
Coming from Samsung galaxy S7 Edge and LG v20 ( sold all flagship phones because of family issues ) i can say i am in love with this phone. Really nice display. Crisp and sharp. Good battery life with normal usage. Overall very happy with Honor 7X
I got this mobile recently. I am in love with this mobile. Camera is great and overall smooth performance. Battery has power saving mode for running more than 30 hours, with full charge
fast and reliable for daily use
Came from a Nexus 6P of two years and I love this phone!!
Love how easy EMUI theming is and I can make it look like stock android if I want to all without rooting and without the slowness that I found substratum can cause.
Easily getting 5+ hours of SOT on a daily basis; and only time I've noticed any sort of lag is when I haven't used the phone while sleeping; it unlocks quickly via fingerprint but the first app i open takes a second longer to open then its back to it's snappy self.
Love it! Thing is a beast!
Joined the crowd today with the Mate SE, WOW! What a Great Phone!
Sure, it's not a flagship, but it feels like one! and if it does most of what you *really* need, with such a great price, It's astounding really. I've spent some time Mate SE vs MI A1. It's subjective of course, but the SE has all the US bands, bottom line, if I'm out in the boonies, I want the best odds of being able to make that call.
Have been using it for an hour and did app updates, map downloads, etc. Hasn't heated up at all, cool as could be. Very Happy with this choice!
Just got this phone cuz my Galaxy Note broke, and i needed something ASAP. Although i didn´t expect too much from a phone in this price range, I´m still bothered by the mediocre camera, and a poor display with horrible view angles. I´ll keep it for a bit, the build quality seems decent, but that´s all.
Just got it 2 weeks ago. Good bye all other budget phones. It rocks
My Galaxy S7 committed suicide about three weeks ago and still having payments on it and trying to get out of AT&T without having to get into more payments this was an AMAZING choice. does everything i need it too and some. works way better than my S7 IMO, One week of use and i love it!
I wish I had heard of this company before buying all these second hand Samung/Motorola phones through craigslist just to save money, when I can buy a comparable phone brand new for a price that is cheaper. This phone is just an improved version of the Honor 7X.
My review is based off replacing a Samsung Note 4 and my work phone is a Galaxy S7.
Battery:
The battery life is superb on this. Seeing how my Note 4 had all this bloatware and these Samsung extras out of the box. The Note 4 couldn't even last through out the day with constant usage. This phone lasts through out the day, set it down without charging it for the night and it still has power.
Battery life is about the same as the S7, though.
Design:
Doesn't feel like a cheap, cricket phone. Feels like it has some weight, some heft to it. I am also impressed by the fingerprint technology on the back of the handset. It is much better and responsive then what the Galaxy S7 has. I never had to 'retry' my fingerprint as if it didn't register it.
Communications:
Haven't noticed any difference in terms of call quality or signal. Yet, my carrier is AT&T. The only concern is that the phone doesn't support 5G Wi-Fi.
Camera.
Unless something was wrong with my Samsung Note 4, this camera is much better than the Note, but similar to what the S7 has, or maybe even less.
Display:
I can't tell if this is part of the android or part of Huawei, but there are animations in the display which are interesting. From where you can see the display brightness slider move automatically to where texts seem to 'bounce' when you scroll through them. There is little bloatware and I like the drawer design of the apps. Screen is also bigger than my Note 4.
Also some people state the charging cable is different, yet my cord that charges my samsung phones can charge this phone.
At the end of the day, this phone can do everything a $1,200 phone can do.
Just bought new one from amazon, I will give my review very soon.
I've had it since the day after Prime Day. Love it. My only complaint is some of the bloatware. I also find the organizations of Settings in EMUI somewhat annoying. (It's like 4 clicks to get to the screen where you can choose a new wifi network.) Overall, this is a great phone and an incredible value.
Phone still going strong. My only major issue is that GPS is horrible with this phone. From Waze to Google Maps, the signal isn't consistent and drops when it comes to GPS. Never experienced anything like this, and it's been like this day one.
Great cpu performance. great battery life.
Poor audio output. Volume boosting apps don't work.
Rooting was easy, reverting... still need to wade through that.
Screen replacement wasn't too difficult, cheap (and cheap quality) parts on ebay. BEWARE! The battery pack is a gel pack that's glued on to the chassis. I ripped the battery open trying to remove it and had to order a new one.
The chassis is FLIMSY. After disassembling the phone to replace the screen, I saw that 1. the back cover is a flimsy bit of plastin (plastic or tin) and 2. the main chassis itself is a weak and flimsy bit of cast pot metal. This phone will bend and break very easily, which is what I suspect caused the screen to break so easily.
Overall, great performer, the sound issue may be addressed with newer Android, the chassis is in need of serious reinforcement.
The Honor 7X was one of the best budget phones of it's time. For under $200, this phone is a really great deal.
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?
Click to expand...
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
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?
Click to expand...
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).
Hi All,
I was wondering what you guys think of the phone now 8 months down the line. I am getting this at a good price around £650 for a good condition used phone on ebay. I was wondering if you guys think most of its problems have been fixed by now.
Just to give you a background, I currently have a note 9 and frankly I am very happy with this phone but it is old now and I am itching to upgrade to something newer, primarily for the cameras and 120hz refresh rate. I did buy the S21 ultra on pre-order but was really disappointed with the camera performance as I found the images my exynos variant produced to be very soft and noisy and not as sharp/clear as my note 9 and overall the phone felt like a big compromise (no s-pen, no sd card, no headphone jack) after paying £1300, so I sent it back. The camera and screen are the primary reasons for me to upgrade and I expect at least decent battery life (maybe 6-7 hours SOT with youtube abd browsing). I do use the S-Pen every now and then and think it would be a good to have. I know the note 20 ultra doesnt support WQHD+ and 120hz at the same time but at the price im getting it at i think this is a compromise i am willing to make since i mostly use my phone at FHD+ anyway and I can barely tell the difference.
I know there was talk about the exynos variant being bad when compared to the SD 865+ version but frankly I am not a gamer and dont need my phone to be ultra powerful. But what i would like to know from you guys is whether the software updates over the past 8 months have fixed most of the issues with battery life and camera performance. Those of you coming from the s10 range or the note 10+ / Note 9 etc. How would you say the camera is on the Note 20 U? Do you guys think its a good buy now? Or should I just give it a miss and hang on to the note 9 till they stop the security patches? Any advise is appreciated.
I have a mate who upgraded from the Note 9 to the Note 20 Ultra. He was VERY impressed with the differences...
He has the Exynos variant but when there is no other phones to compare but what you already have he's happy...
It all comes down to you, go to a store, play with a demo version and make up your mind.
I've upgraded from S10e Exynos with 4,5 screen on time maximum and terrible idle battery drain to Note 20 Ultra Snapdragon. First week was thinking to give it back because it was too big for me and those rounded edges always made me typos. Then I've get used to it, set the keyboard paddings from edges and finally bought nice case (I never used any cases before) and now I'm totally happy with it. I as far as I've read it's almost impossible to get 7-8 screen on time on Exynos variant. I got around 7 on my Snapdragon version but never tested it with gaming so I can not tell yet how good the battery is. I can tell that Qualcomm modem is much better in sense of keeping good connection and speed and very good keeping battery in idle state. Considering the camera - it's much better that in my old S10e ofcourse but I don't use it often so can't say I care about it much. What I love about my new Note 20 ultra Snapdragon is I've rooted it to tweak some small things here and there and now totally feel it's mine. I've rooted my past phones around 5 years ago last time.
Not sure if anything I said will help you but if you have any questions I would be glad to answer.
Thanks guys really useful. As mentioned I don't really need a new phone as my current phone does pretty much what I need it to. But I am itching to upgrade and I don't want to end up being stuck with something that I feel is not as good as my current phone. I currently average 4-5 hours screen on time on my 2 year old note 9 which I think is good for an old phone so hoping to get more. The S21U was good battery wise I got 7 hours SOT with 10% remaining. But the cameras were a let down for the price. I might just wait a couple of months and pick one used if they fix the camera with software updates as the price difference doesn't seem that much like a barely used S21U is going for around 850 on ebay so might be worth the extra 200 vs the note 20 ultra. Especially because I heard a lot of bad things about the n20u battery in particular.
Hi, @eldrid
I upgraded (downgraded considering the cost/storage, lol) from the Note9 (512GB) to the Note20 Ultra (128GB) with Android 11/One UI 3.1.
Have you considered replacing the battery in your Note9? Maybe have the battery replaced and purchase the N20U?
I don't use the camera much, but hopefully one of the forum members will give you some feedback on the N9 vs N20U cameras.
I can hear the Note20 Ultra camera *rattle* but I think this is normal??
If you purchase the N20, you may not want to update the phone to Android 11 (scoped storage, bugs galore, etc...).
I enjoy using the N9 more than the N20U because of the OS and the apps function without issue.
I detest Android 11, ahem, and think it contributes to my attitude of the N20U. N9 is the Beast!
I haven't had note 9 earlier but for me the note 20 ultra is perfect.
We get 1080p with 120hz (sure only 1080p but battery friendly and do you even notice higher res on regular basis?)
Sdcard slot, perfect for pictures, movies, big files and so on, also very easy to swap. (cloud exist but what about vacation or if u got limited data)
Very good cameras, still one of the best out there.
Very good performance with snapdragon 865+, even the exynos one is good. Recent updates have made it better than release version.
S-pen in a slot, no ugly weird case and all functions works perfectly.
The design is also very modern and future proof, I mean the front is almost all display.
People even speculate that this could be the last note ever, so if I were u, I would really consider note 20u if u liked your note 9 and want something better.
I've had my Note 20 Ultra Exynos version since launch, and it's a lot better now than it was when it first came out in both battery life & performance, I also don't game on phone's so it's been more than fine for me.
The camera has also been on point for me as well I've not been disappointed with any pictures or videos I've taken with it.
For 650 quid i think it's well worth it for what you get.
Thanks a ton guys for the honest advice. I finally picked an almost new one for £650 on ebay. They offer a 30 day return so fingers crossed i hope it works out. I won't be selling my note 9 just yet so I will have some time to compare side by side and see what it's like. I am sure it's an upgrade in many regards. But the three key things for me are 1)screen and I'm sure that's great I don't use wqhd and will be perfectly happy with the adaptive 1080 120hz. 2)The cameras... This is one area I am not sure how it will be... This is a very subjective area but I like my images to be sharp and I noticed on the S21U the images were soft and fuzzy not crisp like on the note 9. And 3) is battery life... I still get around 5 hours from the note 9 which is great so I hope to get at least that much. Will keep you guys posted on how it goes over the next few days. I feel like @650 there won't be much to complain about. I was really upset with the s21 ultra as I had paid full price for it and it (£1300) and it felt like a downgrade. Seems like the more modern Samsung phones while powerful are compromising on the basics and are not what they used to be 2 years ago.
Finally got the note20u and frankly I am quite happy with it. I am getting pretty good SOT and plus i used Bluetooth headphones for at least an hour. Considering that I think the battery life is good. Also the camera software seems to be ironed out and the image sharpness is much better than the current image quality on the S21U 1st pic is from note 20u and 2nd from s21u. Overall I think it was a good buy. I would never recommend anyone buying a Samsung phone at launch as the software is very unpolished and you pay a huge amount for an unfinished product. Comparing the experience i have with this nearly new note 20u for 650 is great compared to the ****ty experience the s21u offers for £1200 plus no sd card support or charger in the box. Very good value overall at £650
I upgraded from my still pristine Note 9 and found it a very worthy successor. From the enhanced Dex and S-pen features to the improved cameras, the Note 20 Ultra has provided me with a great user experience. Given Samsung's quest for becoming more -like and shedding features left and right, the Note 20 Ultra is the closest to what the Note line once was: the no holds barred, everything but the kitchen sink, no compromises, Note. I don't know if there is a Note 21 Ultra in the works and if there is it will probably include less features than the Note 20 Ultra offers.
Medevac1 said:
I upgraded from my still pristine Note 9 and found it a very worthy successor. From the enhanced Dex and S-pen features to the improved cameras, the Note 20 Ultra has provided me with a great user experience. Given Samsung's quest for becoming more -like and shedding features left and right, the Note 20 Ultra is the closest to what the Note line once was: the no holds barred, everything but the kitchen sink, no compromises, Note. I don't know if there is a Note 21 Ultra in the works and if there is it will probably include less features than the Note 20 Ultra offers.
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Absolutely agree. Probably why i was finding it hard to part with my note 9 as well. What a great 0 compromise device. I really hate how Samsung were originally the anti apple and a premium alternative for those that didn't want to chain themselves to apple. But now they're becoming more like apple taking away our choice.
Rumours are that there will be a watered down fan edition only this year and that the s-pen toting phone is going to be the fold from now on. If its true its a poor farewell to the note. I say they should bring back the headphone jack, sd card and pack the box with goodies. Make the whole experience of buying a premium flagship feel premium again.
eldrid said:
Absolutely agree. Probably why i was finding it hard to part with my note 9 as well. What a great 0 compromise device. I really hate how Samsung were originally the anti apple and a premium alternative for those that didn't want to chain themselves to apple. But now they're becoming more like apple taking away our choice.
Rumours are that there will be a watered down fan edition only this year and that the s-pen toting phone is going to be the fold from now on. If its true its a poor farewell to the note. I say they should bring back the headphone jack, sd card and pack the box with goodies. Make the whole experience of buying a premium flagship premium again.
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The 10+ was the last Note before Q. After Q things started going south and 11 is even worse.
Between Android and Samsung's "improvements" it's been a dismal year.
Everything's coming up psuedo Apples... and I mean that in the most derogatory way.
As for the Fold series it has been a self made disaster for Samsung. Overpriced and unreliable.
Samsung, you do know the definition of insanity don't you? Apparently not.
Late to the party here but I'm happy with my N20 Ultra 5G Snapdragon soc I imported from Hong Kong.
I wouldn't of been keen to buy a used phone from ebay due to the amount that get imei locked a few weeks / months after receiving it.
BandOfBrothers1 said:
I wouldn't of been keen to buy a used phone from ebay due to the amount that get imei locked a few weeks / months after receiving it.
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How can you avoid that from happening 100%?
Is it that common?
blackhawk said:
How can you avoid that from happening 100%?
Is it that common?
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It's something I've come across way too often throughout the years on forums.
A person sells a phone on ebay and then fraudulently claims it lost or stolen.
Auction Sites need to tighten up and introduce even more protection for the buyer as well as the seller.
BandOfBrothers1 said:
It's something I've come across way too often throughout the years on forums.
A person sells a phone on ebay and then fraudulently claims it lost or stolen.
Auction Sites need to tighten up and introduce even more protection for the buyer as well as the seller.
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Doing that in the USA be incurring multiple federal felonies.
BandOfBrothers1 said:
Late to the party here but I'm happy with my N20 Ultra 5G Snapdragon soc I imported from Hong Kong.
I wouldn't of been keen to buy a used phone from ebay due to the amount that get imei locked a few weeks / months after receiving it.
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Damn didn't know that happens. I got mine from a business seller with 100% ratings so looks like hes been at it for a while with no issues. He claims the phones are customer returns from the official Samsung store and would barely have any usage if at all. And everything looked the part it seemed brand spanking new, scratchless and even no signs wear or dust in the usb c port. Also he had a whole batch of 7-8 to sell so everything sounded legit. Let's hope everything works out well.
On a separate note. I thought id use the phone without a screen protector for a few days while the tempered glass one I ordered arrives and so removed the factory one. After a day or so i have already noticed a couple of micro scratches on the screen visible at certain angles. This is with careful use at home. I feel like this whole gorilla glass thing is just market hype.
blackhawk said:
Doing that in the USA be incurring multiple federal felonies.
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I wouldn't worry about it too much. The only reason someone would do that is to be malicious and most people are not. I doubt the seller has a personal vendetta against you. He got his money and will move on.
I have had the N20U since release and have no issues and at this point is a good as it gets functionally.