So I have a Note 9. Got into Call of duty and decided it was time to get something to play it on sice I was just beating on that battery. Looked at all the gaming phone's and ended up getting a Red magic 3 256gb, with 2 cases, dock, controller, screen protectors everything mind like new for $455. Not a mark on the phone.
First impression. This does not come packed like a cheap phone. You get flagship level packing here.
It's a big phone. But with the case on it. And my text 22 case it's just a hair bigger then my note 9. But it feels great in the hand. It's thicker but you can't tell it hides it well. I haven't felt a phone like this since my Droid DNA. Build quality is great and I was shocked at he nice it really was. I keep looking for that catch. Why this is not a $1,000+ phone. You can't tell. I wish the phone did not have the red accents on it and the logo on the back but since I got a case a little black vivid automotive vinyl and it looks amazing. The diamond camera lenses lets you know this is not a typical phone. The red switch on the side is a hint that it's packing some serious power.
Display. This can make it break a cheap phone. The display is 90hz and is butter. Play 90hz then play 60. You will then hate 60hz. Scrolling is smooth. Does it have the horrible cheap AMOLED display color shift? Nope looks great! Is it note 9 and 10 great? No. But it's a great display and not really trailing far behind the best.
Camera. Stock app is meh. No ois and all that. But the sensor is good. The foundation is there it just needs polish. Gcam app pics look great. Not the best but more then enough for the typical person. I will say the slow no blows my note 9 out of the water. The note 9 looks like trash why this phone looks very clear. That 1920fps is no joke. But I did notice my orange was a bit bighter and the note 9 was more accurate in color but looked grainy where this phone was extremely clear. And the difference between the 940fps and the 1920fps is amazing. Some of my slow mo videos look absolutely amazing and are so crisp and detailed I was blown away. It does 8k...low fps but it ties into the gamer aspect of my phone does 8k..at 15fps...what's your phone do 8k at? Mine doesn't... exactly. 15fps is more then 0.
Android. Is pretty much stock but with some tasteful additions. They respected Android and did not over do it. Runs smoothly and is what you would expect from a pretty much stock Android. Flip the switch and the game space starts. It pick games up automaticly and it's easy to add apps to it. Screen recording is very easy and works great. Settings are easy to adjust and mapping your shoulder buttons are as easy as dragging them to here you want them. Game space is great.
That fan tho! It works. It's not loud but some times you can hear it. If you screen record with the mic on you can year it in the video. But most of the time you won't notice it. I found my temps playing games and heavy benchmarking never hit over 40.6c even after a few hours of call of duty. It works great
Nubia is a name I never heard of. But Nubia is now on my list of phone's to watch. I will take a serious look at the red magic 4 and if they improve on this I will buy one. This phone is that good.
I really hope they offer an all blacked out version. With just the red button. Clean look till the RGB comes on. I love the look of it all blacked out in my case and the RGB on.
And for those who have Verizon. I have Verizon and not having band 13 sucks but I have always had 4g. I did notice that its slightly slower then my note 9. But still pulling good 4g speed and no issues. Put the Sim in and it worked great.
And those worried about updates. Most phone's don't get them anyways so who cares if they don't. I'm on Verizon so it's not like my phone updates have ever been fast.
bignazpwns said:
So I have a Note 9. Got into Call of duty and decided it was time to get something to play it on sice I was just beating on that battery. Looked at all the gaming phone's and ended up getting a Red magic 3 256gb, with 2 cases, dock, controller, screen protectors everything mind like new for $455. Not a mark on the phone.
First impression. This does not come packed like a cheap phone. You get flagship level packing here.
It's a big phone. But with the case on it. And my text 22 case it's just a hair bigger then my note 9. But it feels great in the hand. It's thicker but you can't tell it hides it well. I haven't felt a phone like this since my Droid DNA. Build quality is great and I was shocked at he nice it really was. I keep looking for that catch. Why this is not a $1,000+ phone. You can't tell. I wish the phone did not have the red accents on it and the logo on the back but since I got a case a little black vivid automotive vinyl and it looks amazing. The diamond camera lenses lets you know this is not a typical phone. The red switch on the side is a hint that it's packing some serious power.
Display. This can make it break a cheap phone. The display is 90hz and is butter. Play 90hz then play 60. You will then hate 60hz. Scrolling is smooth. Does it have the horrible cheap AMOLED display color shift? Nope looks great! Is it note 9 and 10 great? No. But it's a great display and not really trailing far behind the best.
Camera. Stock app is meh. No ois and all that. But the sensor is good. The foundation is there it just needs polish. Gcam app pics look great. Not the best but more then enough for the typical person. I will say the slow no blows my note 9 out of the water. The note 9 looks like trash why this phone looks very clear. That 1920fps is no joke. But I did notice my orange was a bit bighter and the note 9 was more accurate in color but looked grainy where this phone was extremely clear. And the difference between the 940fps and the 1920fps is amazing. Some of my slow mo videos look absolutely amazing and are so crisp and detailed I was blown away. It does 8k...low fps but it ties into the gamer aspect of my phone does 8k..at 15fps...what's your phone do 8k at? Mine doesn't... exactly. 15fps is more then 0.
Android. Is pretty much stock but with some tasteful additions. They respected Android and did not over do it. Runs smoothly and is what you would expect from a pretty much stock Android. Flip the switch and the game space starts. It pick games up automaticly and it's easy to add apps to it. Screen recording is very easy and works great. Settings are easy to adjust and mapping your shoulder buttons are as easy as dragging them to here you want them. Game space is great.
That fan tho! It works. It's not loud but some times you can hear it. If you screen record with the mic on you can year it in the video. But most of the time you won't notice it. I found my temps playing games and heavy benchmarking never hit over 40.6c even after a few hours of call of duty. It works great
Nubia is a name I never heard of. But Nubia is now on my list of phone's to watch. I will take a serious look at the red magic 4 and if they improve on this I will buy one. This phone is that good.
I really hope they offer an all blacked out version. With just the red button. Clean look till the RGB comes on. I love the look of it all blacked out in my case and the RGB on.
And for those who have Verizon. I have Verizon and not having band 13 sucks but I have always had 4g. I did notice that its slightly slower then my note 9. But still pulling good 4g speed and no issues. Put the Sim in and it worked great.
And those worried about updates. Most phone's don't get them anyways so who cares if they don't. I'm on Verizon so it's not like my phone updates have ever been fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is volte working?
suzook said:
Is volte working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said? Put COD down and answer the freaking question!
SavageCat-TX said:
What he said? Put COD down and answer the freaking question!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is
Yeah volte for me on Verizon is working. Sorry been typically going 30+ and 0 I'm cod lol. Phone kicks ass.
Display under magnification.
bignazpwns said:
Display under magnification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...im-td-lte-256gb-nx629j/t-mobile-united-states
Can some one confirm I selected the right phone based upon this thread? I thought THIS phone was it but now not sure. Might be close enough to run by Tmo (USA) and get a second opinion.
Why do these phone makers market a phone to a country with not enough coverage! (rhetorical question)
SavageCat-TX said:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...im-td-lte-256gb-nx629j/t-mobile-united-states
Can some one confirm I selected the right phone based upon this thread? I thought THIS phone was it but now not sure. Might be close enough to run by Tmo (USA) and get a second opinion.
Why do these phone makers market a phone to a country with not enough coverage! (rhetorical question)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T mobile you should be good. I don't know what bands they use but on on Verizon with no issues so you should have even more band support then me with t mobile. Usually phones don't work well with Verizon
SavageCat-TX said:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/carr...im-td-lte-256gb-nx629j/t-mobile-united-states
Can some one confirm I selected the right phone based upon this thread? I thought THIS phone was it but now not sure. Might be close enough to run by Tmo (USA) and get a second opinion.
Why do these phone makers market a phone to a country with not enough coverage! (rhetorical question)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works for me...
Ordered by RM3s last night. Excited and nervous at the same time.
I paid the extra $6 to have it shipped faster and arrived in 3 business days. I ordered LATE on Black Friday 2019 and had it in my hands on Wednesday.
First, let me provide a bit of history. I'm play PUBG a lot. I'm not on a squad mainly due to lack of the ability to setup a schedule to play with teammates to learn behaviors and work out strategies so I'm forced to play solo. I have been playing on an iPhone 6S plus. The phone did fine on I was hoping that a larger screen would help and WOW what an improvement the size makes (yes, size does apparently matter). The screen of the RM3s is larger than the entire screen and bezels of the iPhone 6S plus. I understand the brightness is only like 400nits or something like that. It's plenty bright enough for me. This was a concern previously but not now.
Buttons: The buttons have a solid clicky feel. I like them. The lock button and the volume rocker are close together so I keep hitting the volume down button. I suspect this might be an issue when my wife calls me and I've accidentally turned down the volume. My iPhone only had one button along the right side of the phone so the extra buttons will take some getting used to.
Face Unlock: This is new to me. With my wife's Note 9, she can lift the phone and it'll detect the movement and unlock. I THINK with the RM3s, you have to push the button on the side to activate the face scanner. Doesn't bother me but it might someone else.
PUGB Mobile: The bootup times for PUBG are effectively the same between the RM3s and the iPhone 6s Plus, we are talking millisecond differences. The iPhone is 4-5 years old and I bought it new. Not sure if this is a testament to Apple technology or not. As I understand UFS 3.0, you primarily see the benenfits when loading large files. My guess here is PUBG has a lot of little files so the performance benefits for loading times of PUGB are a marginally improvement over UFS 2.0. I mention this as I was considering the Samsung S10+ but the screen is smaller than what I wanted to buy.
First MINOR Gripe: Just to prove I'm being objectionable here, I would like to have had the charge port off center like the headphone jack is. I love that the ROG2 can be charged using the side port. When playing games in landscape mode, the cords would be balanced in your hands. That said, there is a freaking 5000mAh battery in this thing so I an easily play several classic matches and not have an anxiety that my battery will be dead before I get home.
Speakers: this was not a big factor for me as when I'm gaming I'll have on headphones but I like to play music or watch YouTube while cooking dinner. The speakers do not disappoint. Are they the best things on earth? Of course not. Are they an improvement over the iPhone 6s Plus? Oh hell yeah. While I am not an audiophile, this speakers are pretty damn good. They get loud. At the volume level of zero, clicking the volume up rocker once makes the speaker loud enough to listen to while working at your desk (w/o a headset). Any louder and my wife will immediately come tell my to turn it down. While the ear piece doubles as a speaker, the volume balance between the two is pretty good. The OnePlus 7t (the other phone I was considering) has a dedicated speaker so I'm sure it sounds perfectly balanced. If I want a higher quality speaker, I'm going to rely on a dedicated unit. Same goes for my TV, computer, or media center, etc. Use the right tool for the job.
Size and Weight: I don't think the phone is big but rather it is long (and I like it "tall" - using tall here for obvious reasons). It does NOT feel heavy and actually feels lighter than my iPhone 6s plus (plus case weight). I will be ordering a silicone case for the RM3s but I doubt it'll had any significant heft. The phone feels solid and not cheap but any means. Perhaps the lack of rear glass and the use of metal cuts down on the weight?
Air Triggers/Bumpers: In a word, "FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!" They are better than what I had hoped for. Before I found out about the RM3s, I considered getting the OnePlus 7t and ordering button attachments from Amazon. The air triggers/bumper buttons respond immediately and without any lag. The finger unlock can also be programmed for a 3rd button. No clue yet what to use for that except maybe the revive button but since I primarily play solo, I'll probably program it for the scope or the exit button while in the vehicle. The beauty of the button is I can stack the icons in PUBG and the center button will activate the applicable button (in a vehicle, the unlock sensor becomes the exit button, outside of the vehicle, it activates the scope or perhaps the reload. So many choices. The placement isn't super easy to tap during extreme game play but after developing some muscle memory, it'll end up being a great addition.
It came with a pre-applied screen protector. I had heard mixed comments about whether or not it would come with one. As a result, I did order one with the phone so I guess I'll put it in a drawer. Of course when I need it, I wont be able to find it, I'll order another one, and then I'll find the one in the drawer. :/
The LED on back is pretty slick (albeit a gimmick but I like flashy lights). You can configure it for a multitude of things, There is an app with the phone to control the LED behavior. I also really like how the LED can flicker when playing music and for notifications. When playing music, I place the phone face-down so the sound from the speakers are bounced back from the counter which amplifies the sound (and you an see the LED).
Storage Space: Mine is the 128GB version. After signing in and before installing any apps, only 11% was used. No complaints there at all. I activated developer mode and then enabled OTG support, connected my OTG adapter and then attached a 512GB jump drive. The phone had no issues reading the contents. If I end up filling up the 128GB, it'll be easy to off load data so no concerns for me here.
Charge: When I unboxed the phone, the battery was around 80% (this is very normal). I placed on charge while I ate lunch, came back and it was 100%. 5000mAh battery. Awesome.
UI: My wife has a Samsung Note 9 so my experience with Android is limited to the time I've used her phone and the Samsung UI (can I say I hate curved screens? They look great but the usability is severely limited IMO.) and her phone feels heavy. I don't know what "bloatware" or "stock android" looks like but I've heard that the UI of the RM3s is very close to stock Android. I like what I am seeing. In all honesty, I like OnePlus's UI better visually speaking. I know you may be saying you can install Nova Launcher but the RM3s launcher cant permanently change to use a different launcher. Even if I can't install a 3rd party launcher, coming from iOS, I'm used to only effectively being able to change the wallpaper so I'm already have more customization options now. The stock live wallpaper is pretty cool.
ROOT: I do not have any plans to ROOT the phone or unlock the bootloader. I also thought I'd never leave iOS but I've seen the errors of my ways so we'll see what happens. I did see in Developer Options there is a slide switch to unlock the bootloader. Nice!
Phone: I stuck my Tmobile sim card in an Tmobile immediately detected the phone needed some carrier updates. After applying them, I made a single call. It connected quickly. I did not pay attention to if it was connecting using VoLTE. After the initial test call, I removed the SIM. My case hasn't arrived yet so I'm waiting to use the phone. Once I make the official switch, I'll add a reply on the phone call since no one on YouTube mentions how it works as a phone. ?
SavageCat-TX said:
I paid the extra $6 to have it shipped faster and arrived in 3 business days. I ordered LATE on Black Friday 2019 and had it in my hands on Wednesday.
First, let me provide a bit of history. I'm play PUBG a lot. I'm not on a squad mainly due to lack of the ability to setup a schedule to play with teammates to learn behaviors and work out strategies so I'm forced to play solo. I have been playing on an iPhone 6S plus. The phone did fine on I was hoping that a larger screen would help and WOW what an improvement the size makes (yes, size does apparently matter). The screen of the RM3s is larger than the entire screen and bezels of the iPhone 6S plus. I understand the brightness is only like 400nits or something like that. It's plenty bright enough for me. This was a concern previously but not now.
Buttons: The buttons have a solid clicky feel. I like them. The lock button and the volume rocker are close together so I keep hitting the volume down button. I suspect this might be an issue when my wife calls me and I've accidentally turned down the volume. My iPhone only had one button along the right side of the phone so the extra buttons will take some getting used to.
Face Unlock: This is new to me. With my wife's Note 9, she can lift the phone and it'll detect the movement and unlock. I THINK with the RM3s, you have to push the button on the side to activate the face scanner. Doesn't bother me but it might someone else.
PUGB Mobile: The bootup times for PUBG are effectively the same between the RM3s and the iPhone 6s Plus, we are talking millisecond differences. The iPhone is 4-5 years old and I bought it new. Not sure if this is a testament to Apple technology or not. As I understand UFS 3.0, you primarily see the benenfits when loading large files. My guess here is PUBG has a lot of little files so the performance benefits for loading times of PUGB are a marginally improvement over UFS 2.0. I mention this as I was considering the Samsung S10+ but the screen is smaller than what I wanted to buy.
First MINOR Gripe: Just to prove I'm being objectionable here, I would like to have had the charge port off center like the headphone jack is. I love that the ROG2 can be charged using the side port. When playing games in landscape mode, the cords would be balanced in your hands. That said, there is a freaking 5000mAh battery in this thing so I an easily play several classic matches and not have an anxiety that my battery will be dead before I get home.
Speakers: this was not a big factor for me as when I'm gaming I'll have on headphones but I like to play music or watch YouTube while cooking dinner. The speakers do not disappoint. Are they the best things on earth? Of course not. Are they an improvement over the iPhone 6s Plus? Oh hell yeah. While I am not an audiophile, this speakers are pretty damn good. They get loud. At the volume level of zero, clicking the volume up rocker once makes the speaker loud enough to listen to while working at your desk (w/o a headset). Any louder and my wife will immediately come tell my to turn it down. While the ear piece doubles as a speaker, the volume balance between the two is pretty good. The OnePlus 7t (the other phone I was considering) has a dedicated speaker so I'm sure it sounds perfectly balanced. If I want a higher quality speaker, I'm going to rely on a dedicated unit. Same goes for my TV, computer, or media center, etc. Use the right tool for the job.
Size and Weight: I don't think the phone is big but rather it is long (and I like it "tall" - using tall here for obvious reasons). It does NOT feel heavy and actually feels lighter than my iPhone 6s plus (plus case weight). I will be ordering a silicone case for the RM3s but I doubt it'll had any significant heft. The phone feels solid and not cheap but any means. Perhaps the lack of rear glass and the use of metal cuts down on the weight?
Air Triggers/Bumpers: In a word, "FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!" They are better than what I had hoped for. Before I found out about the RM3s, I considered getting the OnePlus 7t and ordering button attachments from Amazon. The air triggers/bumper buttons respond immediately and without any lag. The finger unlock can also be programmed for a 3rd button. No clue yet what to use for that except maybe the revive button but since I primarily play solo, I'll probably program it for the scope or the exit button while in the vehicle. The beauty of the button is I can stack the icons in PUBG and the center button will activate the applicable button (in a vehicle, the unlock sensor becomes the exit button, outside of the vehicle, it activates the scope or perhaps the reload. So many choices. The placement isn't super easy to tap during extreme game play but after developing some muscle memory, it'll end up being a great addition.
It came with a pre-applied screen protector. I had heard mixed comments about whether or not it would come with one. As a result, I did order one with the phone so I guess I'll put it in a drawer. Of course when I need it, I wont be able to find it, I'll order another one, and then I'll find the one in the drawer. :/
The LED on back is pretty slick (albeit a gimmick but I like flashy lights). You can configure it for a multitude of things, There is an app with the phone to control the LED behavior. I also really like how the LED can flicker when playing music and for notifications. When playing music, I place the phone face-down so the sound from the speakers are bounced back from the counter which amplifies the sound (and you an see the LED).
Storage Space: Mine is the 128GB version. After signing in and before installing any apps, only 11% was used. No complaints there at all. I activated developer mode and then enabled OTG support, connected my OTG adapter and then attached a 512GB jump drive. The phone had no issues reading the contents. If I end up filling up the 128GB, it'll be easy to off load data so no concerns for me here.
Charge: When I unboxed the phone, the battery was around 80% (this is very normal). I placed on charge while I ate lunch, came back and it was 100%. 5000mAh battery. Awesome.
UI: My wife has a Samsung Note 9 so my experience with Android is limited to the time I've used her phone and the Samsung UI (can I say I hate curved screens? They look great but the usability is severely limited IMO.) and her phone feels heavy. I don't know what "bloatware" or "stock android" looks like but I've heard that the UI of the RM3s is very close to stock Android. I like what I am seeing. In all honesty, I like OnePlus's UI better visually speaking. I know you may be saying you can install Nova Launcher but the RM3s launcher cant permanently change to use a different launcher. Even if I can't install a 3rd party launcher, coming from iOS, I'm used to only effectively being able to change the wallpaper so I'm already have more customization options now. The stock live wallpaper is pretty cool.
ROOT: I do not have any plans to ROOT the phone or unlock the bootloader. I also thought I'd never leave iOS but I've seen the errors of my ways so we'll see what happens. I did see in Developer Options there is a slide switch to unlock the bootloader. Nice!
Phone: I stuck my Tmobile sim card in an Tmobile immediately detected the phone needed some carrier updates. After applying them, I made a single call. It connected quickly. I did not pay attention to if it was connecting using VoLTE. After the initial test call, I removed the SIM. My case hasn't arrived yet so I'm waiting to use the phone. Once I make the official switch, I'll add a reply on the phone call since no one on YouTube mentions how it works as a phone. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You absolutely can permanently change the launcher.
Do tell. IIRC, you also have this phone.
SavageCat-TX said:
Ordered by RM3s last night. Excited and nervous at the same time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SavageCat-TX said:
I paid the extra $6 to have it shipped faster and arrived in 3 business days. I ordered LATE on Black Friday 2019 and had it in my hands on Wednesday.
First, let me provide a bit of history. I'm play PUBG a lot. I'm not on a squad mainly due to lack of the ability to setup a schedule to play with teammates to learn behaviors and work out strategies so I'm forced to play solo. I have been playing on an iPhone 6S plus. The phone did fine on I was hoping that a larger screen would help and WOW what an improvement the size makes (yes, size does apparently matter). The screen of the RM3s is larger than the entire screen and bezels of the iPhone 6S plus. I understand the brightness is only like 400nits or something like that. It's plenty bright enough for me. This was a concern previously but not now.
Buttons: The buttons have a solid clicky feel. I like them. The lock button and the volume rocker are close together so I keep hitting the volume down button. I suspect this might be an issue when my wife calls me and I've accidentally turned down the volume. My iPhone only had one button along the right side of the phone so the extra buttons will take some getting used to.
Face Unlock: This is new to me. With my wife's Note 9, she can lift the phone and it'll detect the movement and unlock. I THINK with the RM3s, you have to push the button on the side to activate the face scanner. Doesn't bother me but it might someone else.
PUGB Mobile: The bootup times for PUBG are effectively the same between the RM3s and the iPhone 6s Plus, we are talking millisecond differences. The iPhone is 4-5 years old and I bought it new. Not sure if this is a testament to Apple technology or not. As I understand UFS 3.0, you primarily see the benenfits when loading large files. My guess here is PUBG has a lot of little files so the performance benefits for loading times of PUGB are a marginally improvement over UFS 2.0. I mention this as I was considering the Samsung S10+ but the screen is smaller than what I wanted to buy.
First MINOR Gripe: Just to prove I'm being objectionable here, I would like to have had the charge port off center like the headphone jack is. I love that the ROG2 can be charged using the side port. When playing games in landscape mode, the cords would be balanced in your hands. That said, there is a freaking 5000mAh battery in this thing so I an easily play several classic matches and not have an anxiety that my battery will be dead before I get home.
Speakers: this was not a big factor for me as when I'm gaming I'll have on headphones but I like to play music or watch YouTube while cooking dinner. The speakers do not disappoint. Are they the best things on earth? Of course not. Are they an improvement over the iPhone 6s Plus? Oh hell yeah. While I am not an audiophile, this speakers are pretty damn good. They get loud. At the volume level of zero, clicking the volume up rocker once makes the speaker loud enough to listen to while working at your desk (w/o a headset). Any louder and my wife will immediately come tell my to turn it down. While the ear piece doubles as a speaker, the volume balance between the two is pretty good. The OnePlus 7t (the other phone I was considering) has a dedicated speaker so I'm sure it sounds perfectly balanced. If I want a higher quality speaker, I'm going to rely on a dedicated unit. Same goes for my TV, computer, or media center, etc. Use the right tool for the job.
Size and Weight: I don't think the phone is big but rather it is long (and I like it "tall" - using tall here for obvious reasons). It does NOT feel heavy and actually feels lighter than my iPhone 6s plus (plus case weight). I will be ordering a silicone case for the RM3s but I doubt it'll had any significant heft. The phone feels solid and not cheap but any means. Perhaps the lack of rear glass and the use of metal cuts down on the weight?
Air Triggers/Bumpers: In a word, "FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC!" They are better than what I had hoped for. Before I found out about the RM3s, I considered getting the OnePlus 7t and ordering button attachments from Amazon. The air triggers/bumper buttons respond immediately and without any lag. The finger unlock can also be programmed for a 3rd button. No clue yet what to use for that except maybe the revive button but since I primarily play solo, I'll probably program it for the scope or the exit button while in the vehicle. The beauty of the button is I can stack the icons in PUBG and the center button will activate the applicable button (in a vehicle, the unlock sensor becomes the exit button, outside of the vehicle, it activates the scope or perhaps the reload. So many choices. The placement isn't super easy to tap during extreme game play but after developing some muscle memory, it'll end up being a great addition.
It came with a pre-applied screen protector. I had heard mixed comments about whether or not it would come with one. As a result, I did order one with the phone so I guess I'll put it in a drawer. Of course when I need it, I wont be able to find it, I'll order another one, and then I'll find the one in the drawer. :/
The LED on back is pretty slick (albeit a gimmick but I like flashy lights). You can configure it for a multitude of things, There is an app with the phone to control the LED behavior. I also really like how the LED can flicker when playing music and for notifications. When playing music, I place the phone face-down so the sound from the speakers are bounced back from the counter which amplifies the sound (and you an see the LED).
Storage Space: Mine is the 128GB version. After signing in and before installing any apps, only 11% was used. No complaints there at all. I activated developer mode and then enabled OTG support, connected my OTG adapter and then attached a 512GB jump drive. The phone had no issues reading the contents. If I end up filling up the 128GB, it'll be easy to off load data so no concerns for me here.
Charge: When I unboxed the phone, the battery was around 80% (this is very normal). I placed on charge while I ate lunch, came back and it was 100%. 5000mAh battery. Awesome.
UI: My wife has a Samsung Note 9 so my experience with Android is limited to the time I've used her phone and the Samsung UI (can I say I hate curved screens? They look great but the usability is severely limited IMO.) and her phone feels heavy. I don't know what "bloatware" or "stock android" looks like but I've heard that the UI of the RM3s is very close to stock Android. I like what I am seeing. In all honesty, I like OnePlus's UI better visually speaking. I know you may be saying you can install Nova Launcher but the RM3s launcher cant permanently change to use a different launcher. Even if I can't install a 3rd party launcher, coming from iOS, I'm used to only effectively being able to change the wallpaper so I'm already have more customization options now. The stock live wallpaper is pretty cool.
ROOT: I do not have any plans to ROOT the phone or unlock the bootloader. I also thought I'd never leave iOS but I've seen the errors of my ways so we'll see what happens. I did see in Developer Options there is a slide switch to unlock the bootloader. Nice!
Phone: I stuck my Tmobile sim card in an Tmobile immediately detected the phone needed some carrier updates. After applying them, I made a single call. It connected quickly. I did not pay attention to if it was connecting using VoLTE. After the initial test call, I removed the SIM. My case hasn't arrived yet so I'm waiting to use the phone. Once I make the official switch, I'll add a reply on the phone call since no one on YouTube mentions how it works as a phone. ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bignazpwns said:
So I have a Note 9. Got into Call of duty and decided it was time to get something to play it on sice I was just beating on that battery. Looked at all the gaming phone's and ended up getting a Red magic 3 256gb, with 2 cases, dock, controller, screen protectors everything mind like new for $455. Not a mark on the phone.
First impression. This does not come packed like a cheap phone. You get flagship level packing here.
It's a big phone. But with the case on it. And my text 22 case it's just a hair bigger then my note 9. But it feels great in the hand. It's thicker but you can't tell it hides it well. I haven't felt a phone like this since my Droid DNA. Build quality is great and I was shocked at he nice it really was. I keep looking for that catch. Why this is not a $1,000+ phone. You can't tell. I wish the phone did not have the red accents on it and the logo on the back but since I got a case a little black vivid automotive vinyl and it looks amazing. The diamond camera lenses lets you know this is not a typical phone. The red switch on the side is a hint that it's packing some serious power.
Display. This can make it break a cheap phone. The display is 90hz and is butter. Play 90hz then play 60. You will then hate 60hz. Scrolling is smooth. Does it have the horrible cheap AMOLED display color shift? Nope looks great! Is it note 9 and 10 great? No. But it's a great display and not really trailing far behind the best.
Camera. Stock app is meh. No ois and all that. But the sensor is good. The foundation is there it just needs polish. Gcam app pics look great. Not the best but more then enough for the typical person. I will say the slow no blows my note 9 out of the water. The note 9 looks like trash why this phone looks very clear. That 1920fps is no joke. But I did notice my orange was a bit bighter and the note 9 was more accurate in color but looked grainy where this phone was extremely clear. And the difference between the 940fps and the 1920fps is amazing. Some of my slow mo videos look absolutely amazing and are so crisp and detailed I was blown away. It does 8k...low fps but it ties into the gamer aspect of my phone does 8k..at 15fps...what's your phone do 8k at? Mine doesn't... exactly. 15fps is more then 0.
Android. Is pretty much stock but with some tasteful additions. They respected Android and did not over do it. Runs smoothly and is what you would expect from a pretty much stock Android. Flip the switch and the game space starts. It pick games up automaticly and it's easy to add apps to it. Screen recording is very easy and works great. Settings are easy to adjust and mapping your shoulder buttons are as easy as dragging them to here you want them. Game space is great.
That fan tho! It works. It's not loud but some times you can hear it. If you screen record with the mic on you can year it in the video. But most of the time you won't notice it. I found my temps playing games and heavy benchmarking never hit over 40.6c even after a few hours of call of duty. It works great
Nubia is a name I never heard of. But Nubia is now on my list of phone's to watch. I will take a serious look at the red magic 4 and if they improve on this I will buy one. This phone is that good.
I really hope they offer an all blacked out version. With just the red button. Clean look till the RGB comes on. I love the look of it all blacked out in my case and the RGB on.
And for those who have Verizon. I have Verizon and not having band 13 sucks but I have always had 4g. I did notice that its slightly slower then my note 9. But still pulling good 4g speed and no issues. Put the Sim in and it worked great.
And those worried about updates. Most phone's don't get them anyways so who cares if they don't. I'm on Verizon so it's not like my phone updates have ever been fast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Nova launcher prime with zero issues on my 3 and 3s.
If you wanna chat get the USB port location for gaming you can pick up a dock for the phone from RM. I got one the added a micro SD card slot to it. The dock is pretty nice overall.
bignazpwns said:
I'm using Nova launcher prime with zero issues on my 3 and 3s.
If you wanna chat get the USB port location for gaming you can pick up a dock for the phone from RM. I got one the added a micro SD card slot to it. The dock is pretty nice overall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I uninstalled and reinstalled and now have the option. It wasn't there before.
When I'm back at the computer, I'll update my original post.
Thanks for the feedback to the dock. I almost ordered it but wanted to the try OTG adapter from my wife's Note9 first.
Thanks guys!
SavageCat-TX said:
Well, I uninstalled and reinstalled and now have the option. It wasn't there before.
When I'm back at the computer, I'll update my original post.
Thanks for the feedback to the dock. I almost ordered it but wanted to the try OTG adapter from my wife's Note9 first.
Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! Really great phone. I don't understand the complaints about buggy sw. I have zero issues. I did enable aod(root). Wish I could add the weather on the aod too.
Assuming AOD is always On Display, is that only on when charging (screen saver)?
No issues with bugs here either. It's been very stable.
SavageCat-TX said:
Assuming AOD is always On Display, is that only on when charging (screen saver)?
No issues with bugs here either. It's been very stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, not screensaver. It's always on. There's a substratum overlay to enable it.
This is the closest I could find to AOD.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/red-magic-3/help/phone-display-t3945086/amp/
SavageCat-TX said:
This is the closest I could find to AOD.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/red-magic-3/help/phone-display-t3945086/amp/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you rooted?
I have AOD working with root.
Related
hi my note 5's screen got broke so I need a new smartphone
with my price tag the only solid options are the hTC 10 and the Huawei Mate 9
I found some reviews bashing the headphone jack performance of the mate 9 so for comparison with the galaxy s7 for example or the note 5 for those who owned both of the devices how is it.
also the gaming performance how is it ?for example how much fps you get with Riptide Renegade on high settings
and also I would like to know if there is a flaw or a problem you encountered with this phone.
sorry for being long and I would really appreciate your help.
thanks in advance
AlMaghraby said:
hi my note 5's screen got broke so I need a new smartphone
with my price tag the only solid options are the hTC 10 and the Huawei Mate 9
I found some reviews bashing the headphone jack performance of the mate 9 so for comparison with the galaxy s7 for example or the note 5 for those who owned both of the devices how is it.
also the gaming performance how is it ?for example how much fps you get with Riptide Renegade on high settings
and also I would like to know if there is a flaw or a problem you encountered with this phone.
sorry for being long and I would really appreciate your help.
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally i have no complaints. There are minor ticks here and there but thats as expected. HEadphone jack is fine on my unit. BT is really nice. Battery is great. i avg 9-10 hours SOT per charge and thats over 2 days for me. ( 1d 18hr )
Ive tweaked a few things. i do not get push notifications unless it is from a text.
I also do not use FB apps. Instagram or SC. ( use Metal for FB and website for instagram )
ONLY use the chaarger included with it. or the one huawei makes for car charging.
Reception is great. Small things here n there on Tmo but it works well.
Camera is Excellent. i was 15ft away from a car at a show and in the photo you can read the tire sidewall!
CONS:
Limited cases and Glass coveres
Limited charger options
Trickle charge issue. ( old HTC things. unplug for a few minutes then plug back in for about 5-10 more. gives a true full charge )
I have a 128gb SD in and i love having 183gb to store anything on.
DO NOT use the internal batteyr estimator. Not accurate ( USE GSAM )
Compared to my Note 5 this is THE BEST phone i have ever used. Im going to sell my Note 5, eave sprint and stick just to Tmobile. or ATT idk yet.
Can't argue with this.
On Amazon (in Germany) you can find now plenty of cases for Mate 9. I can recommend the Spigen rugged case that I purchased lately and it is really good. Glass protection is indeed a big problem: most of the items that claim they are for the Mate 9 are to narrow and the few ones that are having the right size are of a very bad quality.
The phone itself is great, better than everything I had so far (my last phone was an LG G4). The screen is "only" full HD, but to be frank, I do not see the need to have a higher resolution on a phone (it still can make 4K videos if this is what you need). Video recording quality is really great: the most beautiful colors I have seen on a phone video recording so far. Wide aperture photos are a hit among my family and friends (I am the only one now in charge to take photos in my family when we go out ). ANTUTU benchmark almost 120k - faster than my colleague's Galaxy S7 - so, whatever you want to do with it, it will do it great.
The only thing that I miss sometimes is the support for MHL (but it has other mirroring options). And I would have liked to have the option to hide the Android navigation keys in all applications but the screen is anyhow huge so, this is not a big issue either since the keys are anyhow hidden when you play videos or I read a book.
so what about notifications problems that is all over internet? is that solved already?
at least europe versions.. I want all my notification instantly like on other phones, no matter is that whatsapp or something else..
And is it true that notification are gone from lockscreen after unlocking phone or just putting screen on to see what is it?
i'm also considering to get this model
digitall1982 said:
so what about notifications problems that is all over internet? is that solved already?
at least europe versions.. I want all my notification instantly like on other phones, no matter is that whatsapp or something else..
And is it true that notification are gone from lockscreen after unlocking phone or just putting screen on to see what is it?
i'm also considering to get this model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Notification problem happens with the Chinese version, as far as I know, i have the EU version and i get all the notifications.
Honestly, even now, this is the BEST phone there is, the first phone i don't need root as there are workaround for everything, performance, and battery and top notch, camera is great but slightly disappointing in low light, screen is big apparently now "old school" and very sharp and bright, stereo speakers are great, the DAC is average at best but still decent.
Fantastic phone, camera, battery life, screen, sound of speakers, build! Not so awesome is the update history of Huawei. Updates come late and limited.
The only real drawback is the lack of developers. I had hoped for LineageOS, but I think that boat is torpedoed and sunk.
Still GREAT value!
Battery is stellar. I've been in bed all day sick, with my phone by my side. Almost at 10 hours screen on time at 13% battery left. Bluetooth has been used, connected on WiFi.
It's the best phone I've EVER had. Well, S3 note 4 and G2 are up there.
The HD screen is fine. I had the G4 S7 previously. Don't miss the screens.
The video recording format is irritating in that 2k won't upload to YouTube. It's too modern.
Definitely give the phone a go. I bought the Chinese 6gig 128gig version converted to international ROM. Have contemplated selling but just can't let it go! Even my mate with his S8 loves it. Oh, and it's not got a curved screen, another plus for me!
Didn't want to buy a phone with non removable battery.
Pretty much a non issue with this phone as it's hot such a great battery and a sensible screen resolution so doesn't drain fast.
The camera bokeh effect is simply the best on the market by a mile. Low light is mediocre though.
Massive screen. Great speed. Phenomenal finger print sensor.
I hated the soft keys but you learn to hate them less.
Overall delighted with this thing.
Doesn't slow down. If anything it goes faster with time which is odd but just what they seek to claim!
what about 4k video and auto upload to google photos? is that solved or it must be converted into h264?
This is the best phone I've ever had. Coming from an s7 and wife has s8 plus and still use a note 5 for our home phone. It's without question my favorite! Screen still looks fantastic for 1080. The battery is off the chain. I could easily go 2 days and have, just generally charge it before I go to bed and is always above 50%. Fast!!!! Smooth!!! I don't know how they do it, but next to Apple this is the must fluid phone out there. Heck, I'd say it's smoother than my friends 7S. Only paid 400 for it and it's dual sim to boot.
Honestly can't say enough about it. Only get rid of it if mate 10 is better somehow. I am intrigued by less bezels.
Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk
It's the best phone AFTER the B186 and up update, before that battery life was ****. I am on the 190 now with the phone updating to 193. It is the best phone in terms of battery life, performance and hardware/software. Too bad the update method is ****... like a HUGE TURD that third parties have to fill the gaps on this. Oh it's also **** that some of the huawei apps are in chinese (like the store) or whatever... It sucks BIG TIME.
I'm not a fan myself.
The Huawei android skin is yet another confusing and pointless skin that just causes issues and degrades Android. Go for a Google phone and have Android in it's true glory rather than in a compromised and inferior veneer.
Oh yes and it looks like I can 'kiss goodbye" to any updates from Huawei, with the Mate 10 phone now round the corner.
My last Android security patch was for April.
Hello dear readers
Just wanted to create a thread to know about your experience with the new HTC U11+
Please do not forget to mention the following things:
-Where did you buy your phone from?
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
-What accessories are you using with your device?
-What do you like about the device?
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
-What do you have installed on your phone?
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Looking forward to you guys' sharing your experience.:fingers-crossed:
lil_rain said:
Hello dear readers
Just wanted to create a thread to know about your experience with the new HTC U11+
Please do not forget to mention the following things:
-Where did you buy your phone from?
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
-What accessories are you using with your device?
-What do you like about the device?
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
-What do you have installed on your phone?
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Looking forward to you guys' sharing your experience.:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pre-ordered mine from HTC.
Got the black one not translucent, didn't want to wait to get my hands on the device till January.
No accessories, still looking for a case, very careful in the meanwhile.
What I like about the device. Basically everything, didn't come across anything, that I don't like. Camera is great, performance is smooth and battery is holding up very well.
Favorite features: edge sense, the extra status bar features, audio quality. Headphones with active noise cancellation are great.
Attached screenshots of my app drawer for the installed apps.
How many hours I spent on my phone daily? Enough to trigger the companion notification recommending to take a rest every day.
Advice to U11+ buyers, flash Cleanslate kernel and profit. Also enable WireGuard, just an amazing privacy feature.
I totally agree with you. I've had mine for a month now and don't seem to have any problem with it as of far at all. The camera is amazing the battery is holding up pretty good as well.
I ordered mine from eBay. I got the sliver one and it doesn't even look silver at all lol (its blueish and the corners look kind of purplish) It give you the pearlescent blue kind of feel which looks really nice . Trust me out of all the color i saw in hand silver was the best one.
I've got this cover for my phone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077GJFDX...516368691&sr=1-3&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
The cover is slim but I'll rate the protection 7 out of 10 (which is okay with all the slim covers)
and I got this glass screen which is case friendly
https://www.amazon.com/Screen-Prote...r=1-1&keywords=htc+u11+plus+screen+protection
If you are looking for better protection rather than the looks then go for this one
https://www.amazon.com/KuGi-Scratch...16369361&sr=1-14&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
lil_rain said:
I totally agree with you. I've had mine for a month now and don't seem to have any problem with it as of far at all. The camera is amazing the battery is holding up pretty good as well.
I ordered mine from eBay. I got the sliver one and it doesn't even look silver at all lol (its blueish and the corners look kind of purplish) It give you the pearlescent blue kind of feel which looks really nice . Trust me out of all the color i saw in hand silver was the best one.
I've got this cover for my phone https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077GJFDX...516368691&sr=1-3&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
The cover is slim but I'll rate the protection 7 out of 10 (which is okay with all the slim covers)
and I got this glass screen which is case friendly
https://www.amazon.com/Screen-Prote...r=1-1&keywords=htc+u11+plus+screen+protection
If you are looking for better protection rather than the looks then go for this one
https://www.amazon.com/KuGi-Scratch...16369361&sr=1-14&keywords=htc+u11+plus+covers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your wordings however i am going to stick with the bumper provided by HTC for now, else my translucent U11+ isn't visible anymore?
daheufster said:
Thanks for your wordings however i am going to stick with the bumper provided by HTC for now, else my translucent U11+ isn't visible anymore?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love using my phone without the case. But I'm too scared to mess the phone up since it's super slippery lol. It looks so beautiful without the case though
Picked it up on Swappa - WOW is this phone fabulous EXCEPT...
1) Can NOT stand everytime installing an app, an icon for said app is on my home screen
2) Fingerprint magnet like you wouldn't believe unless you own one
3) I am kinda wondering where the LTE imagery is as I am 4 or more phones in and was ecstatic to see it vs H (HTC I'm looking at you).
Otherwise, so far so good. I have this case - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078STPXH8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
This screen protector will be on it soon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077665GL2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
And this case is my all time love (see signature) - https://www.ebay.com/itm/HTC-U11-Pl...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
-Where did you buy your phone from?
I had bought it non HTC Club
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
Ceramic Black
-What accessories are you using with your device?
Soft cover and tempered glass
-What do you like about the device?
Design and HTC Sense UI
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
Edge Sense
-What do you have installed on your phone?
Actually none, killed by water
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
Actually none, killed by water
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Stay away from the water
Amazing phone!Sometimes i charged it after 2 full days, normally one and a half. Vibrant screen colors. Hi-res audio AND noise canceling,sd card.I am in love with this sucker!2 cons i see,but it's ok(for now):Not frequent updates and it's not coming with system equalizer.I had to unlock it and add Viper.Now iam good.!
There is few bad things which annoy me.
Display is dimmed but it is not that bad, except I have factory flaw and when it is cold I see horisontal lines.
Maybe the most annoying is the haptic feedback, I must turn it off when I use keyboard, coz is so bad and so loud that in quiet place, whole room can hear when I was writing.
Also volume buttons and turn on button are bad, I mean they are working great, but feeling is very cheap.
At the end I am not fully satisfied with the phone, I hoped for better hardware quality...
lil_rain said:
Hello dear readers
Just wanted to create a thread to know about your experience with the new HTC U11+
Please do not forget to mention the following things:
-Where did you buy your phone from?
-Which color were you lucky enough to get.
-What accessories are you using with your device?
-What do you like about the device?
-Whats you favorite feature/s?
-What do you have installed on your phone?
-Approx. how many hours a day do you use your phone?
-And last but not the least, if you have any advice or suggestions for other (or potential) HTC U11+ owners.
Looking forward to you guys' sharing your experience.:fingers-crossed:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got my device off a Taiwan-based retailer on eBay. I opted for the translucent black one because I thought it looked less gaudy than the others. I use my bluetooth headphones a few times daily to stream music on Spotify, Google Play Music, YouTube Music and YouTube. I can count the number of times I have used the 3.5mm adapter. That is not to say I don't miss the headphone jack. There have been a few times when I needed to connect my wired earbuds for phone calls (because my wireless pair act up sometimes with phone calls) and was momentarily disappointed. A minor inconvenience but an inconvenience still. I have a few bank apps, WhatsApp, Telegram, an email app, 4 light games, a dictionary, the eBay and Amazon apps and Netflix. I actively use Spotify, YouTube, YouTube Music, Google Play Music and Chrome on a daily basis. I actually spend more time on Chrome than on anything else, save for Spotify that stays minimized most times so I can easily resume playing tunes when I slap on my headphones or jump in the car. I probably use my phone for 3hrs each day on average.
These are the things I like about the device:
- The 6-inch display. After using a Xiaomi Mi Max for 6 months, I fell in love with big displays. Although, this screen size is a sizeable downgrade, the taller aspect ratio seemed attractive.
- The speakers. This phone is undoubtebly louder than my previous phones, whether via the speakers or connected headsets. I am not an audiophile by any means but I can tell this phone has a superior DAC compared to my previous phones.
- The 3930mAh battery. To be honest, this is the one thing about the phone that got me interested. I had owned a HTC One M8 in the past. While a good phone during its time, I wasn't entirely sold on the camera front. I am not a huge camera user but it sure is a nice feature to have. Also, if I am going to spend a huge sum on a phone, it better be great at everything. My previous device was a Samsung Galaxy S8+. An excellent device it was but the 3500mAh left quite a lot to be desired. The fingerprint scanner seemed ancient as well given its size, shape and reliability. The U11+ is no slouch when it comes to longevity. With my usage, I can get close to 10hrs SOT with almost 2 days of standby.
- The fingerprint scanner. It is the right size, shape and in the right location. Did I mention that it is fast? Yeah, my S8+ sucked in this regard. It had a success rate of 60%. The iris scanner wasn't much help as I could only use it in certain situations.
- ActiveEdge. This isn't a feature I use a lot. It is actually disabled as I write this. It is nice to have but I sometimes forget to use it even after assigning shortcuts to it. Sometimes I don't even realise it's there until I accidentally squeeze the frame and get the visual notification.
These things I don't like about the phone:
- Notification LED. At this price point, one would expect a RGB one. I like being able to tell what kind of notification I have so as to help me decide if it's an urgent one or not. Samsung has had this for as long as I can remember. I don't understand why some other OEMs don't use them.
- No audio EQ. I like having the ability to adjust EQ settings to suit my taste. I was hoping this phone would at least have Dolby ATMOS like the M9. I tried a few apps on the Play Store. They weren't quite up to snuff. Tried the one that was ported from an Axon device. No luck with that either. I'm not too fussed as one of my headphones has a few EQ settings to choose from.
- LCD panel. I have been spoiled by Samsung's SuperAMOLED QHD displays. Them being oversaturated doesn't bother me as much as this one being LCD does. Once you go AMOLED, LCD just seems so ancient. Also, the max brightness of this panel is nothing to write home about. This is something reviewers talked about but I imagined I wouldn't need to use my device in direct sunlight often. Well, I imagined wrong. Sunlight visibility is poor.
- No headphone jack. While not a deal-breaker, this is still an inconvenience that could have been avoided. I won't be settling for anything without one in the future.
- Stale software. Sense has been praised for being not as heavily skinned or resource-heavy like the then Samsung TouchWiz. I liked it back when the M8 got the update. Now, I feel like it has become old and outdated. HTC built-in apps look like we are still in 2013. The dialer app was my first frustration. It was such an eyesore. I immediately replaced it with Drupe but did away with that later as it was too convoluted and unintuitive. Now, I am using the Google Dialer which has been good so far.
Security Updates. I don't know about devices from other regions but I haven't gotten an update since I acquired this device. It is still on the December security patch. This is definitely worse than what I experienced with my S8+.
- Bluetooth connectivity. Bluetooth performance has been less than pleasant. Sometimes, devices disconnect a second after being connected to my phone. Other times, the phone doesn't automatically connect to the last used device. Also, you can't have more than 1 Bluetooth device connected to the device using the same profile. What I mean is I can't have my headphones and portable Bluetooth speaker connected at the same time. By comparison, my Galaxy S8+ would stay connected to my 2 Bluetooth headphones and smartwatch. And I could easily choose which one could be active. There's also dual audio - streaming audio to 2 Bluetooth devices at the same time.
- Audio player. I use a variety of music-streaming services and one thing I have noticed is that when a track is being streamed, the total track time is not displayed. I have tried changing the codec in use without much luck. The most recent development is that track ID sometimes only displays on my head unit. Dunno if it's the Spotify app that is playing up.
- Gesture-based shortcut for screenshot-taking. Why is this still an issue in 2018? Gestures are a lot faster than swiping and then tapping or performing hand acrobatics in order to get a screenshot. Samsung does this right. So does OnePlus. Dunno about other OEMs.
These are the pros and cons I can think of right now. If there are others, they are probably too minor to rant about.
For would-be buyers, think long and hard before you decide if this device is right for you. As always, weigh the pros vs the cons. Also note that some of the cons outlined here are as a result of my personal preferences. I was aware of a few of the cons before I took the plunge. But I bought it anyway because I was seduced by the battery capacity. Now that the novelty has worn off, I am most likely going to offload the device in the coming weeks and go for a Xiaomi Mi Max 3... or the Samsung Galaxy Note9, depending on the state of my wallet at the time.
Hope this helps.
I received my unlocked S9+ about a week ago after taking advantage of Samsung's trade-in offer. I'm coming from an S7 Edge and figured I'd share some thoughts, if anyone was considering the same. Hit me up if you're curious about something specific.
Size-wise, this phone isn't that much larger than the S7 edge, just maybe a couple mm wider and several more taller. However, there is a very noticeable weight increase that makes a big difference during extended sessions. The weight also makes the all-glass exterior difficult to keep a grip on and you'll have a thick disgusting smear of fingerprints to prove it -- I think a case is a must. I went with one of the alcantara cases and love it.
I haven't messed much with the iris/facial scanning, mostly because it wouldn't work anyway with most of my banking/security apps that only support a fingerprint. I love the location of the new fingerprint scanner and it is very, very fast.
Speaking of fast, this phone SMOKES. I install a crap-ton of apps and it's just as speedy as when I took it out of the box. 6 GB of RAM means apps get suspended less often, making the overall experience very, very fluid. The screen is also drop-dead gorgeous.
The camera hasn't disappointed me yet, even in fairly low light situations or with significant zoom, and all the widgets in Pro mode give full control over it all. I intend to give it a good workout during tomorrow's blizzard and see if the super slo-mo does a good job of catching the snow. The new AR emoji stuff is useless and ridiculous, I don't see it appealing to much of anyone over the age of 11 -- and even then only if they don't notice how awful it looks. It's just a half-baked attempt to emulate the nonsense on an iFruit.
Things I miss/wish were better:
*Night clock -- RIP, my bedside table friend. You will be missed.
*Edge lighting -- feels like a missed opportunity, it's just "not enough" to be really useful. It feels to me like a step back from the S7e's implementation somehow but I can't really put my finger on why.
*Bixby -- just give up already and take the button away. Awful.
*Samsung's customizations -- the Settings menus are still an exercise in frustration and patience to plow through, even without all the carrier bloat in this unlocked version.
Which version do you have? 64, 128 or 256? I will be upgrading from S5 next month, a huge upgrade for me. Can you tell me if 64 GB will be enough, keeping in view all the bloatware pre-installed. I am not a heavy user, don't keep music in my phone, just the camera and whatsapp stuff and a few bubble witch type games.
I have ordered a few cases and a tempered glass, will definitely keep the device protected. I tested it in the store and it is slippery plus finger print magnet.
ila420 said:
Which version do you have? 64, 128 or 256? I will be upgrading from S5 next month, a huge upgrade for me. Can you tell me if 64 GB will be enough, keeping in view all the bloatware pre-installed. I am not a heavy user, don't keep music in my phone, just the camera and whatsapp stuff and a few bubble witch type games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 64 GB version. Even with my huge pile of apps, I've still got 42 GB free. Ultra fast SD cards are so cheap these days, onboard storage is a non-event in my opinion. Store pics, vids, and music on the SD and it should never be a concern.
Plus, remember that unlocked devices don't have any of the carrier bloat!
I also came from an S7 Edge (with a couple of months on an S7 after the Edge was lost at sea. Literally.)
Anyway, I'm mostly thrilled with the upgrade. I don't find the weight an issue, but have small hands and do find the extra width just a bit uncomfortable. I could happily live with the shorter screen on the Edge, too. The extra height doesn't really buy me that much most of the time, but it isn't an issue, either. I agree a case is necessary, if for no reason other than to protect the glass if you drop it. But that's another area where the width is a problem--I used a more protective case on the Edge, but can't handle the extra width on the Plus so I'm using a thinner case.
Can't get the Iris scanning to work at all. It gets to about 50% and says my Irises couldn't be scanned. Guess I have weird eyes?
Agree Bixby is pretty much useless at this point, but (1) it should improve over time, and (2) it's Samsung's future UI for all their smart devices, phones, washers, stoves, you name it, so it's not going away. Would be nice if they'd let us remap the button, but at least there are 3rd party tools for that.
There are 3rd party edge lighting tools that are far better than Samsung's, btw. My biggest grip is the loss of per-contact text message sounds. I had to go to the 3rd party text app to get that back.
And yes, it's fast and smooth. No complaints there, even though I'm sure the Pixel cult will claim it's laggy and stutters. I'm also getting the best battery life I've gotten out of any phone, by far.
meyerweb said:
There are 3rd party edge lighting tools that are far better than Samsung's, btw. My biggest grip is the loss of per-contact text message sounds. I had to go to the 3rd party text app to get that back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you recommend something that does a better job with edge lighting?
I also didn't realize per-user alerts were missing, I didn't use Samsung's built-in on the S7e because of the wonky sharing intent support. Nice catch.
Wallcrawler77 said:
Could you recommend something that does a better job with edge lighting?
I also didn't realize per-user alerts were missing, I didn't use Samsung's built-in on the S7e because of the wonky sharing intent support. Nice catch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lighting.edge.edgelighting
I was a beta tester for it and got it free. It meets my needs, so I haven't compared any of the other ones in the Play Store to see if they might be better.
Wallcrawler77 said:
I received my unlocked S9+ about a week ago after taking advantage of Samsung's trade-in offer. I'm coming from an S7 Edge and figured I'd share some thoughts, if anyone was considering the same. Hit me up if you're curious about something specific.
Size-wise, this phone isn't that much larger than the S7 edge, just maybe a couple mm wider and several more taller. However, there is a very noticeable weight increase that makes a big difference during extended sessions. The weight also makes the all-glass exterior difficult to keep a grip on and you'll have a thick disgusting smear of fingerprints to prove it -- I think a case is a must. I went with one of the alcantara cases and love it.
I haven't messed much with the iris/facial scanning, mostly because it wouldn't work anyway with most of my banking/security apps that only support a fingerprint. I love the location of the new fingerprint scanner and it is very, very fast.
Speaking of fast, this phone SMOKES. I install a crap-ton of apps and it's just as speedy as when I took it out of the box. 6 GB of RAM means apps get suspended less often, making the overall experience very, very fluid. The screen is also drop-dead gorgeous.
The camera hasn't disappointed me yet, even in fairly low light situations or with significant zoom, and all the widgets in Pro mode give full control over it all. I intend to give it a good workout during tomorrow's blizzard and see if the super slo-mo does a good job of catching the snow. The new AR emoji stuff is useless and ridiculous, I don't see it appealing to much of anyone over the age of 11 -- and even then only if they don't notice how awful it looks. It's just a half-baked attempt to emulate the nonsense on an iFruit.
Things I miss/wish were better:
*Night clock -- RIP, my bedside table friend. You will be missed.
*Edge lighting -- feels like a missed opportunity, it's just "not enough" to be really useful. It feels to me like a step back from the S7e's implementation somehow but I can't really put my finger on why.
*Bixby -- just give up already and take the button away. Awful.
*Samsung's customizations -- the Settings menus are still an exercise in frustration and patience to plow through, even without all the carrier bloat in this unlocked version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry after investing millions of dollars on development they're not gonna "just give up" on bixby because some people don't like it, HOWEVER, we can disable the button on bixby home, little gear icon on top and you can set the button to do nothing with a single press unless you press and hold
i like the Bixby button.... so that I can use "BxActions" to program it as my quick Sound/Vibrate button, or turn on flashlight, or take screenshot, or wifi on/off, etc...
Wallcrawler77 said:
I have the 64 GB version. Even with my huge pile of apps, I've still got 42 GB free. Ultra fast SD cards are so cheap these days, onboard storage is a non-event in my opinion. Store pics, vids, and music on the SD and it should never be a concern.
Plus, remember that unlocked devices don't have any of the carrier bloat!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to upgrade to a 9+ from a s6 edge+ sometime in the summer. I'm assuming I would have a harder time adjusting to it since the 7 edge is heavier than the 6 edge+. On the other hand, the 6 edge+ is slightly wider than the 7 edge.
Just my 2 cents as well....Also came from the S7 Edge. Had the S4,S5 and S6 before that. Didn't want to fork out the huge amount of money with my provider for the S8. Van honestly say that this S9+ is damn quick. When looking at the speed comparison tests on youtube I sometimes think my phone in hand is quicker then that... Physically it's nor much bigger then the S7 Edge, but it feels nicer in hand and is easy to operate with one hand...I have biggish hands... Camera in general is a bit better, didn't yet get time to really compare to my S& Edge. Low light is definitely nicer and less noise. Bixby is a first for me...Not to bad....Bixby doesn't always understand our South African english accent. Haven't used google assistant for 2 weeks now...Bixby does what I want and some more when it comes to the phone settings etc. Overall very happy with the phone. Battery life with my use is a bit better then the S7 Edge. I get at least 18-28 hours of battery life, with sot of 3-4.5 hours. The S7 edge got 12-16 hours with sot 2-3. UI is good and no lag detected at all, especially how I use the phone, not a heavy user, but I'm busy on the phone
Same here. I had an S7edge for two years and loved it. I now upgraded to S9+.
I want to be honest. After the first hype you get about a new phone etc. I cannot say that I am extremely amazed by this upgrade.
Don't get me wrong. S9+ is fantastic. It is a phone that has everything. I cannot find a fault. The smoothness is amazing, the screen is amazing, the speed is amazing. But if you used to have an S7 edge, you are also used to most of what samsung offers. Excellent camera, edge screen, samsung apps etc etc.
To be honest I am a power user, so I had installed most of the updated touchwiz apps through APKs (including the new touchwiz launcher) in my s7edge so my daily experience and use of the phone remain the same.
I don't know if I should have waited for oreo to come to S7edge and then decide to upgrade or not, but there were a few areas in s9+ that made me bite the bullet and proceed in ordering it.
- The looks. S7 edge is a very good looking phone but S9+... oh my... I think I am in love with the way it looks.
- 6gb of ram. S7 edge was lacking in this sector. The ram management was not so good. The ram management in s9+ is just extraordinary. There are times that I close an app at night, fall asleep, and the next morning I reopen the app and is in the exact same page that I left it.
- Battery seems better than S7 edge. Maybe power management is better in s9+ due to processor or Oreo android.
- Cameras of both phones take excellent pictures. So nothing too special about S9.
- Speakers is a big upgrade. S7 edge speaker was very low volume. S9+ rocks the place.
- S9 supports project treble. So hopefully S9 will be getting updates sooner. Timely android updates is the only sector that Samsung is falling behind.
Bottom line is that s9+ surely worths the upgrade, but if you come from an s7 edge don't expect the changes and your daily usage and feel to be extremely different and rock your world. Especially if you just update to the s9 and not the s9+.
If you come from another phone (not a recent samsung one), for sure you will be amazed.
I could live easily with s7edge for at least another year, especially if it gets the oreo update. Or I could easily root it and install an s9 rom.
I am just saying all this so an s7edge owner to take everything into account before rushing getting the s9+.
I reluctantly upgraded from an S7 Edge. Didn't want to lose FoxFi but the S7 was so slow and charging was becoming an issue. Got an unlocked S9+ direct from Samsung. This thing is lightening fast. Love the Intelligent Scan. There are times I want to unlock but have sterile gloves on and I don't feel like dealing with a PIN.
That being said...the battery life when I got it was AMAZING. I have long days where it's a pain to charge and it last(ed). Until the update. Now battery is not so stellar. Anyone else experiencing this?
I'm surprised at how many are in the same boat upgrading from the S7 Edge!
My Tmo S7E was so SLOW after all the updates, I resisted throwing it out the window. Their trade in program giving $360 for it was a steal so I jumped on it immediately. Loving the S9+ all the way! Phone is an absolute beast and I love the 6GB of ram. It keeps prompting me to update but I AM NOT UPDATING! don't fix what isn't broken right?
xxlikquidxx said:
i like the Bixby button.... so that I can use "BxActions" to program it as my quick Sound/Vibrate button, or turn on flashlight, or take screenshot, or wifi on/off, etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh man, I didn't know that! I'll have to look into this...! Really wish Samsung had a physical button to set to Loud/Vibrate/Mute
S7edge to S9+ here as well, I'll comment on the VR. I ordered the new GearVR headset before I got the phone in, and using it is like night and day.
-S7edge would overheat in 10-20 minutes, show error and lock up sometimes until it cooled. Unplugged, I'd get from 100-25% in less than 1 3d movie (avg 1:30 in battery only vr usage, 50% screen brightness) When plugged into the Samsung power supply would only drop battery from 100%-70% in 2 hours.
-S9+ has yet to overheat in VR, screendoor is a little more pronounced, but can watch 2:20 movie in 3D (50% screen brightness as usual) battery only 100%-55% and when plugged in would not charge unless headset is off (sleep mode) but would not discharge any battery, start at 100% end at 100%.
S9+ VR headset: SM-R325NZVAXAR is what I ordered. I use this along with Riftcat to simulate a Vive headset and play Elite dangerous for hours, no overheat and no battery drain when plugged in. Smooth as silk.
Another person going from S7 Edge to S9+. Overall I agree with the prior comments, the phone really isn't much bigger but the performance difference is HUGE. I setup many apps and the S7E was bogging down. For example: running Google Play Music and Waze in my car would make the audio choppy at times and Waze would lag. On the S9+ it runs smooth.
A few other comments:
- I used a UAG case ( specifically the Plasma ) for my S7 Edge and now my S9+, I think it is great
- I use BxActions and have it mapped to Google Assistant. I wish there was a way officially disable Bixby and map things to Google Assistant but the BxActions app works.
Preface: I am posting this here because I think it will be buried otherwise, and I want it to reach as many people as possible, since personally I wish I knew all of this before buying it.
…And kind reminder: If you feel you are an HTC combatant, please click the Back button and save yourself, and probably myself, from getting aggravated.
This review was prompted because I feel like swimming in a sea of superficial “reviews” online, which are mostly advertisements rather than real reviews, and a lot of peculiarities are unearthed only after the device is used for a sufficiently lengthy period of time.
The HTC U Ultra, in my humble opinion, is a double-edged sword (one of the edges is pointed towards the owner, sadly).
The screen is spacious at 5.7” and even though the phone is very large it can be managed in one hand, if you make a concerted effort. The overall size is exacerbated by the 2nd screen on top, which is reasonably useful, i.e. not utterly pointless.
The screen is a very good IPS-variety screen, with moderate brightness (visible enough in bright daylight). Note that the Oreo update, I believe, did considerably increase the maximum brightness, which could be very useful when the need comes, but absolutely not recommended for long-term use because of the borderline insufficient battery capacity. At least, the option to blast out the brightness in a pinch is there.
Performance is overall very good to great, games play well, day-to-day internetting, newsfeeding, facebooking, vibering (or whatever messaging app floats your boat) is great, and so is the multitasking.
The sound from the bundled headphones is outstanding (in combination with the proprietary HTC USonic EQ shenanigans), provided you like deep sub-bass and high brilliance without muffling the vocals (as I do). The sound is definitely V-shaped. The downsides of the headphones are that (a) they don’t have volume buttons, which, given the size of the phone and the inherent difficulty related to getting it out of the pocket to increase or decrease the volume, is moderately frustrating, (b) they are of the USB-C variety, which means you can’t simply plug them into most other phones or HiFi devices, and means that (c) you can’t charge your phone and use the headphones simultaneously, which, however, I wouldn’t do, since I would like the battery to have as longer life as possible, given the difficulty of replacing it (1 – the phone is a glass sandwich which means I can’t just pull the battery out and slap a new one in; 2 – HTC service centers, at least where I live, are few and far between, and 3 – the availability of spare batteries and the costs related to replacing the battery leave a lot to be desired). A negative too is that there is no USB-C to mini-jack adapter in the box, which means you have to buy one, which is easier said than done - a lot of those being sold do not work with the HTC U Ultra (unless you use apps such as Sound About or tinker with the OS) and the original HTC adapter is very hard to buy anyway, most places listing it as out-of-stock. Let’s not forget that routinely plugging cables into the USB-C connector on the phone (one for charging, another for USB-C headphones) will surely shorten the already-not-that-great durability of the said USB-C connector on the phone (and again the glass sandwich which makes it hard to replace said USB-C connector comes to mind). Also, here in Bulgaria people are not buying phones every year and the probability of me being at a place where someone could lend me their USB-C charger to top up my battery midday or mid-party are close to nil, so I have to carry my USB-C cable too.
The battery is not for power users. At 3000 mAh it is not well-suited to the power requirements of that huge and very high resolution screen (2560x1440 + 160x1040, that’s a lot of pixels). Overall, I get 3.5-4.5 hours of screen-on time from a full charge over one day, with some gaming and camera use. If you don’t use the stock camera (the phone automatically maxes out the screen brightness in the stock camera app, and you cannot turn it down, very dumb idea), don’t play games, and use the phone only on WiFi and not on 3G/4G, probably 5 to maximum 6 hours of screen-on time would be possible.
The digitizer of the phone uses snap-to-grid which cannot be switched off which is in effect when the finger is moving slowly. I tried very very hard to figure out the purpose of this seemingly dumb idea, and couldn’t find any sensible reasons for it, and also could not find any other phone with that function. I wonder why... The result is that some games, which require very precise finger movement, are much harder to play on the HTC U Ultra than on any other phone I have tried (granted I have not tried any other HTC phone).
The body of the phone is pointless, a.k.a. pretty. (To me it’s not even that pretty, apart from the logo-less fully black front glass, which I adore. But I digress.) That possibly resulted in the less-than-needed battery capacity and the fact that the phone seems extremely fragile. There is no wireless charging (which I personally don’t need) as an excuse for the glass back. HTC couldn’t even manage to make the sandwich seamless, you can definitely feel ridges where the glass meets the metal, and this even makes the phone uncomfortable to hold for prolonged periods of time. The saving grace (ironic as it may be) is that the hard-plastic case provided in the box makes the phone much more comfortable to hold and much less slippery, whilst also possibly protecting the glass back from shattering when dinged. This hard-plastic case almost entirely defeats any and all prettiness goals there may have been, so why not just make it out of that material, at that increased thickness, and then you could even cram in that much-needed larger battery… Oh, right, every other maker’s phones are made of glass too; prettiness above utility (certainly not my thing).
The second screen has some useful perks, such as having a “widget” of most used contacts or most used apps (then why have a dock too, hmm…), you can pick up the phone and the second screen will activate so you can glance at the time, battery charge, etc., you can activate the flashlight or control your music app from it. Also, and something that I particularly like, incoming notifications pop up on it, which means they don’t pop up over what you are currently doing. Yay!
There are problems with the fingerprint scanner (On Nougat, at least, have not used it since the Oreo update). Sometimes it just refuses to do any scanning but still activates the screen when touched. You are then required to enter your PIN to unlock the phone and then the scanner would work again as if nothing ever happened.
The vibration motor does not vibrate, it buzzes instead. I’m not attempting a pun or a joke, it is indeed a buzz. This feels super cheap, even compared to my 5 year old LG Optimus G Pro (great haptic feedback!). I thought it was a fault of my unit initially. Then I spoke to other owners of Ultras. Thankfully, I got used to it. That does not mean I don’t dislike it anymore.
The screen is not calibrated to sRGB standard but something much wider in terms of color gamut (allegedly DCI-P3, I don’t have instruments to test, or maybe and most probably they just wanted it to be “like Samsung”…). This cannot be corrected anywhere in the OS (you can correct the white point, though, which is good). If you like eye-popping colors you’re in luck, and conversely, if you like more natural colors – you’re certainly out of luck. The reds, especially, are rather eye-watering. On the other hand, the screen has very high clarity with no appreciable over-sharpening, rather high brightness (after Oreo update), low minimum brightness thus can easily be used in pitch black environments, and very little color inversion when viewed at angles (e.g. when showing your friends your awesome photos and videos). Of course, as any IPS screen, it is the brightness which rapidly drops when the phone is tilted, but the picture does not become yellowish or purplish, or grey instead of black. Which is very good.
The sound from the rather inaptly named BoomSound speakers is anything but Boom. The Xiaomi Redmi 4X (~ EUR 100) or the Huawei P8 Lite (2015) easily trounce it in terms of sound quality (especially bass). The sound is also rather imbalanced, most of it coming from the bottom firing speaker (which is also very easy to inadvertently cover and mute whilst holding the phone horizontally). At least it is rather loud, can create a sense of spaciousness when held horizontally and overall it is not “bad” like on many other phones I’ve heard. What is not good at all, however, is that it has an undefeatable volume ramp-up curve, which means that any sound is produced with the volume being gradually increased in the beginning, omitting the initial attack. For songs, such as for example Brain Stew by Green Day, this could be rather hilarious (or to me, rather aggravating). Unsurprisingly then, there is no attack from most notification sounds. So, the good thing is the phone’s notifications could never startle you which means you won’t get a heart-attack if you forgot to reduce your notification volume. Yay… I guess…? Nah, this is just plain dumb and awful.
I wish HTC engineers knew what “centering” means. Then the capacitive buttons wouldn’t have been in the places where I least expect them to be during my day-to-day use of the phone. They are not in the middle of the chin centrally, they are not in the middle of the chin vertically, they are just simply not in the middle of anything. I thought I’d easily get used to that. I was wrong. Their sensitivity zones are also barely extending beyond their graphical symbols. Thus, I have to depress them with my entire thumbs to make sure I’ll catch them. Sneaky bastards. Even turning on the constant backlighting of the buttons does not help as much as I thought it would.
The capacitive scanner/homebutton is also a double-edged sword – easy to use when you want to, but also very easy to accidentally touch and activate when you don’t want to – especially during heated gaming this stinks a lot.
The camera may not be obliterating any DxOMarks any time soon, but to me it is really really good. For one, the wide aperture, combined with the OIS, means you get good night and indoor shots, which I sorely desire. It is fast to snap a picture, it can be activated with a double-click of the power button, it shoots great and reasonably stable 4K video, and even more stable FullHD video if you can sacrifice the clarity of 4K. Great sound recording too! (for the videos) Overall, the camera experience feels “flagship”. Also, given that the phone is with a Snapdragon 821, Google’s ported cameras work pretty well (mind you, there are bugs, sometimes the apps just close, sometimes they don’t produce the intended results, if any at all). When using Google’s ported camera apps the HDR photography results are quite phenomenal (at least to me) and even a lot better than the stock camera app (which is very good to start with) especially for high-contrast and night-time/indoor shots. Also, portraits come out pretty stunning (provided the app doesn’t crash, of course, but that’s not a fault of the phone).
A caveat is that both the front and back cameras of the phone are very prone to flares. It certainly looks like the image is being reflected by something inside (the lenses or the sensor assembly, I have no idea which exactly) and then this reflection gets picked up by the sensor. For instance, at night when shooting shops’ neon signs, I can easily see the vertically flipped ghost flares of those signs. I, personally, am not overly bothered and find those flares more interesting than troublesome, though. Some surely might not.
All in all, it is the high-quality spacious screen (side note: a 5,8” 18.5:9 screen has ~5 cm2 smaller area than a 16:9 5.7” screen, not counting the 2nd screen on the Ultra too), the awesome headphone sound, the great camera quality and experience that make this phone worth the ~ EUR 275, provided you can live with its shortcomings, which are quite a few in my view. You’d be really hard pressed (I’m pretty sure it is impossible but maybe the ZTE Axon 7 could do the trick) to find such a screen, such sound or especially such a camera on any other phone retailing for ~ EUR 300 brand new. At its original price I’d never buy it, though.
But, if you want off-the-charger longevity, a screen with realistic colors, really good speaker sound, durable body and good ergonomics, this is certainly not your phone, even at its current price.
To me it is quite the bipolar experience – sometimes it overjoys me with its sound or camera chops, sometimes it makes me want to smash it against the wall for its absurdly stupid quirks (Which I believe someone thought were “good design ideas”. No, they are not good at all.)
So it is quite the paradoxical one – it can be both extremely good value and extremely bad value, depending on what you want. Hopefully my personal observations can help you make your own well-informed choice.
Love it or hate it. I don’t see any middle ground.
Glad to see another bulgarian with htc u ultra. I thought that i am alone. Reading the title i expected another rant against htc but in fact the review is very good and completely confirms what i observed for the 5 months with this phone. I am not fan of games and the good screen, headphone sound quality and camera are very important for me so i am quite happy with this phone. I am not so heavy user so battery lasts between 1 and 3 days (usually 2) and i also have power bank with me supporting quick charge so battery life is not a problem for me. Generally i am quite happy with the phone at that price but definitely would not pay the initial price which was over 500 eur. Regarding the type c to 3.5mm adapter - i bought original one from here and it is working very good:
http://www.citytel.bg/adapter-htc-from-3-5-mm-to-usb-type-c-dc-m321
Great review, I agree with most of yours notes. I just wanted to add, IMO - currently there is no better phone for the price it goes these days.
Agree with some fancts, bottom line is at the current price, you cant get anything better.
The Speaker of this phone is pure cancer. My old Galaxy s6 and my business(forced) Iphone SE were way better. I'm not even able to hear Music while cooking etc. IT just fu*** the ears. This is without a doubt the worst phone I've ever bought. I really should have bought the honor 7x
I am a HTC Combatant and die hard, but your review is clear and very honest. Thumb Up! All the negative point you gave really need to be reviewed and improved by HTC. I'm facing the same issues. Overall I like the phone for my everyday use..
Thanks. This honest review will definitely help
FatManYelling said:
The Speaker of this phone is pure cancer. My old Galaxy s6 and my business(forced) Iphone SE were way better. I'm not even able to hear Music while cooking etc. IT just fu*** the ears. This is without a doubt the worst phone I've ever bought. I really should have bought the honor 7x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an Honor 8 for six months. It was awful. Just didn't like it. Camera, interface, sound... The U Ultra is a far superior phone for a similar price.
You Sir should do phone reviews. very detailed, objective and honest review!
Thank you!
Hello, I own a Moto G4 Plus and I'm going to replace it very soon. Your review helped very much, as I can't decide between a HTC U Ultra and a Moto G6 Plus, as they both retail for the exact same price currently, at least here, in Romania. On one hand, the U Ultra is closer quality to a flagship, has a nice screen, good processor (maybe a bit old, I'll admit it) and a very good camera, at least when compared to competitors from the same year. On the other hand, the G6 Plus has near stock Android, treble support, a very easy to unlock bootloader, and still has a nice screen and decent camera and processor. I really cannot decide between those, as I am looking at the U Ultra's shortcomings as potential deal breakers. What would be your recommendations? Thanks!
For me its no brain picking the right phone.I would allways buy older flagship instead of similar placed midranger.
Yeah Ultra have some bad things battery is short-ish but all other things are beter.Build quality,sound on headphones is awesome,phone is fast no lags,slowdownds or anything like that.Camera is good and screen is ok for me.
But ur the one who needs to pick.
Only thing questionable now is Android Pie.
Thank you for this review. I ordered HTC U Ultra yesterday. Price was pretty cool - 200€. Can't wait to test it!
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Nice review details! Kudos
Thanks for sharing, I find myself in a somewhat similar situation. I have an S21U for personal use and an iPhone XR for work that I traded in for the Pixel 7 Pro.
I can definitely relate to the weight difference. I didn't like it at much first but now I've noticed it's a bit easier to hold laying in bed on my back. I'm always dropping the S21U on my face
I've never used an optical fingerprint scanner before so right now the light is oddly amusing /fun for me, but it will probably get old after a while.
So did you keep your iPhone or did you trade it in?
early days here and teething problems I think will be worked out. screen is definitely an improvement over the 6. my main concern tho is the tele lens. so far i'm finding it not as good as the 6p tele lens, which I absolutely love.
Love your review thank you first one I read
does it do usb-c to hdmi output?
Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good info, shared. Thanks.
Could you crank up the brightness to the max, use the phone for some 15 mins like that and share the battery drain experience? Various reports like THIS ONE suggest that under direct sunlight the battery drains abnormally.
Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey there. Nice review. I totally agree with you on two points. I managed to fiddle with a 7 pro at a local target store (a day before launch if you can believe that they had the demo station set up).
The hollow feel while typing on it's screen is something I'd never felt before. It made me send back the 6pro last year and keep my OnePlus 8 pro as it felt like a more solid device. The 7 pro felt the same. I wonder why the hollow feel? Is it possible that it's a feature? Maybe the screen has more give so that it's less susceptible to cracking if dropped? Who knows...
Also agree about the speakers. I blared some YouTube music on the demo phone in the store like a weirdo (Motown) and wasn't exactly impressed. Especially when compared to the 14pro (wife's phone).
I want to love the new 7 pro but am shying away. OnePlus isn't exactly wonderful right now and my 8 pro is aging but I feel like I need more to make the jump
For me it was simply time to make a change from my Note 10 Plus. It's a 3 year old phone and it shows, particularly the camera which wasn't the best when the phone was released and is well behind the times now. I fully expect the feel of the 7 Pro to be less premium (one aspect in which the Note 10 Plus shines and still does) but it looks to me like this is the best Android device out there right now, especially for this price. And I hate iPhones.
Bxperiaz3 said:
Hey guys, received my pixel today and thought I'd share some first impressions for those interested or who haven't received theirs yet.
I use a 21ultra as my daily and run a 14 pro max for work so I have a broad spectrum to judge the new pixel against. I'll try and break my impressions into bullet points.
1. New pixels design is nice, feels good in the hand, I went for obsidian, looks good, the rear is a total fingerprint magnet.
2. The haptics are very good, different to the iPhone but not better or worse, which is impressive because iPhone haptics are usually the benchmark of good vibration for me.
3. One thing I don't love is the weight, both the iPhone and the s21 are quite a bit heavier at 229 and 240 and it makes the pixel feel less premium somehow. When you tap the screen on the pixel to type it almost feels and sounds hollow whereas the Samsung for example is much more firm. Its a personal preference but of the three phones the pixel feels the cheapest in the hand.
4. The camera are very good, coming from the exynos s21 where I always hated the video, pixel 7s new video is really impressive. Looking forward to getting to use it a bit more.
5. The speaker is good and loud but it's a little on the tinny side on comparison to the Samsung and the 14 pro. It crackles a little higher up the volume.
6. Looking forward to trying out some of the pixel features that are sprinkled throughout the ui, like the call screening, text to speech etc
Will report back once I use these for a prolonged period.
7. The pixel 7 pros sound and haptic integration is top notch and can be adjusted to your liking on the settings. Each activity that includes a vibration now let's you chose the intensity as well.
8. The screen is less curved which I love as I much prefer flat screens and this feels like a step in the right direction. The edges of the phone and indeed the screen are much less rounded too and makes the Samsung look a bit silly with its super rounded corners.
9. Fingerprint scanner being an optical one is another little disappointment for me, having found the ultrasonic in the Samsung to be unbelievably fast and reliable. Something about the white light under your thumb each time you try to unlock feels cheap and a bit silly when ultrasonic is an option.
10. Which brings me to the last feature I like, face unlock. While not quite as reliable as the iPhone it works well and is much faster than previous android phones I've used. Theres a nice little vibration and animation when it unlocks as well, which makes it feel well thought out and well executed. Hopefully it stays as reliable as its been so far.
Overall I'm pretty impressed. I'm a little disappointed at the over all feel, it's not bad, for me the iPhone still feels like a much more premium phone, and at about 350 quid more it ought to be I suppose. Software wise it looks promising and it has some of the best cameras and haptics of any phone. If anyone who hasn't gotten one yet would like to ask anything about it please feel free.
Bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
innit said:
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My Pixel 6 Pro did that all the time, its annoying.
One thing i have noticed it my P7P runs much cooler than my P6P did.
galaxys said:
Nice review details! Kudos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you!
grangermoch said:
Thanks for sharing, I find myself in a somewhat similar situation. I have an S21U for personal use and an iPhone XR for work that I traded in for the Pixel 7 Pro.
I can definitely relate to the weight difference. I didn't like it at much first but now I've noticed it's a bit easier to hold laying in bed on my back. I'm always dropping the S21U on my face
I've never used an optical fingerprint scanner before so right now the light is oddly amusing /fun for me, but it will probably get old after a while.
So did you keep your iPhone or did you trade it in?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used to have it on my one plus 7 pro and I loved that but after the speed of the s21 s sensor I'm a bit disenchanted with optical sensors for now. My iPhone is for work so that's staying but the main question is will I be upgrading from my s21 ultra or returning this new pixel. So far I'm not fully sure..
whatsisnametake2 said:
early days here and teething problems I think will be worked out. screen is definitely an improvement over the 6. my main concern tho is the tele lens. so far i'm finding it not as good as the 6p tele lens, which I absolutely love.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must check that out and see what it's like. What are the differences? Was the 6p wider?
liggerz87 said:
Love your review thank you first one I read
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Appreciate that thank you
apoklyps3 said:
does it do usb-c to hdmi output?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let me check it out and get back to you
Virgo_Guy said:
Good info, shared. Thanks.
Could you crank up the brightness to the max, use the phone for some 15 mins like that and share the battery drain experience? Various reports like THIS ONE suggest that under direct sunlight the battery drains abnormally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah sure. I'll do that this morning
bacon612 said:
Hey there. Nice review. I totally agree with you on two points. I managed to fiddle with a 7 pro at a local target store (a day before launch if you can believe that they had the demo station set up).
The hollow feel while typing on it's screen is something I'd never felt before. It made me send back the 6pro last year and keep my OnePlus 8 pro as it felt like a more solid device. The 7 pro felt the same. I wonder why the hollow feel? Is it possible that it's a feature? Maybe the screen has more give so that it's less susceptible to cracking if dropped? Who knows...
Also agree about the speakers. I blared some YouTube music on the demo phone in the store like a weirdo (Motown) and wasn't exactly impressed. Especially when compared to the 14pro (wife's phone).
I want to love the new 7 pro but am shying away. OnePlus isn't exactly wonderful right now and my 8 pro is aging but I feel like I need more to make the jump
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you that's a good question, oddly it's something I noticed on the iPhone too, it's like theres an air gap between the sreeen and the actual panel or something so maybe the more give thing is a good call. Either way it's a very small gripe but it's one that's honestly making me consider returning. That along with the weight does not make this feel like a 1k phone to be perfectly honest.
I too want to love it.. But I just don't so far and I don't see any good alternatives left if I send it back
Beefheart said:
For me it was simply time to make a change from my Note 10 Plus. It's a 3 year old phone and it shows, particularly the camera which wasn't the best when the phone was released and is well behind the times now. I fully expect the feel of the 7 Pro to be less premium (one aspect in which the Note 10 Plus shines and still does) but it looks to me like this is the best Android device out there right now, especially for this price. And I hate iPhones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I'm fully with you on that. Part of me wishes I didn't have the s21 ultra to compare as I'd probably be less disappointed. I absolutely hate Samsungs android software, but their phones are better build for sure.
innit said:
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good points! I'll be honest the status bar is also driving me mental. I'm used to full immersive everything on the Samsung so this status bar and tbh the ui in general really vexes me. The little black bar for the pill also does my head in. Why don't we have status bars that have a gradient so we know it's there but it's not a literal banner plastered across the top of the phone. Another point that I'm trying to decide if I can live with. Must check out points 2 and 3 and report back.
MrBelter said:
My Pixel 6 Pro did that all the time, its annoying.
One thing i have noticed it my P7P runs much cooler than my P6P did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a positive at least. I never had a P6P so I appreciate peoples input that ran them last year.
Apologies if it seems like I have a negative bias towards the phone having only had it a day. But the cost of smartphones Is so high these days that I don't expect perfection but there are certain things for me that are absolute deal breakers and unfortunately the pixel ticks quite and amount of those for me. Gonna run it for a few more days and see can I live with the aspects I don't like or is it time to return it and struggle on with the s21
Bxperiaz3 said:
Yeah I'm fully with you on that. Part of me wishes I didn't have the s21 ultra to compare as I'd probably be less disappointed. I absolutely hate Samsungs android software, but their phones are better build for sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had an S21 Ultra but, ironically given the subject at hand, it stopped working after a fairly innocuous drop and Samsung refused to fix it because I'd previously rooted it (despite removing the root and it being back to a factory image). As a result I swore I would never buy another Samsung and I'm sticking to that, the only reason I have the Note 10 Plus is that a friend upgraded to a iPhone 13 late last year just after my S21 broke and he let me have it on a deal that was too good to refuse (£200), especially given that Samsung had just replaced the screen and battery for him so it was effectively brand new. My son is now getting it to replace his crappy old Poco M3 but I'm done with Samsung and their hateful Knox e-fuse.
I've just gotten a notification from the Royal Mail that my 7 Pro is due for delivery today rather than Monday which is a bonus.
innit said:
No.3 I've noticed the same thing. When tapping the screen it makes this hollow sound as if you were tapping a plastic cup (thw white one to be precise). The screen on Galaxy Tab S8 makes the same sound but Galaxy S20 doesn't. Maybe the screen panels on Pixel & Tab S8 are of lower quality?!
No. 9 Fingerprint is really fast and more reliable than on S20 (I always had to try multiple times before it finally worked).
No. 10 Face unlock is very fast, even in dim light.
Here are other things I've noticed:
1. Status bar is extremely thick 0.6 mm and therefore unnecessarily wastes too much space when screen resolution is lowered.
2. When in standby screen often doesn't react to taps or the power button being pressed. Screen just doesn't wake up and you have to try 2-3 more times for it to lit up.
3. Sometimes the screen suddenly gets so dim that you can barely see anything but the position of the brightness slider doesn't change at all when it happens. No idea what's causing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The display on the 6Pro and 7Pro is edge bonded meaning it's attached to the frame underneath around the edge. This makes it easier to replace but it gives it that "hollow" feel. Most phones today, Samsung etc are mid frame bonded,they're bonded to the frame half way up the display as well as around the edge also, so they don't have that air gap underneath and feel more "solid". The edge bonded display despite being easier to replace have the disadvantage of trapping heat in the phone because of the air gap.
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
JamesR913 said:
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Beefheart said:
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're not getting truly top hardware with the Pixel though, it's only an LTPO 1.0 display for eg so there's a trade off for price.
Beefheart said:
I had an S21 Ultra but, ironically given the subject at hand, it stopped working after a fairly innocuous drop and Samsung refused to fix it because I'd previously rooted it (despite removing the root and it being back to a factory image). As a result I swore I would never buy another Samsung and I'm sticking to that, the only reason I have the Note 10 Plus is that a friend upgraded to a iPhone 13 late last year just after my S21 broke and he let me have it on a deal that was too good to refuse (£200), especially given that Samsung had just replaced the screen and battery for him so it was effectively brand new. My son is now getting it to replace his crappy old Poco M3 but I'm done with Samsung and their hateful Knox e-fuse.
I've just gotten a notification from the Royal Mail that my 7 Pro is due for delivery today rather than Monday which is a bonus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah even with the better build most new phones can't handle any sort of a drop. Nice, let us know how you find it.
Batfink33 said:
The display on the 6Pro and 7Pro is edge bonded meaning it's attached to the frame underneath around the edge. This makes it easier to replace but it gives it that "hollow" feel. Most phones today, Samsung etc are mid frame bonded,they're bonded to the frame half way up the display as well as around the edge also, so they don't have that air gap underneath and feel more "solid". The edge bonded display despite being easier to replace have the disadvantage of trapping heat in the phone because of the air gap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That makes perfect sense, Thanks for clearing that up. Makes me like the pixel even less now that that's been confirmed
JamesR913 said:
I too am coming from a S21U and noticed the give on the screen. At first I thought I left the keyboard clicks on when I was typing and heard the way the screen sounded.
The other thing I have noticed is when I am driving there are areas where the S21 had signal yet the P7P has no signal with the same sim card.
I too am debating keeping the device or not as these are pretty minor complaints but I'm not sure if it is a truly worthy upgrade for the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have a sim in mine yet but that would be another deal breaker. Similar to you I only have small complaints so far. But I have more than I was expecting..
Beefheart said:
I'd say the Pixel 7 Pro is an upgrade on the S21 Ultra, but not a particularly big one. A better camera (minus the 30x zoom), a little bit faster in terms of SOC speed but overall no spectacular improvements. In short, I'm not sure I'd spend money on a 7 Pro if I had a working S21 Ultra. But for me it's an easier choice, as my S21 Ultra is long gone and the 7 Pro is a massive upgrade on the Note 10 Plus I'm currently using.
Where it wins big is in comparison to the competition here and now. £850 for a phone that easily competes for everyday use with an iPhone 14 Pro Max which starts at £1200 and a Samsung S22 Ultra that starts at £1150. It loses out on a couple of things with both (battery life for the iPhone, S-Pen with the Samsung, and raw benchmarking horse power with both), but it also has advantages in comparison to both. In short it's a bargain for what you get, and the Pixel 7 even more.
I don't understand what appears to have become an acceptance that flagship phones have to cost north of £1000. It's an absolute nonsense deliberately brought into existence by Apple and Samsung for their own ends. It's good to see Google thumb their nose at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah in a way I agree, phones absolutely shouldn't cost that much. What's a shame though is the phone feels physically cheaper and that's a bit of a deal breaker considering it was still over 1000 euros.. My s21s camera system is so poor it still makes sense to upgrade, plus a few quid back when I sell the old phone and the pixel watch but I have to say I'm still a bit let down. I absolutely despise apple software but there's no denying when I unboxed the 14 pro I was far more impressed with the quality
Batfink33 said:
You're not getting truly top hardware with the Pixel though, it's only an LTPO 1.0 display for eg so there's a trade off for price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah and it sort of shows tbh. If I could have the s21 ultra with the software advantages of the pixel 7p right now that would be the ideal hybrid.
Bxperiaz3 said:
Yeah even with the better build most new phones can't handle any sort of a drop. Nice, let us know how you find it.
That makes perfect sense, Thanks for clearing that up. Makes me like the pixel even less now that that's been confirmed
I don't have a sim in mine yet but that would be another deal breaker. Similar to you I only have small complaints so far. But I have more than I was expecting..
Yeah in a way I agree, phones absolutely shouldn't cost that much. What's a shame though is the phone feels physically cheaper and that's a bit of a deal breaker considering it was still over 1000 euros.. My s21s camera system is so poor it still makes sense to upgrade, plus a few quid back when I sell the old phone and the pixel watch but I have to say I'm still a bit let down. I absolutely despise apple software but there's no denying when I unboxed the 14 pro I was far more impressed with the quality
Yeah and it sort of shows tbh. If I could have the s21 ultra with the software advantages of the pixel 7p right now that would be the ideal hybrid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd pay the extra for a truly flagship pixel with all the latest hardware. Yes phones are way overpriced but it would be nice to have Pixel software on a phone with the quality build of an iPhone or Samsung. An Sd8+ Gen 1 (or gen 2) Pixel would be amazing.
It's arrived, and it doesn't feel less premium at all. Maybe that's me and, being an engineer, I know weight doesn't equate to more premium. I love the feel of it, solid.
In terms of opinion, I've not got much else at the moment, still setting it up.