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As a note 3 owner since release, I've had no real reason to upgrade. What devices have you moved onto since, and what have you considered upgrading to??
All the new devices don't really appeal to me as they keep stripping features and are incremental upgrades over what I already have.
I like the look of the G5 (USB C, nice design) but I don't know how many modules will end up releasing for the thing, the battery is a downgrade on the note 3 battery and LG aren't generally too good software wise.
The Edge S7 looks awesome (decent capacity battery, bringing back SD support) but no user removable battery and i'm not sure if it has an IR port. Also not a big fan of the back of these style of phones as they look like they will break very easily.
If windows had a phone that had x86 support for apps and was essentially a tablet in a phone with an optimised UI I would be sold on a windows device but lack of apps is what kills it for me.
As such I'll see what Samsung brings with their next note but unless it has a removable battery, SD support and IR I will keep using the note 3 until it dies.
Note 6. With 6" screen, removable battery & SD support. IR is something I can live without.
I bought a Nokia Lumia 1520 (Windows Phone) to play with. I like it (20MP camera) but I found out it's got the same processor as the Note 3. Windows 10 Mobile is a great OS. There's a serious lack of APPS though. All the major APPS are there, but that's about it. Cortana is terrific compared to voice control on Lollipop.
Snapdragon 800 is still a very worthwhile chipset, though the awful TouchWiz experience has made this phone lose a lot. I have switched to CyanogenMod 12.1 and it is working flawlessly apart from few minor bugs, which do not disturb me much.
At this moment, I do not plan on upgrading unless the phone would die or something. Should I have to choose a new phone, then very likely I would avoid Samsung and choose a phone with either stock Android experience (Nexus series) or a very close one (Sony). Definitely sticking with a large screen (between 5.5 and 6) and from high-end range. Battery life is important for me. Removable battery and SD would be nice, but are not necessarily a requirement.
Someguyfromhell said:
Snapdragon 800 is still a very worthwhile chipset, though the awful TouchWiz experience has made this phone lose a lot. I have switched to CyanogenMod 12.1 and it is working flawlessly apart from few minor bugs, which do not disturb me much.
At this moment, I do not plan on upgrading unless the phone would die or something. Should I have to choose a new phone, then very likely I would avoid Samsung and choose a phone with either stock Android experience (Nexus series) or a very close one (Sony). Definitely sticking with a large screen (between 5.5 and 6) and from high-end range. Battery life is important for me. Removable battery and SD would be nice, but are not necessarily a requirement.
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I have to agree. Note 3 to the end! But if Ubuntu make the next phone interesting, I might consider going for it. I always wanted some kind of mobile device that can boot Ubuntu, apart from my laptop. The choices are, at the time, pretty limited. My wife has a LG G3 and I must say it is a great device. It is still running stock. So if Ubuntu fails to deliver, I'll switch to the G series, or even Sony. Windows phone is currently out of the question. I agree that it is a great OS, but not for us XDA users. I might buy one for my mother, just so that she can use skype and whatsapp and the rest. But from our point of view, the limited APP options is a dealbreaker.
My Note 3 (Exynos) has been running amazingly since I bought it two years ago. Running stock and unrooted 5.0 Lollipop. So far I have no need to upgrade to a new phone. But if I will, it won't be a Samsung. Samsung's updates are atrocious. The Note 3 was abandoned two years after release. Last update I received was in July 2015 for crying out loud!!!! Had to manually flash an image from another region. I have no guts to start rooting and installing ROMs just yet, but we really shouldn't do all that just to get the latest features/security patches.
This reason alone turned me off Samsung for good. It made me certain that no matter how much a Samsung flagship sounds appealing, it would face the same fate two years from release. I'm not saying other OEMs are way better with this (some are though), but they don't impose restrictions such as Knox to make it even harder.
Still have no idea what my next phone would be though.... LG and Sony are really appealing so I might go with either =P
The LG G5 has my interest. I want removable battery and sdcard, travel with a few 64GB cards with movies etc. Keeps me happy.
I'll probably go for the S7 Edge, my note 3 is 2,5 years old and the new device seems almost perfect.
From my Phronesis 6.1 powered N9005.
By the look of the rumours, the Note 6 will have either micro SD cards back or 256GB storage or hopefully both.
I find 128GB storage on my Note 3 to be OK but I would like to double that.
Also with a lot of luck Samsung may be ready for the next stage of OLED development, folding screens.
So there is a chance the screen might wrap around the back and unfold to make a big screen for watching movies etc.
Note 5 was a did. But Note 6 sounds like it could be the successor to the as yet to be dethroned Note 3.
I need a new phone. I've been on a Note 4 for a while now, and it has reached its end-of-life. Done tons of research, and even when compared against the latest-and-greatest, the Pixel 2 still reviews well. It seems to be exactly what I am looking for. Even though the announcement of the Pixel 3 is right around the corner, it will mostly likely be late Oct / early Nov before consumers can get them in hand anyway. Five months is a long time, and I'm kind of ready to make a move now.
Is the Pixel 2 still the way to go? Do I have to bite the bullet and get another Samsung and get an s9? (I'm on AT&T btw, and I'm really really sick of having a carrier locked phone and waiting on AT&T to add bloatware to all the updates).
Would I be stupid to get the Pixel 2 today? Talk me into it / talk me out of it.
You'd be stupid to go Samsung again, that's for sure.
The Note 4 was arguably Samsung's peak for the Note line, and the S7 Edge the peak for their S line. Sure the new designs are fancy, but are fragile, and Samsung are horrendous when it comes to updates.
I'd suggest looking into a OnePlus 6 especially if you're sick of being carrier locked. Cheaper and more powerful than the Pixel 2, better in every way aside from speakers and camera if they are important to you.
That being said, I miss my Pixel 2 XL for the software as it's so damn smooth, but I do not miss the abysmal screen (Note 4 screen is better). So if you go Pixel 2, definitely get the smaller one with the nicer Samsung screen.
As opposed to what ? Samsung ? Pixel 2 still had several years of guaranteed updates and a smoother software interface with less bloat. I could understand MAYBE if you said an iPhone as most businesses are starting to use iOS and Apple supports their software for several years but against a Samsung that's just a joke.
My $0.02., develop your own pros/cons list as no one knows what's more important to you, than you. Example, I absolutely hate lag in software, probably an unhealthy amount... I also enjoy a headphone jack, but that's less important than software to _me_. At the end of the day, no phone is better at software and camera than the Pixel 2 (I have non-XL, coming from a Samsung Galaxy S3) and that's what I think ultimately creates the Pixel appeal because literally every time you use your phone, in an app, to take a pic, etc, you get that top-of-the-line software experience. How much does Samsung's superior hardware matter when apps lag or freeze and frustrate the user or they're running a 6-month old security patch level?
Also got mine 50% off during Verizon's Black Friday deal last year, figured the savings was worth the locked bootloader. Then we got an unlock method anyways in December so win-win, half price + unlocked BL now. Is the P2 worth full price to you? Who knows. But good luck whatever path you choose!
istrikerx said:
You'd be stupid to go Samsung again, that's for sure.
The Note 4 was arguably Samsung's peak for the Note line, and the S7 Edge the peak for their S line. Sure the new designs are fancy, but are fragile, and Samsung are horrendous when it comes to updates.
I'd suggest looking into a OnePlus 6 especially if you're sick of being carrier locked. Cheaper and more powerful than the Pixel 2, better in every way aside from speakers and camera if they are important to you.
That being said, I miss my Pixel 2 XL for the software as it's so damn smooth, but I do not miss the abysmal screen (Note 4 screen is better). So if you go Pixel 2, definitely get the smaller one with the nicer Samsung screen.
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I love my Pixel 2, but honestly the reason I bought it was because of the camera and because I thought there would be more rom development by this point, but mostly for the camera. I came from a oneplus 3t and I loved that phone so much. The development community was large and very active, and the phone's hardware was awesome.
If it wasn't for the Pixel 2's camera, I would've much rather upgraded to a newer oneplus device or even stuck with my 3t. But seriously, imo forget samsung and there locked ass bootloaders and stupidly overpriced phones.
I ditched Samsung (S6) finally last month and got the Pixel2. I am not much of a ROM flasher but root is very important to me. I was dreading going down in resolution but haven't regretted it once.
Is there any reason NOT to get the Pixel 2? What other phone is popular enough to receive continual updates, and easy to find accessories? Gives fast performance without lag-inducing bloat-ware?
I have an AT&T brand Note 8 and i really like the phone (wish i would have bought the unlocked version). But i like to root and flash roms occasionally and I'm pretty limited on the Note 8. Lucky me my work takes me all across Texas and i just happen to be where AT&T don't have service so i bought the Pixel 2 direct from Google and I'm loving it. I'm running it on Verizon. Super easy to unlock bootloader and root. I've only had it for about a month now and have only did one update (the June update) that got a little confusing but i figured it out (i downloaded it myself from Google instead of doing the ota). Personally, i think the camera on the Note 8 is better than the Pixel 2 camera, but i have both phones so i can always take pictures with the Note and it syncs to my Google photos and i have the pic on both phones. I do feel like the Pixel runs a lot smoother than the Note though. If you buy a Pixel, I'd suggest buying straight from Google so you don't have to worry about the bootloader, although i know carriers bundling things in makes it hard to pass up.
I believe it is still going strong and worth a buy.
Personally I don't the notch design which everyone is copying from Apple now.
In fact I bought one three weeks ago and I'm very happy with it. It's already running Android P DP3. I have considered a Huawei P20, but in the end went with the Pixel 2, mainly because of the fast updates and stock Android (I came from a Nexus 5X)
No regrets!
Meh not that many accessories...
mellojoe said:
Is there any reason NOT to get the Pixel 2? What other phone is popular enough to receive continual updates, and easy to find accessories? Gives fast performance without lag-inducing bloat-ware?
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Well, gotta disagree a little with you on the bolded section. The P2 just isn't sold in large enough numbers to get the choices in accessories like the mainstream iPhones, S9, etc. Otterbox Defender series only has 2 colors for crying out loud...
Edit: a word
It could be a winner for you if that's what you want...luv mine!
Personally I would wait and buy a cheaper, last year's phone in the meanwhile.
Pixel 2 series is great, but you still have to make hard compromises. If you want the 2018 screen quality, go pixel 2; if you want a 2018 battery life and screen size, go XL. But to me these 3 things are essential to a phone (ok maybe not the screen size). Considering the price being top of the lines even compared to an iPhone, and it is a 2017 phone (sort), I would wait.
Plus I got a feel that Pixel 3 may come with wireless charging and other technologies that would make using a phone more convenient. While Pixel 2 is just, with great camera. Not an important factor to me personally.
I just got it coming from a Huawei mate 10
Honestly its a great phone . I got the small version cuz I have a U11PLUS plus as my daily big screen phone. And it's awesome they have all these goodness in such a small phone can be handled one hand
At the moment u11plus plus 128gb and 6gb ram is going for 600$ ish on eBay. If u don't care about updates I would advice u to go with it. The camera with gcam performing better than the pixel believe it or not and the battery is the best in the market. Colours of amazing silver or red are phenomenal, nothing else comes close even the copycat p20 pro
Absolutely! I would recommend the Pixel 2 to anybody who asked I haven't even had any reason to want the XL - I've just got the 5" Pixel.
The software is essentially bloat-free (if you use the Google apps) and the experience is as polished as that of the iPhone.
(I'm not a fan of the iPhone but anybody who's used an Android can't deny on most phones the platform is bloated and a little half-assed in places.)
Plus, if you're big into getting the latest Android versions - we get the Android betas first (and they're supported for 2 years.)
And, once the 2 years are up, if you haven't got a new phone by then, I'd imagine there would be a ton of custom ROMs and such for the phone.
I'm planning on developing some ROMs for the Pixel 2 but I haven't for the moment because I have no reason to; the software is the best I've experienced, so I have no reason to mod the phone. (This is probably why there isn't much in the way of development going on for the phone)
In my opinion, the camera is excellent; I don't use it that much but when I do, it's fast, the quality is fantastic and I have trouble faulting it.
Finally, the battery life is great. As a student, I don't use my phone all day but relatively speaking, I'm quite a heavy user and I get about 3 hours more screen time than most others. Plus, as the phone charges to upwards of 80% in about 45 minutes, battery isn't really an issue. (5-10 minutes at an AC outlet can usually get it up to 20%.)
TL;DR: Particularly if you buy a phone for utility (rather than as a fashion statement), this phone is brilliant. It's the best Android device I've ever owned and, I think, one of the best on the market.
If you want something that looks a bit more flashy, I'd suggest the Pixel XL, though.
The give-a-friend 15% offer is making this pracitcally a no-brainer for me. That brings a brand new direct from Google Pixel2 to $550. That's basically the same price as low end or older model phones. Looks like I'll be picking one up. Thanks for the advice.
Feel free to add any more thoughts, tho, cause I'm sure as we get closer to the launch of the 3, more people are going to be asking for opnions on the 2 as a budget-friendly option.
jerryhou85 said:
I believe it is still going strong and worth a buy.
Personally I don't the notch design which everyone is copying from Apple now.
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Let me correct you sir. Copying from Essential ph-1, not apple. Apple copying that design from Essential ph-1. Get it right.
ivanov13 said:
Let me correct you sir. Copying from Essential ph-1, not apple. Apple copying that design from Essential ph-1. Get it right.
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Ahh, I see. Learned that recently, thanks.
This year Pixel 3 should be the choice if I want to change my phone again.
edwinek said:
In fact I bought one three weeks ago and I'm very happy with it. It's already running Android P DP3. I have considered a Huawei P20, but in the end went with the Pixel 2, mainly because of the fast updates and stock Android (I came from a Nexus 5X)
No regrets!
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me too, I bought my pixel 2 (128GB) using a 20% coupon, used to have a nexus 5x, huge improvement
I am currently running a Pixel 3 XL. So far, I have been very underwhelmed by this phone. Even with the most recent updates, I still get the occasional lag. Several times, I would restart my phone only to have it get stuck on a black screen. Most importantly, my data connection is really bad. My 4g would occasionally turn off and on. Today, all of my data failed to work. I had to call ATT to see if there was anything wrong with their towers.
So are these software issues or hardware issues? Is Samsung Galaxy known to have better radios and internal hardware? I don't want to switch over to a different brand only to find out it was a problem with PIE, which Galaxy will soon have.
Honestly, that sounds like you have a bad phone and need a replacement.
I have a Pixel 3 XL, and although I am not as in love with it as I want to be, I do not have those problems.
To wrap my feelings up about the phone in general... if you want the best phone RIGHT NOW, then I would return and get a Galaxy Note 9 (or figure out a way to get Huawai's latest).
I came from the Note 9, and mostly regret that decision; Except for the camera - if camera is important to you then stay pixel. Unless you are a big camera nut then I am sure you can get just as good with a note 9 or Huawai - but if you want just to pull out the phone and take a nice shot without having to worry about anything, pixel is the way to go.
But I'm sure my excitement will return when android Q is coming around, and pixel is first to get. ..
garyHal said:
I am currently running a Pixel 3 XL. So far, I have been very underwhelmed by this phone. Even with the most recent updates, I still get the occasional lag. Several times, I would restart my phone only to have it get stuck on a black screen. Most importantly, my data connection is really bad. My 4g would occasionally turn off and on. Today, all of my data failed to work. I had to call ATT to see if there was anything wrong with their towers.
So are these software issues or hardware issues? Is Samsung Galaxy known to have better radios and internal hardware? I don't want to switch over to a different brand only to find out it was a problem with PIE, which Galaxy will soon have.
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I have been a samsung user forever - in fact I have the Galaxy note 9 which is an awesome phone. I also bought the pixle and I have to be honest, since getting the pixel xl 3, it has been my daily drive and i hardly even miss my Samsung Note 9. (hardly - sometimes I use it for the camera - and a few other things but overall - the Pixel has been a better, more reliable phone
I am using the BOOTLEGGER ROM which is awesome by the way - and the Proton Kernel - (V10 - waiting for V11 to be released) FOr what it's worth, Benchmark Scores are very strong - almost 299,000 on my last test (that was using Perfance settings in the Kernel Manager) but when I use the Proton Kernel normal settings - my scores run around 292,000 - very respectable.
No Lag at all - lightning fast - the Pixel 3 XL is in my opinion, amazing. Simply amazing.
Well, let's see. Android Pie was released back in August 6 of 2018. Almost 1/2 a year later, almost all Galaxy 9/9+ and Note 9 owners are still waiting to received it. They have only received Beta versions good for testing it out as part of Beta program. I think I read Germany started receiving a few days ago the actual update. If your don't care about receiving timely new features and updates and new yearly OS updates (which sometimes come a year plus later for older Samsung models), then go with the Samsung. They have great hardware but horrible record of updates. They also have a closed and locked bootloader (unless you get the international version which won't be 100% compatible with all features in your carrier). Don't expect root ever on a carrier version. It's very unlikely to happen. On the other hand, you could go for a Pixel 3XL phone. The amazing software will more than make up for the hardware shortcomings. You'll get monthly security updates directly from Google and be among the first to ever get the new OS upgrades. I had always been a Samsung Note and Galaxy user until last year's locked down of the Note 8 bootloader completely turned meet off. At over $1000 per phone, I expect to be updated quickly not a year later. I tried the Pixel 3Xl and will NEVER consider another Samsung phones regardless of hardware. I have come to learn that software can more than make up for it. I can freely unlock my bootloader as I see fit, root my phone at will and get customs ROMs from the XDA community. Rooting an international Samsung phone will void warrantee and also forever void Samsung pay. No need to worry about this on the Pixel 3Xl. I guess my point is, it all depends on your priorities XYZ wants and needs. The Pixel 3Xl in my experience is far superior to every other Samsung phone I have owned by farrrrrrrr.
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---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:25 PM ----------
BTW in my opinion, Pixel phones also hold their value much better than Samsung phones. So, if resale value is important to you, go with the Pixel 3Xl. Just look at last year's models in Craigslist or any other page. You'll see what I'm talking about.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
garyHal said:
I am currently running a Pixel 3 XL. So far, I have been very underwhelmed by this phone. Even with the most recent updates, I still get the occasional lag. Several times, I would restart my phone only to have it get stuck on a black screen. Most importantly, my data connection is really bad. My 4g would occasionally turn off and on. Today, all of my data failed to work. I had to call ATT to see if there was anything wrong with their towers.
So are these software issues or hardware issues? Is Samsung Galaxy known to have better radios and internal hardware? I don't want to switch over to a different brand only to find out it was a problem with PIE, which Galaxy will soon have.
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Call and get a replacement. You clearly have a bad phone. I haven't heard of anyone else having these issues, and mine works perfectly. Never any lag at all. Also, the camera is amazing. Three tech sites I believe (think Gizmodo and such) plus dxomark rated it the best of 2018. Plus all of the new or pixel only features plus day one updates all make this phone even more awesome.
I had a Samsung S7 Edge, and, I loved it at first, but, never again will I own a Samsung phone. Right around the time the S8 was being release, I got an update and the phone was waaay slower. A couple more updates and the phone was nearly useless. Got a new replacement, same thing. They've been reported to do that. Soooo, unless you don't care about anything I mentioned above, and plan on getting a new Samsung every year, then get one. Otherwise, stick with a pixel.
I probably do have a bad phone since everyone else has a better experience.
I have been using Nexus / Pixel for the last 4 years and enjoyed it. This year's model was an exception.
Eudeferrer said:
Well, let's see. Android Pie was released back in August 6 of 2018. Almost 1/2 a year later, almost all Galaxy 9/9+ and Note 9 owners are still waiting to received it. They have only received Beta versions good for testing it out as part of Beta program. I think I read Germany started receiving a few days ago the actual update. If your don't care about receiving timely new features and updates and new yearly OS updates (which sometimes come a year plus later for older Samsung models), then go with the Samsung. They have great hardware but horrible record of updates. They also have a closed and locked bootloader (unless you get the international version which won't be 100% compatible with all features in your carrier). Don't expect root ever on a carrier version. It's very unlikely to happen. On the other hand, you could go for a Pixel 3XL phone. The amazing software will more than make up for the hardware shortcomings. You'll get monthly security updates directly from Google and be among the first to ever get the new OS upgrades. I had always been a Samsung Note and Galaxy user until last year's locked down of the Note 8 bootloader completely turned meet off. At over $1000 per phone, I expect to be updated quickly not a year later. I tried the Pixel 3Xl and will NEVER consider another Samsung phones regardless of hardware. I have come to learn that software can more than make up for it. I can freely unlock my bootloader as I see fit, root my phone at will and get customs ROMs from the XDA community. Rooting an international Samsung phone will void warrantee and also forever void Samsung pay. No need to worry about this on the Pixel 3Xl. I guess my point is, it all depends on your priorities XYZ wants and needs. The Pixel 3Xl in my experience is far superior to every other Samsung phone I have owned by farrrrrrrr.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
---------- Post added at 05:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:25 PM ----------
BTW in my opinion, Pixel phones also hold their value much better than Samsung phones. So, if resale value is important to you, go with the Pixel 3Xl. Just look at last year's models in Craigslist or any other page. You'll see what I'm talking about.
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I know it's all about preference and what you like but you're wrong on so many points and are trying really hard to justify your $900 purchase.
I'll start with the easiest one and that's resale value. No Google does not hold their value better nor will you find a buyer faster. Google phones are only popular on YouTube and xda. In the real world no one wants to buy a pixel and def not a used one anywhere near regular price. Even new on Verizon the pixels are constantly $200-$400 off.
As for the locked bootloader that's invalid again cause the same thing goes with the pixel. You have to buy the unlocked variant to do that otherwise their carries version can't be unlocked.
Also newest Android version doesn't always mean new features. Stock Android is just starting to implement features that Samsung has had for awhile. Unless seeing a 9.0 instead of a 8.1 on your "about phone" is that important there is nothing the pixel really offers you that Samsung a don't.
The monthly security patches are again useless considering Samsung's Knox system is arguably the most secure thing on Android regardless of your Android version.
Lastly the software on the pixel 3 is anything but amazing. Apps refreshing Everytime you have 4+ open. Constant hiccup here and there. The restrictions that Google have put on the phone in terms of only fast charging on their wireless charger and etc is against what Android is.
The pixel is a great camera and ok smartphone.
The note is an amazing phone in every other category.
I own both phones and Samsung being on a later software makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. I feel like I'm not missing out on anything .
On the pixel I'm missing out on my SD card. My headphones jack. My ability to wirelessly fast charge everywhere and the confidence that my battery will last the whole day.
I know this is a pixel forum but let's be real and take off our Google glasses. The note 9 is the best phone out right now period. The 3 xl is a great phone with many disapointments
flavioa said:
I know it's all about preference and what you like but you're wrong on so many points and are trying really hard to justify your $900 purchase.
I'll start with the easiest one and that's resale value. No Google does not hold their value better nor will you find a buyer faster. Google phones are only popular on YouTube and xda. In the real world no one wants to buy a pixel and def not a used one anywhere near regular price. Even new on Verizon the pixels are constantly $200-$400 off.
As for the locked bootloader that's invalid again cause the same thing goes with the pixel. You have to buy the unlocked variant to do that otherwise their carries version can't be unlocked.
Also newest Android version doesn't always mean new features. Stock Android is just starting to implement features that Samsung has had for awhile. Unless seeing a 9.0 instead of a 8.1 on your "about phone" is that important there is nothing the pixel really offers you that Samsung a don't.
The monthly security patches are again useless considering Samsung's Knox system is arguably the most secure thing on Android regardless of your Android version.
Lastly the software on the pixel 3 is anything but amazing. Apps refreshing Everytime you have 4+ open. Constant hiccup here and there. The restrictions that Google have put on the phone in terms of only fast charging on their wireless charger and etc is against what Android is.
The pixel is a great camera and ok smartphone.
The note is an amazing phone in every other category.
I own both phones and Samsung being on a later software makes absolutely no difference whatsoever. I feel like I'm not missing out on anything .
On the pixel I'm missing out on my SD card. My headphones jack. My ability to wirelessly fast charge everywhere and the confidence that my battery will last the whole day.
I know this is a pixel forum but let's be real and take off our Google glasses. The note 9 is the best phone out right now period. The 3 xl is a great phone with many disapointments
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Perhaps it is you that it is trying to justify the sad $1300+ price after taxes of the Note 9. While I do not argue that Note phones are generally great phones for some people, You are wrong on many levels and clearly do not have a clue about Andorid systems. While it's true that Verizon phones go on sale all the time at a discounted price, the reason for this is because they lock you in on 2 year contracts. At the end of the day you are paying more for your phone. While Amazon shows today the price of the brand new unlocked Note 9 at $725 you would be hard pressed to find the unlocked version of the 128 GB Pixel for less than its original price anywhere. While it's true that the Pixel may be $200-$400 off, If you look at the Note 9 carrier versions, they have even had BOGO offers on multiple occasions. Last year's Note 8 is on sale on Craigslist for roughly $400+ in my area. Simply because nobody wants it. At the same time, the Pixel 2 XL is usually no less than $500 used (even considering the price was originally less than the Note 8).
On another note, about new OS updates not having new features, you are wrong on multiple levels. Here is a brief list of new features introduced under Android Pie which are still NOT available to 99 % of Samsung users: Adaptive settings for battery life, screen brightness, app suggestions, etc..., Cut-out support, HEIC support which has better image compression support, New gesture navigations, New Google material Theme, An official dark theme, 157 new emojis, Night site (for Pixel phones), and so many more! To suggest that there are no new features in a new OS release shows your well-rounded ignorance about the topic. You may feel like you are not missing out on anything, but I think a great majority of smart phone owners would appreciate having the latest OS and security upgrades.
As far as headphone jacks, yes, I agree they are useful, but in my case, I had already upgraded to wireless anyways and so has most of the world from I-phones, to countless other Android phone manufacturers. It's just a matter of time before Samsung jumps on the bandwagon as well. And as far as wireless charging, if it's true what you claim that you have a Pixel 3 then you would know that it DOES come with fast wireless charging as well. So, they are even on that front. As far as battery lasting all day, my Pixel 3XL still has about 20% battery at the end of the day under heavy use, so not an issue for me, either.
I don't take away from the Samsung Note 9's appeal when it comes to screen quality, battery life and overall look and design. Remember I have a Note 8 and have used Samsung for years. But to claim that the features of the Pixel 3 OS are useless or not important shows your bitterness towards not having access to Pie yet. Good luck with your non-rootable, overpriced and over 6-month-outdated OS Note 9. MY prediction is that in the next few months you will see the price tumble to half it's value as Samsung struggles to sell its backed up inventory that nobody wants. By the time Android Pie reaches most Samsung phones, we will be a couple of months away from Android Q which will be out with a new set of features and according to you, useless and unimportant upgrades.
My Galaxy S8 blows this phone away, battery life, screen size, sound. I haven't noticed anything new with Pie. I'm no camera buff my S8 took great pictures. I'm trying to like this phone but it is hard to do.
13druber said:
My Galaxy S8 blows this phone away, battery life, screen size, sound. I haven't noticed anything new with Pie. I'm no camera buff my S8 took great pictures. I'm trying to like this phone but it is hard to do.
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From my personal experience, my Galaxy S8 constantly freezes and has worse battery life than my Pixel 3Xl. I understand user results and experiences are different for everyone. While some people claim to have had issues with apps closing on the background on Pixel 3 Xl, I never had this issue. Read up on Android Pie features. There are plenty of new worthwhile feature upgrades. Probably the most important one is adaptive battery. I think it makes a huge difference in the battery life of any phone. My Pixel 3Xl battery lasts all day. On my Galaxy 8 phone, midday I was more than halfway through the battery, same apps, and same time used. I used to constantly have to plug in my phone for juice. I rarely have to plug it in now except at night or extreme heavy use. As far as the screen size/quality, IMO, they are very similar but the sound on my stereo front speakers on the Pixel 3Xl is far superior to my S8's.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Eudeferrer said:
From my personal experience, my Galaxy S8 constantly freezes and has worse battery life than my Pixel 3Xl. I understand user results and experiences are different for everyone. While some people claim to have had issues with apps closing on the background on Pixel 3 Xl, I never had this issue. Read up on Android Pie features. There are plenty of new worthwhile feature upgrades. Probably the most important one is adaptive battery. I think it makes a huge difference in the battery life of any phone. My Pixel 3Xl battery lasts all day. On my Galaxy 8 phone, midday I was more than halfway through the battery, same apps, and same time used. I used to constantly have to plug in my phone for juice. I rarely have to plug it in now except at night or extreme heavy use. As far as the screen size/quality, IMO, they are very similar but the sound on my stereo front speakers on the Pixel 3Xl is far superior to my S8's.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm talking audio thru BT. Headphones and my BT speaker. It is all treble. My battery life is horrible on this and no expanded memory. I'm just trying to get used to this phone, I had a Nexus 5 I loved it. I just need time to adjust. I don't have any performance issues, seems pretty fast. I'll check out the Pie features, thanks.
I own both, honestly find the note to be the better all round phone and always feel limited by the max128gb storage, yes it is enough but does not leave much wiggle room. Older OS or not the Note feels more polished.
The software experience is better on the 3xl but there are bugs still (gboard 1 handed mode [emoji2357]) and some missing features (ability to schedule AOD) The camera though is just better especially in low light.
If the pixel had a 256gb option I'd probably not have the note though. Having said that if the OP6t or mate 20 had a (proper) always on display I'd likely have one of them instead!
Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk
13druber said:
I'm talking audio thru BT. Headphones and my BT speaker. It is all treble. My battery life is horrible on this and no expanded memory. I'm just trying to get used to this phone, I had a Nexus 5 I loved it. I just need time to adjust. I don't have any performance issues, seems pretty fast. I'll check out the Pie features, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perhaps you should install Viper if you are rooted in your Pixel. It's very easy to use and easily corrects any issues with sounds quality you may have. You can truly customize the sound to your personal preference. You could also have a defective phone because my $25 Bluetooth wireless headphones from Amazon sound amazing on my Pixel. As far as expanded memory, I bought a 256 gb USB-c type drive from Amazon for $52 that I connect directly to my Pixel and I save all my backups and important files there. It's as easy as connecting it to your phone on the USB port and it will show up internally as a drive. I save Twrp backups, Titanium backups, pics, downloaded files and a ton of things. No need to miss your expanded memory card slot.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Not sure how your getting bad battery life. I'm getting over 8 hours of screen on time with about 2 days worth of life. As far as being bogged down, again, no issues here. Pixel doesn't need 8gb of ram because it doesn't have 2 app stores, 2 text apps, 2 note apps, 2 browsers, 2 file manegers......see where I'm going?
Samsung has MASSIVE amounts of bloat. Root? Maybe, but with knox, Samsung's are for people who don't know how to take advantage of the unlocked bootloader. The UI is atrocious as well. I kind of like how you can download mods and filters for the camera, but The pixel is still better.
As great as expandable memory is, the read write speed are dirt slow compared to writing to the system. The Pixel having super speed USB type c, makes otg a great option for extra storage.
Me personally, being a Verizon chump, the Nexus 6p was my first Google phone. Which made my S4 the VERY LAST non Google phone with the exception of maybe a One+ device.
Fire Hound 8.1
Eudeferrer said:
Perhaps you should install Viper if you are rooted in your Pixel. It's very easy to use and easily corrects any issues with sounds quality you may have. You can truly customize the sound to your personal preference. You could also have a defective phone because my $25 Bluetooth wireless headphones from Amazon sound amazing on my Pixel. As far as expanded memory, I bought a 256 gb USB-c type drive from Amazon for $52 that I connect directly to my Pixel and I save all my backups and important files there. It's as easy as connecting it to your phone on the USB port and it will show up internally as a drive. I save Twrp backups, Titanium backups, pics, downloaded files and a ton of things. No need to miss your expanded memory card slot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My bootloader is locked. I have always used viper, too bad it doesn't come on this phone
13druber said:
My bootloader is locked. I have always used viper, too bad it doesn't come on this phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming then, you are on the Verizon version because that's the only one you can't unlock bootloader. If you are not on Verizon version, it's easy to unlock. There are many tutorials on how to do it and It takes only a few minutes. I was tempted to get the Verizon version because they had great deals on it but I moved away from Samsung because of that same reason. I wanted to root my phone . A locked bootloader on this phone means I might ss well have bought a Samsung phone again. I did not want to be in the same boat with this phone. Hey, at least you can still get timely updates and support for 3 years, something Samsung will never do.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Shaftamle said:
Not sure how your getting bad battery life. I'm getting over 8 hours of screen on time with about 2 days worth of life. As far as being bogged down, again, no issues here. Pixel doesn't need 8gb of ram because it doesn't have 2 app stores, 2 text apps, 2 note apps, 2 browsers, 2 file manegers......see where I'm going?
Samsung has MASSIVE amounts of bloat. Root? Maybe, but with knox, Samsung's are for people who don't know how to take advantage of the unlocked bootloader. The UI is atrocious as well. I kind of like how you can download mods and filters for the camera, but The pixel is still better.
As great as expandable memory is, the read write speed are dirt slow compared to writing to the system. The Pixel having super speed USB type c, makes otg a great option for extra storage.
Me personally, being a Verizon chump, the Nexus 6p was my first Google phone. Which made my S4 the VERY LAST non Google phone with the exception of maybe a One+ device.
Fire Hound 8.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a big thread in the s9 forum about "debloating" the phone. It requires you to manually disable the unwanted apps though.
Eudeferrer said:
I'm assuming then, you are on the Verizon version because that's the only one you can't unlock bootloader. If you are not on Verizon version, it's easy to unlock. There are many tutorials on how to do it and It takes only a few minutes. I was tempted to get the Verizon version because they had great deals on it but I moved away from Samsung because of that same reason. I wanted to root my phone . A locked bootloader on this phone means I might ss well have bought a Samsung phone again. I did not want to be in the same boat with this phone. Hey, at least you can still get timely updates and support for 3 years, something Samsung will never do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, Verizon ?
Shaftamle said:
Not sure how your getting bad battery life. I'm getting over 8 hours of screen on time with about 2 days worth of life. As far as being bogged down, again, no issues here. Pixel doesn't need 8gb of ram because it doesn't have 2 app stores, 2 text apps, 2 note apps, 2 browsers, 2 file manegers......see where I'm going?
Samsung has MASSIVE amounts of bloat. Root? Maybe, but with knox, Samsung's are for people who don't know how to take advantage of the unlocked bootloader. The UI is atrocious as well. I kind of like how you can download mods and filters for the camera, but The pixel is still better.
As great as expandable memory is, the read write speed are dirt slow compared to writing to the system. The Pixel having super speed USB type c, makes otg a great option for extra storage.
Me personally, being a Verizon chump, the Nexus 6p was my first Google phone. Which made my S4 the VERY LAST non Google phone with the exception of maybe a One+ device.
Fire Hound 8.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When u said the s4 was your last Samsung phone I knew why everything you were saying about Samsung is so outdated. They are not what they used to be. Since the s8 their ui and bloat has been a lot better and they let you disable almost everything now.
Like mentioned in my previous post it's all about preference and what's more important to you when it comes to which phone the individual prefers but looking at it spec for spec, performance for performance, value for money and etc the note is the best phone on the market.
To people like me and you who love stock Android most other things dont matter and we would still buy a pixel 10 out of 10 times . I'm just talking about overall
Also IDK how you're getting sot of 8 hours. I get 5 at best and there are numerous amounts of battery drain threads on this forum so it's not just me dealing with bad battery life. And almost every YouTube battery test have the pixels near the bottom
flavioa said:
When u said the s4 was your last Samsung phone I knew why everything you were saying about Samsung is so outdated. They are not what they used to be. Since the s8 their ui and bloat has been a lot better and they let you disable almost everything now.
Like mentioned in my previous post it's all about preference and what's more important to you when it comes to which phone the individual prefers but looking at it spec for spec, performance for performance, value for money and etc the note is the best phone on the market.
To people like me and you who love stock Android most other things dont matter and we would still buy a pixel 10 out of 10 times . I'm just talking about overall
Also IDK how you're getting sot of 8 hours. I get 5 at best and there are numerous amounts of battery drain threads on this forum so it's not just me dealing with bad battery life. And almost every YouTube battery test have the pixels near the bottom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I definitely know things have been cleaned up a little I have an s8 for work. Like you said it's definitely personal preference. But the reason my last Samsung was the S4 is because that was the last one without Knox. I'm not a fan of locked bootloaders. Hardware and performance the note may have a slight edge.the dollar for dollar I'd still go with the pixel. It's a $200 price difference if you bought the pixel at release. If you waited a month it was 600. In my opinion there's no way the note is $400 better. But that's my opinion.
I guess I'm just stuck back in the day when Android was actually a phone that you could make your own. I just don't like how Samsung tries to push their garbage on you with every handset that you buy. But hey to each is own.
As far as battery goes, 8 hours with my tops but I'm definitely getting 7 plus since I got the phone.
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Fire Hound 8.1
hello everyone, recently i had some connector-related problems with my s7edge so i'm about to buy my next phone.
i think that, in this "hardware overkill era" (personally i think that from circa 2018 the effective changes in speed became very small and unnoticeable in terms of usage; apps open just a tiny little faster ), choosing a good used it's better than ever. since i don't have much to spend (gotta apply for masters ya know) i was thinking about getting a s9plus or a OP6t. that is because i like a lot the design of both the phones and the different functions (from water resistance, qi charge, better photos and nice notch/slide-less design by s9p to the in-display fingerprint sensor and veeeery nice software of the op6t ). I really wish there was something around 250/300€ with the functions of both but couldn't find it, and since i can actually buy a still premium phone like those for just 250, probably i'll just stick with one of them. which one?
i’d really like to get a stock aosp/pixel experience with the samsung but can't find a good rom, should i choose the op6t? what is the actual modding situation from the inside?
Honestly, just as I'm looking around for info about root for Android 10 on the S9+, Its depressing me quite a bit. Seeing that this phone isn't that old, and yet, there's so little activity for it and its non + variant. It's really surprising when In the past I had far less popular and expensive phones, and there were A LOT more people working on custom ROMs and a bunch of other stuff, when they were far older than this phone currently is. Don't get me wrong, there is people working on it, but not many.
I'd definitely look for a different phone at this point if you want a new one.
ReapersDeath said:
Honestly, just as I'm looking around for info about root for Android 10 on the S9+, Its depressing me quite a bit. Seeing that this phone isn't that old, and yet, there's so little activity for it and its non + variant. It's really surprising when In the past I had far less popular and expensive phones, and there were A LOT more people working on custom ROMs and a bunch of other stuff, when they were far older than this phone currently is. Don't get me wrong, there is people working on it, but not many.
I'd definitely look for a different phone at this point if you want a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember the days, i have the s10+ unlocked version (U1) and i upgraded to android 10 and honestly not that hyped about it either. I still have my Note 3 and Note 4 and play with them because i miss the rooting and my freedom to do whatever i wanted with MY phone.
This trend where we can root and unlock will come to an end just like Apple killed jailbraking Samsung is slowly following Apple like a little sheep started with phone jack to locking bootloaders for them rooting is cancer that needs to be eradicated asap.
I bought the s9+ from amazon last week the G9650 and plan on rooting it later because i miss it that much but i'm staying on Pie (9) for a while longer
I wondered about this too and the most plausible explanation is that many of the great Devs aren't from 1st world nations and the phones can be pricey for them to get hold of to produce ROMs etc.
This is especially holds true since high end mobile phones are $1000+ now and their monthly pay might be a couple of hundred.
Honestly I think modding is no longer that fun like before with many security updates to android that complicates
and dicourages hobbyist developer..nowadays it will cost a lot of effort and money for developers just to come up with something..
Wanna play with admin rights and do whatever you want with a smartphone like the good old days ?
Buy a OnePlus device and enjoy.
Stay away from Samsung.
If you care about modding go with oneplus or a pixel device. Stay far away from Snapdragon Samsung devices.
I really want to go back to a Pixel but I can't do the curved screens. I'm one of those people who actually puts his phones in a case and they don't work well with curved screens.
EDIT 10/6: Pre-ordered 7 Pro. The trade in for my 12 Pro Max with Best Buy was just too good to pass up, essentially makes the phone free once I find something to use the gift card for.
EtherealRemnant said:
I really want to go back to a Pixel but I can't do the curved screens. I'm one of those people who actually puts his phones in a case and they don't work well with curved screens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the Zizo Bolt with my Samsung N10+'s and it works very well. Occasionally causes cut/paste problems but going to landscape fixes that. Prevents accidental touches and keeps the phone undamaged. The curved screens absolutely need cases with -slightly- higher than display right/left edge guards or they will likely get destroyed.
Do Pixel's have any curve nested apps like Samsung ie One Handed Operation plus? Otherwise empty curves are sort of wasted space. I use both sides as app launchers and to control various switches.
At first I wasn't sure about the curve display but after a couple months I started to prefer curved over flat. Much easier to keep clean and great for vids. I don't even think about them now after over 2 years. Visually it took some adjustment for me... the visual cortex adapts and integrates.
It has a curved screen. The sneak peak during I/O made that clear.
I'd go back to a Pixel if it didn't suck. P6 was a f&[email protected]( disaster, and still is.
If you don't want a curved screen you can go for Pixel 7 instead of Pro. It has a flat screen!
hemstheworthy said:
If you don't want a curved screen you can go for Pixel 7 instead of Pro. It has a flat screen!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's rumored to have a 6.2" screen which is too small.
I guess Google doesn't want my business so I'll stick with OnePlus.
EtherealRemnant said:
It's rumored to have a 6.2" screen which is too small.
I guess Google doesn't want my business so I'll stick with OnePlus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One Plus seems to be putting out some good models. Google is more screwed up than Samsung and Sammy's pretty screwed up nowadays.
blackhawk said:
One Plus seems to be putting out some good models. Google is more screwed up than Samsung and Sammy's pretty screwed up nowadays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah but OnePlus keeps screwing up the software and there isn't even an MSM Tool for the 10 Pro so if you brick it, which seems to be way too easy to do on OnePlus devices (I have done it multiple times on my 9 despite doing everything right when trying to flash a custom ROM and would have been in a situation if the MSM Tool wasn't available), you are screwed.
Additionally, they have been throttling CPU performance. My Geekbench single core score on the latest OOS 12 is around 800 which makes my 888 slower than the 865. They changed the way they do the throttle as well, it can no longer be disabled with a Magisk tweak. OnePlus' answer to all of us who are complaining about how unresponsive the browser and other operations can be? Toggle high performance mode to force the phone to use high clocks all the time, even when idle, at the cost of much higher power consumption and heat than if they just left the processor alone to begin with. They haven't released OOS12 kernel source that's usable either so no custom kernel around to fix it unless you flash to a custom ROM.
So yeah, I feel like I'm being forced to go back to iOS. At least Apple listens to feedback and fixes bugs, OnePlus doesn't even seem to care about that anymore, and Apple doesn't throttle their SoCs, has prompt updates (OnePlus has been giving India updates first and has been leaving EU and global a month behind and we were already multiple months behind China), and has incredible battery life without having to disable basically every premium feature in the phone.
And yeah, Samsung is a no go for me since the Note 5. Swore that would be my last Samsung and as long as they encrypt the bootloader on Snapdragon variants, I will stick to that.
I guess I better start saving for that 14 Pro Max......
EtherealRemnant said:
Yeah but OnePlus keeps screwing up the software and there isn't even an MSM Tool for the 10 Pro so if you brick it, which seems to be way too easy to do on OnePlus devices (I have done it multiple times on my 9 despite doing everything right when trying to flash a custom ROM and would have been in a situation if the MSM Tool wasn't available), you are screwed.
Additionally, they have been throttling CPU performance. My Geekbench single core score on the latest OOS 12 is around 800 which makes my 888 slower than the 865. They changed the way they do the throttle as well, it can no longer be disabled with a Magisk tweak. OnePlus' answer to all of us who are complaining about how unresponsive the browser and other operations can be? Toggle high performance mode to force the phone to use high clocks all the time, even when idle, at the cost of much higher power consumption and heat than if they just left the processor alone to begin with. They haven't released OOS12 kernel source that's usable either so no custom kernel around to fix it unless you flash to a custom ROM.
So yeah, I feel like I'm being forced to go back to iOS. At least Apple listens to feedback and fixes bugs, OnePlus doesn't even seem to care about that anymore, and Apple doesn't throttle their SoCs, has prompt updates (OnePlus has been giving India updates first and has been leaving EU and global a month behind and we were already multiple months behind China), and has incredible battery life without having to disable basically every premium feature in the phone.
And yeah, Samsung is a no go for me since the Note 5. Swore that would be my last Samsung and as long as they encrypt the bootloader on Snapdragon variants, I will stick to that.
I guess I better start saving for that 14 Pro Max......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A sad state of ball dropping screwups when an Apple starts looking like a viable alternative.
The only flagship Samsung I would recommend is the Note 10+ N975U1. The Beast is a sublime work horse that just keeps running. New can be had loaded with Android 10, but forget trying to root this variant. It runs well stock though.
After that Samsung started going downhill, more hype than meat. If Samsung had a good new flagship it be in my hand.
Between Google Android 11/12, Samsung's no SD card and other insanities, I went with my second new N10+; twins. The one in my hand will be 3 yo this September, current load is 2 yo.
No detectable display degradation of any kind in spite of thousands of hours of use. It looks and runs like new. The only repair has been a replacement battery, due for another soon as it's heavily used. It's a dual drive 1.5tb machine that doesn't run out of ram.
It's a snappy fast phone that's still fun and fulfills its mission. I'm good for another 2-3+ years. Whatever... I'm not buying the hype or the junk.
blackhawk said:
A sad state of ball dropping screwups when an Apple starts looking like a viable alternative.
The only flagship Samsung I would recommend is the Note 10+ N975U1. The Beast is a sublime work horse that just keeps running. New can be had loaded with Android 10, but forget trying to root this variant. It runs well stock though.
After that Samsung started going downhill, more hype than meat. If Samsung had a good new flagship it be in my hand.
Between Google Android 11/12, Samsung's no SD card and other insanities, I went with my second new N10+; twins. The one in my hand will be 3 yo this September, current load is 2 yo.
No detectable display degradation of any kind in spite of thousands of hours of use. It looks and runs like new. The only repair has been a replacement battery, due for another soon as it's heavily used. It's a dual drive 1.5tb machine that doesn't run out of ram.
It's a snappy fast phone that's still fun and fulfills its mission. I'm good for another 2-3+ years. Whatever... I'm not buying the hype or the junk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was on iOS from 2017 until 2021. Had the 8 Plus, XS Max, and still have my 12 Pro Max lying here. The lack of customization for notifications bugs me and the annoyance of having to manually sign apps to sideload them was obnoxious but I can live without customization and sideloading if I have a device that just performs well. Apple's hardware is solid too, I didn't have a single hardware issue with any of them.
I can't bring myself to buy anything but new flagships. I would just feel like I threw money away if I went to an older device, even if it's stable. This is obviously a psychological issue, I have many of those lol, but it is what it is. The OnePlus works fine on OOS11 for the most part but again, I can't bring myself to be okay with not running Android 12. I am actually pretty annoyed with some issues with the Indian ROM I flashed on here though so I may just decide to stick with OOS11, root it, and disable the performance throttling either with a custom kernel or by the Magisk module I mentioned because I would probably be able to accept that tradeoff but I always get FOMO whenever a new update comes out.
It's good that you found something you are happy with though. I haven't been totally happy with a phone since the HTC U11 although I will say the 12 Pro Max was close and if it wasn't for the fact that my cheap MVNO doesn't have a carrier bundle on iOS which cost me 5G access, I probably would have just stuck with it. Since I held onto it though and paid in full for my 9, I have a $650 trade in value which will probably drop to $450-$500 when the 14 models drop in the fall which makes the price tag much easier to swallow.
I have some hope OnePlus may get it right with Android 13 so I'm going to see how that goes but if not, and no other viable options (has to have compatibility with all US carriers, has to have an unlockable bootloader, has to have at least a 6.4" screen that's not curved, and has to have at least 8GB of RAM), it's back to Apple.
EtherealRemnant said:
I was on iOS from 2017 until 2021. Had the 8 Plus, XS Max, and still have my 12 Pro Max lying here. The lack of customization for notifications bugs me and the annoyance of having to manually sign apps to sideload them was obnoxious but I can live without customization and sideloading if I have a device that just performs well. Apple's hardware is solid too, I didn't have a single hardware issue with any of them.
I can't bring myself to buy anything but new flagships. I would just feel like I threw money away if I went to an older device, even if it's stable. This is obviously a psychological issue, I have many of those lol, but it is what it is. The OnePlus works fine on OOS11 for the most part but again, I can't bring myself to be okay with not running Android 12. I am actually pretty annoyed with some issues with the Indian ROM I flashed on here though so I may just decide to stick with OOS11, root it, and disable the performance throttling either with a custom kernel or by the Magisk module I mentioned because I would probably be able to accept that tradeoff but I always get FOMO whenever a new update comes out.
It's good that you found something you are happy with though. I haven't been totally happy with a phone since the HTC U11 although I will say the 12 Pro Max was close and if it wasn't for the fact that my cheap MVNO doesn't have a carrier bundle on iOS which cost me 5G access, I probably would have just stuck with it. Since I held onto it though and paid in full for my 9, I have a $650 trade in value which will probably drop to $450-$500 when the 14 models drop in the fall which makes the price tag much easier to swallow.
I have some hope OnePlus may get it right with Android 13 so I'm going to see how that goes but if not, and no other viable options (has to have compatibility with all US carriers, has to have an unlockable bootloader, has to have at least a 6.4" screen that's not curved, and has to have at least 8GB of RAM), it's back to Apple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android 9 may be the best. Haven't played much with the Android 10 N10+ but noticed Karma Firewall lost it's valuable logging feature due to it.
My old free copy of WPS Office works in both version as do most of my trusted overlay apps.
Android 9 and above are all reasonably secure unless you do something stupid. No malware on this 2 yo Pie load yet.
I use Poweramp as my player, just my music files alone are over 225gb.
An SD card is mandatory. I can do a full reload with no internet connection; the SD card is the data drive which is backed up redundantly. Even has all my apps as installable copies, no Playstore needed. So a factory reset isn't that big of a deal if I have to... anytime, anywhere.
Only the DCIM folder (backed up regularly to the data drive), the download folder and the installed apps go on the internal memory. No cloud anything needed or wanted other than Gmail.
So the hardware and firmware aren't my prime consideration, why should they be? It was a step learning curve to optimize these devices. Them fulfilling their mission is my primary consideration. I'm an Android pragmatist, I got out of the Samsung/ Android hype loop over 6 years ago. If not proven good, I'm not using it.
Got lucky with the N10+... always wanted a Note.
Firmware upgrades and updates (apps as well) can and do break things. No need to constantly be chasing the loose ends they create, so I don't.
Pretty much solid play time... that's the plan
Pro version will have a curve screen ... that is a problem with most manufacturer now
i am not a fan of curve screen too.. i went to get p6 and it is ok at first then it has bugs soon after .. another pain is for countries which is not officially sold, it wont be able to use VoLTE and VoWiFi. Need to root and modify the xml ... ah well cant say much about that since it is not official sold.
Seems like OP also is not so great now since they are under OPPO now and Sammy is just too expensive now with more or less not so exiting tech.
Other china phones? that is another story
blackhawk said:
Android 9 may be the best. Haven't played much with the Android 10 N10+ but noticed Karma Firewall lost it's valuable logging feature due to it.
My old free copy of WPS Office works in both version as do most of my trusted overlay apps.
Android 9 and above are all reasonably secure unless you do something stupid. No malware on this 2 yo Pie load yet.
I use Poweramp as my player, just my music files alone are over 225gb.
An SD card is mandatory. I can do a full reload with no internet connection; the SD card is the data drive which is backed up redundantly. Even has all my apps as installable copies, no Playstore needed. So a factory reset isn't that big of a deal if I have to... anytime, anywhere.
Only the DCIM folder (backed up regularly to the data drive), the download folder and the installed apps go on the internal memory. No cloud anything needed or wanted other than Gmail.
So the hardware and firmware aren't my prime consideration, why should they be? It was a step learning curve to optimize these devices. Them fulfilling their mission is my primary consideration. I'm an Android pragmatist, I got out of the Samsung/ Android hype loop over 6 years ago. If not proven good, I'm not using it.
Got lucky with the N10+... always wanted a Note.
Firmware upgrades and updates (apps as well) can and do break things. No need to constantly be chasing the loose ends they create, so I don't.
Pretty much solid play time... that's the plan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I went back to OOS11 last night and I'm going to stick with it for a bit. It seems to work pretty well although I'm annoyed at the discovery that the module that was posted to alter the CPU throttling doesn't actually seem to work fully even on OOS 11.2.10.10. I don't want to go any older than that though so I guess it is what it is at this point. Games definitely are smoother at least. Still not as smooth a iOS though...
I wouldn't mind having an SD card again. I have gotten used to not having one but it does get annoying having to back up my OnePlus backups to the PC when I have to factory reset and then move them back. In the time it took to copy from the PC back to the phone last night, I was able to floss and brush my teeth. When I got back to the computer, the bar was at the very end.
This phone will work for now on OOS11. I really hope that OnePlus listens with OOS13 because I really don't want to buy another phone but being stuck on Android 11 isn't going to be enough for me.
cruzzmz said:
Pro version will have a curve screen ... that is a problem with most manufacturer now
i am not a fan of curve screen too.. i went to get p6 and it is ok at first then it has bugs soon after .. another pain is for countries which is not officially sold, it wont be able to use VoLTE and VoWiFi. Need to root and modify the xml ... ah well cant say much about that since it is not official sold.
Seems like OP also is not so great now since they are under OPPO now and Sammy is just too expensive now with more or less not so exiting tech.
Other china phones? that is another story
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Yeah it's not a great situation for the Android ecosystem as a whole right now really. I may just suck it up and get a 7 Pro. I really don't want to go back to iOS. I have an iPad, that's enough iOS for me.
EtherealRemnant said:
Yeah I went back to OOS11 last night and I'm going to stick with it for a bit. It seems to work pretty well although I'm annoyed at the discovery that the module that was posted to alter the CPU throttling doesn't actually seem to work fully even on OOS 11.2.10.10. I don't want to go any older than that though so I guess it is what it is at this point. Games definitely are smoother at least. Still not as smooth a iOS though...
I wouldn't mind having an SD card again. I have gotten used to not having one but it does get annoying having to back up my OnePlus backups to the PC when I have to factory reset and then move them back. In the time it took to copy from the PC back to the phone last night, I was able to floss and brush my teeth. When I got back to the computer, the bar was at the very end.
This phone will work for now on OOS11. I really hope that OnePlus listens with OOS13 because I really don't want to buy another phone but being stuck on Android 11 isn't going to be enough for me.
Yeah it's not a great situation for the Android ecosystem as a whole right now really. I may just suck it up and get a 7 Pro. I really don't want to go back to iOS. I have an iPad, that's enough iOS for me.
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This is why I committed to using the N10+'s for likely another 2-3+ years by buying a second new running on Android 10. Both will likely never be upgraded beyond 10.
Not for everyone but I absolutely wuv this Note. At this point it's optimized very well and is just a gorgeous beast of a work horse. Using a SD card as the data drive adds a layer of protection and redundantly to the device. With a mobo failure or a system crash the data drive will likely be untouched.
So now the processors are too fast to be practical so they throttle them?
Even though the N10+ doesn't have the thinner cpu chipset form factor or the fastest memory it runs almost as fast as the S22U in normal usage.
With the N9 the lag vs N10+/N20U/N22U is quite noticeable. The S22U has a huge battery and less SOT than the N10+. Weights a full display cracking ounce more too.
For what?
If you listen to all the hype the latest Androids sound wonderful... until you think it through and realize what is important for your device to fulfill its mission. That's why a well designed/built 3 yo model running on 2.5 yo firmware can still effectively compete with the newest phones.
blackhawk said:
This is why I committed to using the N10+'s for likely another 2-3+ years by buying a second new running on Android 10. Both will likely never be upgraded beyond 10.
Not for everyone but I absolutely wuv this Note. At this point it's optimized very well and is just a gorgeous beast of a work horse. Using a SD card as the data drive adds a layer of protection and redundantly to the device. With a mobo failure or a system crash the data drive will likely be untouched.
So now the processors are too fast to be practical so they throttle them?
Even though the N10+ doesn't have the thinner cpu chipset form factor or the fastest memory it runs almost as fast as the S22U in normal usage.
With the N9 the lag vs N10+/N20U/N22U is quite noticeable. The S22U has a huge battery and less SOT than the N10+. Weights a full display cracking ounce more too.
For what?
If you listen to all the hype the latest Androids sound wonderful... until you think it through and realize what is important for your device to fulfill its mission. That's why a well designed/built 3 yo model running on 2.5 yo firmware can still effectively compete with the newest phones.
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The annoying thing about the throttling is that it's not necessary. I have used a custom ROM on here and they don't have any of the throttling and it's no problem. Sure, the device gets a bit warmer under load, but it's not dangerously hot, we are talking like 42-48C, well within all normal tolerances. People ***** about their devices being warm and everyone suffers for it. Unfortunately every custom ROM I have tried has issues ranging from a stuttering UI to broken NFC and the fingerprint reader being off center so after the last attempt flashing a custom ROM resulted in a brick, I just went back to OOS and stayed there. Maybe it is time to try again though, I will run OOS11 for a few days and see if I can get used to it.
Honestly I really like my Pixel 3 XL, it's just too slow and lacking in RAM for me to make it my daily driver. The memory is more the issue than the Snapdragon 845 honestly.
P3XL was a great phone, i used it until it went dead last year. Then i went for p6 in hope for a better support and features as promised but then again ...
anyway p6 suffers from bugs since first update and i think still until now it has not been sort out yet. The thing i like about pixel is you can still flash it via fastboot and the image it officially available in the support page.
Just that if the country is not an official country that sell pixel then you will be stuck with no VoLTE and VoWiFi and that is a hassle
EtherealRemnant said:
It's rumored to have a 6.2" screen which is too small.
I guess Google doesn't want my business so I'll stick with OnePlus.
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After Carl Pei left Oneplus started going down and now they are one of the worst companies under Oppo and the phone OS, design, and specs are not that good!
hemstheworthy said:
After Carl Pei left Oneplus started going down and now they are one of the worst companies under Oppo and the phone OS, design, and specs are not that good!
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My OnePlus 9 has better specs across the board than the Pixel 6 besides the cameras. OOS12 is terrible but I don't mind OOS11 so if OnePlus goes back to their roots with OOS13 like they are promising, I may stick around, and besides, the custom ROMs for this device are pretty good so I can just as easily just stick to those.
Qualcomm > Samsung and I don't see that changing with the 7 series.
EtherealRemnant said:
I really want to go back to a Pixel but I can't do the curved screens. I'm one of those people who actually puts his phones in a case and they don't work well with curved screens.
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I think the non-pro Pixels are a better value anyways, seeming as this launch won't be too different to the Pixel 6s apart from minor upgrades like a new SoC with moderate performance increase.
razercortex said:
I think the non-pro Pixels are a better value anyways, seeming as this launch won't be too different to the Pixel 6s apart from minor upgrades like a new SoC with moderate performance increase.
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I can't go from a 6.55" screen to a 6.2" screen though. Honestly I would rather have a 6.7"-6.10" screen. I could go from 6.55 to 6.4 but with them shrinking the screen size on the 7, it's a nonstarter.