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My 1st impression review of the TMO Note 5

After having this for 2 days now I thought I would post this :
As a Person who has owned every Note device as my daily phone, I thought I would write an Abbreviated 1st impressions, thoughts and review of the New Note 5
First impressions, tend to set opinions before fact……. That said, Samsung did a very nice job on the design and build. It is beautiful to look at… it has a luxury feel and interacting with the device is definitely satisfying.
My only concern is the glass back. That seems to pose a potential break hazard .
The non removable battery and no External SD Card……. Yeah I feel ya, I didn’t like that idea either, but TBH I only used the SD Card for archiving files and a few other things, most of what I use only demands about 10 gigs of space, so it is not a big issue. That coupled with the fact I been using the SanDisk 64 gig mini flash (it has both a micro USB and normal USB that slides). That has been much more useful for me.
There are ways to work around the integrated battery, and ways to mimic pulling the battery ….. so this hasn’t been to much a concern either.
Credit to Mocsab for posting the shutdown methods:
1) just hold power until phone turns off - then restart
2) Hold power, home and volume up - Samsung logo appears - continue to hold - Samsung logo goes black and capacitive buttons flash three times - release - phone goes to recovery - then choose option - reboot or whatever
3) Hold power, volume down and home, when screen goes dark, switch to volume up, power and home - wait until Samsung logo appears - continue holding - when screen goes dark or when capacitive buttons at bottom of phone flash three times release - it goes into recovery - then you can reboot -
Only on the Note 1, did I actually buy a 2nd battery. So, unless you are gaming on this device ….. this battery is plenty
Surprises :
This morning started charging right before taking a 10-15min shower and the was @ 27% battery, got out 10-15 min later was @ 67% ……. THAT is Impressive.
The Camera is actually better performing than the S6, (the software), this camera is finally getting good enough to take decent pixs that even a person like myself who has High end camera equipment can really appreciate the quality.
Another Surprise ……. Its physical size is smaller than the note 4, 3 or 2, it is about the same size as a 5.3-5.5 phone (see attached pixs of a Meizu M1 vs. the Note 5). This fits into my pocket where the Note 4 it was super tight to get in and out.
There are so many little tweaks to mention.... that in the past, I would either have to download or modify, Samsung has taken the time to pre-install these so the customization is more native. This is Samsung commandeering the Dev's and Modders improvements (probably from the XDA members- ) and inserting them directly into the stock experience.
Everything else is all similar to the note 4 with Noticeable improvements. This phone finally gets the S-Pen working in such a way that you will use it without hesitation. They REALLY …… made the S-Pen desirable to use, especially with the instant note taking without opening up the phone…… this is Way useful……
My recommendation is this; if you do not have the Note 4 and want a Note, I would Highly Recommend this device. If, you do not think you will ever use the S-Pen, then get the S-6 or the other iterations of that device. But, if you like the features all the previous Note devices had to offer, this is an interaction delight all codified as the new Note 5.
This is the best Business device out there 2nd to none …and possibly the best device period……. Those are my 1st impressions …….. thanks for reading……….
P.S. The Last Pixs is the Vibrant, S6, Meizu M1 and Note 5 side by side ..... Yes, I still have my 1st Galaxy phone ....running Lollipop....:fingers-crossed:

Nice mini review, helpful for those of us that are on the fence... I'm probably going to get one myself. Still debating though, I hate not having spare batteries.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

I agree with your sentiment, I am really missing vanilla android, may stick with nexus 6 after all

That brought nostalgic memories with that Samsung Vibrant... Those days was.... Ahhh... Memories.
Great mini review! Personally, I love the Note 3, and this just makes Note 5 alluring in ways. Alas, you know my work and travels @oka1! There are times I'm out of the network realm that I have to rely on my SDcard for files, music, etc.
So much choices! Not like before, Vibrant/Captivate was the "it"!

Man those Vibrant days were so damn amazing. Still hard to find a phone with such enjoyable development!
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 11:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:39 PM ----------
OP, on high brightness and a white background, do you notice screen pwm flickering? On all display models I have seen, it was present and sometimes distracting.
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helikido said:
Man those Vibrant days were so damn amazing. Still hard to find a phone with such enjoyable development!
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 11:40 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:39 PM ----------
OP, on high brightness and a white background, do you notice screen pwm flickering? On all display models I have seen, it was present and sometimes distracting.
Sent from my LG-D851 using Tapatalk
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Yes...The Vibrant was my 2nd Android device... I had the Dream 1st ......then the HD2.... then the Vibrant, Wow That launched so many into the Android world Cyanogen, Aokp, and others Got their teeth cut on that phone and the rest is History ........... it was and still is alot fun to dev on.........
No, I did not .....I did notice that there is less light leak than my note 4 showed. Once I have it rooted, I ll be able to adjust the lighting and optimize it so that would not occur. My guess if someone experiences that is, a bit of insufficient grounding when the light is maxing out resulting it to waiver from max demand to some safety default. Just a guess though. Adding a slight blue to the white sometimes will provide a better optical white without that demand, but until we get root, look under the hood, and toy with it ......... no way to know for sure.

Nice short review. I too came from the 4 and as of right now couldn't be happier with a stock device. I just wish they had kept the IR blaster, I thought it was a great feature.
Sent from my SM-N920T using XDA Free mobile app

Solid review @oka1 ! Wife just picked up Tmo variant and I have been messing with it all day. Can second all of your findings, phenomenal upgrade from N4

tommason1968 said:
Nice short review. I too came from the 4 and as of right now couldn't be happier with a stock device. I just wish they had kept the IR blaster, I thought it was a great feature.
Sent from my SM-N920T using XDA Free mobile app
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yup I kinda wanted the IR Blaster but I am guessing there were not a lot of people you used it ...ergo ... it went away.....

Warrior1975 said:
Nice mini review, helpful for those of us that are on the fence... I'm probably going to get one myself. Still debating though, I hate not having spare batteries.
Sent from my SM-N910T using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
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Whats up warrior[emoji2] i was like you on the fence because of the battery. Ive had a spare battery for every note since note 2 and loved the option of just switching it out opposed to waiting for a charge. A couple months ago i bought the Anker 24,000 since i have 3 kids with Samsung phones that game all day so im covered there and like oka i was shocked at how fast this phone charges. Really amazing. I set it down to charge, ate lunch and it was at 80% from 4. I think youll be fine especially once we get some rom and kernel development.

@sshafranko-Long time no speak bro!! Hope all is well.
I saw your post in the battery thread, you had incredible battery life. I'm definitely leaning more towards getting this device than not. Before I knew what the deal was, I was going to get it... But as I saw the horror stories, no removable battery and SD card gone, I said no.
Have to change with the times though... I don't think those things matter as much as they once did. I really do prefer having spare batteries, have had 3 for each of my last 4 phones...with the super fast charging, it won't matter much.
Last concern will be development. I'm sure it will be super slow with this device. Note 4 is much less developed than the 3...
Sent from my SM-N910T using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

Warrior1975 said:
@sshafranko-Long time no speak bro!! Hope all is well.
I saw your post in the battery thread, you had incredible battery life. I'm definitely leaning more towards getting this device than not. Before I knew what the deal was, I was going to get it... But as I saw the horror stories, no removable battery and SD card gone, I said no.
Have to change with the times though... I don't think those things matter as much as they once did. I really do prefer having spare batteries, have had 3 for each of my last 4 phones...with the super fast charging, it won't matter much.
Last concern will be development. I'm sure it will be super slow with this device. Note 4 is much less developed than the 3...
Sent from my SM-N910T using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2
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Yea i agree with the dev statement but i think that is because the n3 was such a great phone imo prob the best note i ever owned, and the upgrade to n4 wasnt warranted for most people so they stuck it out with the n3 waiting for the 5. I think a lot of people will be on the fence like you because of the battery and storage situation but as time goes by and you hear all the good things about the phone youll dive right in. Not sure if there will be as much dev as the n3 but i think or at least i hope the most important ones will be here. All im looking for is Lean(Imoseyon) and Tweaked(Dwith). Unbeatable combo...keeping my fingers crossed

Dwith would be great to have for sure. There are a couple of good devs here already...so there is hope. I'm more than likely going to get the Note 5. I'll goto tmobile tomorrow. I'm getting more and more excited.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

COMING FROM A GALAXY S6 EDGE, HERE IS MY LITTLE REVIEW NOTE 5 VS GS6 EDGE
Don't want to start an argument just a few things i notice, own both phones.
NOTE 5
much MUCH smoother faster touchwiz no lag/stutter (both factory reset and after same apps installed test)
does not heat up even when gaming. (not even warm)
battery life i get around 5:30-6hr SOT
Screen is about 30-40% brighter, white looks whiter ( i didn't believe until owning both device)
BOTH phone almost same spec but feel like 2 completly different phones. i hate how the edge touchwiz bug down, reload icons and widget, freeze when you are using heavy usage ram apps etc. If you guys can get a hold of the GS6 edge plus rom which is already ported to the edge, try that and see if it fix the issues.
i think the problem is touch wiz (eat so much ram)cause even my note 5 usage at the end of the day is around 87%. (and this is with package disable pro, disabling about 120 background apps which i also used on my edge)
I actually wanted to try the NOTE 5 not for the reason mention above, just that i hate using cases and the Edge is to SHARP to hold for my liking, i was gonna buy the regular GS6 for this reason but since the note 5 was going to be release soon i waited. To my surprise i got much more than what i wanted.
probably will be selling the GS6 edge, right now im using has my daily driver the NOTE 5, love the S-pen make things much easier to screenshot,crop and share which i do often. taken notes when screen is off is so usefull.
Edit: Has of now the built quality has been excellent. No pinkish or color shift screen, no polish scratches in the screen, no lose buttons. The only thing i'm kind of disappointed is that i was expecting a louder speaker, The speaker IS THE SAME has the GS6 edge..... is loud but i would figure with a larger device you would get a larger speaker . I heard the fingerprint scanner is more accurate but i havent try it yet. It seems that ALL NOTE 5 are coming with the SONY LENS CAMERA SENSOR. unlike the GS6 which it was a hit or miss.

Just find out that the IR blaster was stripped therefore can not use the note 5 as a remote control. Samsung and Peel have been working together since the s4, I don't know why in the world that feature too was taken off.

Is there theme store support?
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From what I've read, yes there is.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Xparent Skyblue Tapatalk 2

chocolatet said:
Is there theme store support?
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using XDA Free mobile app
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Theme support is now part of Toucchwiz...will you use the themes? Thats another story.
For a lady such as myself, I wont mind them...but even I find some of them way too damn cute I just want to gauge my eyes out.
If I ever get a Touchwiz again, I am hopiing there will be better themes out by than

mgbotoe said:
Theme support is now part of Toucchwiz...will you use the themes? Thats another story.
For a lady such as myself, I wont mind them...but even I find some of them way too damn cute I just want to gauge my eyes out.
If I ever get a Touchwiz again, I am hopiing there will be better themes out by than
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I've been using the themes and I Love it. My Wife is running CM On her S5 and the Tw theme store is set up very similar to the CM theme Store.The main difference that I noticed is on the CM theme set up you can pick what part of the Phone you want themed. For e xample you can theme the icons and not the Keyboard. on the new TW theme setup you can't pick what parts to theme it just themes it all or whatever is included in the theme. Who knows the theme devs may Like this setup and we may have a huge selection to piKK from. Well I hope anyway. ALSO its awesome not to have to flash anything, it takes a few seconds to apply a theme. I've been switching between Material dark and Light. Anyway I personaly Love it . Wrote this post with my spen so sry for the grammar errors. ALSO all this can be done 'without root. I think its delicious Like the ribeye I just ate.[emoji2]

sshafranko said:
I've been using the themes and I Love it. My Wife is running CM On her S5 and the Tw theme store is set up very similar to the CM theme Store.The main difference that I noticed is on the CM theme set up you can pick what part of the Phone you want themed. For e xample you can theme the icons and not the Keyboard. on the new TW theme setup you can't pick what parts to theme it just themes it all or whatever is included in the theme. Who knows the theme devs may Like this setup and we may have a huge selection to piKK from. Well I hope anyway. ALSO its awesome not to have to flash anything, it takes a few seconds to apply a theme. I've been switching between Material dark and Light. Anyway I personaly Love it . Wrote this post with my spen so sry for the grammar errors. ALSO all this can be done 'without root. I think its delicious Like the ribeye I just ate.[emoji2]
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CM theme is one of the view decent ones there lol
95% needs work. I'm patiently waiting out for them to open the theme development to more users who play around on XDA, like the themer of the CM theme.
That way I will have choices that are not so cartoonish or just simply bad.

After a week, I've had a change of heart...

I've either cognitively dissonated myself into loving this phone, or it is really quite good. The official camera fix did some good and leaves open the good possibility that further refining will yield a great result, or I'll stick with the progress being made on the GCam port and use the native app for great monochrome shots (I love the B&W sensor and it is EXCELLENT). That said, no cases... I guess no problem - I ordered some SquareTrade insurance coverage today - if it drops or dies, they'll replace it for a hundred beans - I can handle that kind of coverage...
I'm not seeing the same quality defects others are reporting with their handsets (light bleed, TMOB signal issues, etc.) so either I got a keeper or others are being overly sensitive (nothing personal guys).
I asked for and will likely receive a return package, but I think I'll be sending it back empty. Sorry for the trouble Essential, but you are in my daily carry category now - my S8+ will stay ready for outdoor action as needed (water resistance, etc).
The aesthetics are what has done it for me... Maybe you feel the same? The feeling I get holding and using the Essential do indeed remind me of the first day with the OG iPhone - only ten years better. Hell - I still have some great pics I took with that lousy 2MP, fixed focus, no flash shooter from 2007 on my drive.
Anyway, just one man's changed opinion. If it grew on you too, please post your thoughts. I'm interested to know how many others have now caved.

rootdude said:
I've either cognitively dissonated myself into loving this phone, or it is really quite good. The official camera fix did some good and leaves open the good possibility that further refining will yield a great result, or I'll stick with the progress being made on the GCam port and use the native app for great monochrome shots (I love the B&W sensor and it is EXCELLENT). That said, no cases... I guess no problem - I ordered some SquareTrade insurance coverage today - if it drops or dies, they'll replace it for a hundred beans - I can handle that kind of coverage...
I'm not seeing the same quality defects others are reporting with their handsets (light bleed, TMOB signal issues, etc.) so either I got a keeper or others are being overly sensitive (nothing personal guys).
I asked for and will likely receive a return package, but I think I'll be sending it back empty. Sorry for the trouble Essential, but you are in my daily carry category now - my S8+ will stay ready for outdoor action as needed (water resistance, etc).
The aesthetics are what has done it for me... Maybe you feel the same? The feeling I get holding and using the Essential do indeed remind me of the first day with the OG iPhone - only ten years better. Hell - I still have some great pics I took with that lousy 2MP, fixed focus, no flash shooter from 2007 on my drive.
Anyway, just one man's changed opinion. If it grew on you too, please post your thoughts. I'm interested to know how many others have now caved.
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I really want to like it, I'm trying real hard.
The performance sucks and is not faster than a Moto Z with a Snapdragon 821.
This phone does some really aggressive thermal throttling.
This bothers me.
I really want to like it.

I kind of came to the same conclusion the other day. Software can always be improved with updates, and there's not another phone out there built with better materials. It looks, feels, and is, an upscale phone.

tech_head said:
I really want to like it, I'm trying real hard.
The performance sucks and is not faster than a Moto Z with a Snapdragon 821.
This phone does some really aggressive thermal throttling.
This bothers me.
I really want to like it.
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I'm interested to hear what you know about thermal throttling. I'm a power user and I play Royale like an idiot and I haven't even felt it get warm, nor do I see the incredible battery drain I see with other devices I've played on in the past (the Pixel XL was the worst for that power drain). Do you have CPUZ installed on it and can get some screenies of the throttling b/c of overheat conditions?

rootdude said:
I'm interested to hear what you know about thermal throttling. I'm a power user and I play Royale like an idiot and I haven't even felt it get warm, nor do I see the incredible battery drain I see with other devices I've played on in the past (the Pixel XL was the worst for that power drain). Do you have CPUZ installed on it and can get some screenies of the throttling b/c of overheat conditions?
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I don't see/feel the phone get hot. That's the point, before it even gets hot the CPU gets throttled.
If I artificially cool the device or I'm in a cold environment; I can run Antutu and get close to the Qualcomm numbers for their reference platform in the 178k range. I can do that only in a cold environment. If the device is in a warm room the performance drops to 160k or so. If the room is hot or if I try to run again the performance can drop to 150k. I have seen the results drop to below 120k.
Geek bench scores are somewhat better but not great.
1900 single core and 6000 multicore.
The renderscript score is about 8000. Which puts in 33% behind an iPhone 7.

The software grew on me as more mods and ADB tweaks come out...but every time I decide to keep it and slap a skin of the back I find new scratches. Now I even have a scratch on the finish on the titanium. No clue where any of these came from. I haven't had a scratch on a phone in years... I upgrade every few months and always sell my phones mint on Swappa. I've had this a week and it's already scratched to ****. I love the look and feel and I'm happy with the software now but man..it's getting destroyed.

NeutronBomb said:
The software grew on me as more mods and ADB tweaks come out...but every time I decide to keep it and slap a skin of the back I find new scratches. Now I even have a scratch on the finish on the titanium. No clue where any of these came from. I haven't had a scratch on a phone in years... I upgrade every few months and always sell my phones mint on Swappa. I've had this a week and it's already scratched to ****. I love the look and feel and I'm happy with the software now but man..it's getting destroyed.
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Interesting. Mine still looks like it just came out of the box, and it even took a 4 foot tumble to my bathroom floor the other day.

So I hope the new update improves performance.
Right now if the phone gets to an internal temp of 44C it will throttle to less than half the maximum frequency.
This puts the performance, when warm, behind and LG G4, Samsung Galaxy S6 and my old Nexus 6P.
Not happy.

I'm battling the decision now. I'm still in that 15 day return window, and like others am trying really hard to want to like this device.
Love the display. Don't mind that it's not AMOLED - I still get 5-6 hours SoT with moderate-heavy internet/call/text on wifi w/bt connected. No light bleed issues or lifting of panels for me, everything seems in order there.
There are some problems with the software that make me wonder if the problems I have are hardware or software. The micro-stuttering during scrolling (only while touching the screen during scrolling) could be a hardware problem, could be throttling, or could be OS optimization for this device in general. It's smooth as butter as long as I flick-scroll. Even if I slow finger-scroll vs slow flick-scroll the difference is noticeable, goes from stutter to butter. Finger-on-screen lag is like that of a bloated EVO3D trying to flip homescreens.
Then there are the definite software glitches that are present even after a full wipe of the phone (I really wish you could wipe the cache partition on this thing). This includes the occasional 10 second freeze while scrolling, the microstutters mentioned above, having to press back twice when in a conversation in the default messaging app, random screen presses when not touching the screen, regularly having to tap the screen repeatedly to get response from buttons.
And then there's the support - it takes a very long time to get response. I realize they are busy and trying to be responsive, and I am really trying to support this new company... One of the biggest problems I have is for solely existing as a consumer communications device manufacturer, they have some terrible consumer communication processes happening (or complete lack thereof). All I really want to know is that they are aware of and are working on the specific issues. Maybe I have control issues, but the dark is not a friendly place to be with 700 bucks on the line!!
I'm going to leave myself undecided for a few days and see where things go. If I don't see some kind of a software update addressing many of the issues some of us are experiencing I may have to reconsider... Despite all of the short-comings the new company has had as a baby, it's a beautiful baby. Let's just hope it learns fast I'm really hoping the screen issues I'm having are software related, but without confirmation from the company I can't say that I have high confidence right now. I love the feel and design of the device itself, though! *torn*

I am really trying hard to like this device. In terms of overall feel it's immaculate. They did very well on the design of the the phone. My issues come with software and future development. Right now there's clear software bugs and other optimization that needs to be done. If they can work on some of those things the experience on this phone would improve tenfold. Also once they get the source code and kernel out then we can start seeing more Community Development. We could also get things such as custom recovery and root. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks this phone and the community support will improve. I think I'll keep my device for while to see if that happens if not I may be lookin at a Pixel 2.

theandroidbot said:
I am really trying hard to like this device. In terms of overall feel it's immaculate. They did very well on the design of the the phone. My issues come with software and future development. Right now there's clear software bugs and other optimization that needs to be done. If they can work on some of those things the experience on this phone would improve tenfold. Also once they get the source code and kernel out then we can start seeing more Community Development. We could also get things such as custom recovery and root. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks this phone and the community support will improve. I think I'll keep my device for while to see if that happens if not I may be lookin at a Pixel 2.
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There isn't a massive amount of development on the pixel in relation to other Nexus devices likely due to the A/B partitions so I'm dubious on the pixel 2 at the moment

spotmark said:
Interesting. Mine still looks like it just came out of the box, and it even took a 4 foot tumble to my bathroom floor the other day.
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Can the QC really be that hit and miss? I have zero scratches as well on front or back.

rootdude said:
Can the QC really be that hit and miss? I have zero scratches as well on front or back.
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Same here. The one thing I absolutely love is the build quality. It looks exactly as the day it arrived.

Mine looks like the first day. I'm very impressed with the build quality.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

No issues with mine fr a build standpoint. Fell a few times and no scratches. I'm using a glass screen protector even though there is a halo. Rather that scratches than the screen. The update that came out today is probably the software the phone should have shipped with initially... but we were all in a rush to get it. I'm keeping this device for sure! I also like confusing the heck out of ppl... I'm running the Arrow Launcher, blackberry keyboard and I use the iPhone sms sound for text notifications..
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app

My only complaint really is I think they went too small. Most smarts phones are a little larger.

hoopsdavis said:
My only complaint really is I think they went too small. Most smarts phones are a little larger.
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I think it's refreshing. I mean I love big phones, haven't used a small sized phone in years, but after using this phone for several days, I love how reasonably compact it is with this screen size. I should rephrase, I love big screen size, not necessarily big form factor. So to have this screen size packed in a smaller form, I think it's awesome.

hoopsdavis said:
My only complaint really is I think they went too small. Most smarts phones are a little larger.
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The "small" form factor with big screen is the the biggest reason this phone came into my radar

flakko86 said:
The "small" form factor with big screen is the the biggest reason this phone came into my radar
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Same with me and many others. The big screen in compact size is among the major pros for buying this mobile. Besides that, I was also attracted to the clean design/material used and the pin port for 360 camera and other gadgets.
But I'm still waiting (impatiently) for how the Huawei Mate 10 pro turns out to be before I buy the essential phone. Hoping the Mate 10 pro is as compact and well built as well, combined with supposedly beast new Kirin 970 and improved dual camera, and maybe some new features like AI, Graphene battery, 3D Face recognition (all already introduced on Huawei's Honor magic). It would be the only contender to essential phone on my list. If Mate 10 pro disappoints then by that time Essential phone would be ready to ship out with 360 camera and charging dock in one go.

I have really grown to like this device. I have been using as my DD since the update, no significant issues and certainly no scratches or signs of wear. The size of the device is a key factor for me, I love the form factor.

how happy are you..

So, i got mine OP6 yesterday, damn it is a nice phone i love it.
But how happy are you with it. And what would you change to the hard-software..

Battery percent in circle.
Proximity sensor to activate ambient display.
Speaker sounds a bit tinny.
That's about it from me
Sent from my ONEPLUS A6003 using Tapatalk

I just wish the vibration motor felt more like a Pixel 2XL or iPhone 8/X

Coming from an OPO this is light years in advance. I don't think I could ever go back to a phone with less screen retail and no gestures. Having said that, it is far from perfect:
The glass back is so slippy it makes the phone useless without a case.
The battery life is better than my old phone, but not as good as I was hoping.
There is no thermal paste or cooling on the SOC.
The rounded corners on the screen are annoying and pointless.
Not sure if I should swap my Midnight Black to mitigate #1, but given it is a glass back I'm not sure that is going to help really. On the flip side I do appreciate the improved signal a glass back brings.

lordjan1986 said:
So, i got mine OP6 yesterday, damn it is a nice phone i love it.
But how happy are you with it. And what would you change to the hard-software..
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Got mine yesterday as well. My previous phone was a note 8. I'm very pleased with the OP6 so far. At this point I wouldn't change anything except it is quite slippery. I feel like I'm holding a baby.

I definitely hope to see an improved camera performance in a future update. My OP6 produces smudgy images that seem way too processed. A Google camera port on my old OP3 produces much better quality photos, so there's that.
Otherwise the rounded corners of the screen are a little reminiscent of an old-school TV and I struggle to ignore them.
Performance is beastly AF.

1. An option in settings to have always on display
2. Speaker volume and tone to be improved. When I had the 5t on Oreo beta the speaker was really good for a single speaker, this one just sounds a bit shallow. Enabling the earpiece speaker would be a plus if they could implement it.
3. Bluetooth drop outs. I'm finding it losses connection to devices temporarily (not due to range)
4. Option to have Google now as the left hand page rather than shelf.
5. Was thinking of a 5th for ages however in the main really happy with it and all the above could be fixed in an update. Let's just hope they don't wait too long and forget about us 6 users because they are working on the 6T!

In love the round corners, they are so cool looking, I got the mirror black and I love the way it looks. I think the phone is fantastic.

Pros of oneplus6
1. Snappy Processor for the Price - Snapdragon 845 is one of the fastest processors
2. A Tall and Notch-ed Display - The AMOLED display of the OnePlus 6 produces rich, bright and crisp colors.
3. Taste of Android P - model for which Android P Beta would be available.
4. Headphone jack!

Vinegar Joe said:
Coming from an OPO this is light years in advance. I don't think I could ever go back to a phone with less screen retail and no gestures. Having said that, it is far from perfect:
The glass back is so slippy it makes the phone useless without a case.
The battery life is better than my old phone, but not as good as I was hoping.
There is no thermal paste or cooling on the SOC.
The rounded corners on the screen are annoying and pointless.
Not sure if I should swap my Midnight Black to mitigate #1, but given it is a glass back I'm not sure that is going to help really. On the flip side I do appreciate the improved signal a glass back brings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
where did u find out it had no thermal paste or cooling?

masri1987 said:
where did u find out it had no thermal paste or cooling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z47gXtbXjw

Yikes. Throttling will be bad.
montecarlo5 said:
Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z47gXtbXjw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

montecarlo5 said:
Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z47gXtbXjw
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, that's the one.
Incidentally throttling is not bad right now (I did some quick and dirty tests in another thread), but might be an issue down the line. AFAIK the 5/5T had the same problem. Anyone know how they've held up in the last 6/12 months?

masri1987 said:
where did u find out it had no thermal paste or cooling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably jerryrigeverything tear down videos.
Am I happy? Yes and no. Didn't care for pixel. Miss my note 8. Nexus 6p is still my favorite device but battery issues kept me away. Personally think Huawei handles battery and speed(with bells and whistles) just as good. But emui.
Op6 is a get what you pay for. I think they can do better at the 530+ price. I probably take a lost but I'm going g to hold out until the next update. If things are not imporved I'll sell it for something else. Probably lose a $1 per day of ownership.
Battery life and maybe speed(not as dramatic as people make it vs others) is where the phone beats everything else. Nice to have unlocked bootloader/root. Feels like Nexus days.

intruda119 said:
Probably jerryrigeverything tear down videos.
Am I happy? Yes and no. Didn't care for pixel. Miss my note 8. Nexus 6p is still my favorite device but battery issues kept me away. Personally think Huawei handles battery and speed(with bells and whistles) just as good. But emui.
Op6 is a get what you pay for. I think they can do better at the 530+ price. I probably take a lost but I'm going g to hold out until the next update. If things are not imporved I'll sell it for something else. Probably lose a $1 per day of ownership.
Battery life and maybe speed(not as dramatic as people make it vs others) is where the phone beats everything else. Nice to have unlocked bootloader/root. Feels like Nexus days.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i came from Note 8, for me the Note 8 was good but it was a lot of hype too. the camera was amazing but the reason i got the Op6 and sold my Note 8 was for dev purposes... the note 8 dev community is small

Just got mine today and love it so far. Buttery smooth and lightning quick. It has so much customization built in that I don't feel the need to put a custom rom on it. At least for a while.

masri1987 said:
i came from Note 8, for me the Note 8 was good but it was a lot of hype too. the camera was amazing but the reason i got the Op6 and sold my Note 8 was for dev purposes... the note 8 dev community is small
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was one of the crazy people who actually found bixby useful. Without Tasker and being able to voice command mobile hotspot was great. Battery life was on par. Device community and not very many options out here for old school Nexus type devices.
Not a bad phone just thought by the 6+ device, some of the hardware compromises would finally be on par.

Vinegar Joe said:
Yup, that's the one.
Incidentally throttling is not bad right now (I did some quick and dirty tests in another thread), but might be an issue down the line. AFAIK the 5/5T had the same problem. Anyone know how they've held up in the last 6/12 months?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used a OP5 for the last 11 months and to be honest, I didn't noticed some kind of throttling. Maybe there was, but I never noticed fps drops while playing with a Nintendo DS/PSP emulator (which seems like a good indicator).

Looking at the teardown videos they DO have thermal pads (the black slightly shiny things) so it isn't quite as 'bare' as suggested. Probably not as good as thermal paste, but I'm not exactly up on mobile phone cooling. Maybe someone better than me can provide some insight? I wonder how common this is in other phones.

My problems with it are the too small battery (resulting in **** battery life compared to other current phones), the mediocre camera, and no vibration that can be felt/heard whatsoever.
Rest (whatever is left) is ok.
I should probably return it and get full refund and spend money on something more proper.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Nokia 6.1 Plus, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Nokia 6.1 Plus is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Performance is awesome, battery could have been better. feels premium in hands

Excellent looks and manageable performance.

8/10
Pros:
-Pie
-2 more years of updates
-Android One
-Battery
-Speed/Smoothness (6GB RAM)
-Price ($240NZD)
-Expandable Storage
Cons:
-Locked BL
-No NFC (I would use this w/ stock)
-Lack of decent cases
-Slightly under sized for my large hands
-Loose charging port (NB, no charging issue... just a little loose out of the box. Which had me panicking).
Really happy with my purchase/phone.
Was running an old Samsung Galaxy S5 w/ custom rom & it did everything I needed it to.
Do miss options a custom rom brings. But, Android One definitely has me sold.
Phone is so smooth. There's one app I've used, that usually lags on every device i.e. Tapatalk. It runs just fine on my X6.
Hopefully BL gets unlocked before updates cease.
Sent from my Nokia 6.1 Plus using Tapatalk

I *LOVE* this phone!
Smooth... regularly updated... acceptable battery life... AndroidOne...
Yeah, missed the NFC ability a bit, but my other phones (two Sony Xperia's) have NFC, so I can use them instead for this particular use.
Besides, the only use I have for NFC is for checking the credit amount in my cash cards, so I don't exactly need NFC :cyclops:
King_Rat said:
Cons:
-Lack of decent cases
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can consider myself lucky, then... there's no shortage of decent cases for this phone in Indonesia
So not only I purchased a nice-looking case, I also can get a "hydrogel" screen & back protector + a back camera oleophobic protector.

It's ok with Android 10 but it used to be amazing with Pie
I kind of regret having Android 10 update right now.
I miss little things in Pie like,
Decent battery time
Uninterrupted Bluetooth audio
No random reboots.
Face unlock feature
A working GCam app
I don't know whether anyone else experiencing these issues. But I honestly think Android 9 was a bit stable than 10.

gevin_d_mad said:
Decent battery time
Uninterrupted Bluetooth audio
No issue here ?
No random reboots.
Will be fixed in a Future MR that's currently undergoing beta testing internally
Face unlock feature
Removed by Google Itself
A working GCam app
Same as Random reboots
I don't know whether anyone else experiencing these issues. But I honestly think Android 9 was a bit stable than 10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stability on Pie was better, Yes.[/QUOTE]

CarbonGTR said:
Stability on Pie was better, Yes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But going back to pie without navigation gesture and dark mode would be boring.

I love this phone running smooth android 10 without any problem, Model TA-1116.
The anoying only can't unlock bootloader officially

Nice phone except 6 months after, the charging port is HS.

Pixel 3a for £249 or 4a for £400+?

I have a Moto Z Play at the moment and as much as I like it, it is still on Oreo and is not up to date security-wise, which is a worry for me.
I was very set on a Pixel 3a which I can get for £299 with a £50 mastercard giftcard as a freebie. I have since seen a few posts on forums saying they get really slow after a few months and lag a lot, which is strange because my Moto Z Play still mostly performs fine, bit for stutter, but for a cheap phone it is fine.
I am wondering if I wait for the 4a to come out and spend maybe £400/£429 (whatever they price it at) for that, or just get the 3a, with the view that if I don't like it, I can return it in the first 2 weeks.
I don't really want to spend £400 on a phone ideally, as I don't really see the point.
Could some users of the 3a for a while give me some idea of how it performs after time?
I use my phone for YouTube, Chrome, Netflix, new apps and emails. Never play games on my phone unless it is a basic casual one that i'll play for 10 minutes and then delete.
(I know the new iPhone SE is out for £419 and will be worlds better than both of the Pixels' but I prefer Android overall and would rather not be locked to iOS.)
I'd appreciate any help, thanks
Edit - Just an insight in my phone history... i did have a OnePlus 6 for a while, but decided I preferred the Moto Z Play, so I sold the OP6. The performance difference didn't bother me and with my usage, didn't seem very noticeable. I just want mostly smooth and reliable.

Hello,
I've had mine for about 10 weeks now and I couldn't be happier with it - came from almost exclusively Samsung S range (3,4,5,7) and a moto x style in there as well.
'pure' android is a delight to behold. Still quick and responsive - boot time is about 2 seconds slower than when it was brand new. I've just checked and I currently have nearly 80 apps installed so that's to be expected.
It's a bit like a car/bike/desktop/whatever in that occasional maintenance is your friend ? I use Ccleaner and Greenify paid version. Rooted, EXKernel Manager, no twrp as on android 10 and it doesn't work on 10 yet. Took a little bit of adjustment to not having twrp as I liked to take a weekly backup but no big deal in the grand scheme of things - I'm still in love with the 'pure' android experience and not having all the extra **** bundled in from Samsung.
Few advisories I'd point out is that: I would have bought a 3XL if I could have afforded one, and the modding scene is pretty quiet but I have gathered 2 main learnings on that. Firstly, that'll probably change when the twrp devs get it up and running on android 10, and B, there is actually very little need to mod as the 'pure' android is just lovely as it is.
I've had no errors, no restarts/bootloops etc and re-rooting after updates is simple. I get a day battery no probs with moderate use, no games and using EXKernel Manager to alternate between Performance and Power saving settings as required. Camera is lovely. Wired headphone volume is a bit quiet but stick Viper4android on it and problem solved.
Happy to answer the odd question or 2 if you have any ?

captain sideways said:
Hello,
I've had mine for about 10 weeks now and I couldn't be happier with it - came from almost exclusively Samsung S range (3,4,5,7) and a moto x style in there as well.
'pure' android is a delight to behold. Still quick and responsive - boot time is about 2 seconds slower than when it was brand new. I've just checked and I currently have nearly 80 apps installed so that's to be expected.
It's a bit like a car/bike/desktop/whatever in that occasional maintenance is your friend I use Ccleaner and Greenify paid version. Rooted, EXKernel Manager, no twrp as on android 10 and it doesn't work on 10 yet. Took a little bit of adjustment to not having twrp as I liked to take a weekly backup but no big deal in the grand scheme of things - I'm still in love with the 'pure' android experience and not having all the extra **** bundled in from Samsung.
Few advisories I'd point out is that: I would have bought a 3XL if I could have afforded one, and the modding scene is pretty quiet but I have gathered 2 main learnings on that. Firstly, that'll probably change when the twrp devs get it up and running on android 10, and B, there is actually very little need to mod as the 'pure' android is just lovely as it is.
I've had no errors, no restarts/bootloops etc and re-rooting after updates is simple. I get a day battery no probs with moderate use, no games and using EXKernel Manager to alternate between Performance and Power saving settings as required. Camera is lovely. Wired headphone volume is a bit quiet but stick Viper4android on it and problem solved.
Happy to answer the odd question or 2 if you have any
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that.
Would you say it has gotten any slower after 2+ months?
Most of the reports I have read have said that it lags on the keyboard a lot and lags a lot in general. I wouldn't expect flagship performance, but I do want something that is mostly smooth and will browse the web without being a stuttery mess all the time.

Nah no lag for me but I use a 3rd party keyboard (SwiftKey) instead of Gboard. I use a lot of voice recognition for typing as well as the on screen keyboard.
---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------
For Internet I mostly use Opera mini and AdAway and my browsing is fine

captain sideways said:
Nah no lag for me but I use a 3rd party keyboard (SwiftKey) instead of Gboard. I use a lot of voice recognition for typing as well as the on screen keyboard.
---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 AM ----------
For Internet I mostly use Opera mini and AdAway and my browsing is fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Decided to just order one. It'll arrive tomorrow. If I don't like it I have 2 weeks to return it.
Best way to decide if it is any good for me is to use it!

Indeed that's what I did as well, let us know how you get on ?

gman88667733 said:
Decided to just order one. It'll arrive tomorrow. If I don't like it I have 2 weeks to return it.
Best way to decide if it is any good for me is to use it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had a 3a since I got rid of the 3 XL in December. I don't notice any slowdowns or performance difference even with games to the 3 XL I had. I take care of my devices though and remove unused apps and keep caches/storage clear as needed. Cloud storage is your friend. Most ppl just install dozens of apps and games and complain their device got slow but don't actually maintain their device. If you maintain your device it will perform well for you. I also get in the habit of factory resetting devices once or twice a year to freshen them up it literally takes 10 minutes if you keep backups of apps and data.

I personally think the 4a will be the better choice in the long run if you intend keeping your phone for a while, that being said the Pixel 3a is still a great phone I got rid of my Samsung S10e couple of weeks ago & picked up another Pixel 3a & i have no regrets at all coming back & downgrading somewhat spec wise, I still may pickup a 4a when the deals are on at some point later this year.
Also the release of the iPhone SE 2020 could be a good thing for future deals on the Pixel 4a.

Got the 3a with me now.
So far, so good! An added bonus is that it has WiFi calling, which I thought it did not.
Display is nice, size is good. Feels nice without a case on, but not sure I'm brave enough to run it without a case!
Speed seems fine, smooth and quick enough for me so far

Similar question...
I'm a Sony fanboy, have nearly all flagships since 2011 here, more or less good maintained with custom fws, i donated devices to devs here at xda, i'm a supporter.
My provider offers me to get a Pixel 3A or a Pixel 4 when i extend my contract for 2 years, the Pixel 3A would cost 11,50 € per month, the Pixel 4 20,00 €, in both cases the the mobile belongs to me after this 24 additional months. I really dunno how to decide, i read and read and read about the pros and cons, the results are all the same - take the 3A, says the tests and suggestions in the www. I'm not a gamer, no facebook, taking not much photos, not involved in social networks, i need pure functionality, navigation, good battery life, playing only CoC, NFS no Limits. The only advantage in the Pixel 4 which i see - it is newer. It's really hard for me to decide - any opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance. At least the fact that i dont really NEED a new phone, my 2 daily drivers are an Xperia Z3 and an S5Neo, both active ( private and business device ) with LOS 16 rock stable, smooth and fast systems. LOS 17.1 is coming for these 2 devices, i think with official status too.
So, that's all, please enlighten me.
_________________________________

Well, whereas I am quite happy with my 3a, my rule for buying (any) tech stuff is to but the best that you can afford at the time. I got my 3a cos it was the best I could afford at the time but if I'd had the money, I would have gotten a 3xl or a 4. Sorry if this isn't helpful, just thought I'd share a bit of my process. I guess the conclusion would be if you can afford the 4, then get the 4
---------- Post added at 10:50 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 PM ----------
gman88667733 said:
Got the 3a with me now.
So far, so good! An added bonus is that it has WiFi calling, which I thought it did not.
Display is nice, size is good. Feels nice without a case on, but not sure I'm brave enough to run it without a case!
Speed seems fine, smooth and quick enough for me so far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you like it, I prefer to have mine in a case as well (clumsy) so I just got a gel tpd case and screen protector on ebay. Screen protector covers the entire front including the bezels. It's done a stellar job so far - I keep lots of stuff in my pockets and there isn't so much as a scuff on my phone if you'd like I might be able to link the screen protector if I can find it in my ebay history ?
Link to screen protector:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143284267215

I have a caseology parralax case and a generic glass screen protector now, feels much safer!
So far the battery life on this is incredible, took it off the charger at 8pm Sunday evening, I still have 45% left at 3 hours of SOT.
That's will very weak/no reception for a lot of that too.
Given how small the battery is, it's really quite impressive
Really impressed with this phone so far.

The only issue I am having with my 3a is that I have always used Messenger lite (Facebook) for my messaging app. For some reason, a lot of the time the notifications don't show up after the phone has been locked for a while, until I go into the phone and it picks it up or sometimes until I go into the app.
I have notifications turned on and see no reason for them not to always come through and be visible on the lockscreen. Is this just the Doze feature being a bit too aggressive?

Ah I can't answer that, sorry. I use greenify to sleep my apps, including
social media apps. I only want to use them when I want to use them, you know?
So mine stay asleep until I open them manually.

That is okay. It doesn't do it all the time, I think it's mostly when the phones been sat idle for a while.

captain sideways said:
Well, whereas I am quite happy with my 3a, my rule for buying (any) tech stuff is to but the best that you can afford at the time. I got my 3a cos it was the best I could afford at the time but if I'd had the money, I would have gotten a 3xl or a 4. Sorry if this isn't helpful, just thought I'd share a bit of my process. I guess the conclusion would be if you can afford the 4, then get the 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. And believe me, your post IS helpfull.
Greetz,
0LDST4R
_-_-_-_-_

gman88667733 said:
The only issue I am having with my 3a is that I have always used Messenger lite (Facebook) for my messaging app. For some reason, a lot of the time the notifications don't show up after the phone has been locked for a while, until I go into the phone and it picks it up or sometimes until I go into the app.
I have notifications turned on and see no reason for them not to always come through and be visible on the lockscreen. Is this just the Doze feature being a bit too aggressive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can exclude the fb messanger app from doze (battery optimization) in settings, its in apps and notifications -> special app access, in batter optimization choose to ahow all apps.
Maybe that helps. But could also be an fb bug.
Cheers. Glad you like that phone, for ne it's the best phone i ever had, it just works.

For some reason this second charge has started off worse. I suppose it'll take a few days to fully settle and let the adaptive battery feature set up.

gman88667733 said:
Got the 3a with me now.
So far, so good! An added bonus is that it has WiFi calling, which I thought it did not.
Display is nice, size is good. Feels nice without a case on, but not sure I'm brave enough to run it without a case!
Speed seems fine, smooth and quick enough for me so far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gman88667733 said:
The only issue I am having with my 3a is that I have always used Messenger lite (Facebook) for my messaging app. For some reason, a lot of the time the notifications don't show up after the phone has been locked for a while, until I go into the phone and it picks it up or sometimes until I go into the app.
I have notifications turned on and see no reason for them not to always come through and be visible on the lockscreen. Is this just the Doze feature being a bit too aggressive?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
gman88667733 said:
For some reason this second charge has started off worse. I suppose it'll take a few days to fully settle and let the adaptive battery feature set up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will settle in a day or 2, youve got to remember that in the first few days of a new toy there's all the setting up/copying data/etc as well but the battery will learn your normal usage. Here's a screen grab from my Better Battery Stats, it's a pretty good %pH.

The annoying thing currently is that I've just changed my bedroom in my house, there is currently no cell or WiFi reception in it, so it dropped 15% last night because it was searching for them all night. Hoping to sort the WiFi in a few days