Normally I always go for the top model of a phone that comes out, but this year is a little bit different.
I currently have a pixel 5 and I'm thinking of switching back to a OnePlus device. Before prices were officially announced, I had already set my mind on a 9 Pro.
However, here in Canada, the difference between the regular 9 and the 9 Pro is $500...
Aside from the price, I really like the fact that the regular 9 has a flat screen rather than curved edges. I hate any screen protector other than glass and there are no proper glass screen protectors for curved screens.
The reason I'm torn is because the camera setup is not the same on the regular 9, it does seem quite a bit inferior. It's using the same sensor as the 8 Pro and I think it's missing the telephoto camera entirely as well. It's also missing OIS, which I'm sure can't be good for video stabilization as well as low light photography.
However, the reason I'm still considering it is because I think it still may be an upgrade from my Pixel 5 in every area, except for the camera. I don't know how much better my Pixel 5 camera would be, compared to the OnePlus 9, or if they would come close enough where I wouldn't mind the subtle differences.
What does everyone else think? Anyone else out there with a pixel 5 and looking to switch? Unfortunate how big the price Gap is in Canada compared to the US. I think in the US the price difference is about $240, compared to Canada's $500.
Any opinions or feedback would be appreciated!
Not a Pixel 5 but a Pixel 2, I'm still using this phone as with Android 11 it's still a great phone...granted it does not have the high specs that most phones come with nowadays. But it's just the right size in my hand, works well except for poor battery life.
There are so many new phones out or coming soon...Asus Rog 5, Xiaomi range, Oppo Find X3, and now the OnePlus. A part of me still wants to hold out for the Sony Xperia 1 III if and when it is released....but I would really love a new phone now...not sure which one to go for or wait a while...I'm really leaning towards the OnePlus 9 pro...
I use my phone to make phone calls, Pixel 5 is unusable for call quality. I didn't buy a Pixel 5 but the only person I know who did returned his for that reason. And using his, I agreed with his decision. Google always makes cool phones but ultimately it's an undesirable phone. Pixel 4 physical design was a complete failure. Pixel 5's under screen speaker complete failure. I wish Google would just make the basics amazing, and stop doing dumb ****.
But even physical design Google failed with Pixel 5. That plastic finish is there because they had to do a cutout in the aluminum shell to allow for wireless charging and then covered up that hole with that resin. I swear, Google might have some of the dumbest designers.
I got the Oneplus 9 for $600. That's good enough for me, I think phones are phones. Spending over 1K is insane to me. And this phone should last me 3 years.
As for camera, I would be surprised if OP9 isn't an upgrade since all the reviews are saying in many times OP9 is head to head with Samsung and Apple, Pixel 5 fell behind in the game. I also am believer if camera quality isn't up to snuff, buy a camera... I have never seen a picture from a phone that is half as good as from a camera.
You say the camera is quite a bit inferior, reviews I've seen so far have said for the average user between OP9 and OP9 Plus would not know the difference between the pictures taken. I'm in that camp, I always assume phone camera pics are garbage. After all the rave reviews and hype for iPhone camera, I'm always amazed how bad the photos are. That's what I learned, regardless if it Samsung Ultra or Apple, it's always more suprising to me how bad the pictures are really not much better than a $500 phone's picture.
I think phones might be the biggest tech scams. Just think about how little you get for the money, they are horrific value. But they claim their profit margins are tight, I don't believe them considering their sales volume. Processor that can barely play games. Cameras that are reality worth $20 and nothing more. 6" screen. Horrific audio quality, from speaker and buds. Overall phones are horrific tech in terms of quality, and incredibly expensive.
After that rant, I seriously hope Google doesn't screw over their fans with Pixel 6 and release a solid phone and stop using their fans like guinea pigs for idiotic ideas with half baked implementation. Give them a phone that others can look at and think, gee if I didn't already buy (blank) I'd get that. They have failed with every single Pixel phone in that regard, especially when Oneplus has been doing exactly what Nexus and Pixel fans wanted.
Google should make phones that show Apple users Android can be beautiful, reliable, intuitive. Not making things like under glass speakers, hideous physical designs both front and back etc. Let the other manufacturers like Samsung experiment. Google Pixel should be the best that Android has to offer IMO.
I'm somehow in the same boat.
I've used the pixel 5 for some time and i slowly started missing a bigger screen and oxygen os but most of all decent sound quality so i started looking..
I tried s20fe 5g but traded it within a few weeks for a OnePlus 8t just to see if I'm in to Oneplus again. So far i really enjoy it, except i would love to have a slightly better camera.
So far I've seen quite some reviews of the 9 series and I'm thinking of switching.
I believe it's not the spectacle as they advertised it but it's a great device.
At least the normal 9, the differences with the pro are to little given the price difference.
Normally I would be waiting to see what Pixel 6 will be, but Google has never failed to do something that a Pixel phone would be unusable for me. They always do something stupid and seriously shaft their users. Like they could use better hardware but continue to use the same cameras for every Pixel year after year.
Appreciate all the feedback guys,
I understand your point about phone cameras not being as good as a dedicated camera, but the thing is it's not as convenient to lug around a dedicated camera for those quick shots you want to take. That being said, it's nice to have as good of camera as you, can given that it's on a phone.
In terms of the Pixel 5's design, I've never been one to be picky about a design of a phone in general so it's not an area of concern for me. I tend to throw a case on my phones anyways, so the design is a non-factor.
However, that under screen speaker is definitely a real thing and something that bugs me a lot. I don't consider the Pixel 5 having a stereo speaker setup because of how bad that top speaker is.
Phone calls are fine if you're in a quiet environment, but if outdoors it's very hard to hear the other person. It's not a good sign when a smartphone is having trouble doing its job as a phone...
This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest reason I want to switch over to the OnePlus 9. It has a dedicated cutout for that speaker grill and there's no nonsense of the speaker being under the screen.
Going back to that camera, it's not so much about the actual hardware as it is about image processing. Even though the Pixel 5 is using an older camera sensor, the pictures that come from it are incredible because of Google's image processing.
Looking up camera comparisons online, to my eye at least, the Pixel comes out with the better shot. It has a lot more contrast and vibrancy compared to OnePlus. There is also a lot more dynamic range and areas such as the sky are not as blown out as they look to be on the OnePlus 9.
I can probably get away with some of those issues by editing the picture after the fact, but sometimes, some aspects of a picture cannot be saved no matter how much editing is done to it.
I'm torn because it seems that in every other aspect, the OnePlus 9 is a superior device to the Pixel 5.
Many people have not complained about performance on the Pixel 5, but I have personally experienced lag and slow down from time to time. I am the type of user who tends to switch between apps and just generally navigate the UI very quickly, and I think sometimes the Pixel 5 has trouble keeping up with that.
After reading your replies though, I am starting to lean towards the OnePlus, as it seems like the pros far outweigh the cons, even though the one pro the Pixel has is of great value to me.
Any additional feedback or opinions are welcome of course, in the meantime I will continue thinking this decision over to see if it would be worth grabbing that OnePlus 9.
The way I see OP9 for me is it's the cheapest way to get premium hardware, $600 for me at least. The hardware and screen matters to me more than camera. And I truly believe among any of the phones $400 and above, most users won't see difference between photos taken on phones. They are all within that margin nowadays.
I truly hope Pixel 6 will offer premium hardware with solid software and no stupid gimmicks. Google offers are truly solid, awesome phone that doesn't use their users as beta testers for stupid ideas.
If so, then yeah I'd trade in the OP9 for a Pixel 6. Cause no question, Google makes the best software on Android platform still, best camera app, best phone and messaging apps and of course best Android experience. But Pixels always have really stupid ideas and treat their paying customers like unpaid beta testers. That's disrespectful.
Ended up caving and grabbed the OP9. As I mentioned in my previous post, there only seems to be one pro for the Pixel 5, which is the camera. In every other category, the OnePlus 9 outshines the Pixel 5.
Regardless of how much significance I hold to that one upside of the Pixel 5 (camera), all the pros for the OP9 made me think it makes more sense to go for the 9 instead.
Not to mention, that under-screen earpiece speaker is hard to deal with. Like @zymphad said, I can also look into the Pixel 6 and see if it's worth switching back to Google for. Otherwise I'll stick with the 9.
As a workaround for the OP9's camera, I can simply just take a handful of shots of whatever I am taking pictures of (hopefully getting one or two good shots out of the handful), and rely on apps like Snapseed for them to "pop" a bit more.
Looks like the phone is going to ship out today, should have it by next week! Thanks again for the input, everyone.
Mine arrived. At work, tomorrow will post modified boot.img to root. Little doubt phone will be great and the Haselblad hype ruined the phone release since the pics are up to stnadard with Samsung and Apple just does not live up to hype, IMO Haselblad failed and they only had one job to provide consistent natural colors across all footage and cameras.
OP9 is a must-skip for me. No dual sim for North America, bad fingerprint scanner, expected OnePlus camera flub, and base OP9 display has low DPI while OP9 Pro has a curve. For iPhone prices they aren't offering iPhone quality. Battery issues seem to be common too. My P5 will last another year.
Unsurprising you whine about a camera that so far from what I've seen from people who make a living reviewing Android phones, OP9 camera is now within the same league as Samsung, loses some, wins some.
Fingerprint reader hasn't failed for me, in all lighting conditions and environment so far. Love it, it's fast and precise.
Battery lol? It's the best in class, fastest charging and seems to last forever.
Whines about the display but bought a Pixel 5. Is this a joke?
For how I use my phone compared to the Pixel 5 failure. Honestly this isn't even vs OnePlus, this is just Pixel 5 being a failure compared to all competition, Samsung, Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, etc.
I use my phone to text, make phone calls, watch youtube, netflix, gaming, reading forums / blogs / news, chatting on discord, sharing memes, listening to music. For what I use my phone, Pixel 5 is dead last compared to all other phones I considered sub $800.
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I have always been a Google phone fan, from the g1, og Nexus, Nexus 5, 6p, og pixel, 2xl, 3xl. I love the monthly update and the "pure os". But I just got a op9 from tmo (USA) for a great deal 1/2 off so it comes out to be about 360 over 2 years. For that price I'll deal with the shortcomings of the op9...
I know this is a little old, but I've had the Pixel 5 for a little less than a week and will be returning it. My last phone? OnePlus 6 that I got at launch. I also ordered a OnePlus 9 today.
It's the little things that just kill the Pixel 5 for me:
*Under screen speaker is awful
*The notification/ringer volume either can't be heard or can be heard by everyone, there's no middle ground.
*Can't remove Google Bar or Widget from the homescreen or lockscreen, and Nova keeps bugging out with gestures, so it's not even worth it sometimes.
*The processor. I've installed several apps that just sit there for a while after downloading and don't install for a few minutes. Unacceptable.
*have to switch hands to take a screenshot with the shortcut.
The size is great, but the lack of certain things that should be standard in 2021 is just flat out unacceptable even with some nicer things (call screening is phenomenal). I have a dream that one day all phones will be less than 6.2" so I'm not lugging a tablet around...
XNine said:
I know this is a little old, but I've had the Pixel 5 for a little less than a week and will be returning it. My last phone? OnePlus 6 that I got at launch. I also ordered a OnePlus 9 today.
It's the little things that just kill the Pixel 5 for me:
*Under screen speaker is awful
*The notification/ringer volume either can't be heard or can be heard by everyone, there's no middle ground.
*Can't remove Google Bar or Widget from the homescreen or lockscreen, and Nova keeps bugging out with gestures, so it's not even worth it sometimes.
*The processor. I've installed several apps that just sit there for a while after downloading and don't install for a few minutes. Unacceptable.
*have to switch hands to take a screenshot with the shortcut.
The size is great, but the lack of certain things that should be standard in 2021 is just flat out unacceptable even with some nicer things (call screening is phenomenal). I have a dream that one day all phones will be less than 6.2" so I'm not lugging a tablet around...
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I'm right there with you on a lot of these points. That under screen speaker was just horrible. It's basically a mono speaker, I don't even consider that under screen speaker a speaker to be honest.
I like my big phones though so that's one area we see different but for the majority of it I pretty much switched for the same reasons.
OP9 has its deficiencies mostly in camera, lack of OIS and below average front camera that I NEVER use.
But sometimes it can shine.
Did you take that picture using Portrait Mode or PRO mode?
The only way to get 50MP is using the PRO mode on the app.
First Picture is PRO mode...
Second Picture is Portrait....
My Opinion. I prefer Oneplus over anything.
If your looking for specs yes, I can't believe I would say this but the "new" Red Magic 6R is only $499 and the specs are even higher..
But I'm a OnePlus user through and through. Wont ever change unless they go out of business.
rickysidhu_ said:
I'm right there with you on a lot of these points. That under screen speaker was just horrible. It's basically a mono speaker, I don't even consider that under screen speaker a speaker to be honest.
I like my big phones though so that's one area we see different but for the majority of it I pretty much switched for the same reasons.
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You know the microphone is under glass because it's water resistant. I agree though some of googles developers must be some real gems.
Related
Before i begin i want to point out that I have never reviewed a device before and to be honest I'm not that great at typing but the nexus is going through a phase it has never been through before. The nexus line is at and end and the most recent nexus devices aren't even getting the full features of its predecessor as they normally would for years to come. With that said the pixel has made me feel as though it is worth sharing my thoughts with people who may be sat on the bench or wondering about the new pixel devices that are replacing our beloved nexus phones and whether or not they should make the pricey jump over. I also would like to know how you guys that have purchased a pixel are finding the new google devices.
I have been a massive fan of the nexus line since the birth back at the nexus one and have owned every nexus phone released, and have had most nexus tablets apart from the 2nd gen nexus 7, so i really love the pure android experience. Having used the nexus line for so long and spending a short amount of time now with the pixel XL i wanted to give my honest opinion and feelings about the new line coming from the nexus 6p...
There are sacrifices and gains to be made when upgrading from the 6p. First of all the front facing speakers are gone which is quite a big downer for me. Perhaps I've been spoilt with having front facing speakers on the 6p and nexus 9 that i use, but it feels like a step backwards here. The speaker on the pixel XL is OK dont get me wrong and can be quite loud and full sounding but its nothing like having front facing stereo speakers.
I want to talk about the software/google photos backup/assistant. My nexus was on 7.1.1 preview when i sold it so I had some time with that to compare.
The google photo backup feels like a marketing scam to me in a way. They advertise unlimited storage in full resolution forever with the pixel phones. Now you already get that to the most extent. It backs up pictures in an unaltered quality up to 16 mega pixels. The pixel phones have a 12.3mp camera same as the 6p and a lot of other devices so nothing changes there. The 6p and other devices also get full resolution video backup for 1080p so the only real gain is the 4k resolution videos.
The assistant again is being played up big time by google. Now lets be honest most people don't stand there talking to their phones or at least not people that i know. I tried both google now and assistant and to me assistant is the same as google now. They have just given it a new voice with some jokes and put it into a conversation card format. Google now worked pretty much the same and did a good job. This isn't something new that google have released that hasn't been seen before. It's simply a revision of google now that we have had for a while.
The software is beautiful on the pixel XL. I know it has better internals that will be helping a lot but the user interface is so smooth and fluid. Even 3rd party apps seem to behave better and don't have no where near as much micro stutters. Everything just feels fluid and very very snappy. This is where the pixel for me really excels over the 6p. The new launcher is also very nice. I was on the bench when i first saw it but once you use it, it makes perfect sense. The swipe up motion for the app drawer frees up a dock position for an additional app. The new search button top left frees up more screen real estate instead of having the full length bar spanning the width of the screen.
The display is very slightly smaller on the XL, however i don't really notice this at all to be perfectly honest. The display on the pixel XL is definitely better than the 6p. Its much much brighter and the white point is much better... At least for my taste. I prefer a cooler white than the more yellow hue of the nexus 6p. I held the two phones side by side in the store and i cant stress enough how much more improved the new pixel phones display is. This is a gorgeous display that honestly rivals my wife's S7 edge.
The pixel XL is noticeably thicker than the 6p when held out of a case. I'm not too sure how i feel about this one personally. The pixel XL is easier to hold and doesn't feel like it will slip from your hands when using one handed but then again it has the same battery as the 6p and is a similar size shell. It doesn't have anything extra that would warrant the thickness so again this feels like a step back to me in a way. I don't understand the need for the extra thickness given the internals. I know they may have thickened it slightly to remove the camera bump but the pixel phone still actually thickens up as at the top end of the phone compared to the bottom.
The chin is a talking point for a lot of people. I have come to accept this now for the simple reason of the bottom facing speaker. On the larger bezels you have more room to hold the phone without covering the speaker with your palm. I have gone for the black version of the phone which somehow hides this a bit better than the white and doesn't look as obvious.
The camera is simply great on the pixel. Even though it has exact same spec camera as the 6p the end product after the image has been processed is awesome. For simple point and shoot the camera is amazing and there is 0 lag with the HDR+ like there is on the nexus 6p. I often missed a chance to snap my kids doing something with the 6p because it took forever to actually take the picture after pushing the button. This issue is gone with the pixel and photos are snapped almost instantly.
The price is still definitely a big question mark for me. The phone feels great and overall is does make the nexus lines feel like beta's to what the pixel is and how it performs. However... No wireless charging... No water and dust proofing... No dual front facing speaker... There are other phones out there with these things that don't cost as much. The price being charged for this leaves a bad taste in my mouth, especially with it being the first pixel phone which a lot of average consumers wont understand the history behind and how it came to be. The phone isn't a house hold known name like the galaxy line or the iphones so people may be scared away by the price for this new unknown brand of phone.
Overall summary for me is that the pixel XL phone is definately an upgrade from the 6p, and using the phone feels night and day better but the price point is a huge question mark. The pixel phone somehow has a polish and unification to the whole google branding that i just cant put my finger on but i can honestly say this is by far the greatest android experience i have ever experienced. The smoothness of moving around the ui is unrivalled by any other device i have ever used including windows phones and iphones (I've never owned an iphone but my brother is an avid apple fan so we dont see eye to eye, however I do play with his iphone to compare speed etc).
So how are you guys finding the pixel XL phone? which device did you come from and how does it compare?
As the title asks: has anyone here got the phone yet? What are your thoughts on it? I got mine yesterday. So far, I'm impressed yet slightly bored due to the lack of new features.
The phone itself is amazing, quick and beautiful. The fingerprint scanner is fast, the phone is comfortable to hold but lacks anything exciting from it!
Post some thoughts below!
Have you tested Displayport Alt? It's part of the USB 3.1 standard and any USB-C to HDMI/Display Port adapter should work, even if it's branded for a laptop for a laptop.
Sumenthus said:
Have you tested Displayport Alt? It's part of the USB 3.1 standard and any USB-C to HDMI/Display Port adapter should work, even if it's branded for a laptop for a laptop.
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No I haven't tried that actually. I'll have to look it up and see if I can try it! I'll report back if I manage.
My immediate reaction is, I wish this thing was in the omnibalance design. It is too chunky for me, I don't like the curve of the back which is really quite thick in the middle. Very slippy as well, slips all over the place..
It is very quick, the screen is very nice and as usual, for me anyway, battery life is very good.....darn it, if only the XZ2 was a bigger screened version of the XZ1 form factor.
This phone needs a case - no doubt about it - it could be very slippery otherwise.
I've come from the Pixel 2 XL (due to Google's inability to code updates properly; luckily they refunded me even after 5 months!) - the XZ2 certainly is bigger and heavier but it fits better in my pocket...
There were nice things Google had done to Android that improves the user experience that the Sony like others will not have. Nothing functionally different just a bit 'dull' in terms of experience.
The camera of the XZ2 is not up to Pixel 2 standards but I've yet to play with it properly.
I like the XZ2 - I hope I feel this way in six months time.
murrayalex said:
My immediate reaction is, I wish this thing was in the omnibalance design. It is too chunky for me, I don't like the curve of the back which is really quite thick in the middle. Very slippy as well, slips all over the place..
It is very quick, the screen is very nice and as usual, for me anyway, battery life is very good.....darn it, if only the XZ2 was a bigger screened version of the XZ1 form factor.
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I agree with the phone being slippery! I can't even hold it between my shoulder and ear without it wanting to fall within seconds! Also needs a screen protector which I've had no luck finding.
As for the form factor, it doesn't seem half bad in all honesty. I come from the HTC 10 so for me it feels nice to hold and I personally like the curve on the back!
smallfish82 said:
This phone needs a case - no doubt about it - it could be very slippery otherwise.
I've come from the Pixel 2 XL (due to Google's inability to code updates properly; luckily they refunded me even after 5 months!) - the XZ2 certainly is bigger and heavier but it fits better in my pocket...
There were nice things Google had done to Android that improves the user experience that the Sony like others will not have. Nothing functionally different just a bit 'dull' in terms of experience.
The camera of the XZ2 is not up to Pixel 2 standards but I've yet to play with it properly.
I like the XZ2 - I hope I feel this way in six months time.
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+1 for dull. That's the first thought I had after setting it up. I want to root/unlock the bootloader so I can put xposed on it for customisation but I don't want to lose the DRM keys either.
Love it! I came from Z3... Fast, good battery life in my opinion. Nice screen, doesn't feel that thick to me. The only thing I dislike is how slippery it is. Bought a Qi charger that I put it on first night I had it. Looked like It was laying still. 20 minutes later it woke me up when it had slid off and hit the floor ? it survived, but I instantly ordered a case for it.
I will charge it on the floor for now ?
Devzz said:
As the title asks: has anyone here got the phone yet? What are your thoughts on it? I got mine yesterday. So far, I'm impressed yet slightly bored due to the lack of new features.
The phone itself is amazing, quick and beautiful. The fingerprint scanner is fast, the phone is comfortable to hold but lacks anything exciting from it!
Post some thoughts below!
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You are right the phone is a little boring but that's not a bad thing.. As it works as expected.
I got the s9 returned it now as couldn't make phone calls with it (a highly reported bug)
Also Samsung blocked call recording apps
pepzin said:
Love it! I came from Z3... Fast, good battery life in my opinion. Nice screen, doesn't feel that thick to me. The only thing I dislike is how slippery it is. Bought a Qi charger that I put it on first night I had it. Looked like It was laying still. 20 minutes later it woke me up when it had slid off and hit the floor it survived, but I instantly ordered a case for it.
I will charge it on the floor for now
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That is why Sony built Wireless Charging Dock WCH20 like this
https://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/products/accessories/wireless-charging-dock-wch20/
Great phone, snapy, it boots like a beast, camera is awesome and i think i will get used to the shape, it feels ok in hand, nice UI, bu unfortunately after i got it i realized botom speaker is making strange noises, allmost unberable, so i bring it back for exchange tomorrow, bought in Slovenia, seal was broke, so watch out for that
stipi69 said:
Great phone, snapy, it boots like a beast, camera is awesome and i think i will get used to the shape, it feels ok in hand, nice UI, bu unfortunately after i got it i realized botom speaker is making strange noises, allmost unberable, so i bring it back for exchange tomorrow, bought in Slovenia, seal was broke, so watch out for that
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Thanks! That's a really good tip, people need to ensure the device is new and the phone hasn't been used before! Sorry to hear it's making noises though. Good luck with getting a working version after exchanging!
Devzz said:
Thanks! That's a really good tip, people need to ensure the device is new and the phone hasn't been used before! Sorry to hear it's making noises though. Good luck with getting a working version after exchanging!
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After couple of updates, reboots and full night charge speakers settled, it works o.k. I am buffled... I had an apointment today for immediate phone exchange but will cancel it leter, cause i cant be sure if that was software related between updates.
I tried so hard today in morning, max loudness and shaking etc, it performed flawlessly... So i keep it, if error reocurs i still have waranty ?
I encourage you all to buy it, it is a beast
The phone it's good, fast and stable. But sincerely if I could go back i buyed a pixel 2 xl. I've enabled volte but don't work, camera it's not impressed me also front camera it's average. Impossible to use without cover, i buyed a cover from amazon. For tempered glass i advice brotect airglass, it's the only with no halo and no brightness lost
Zazzinho said:
The phone it's good, fast and stable. But sincerely if I could go back i buyed a pixel 2 xl. I've enabled volte but don't work, camera it's not impressed me also front camera it's average. Impossible to use without cover, i buyed a cover from amazon. For tempered glass i advice brotect airglass, it's the only with no halo and no brightness lost
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Only trouble for me with pixel us that call recording does not work on it otherwise I would have got one
After a few days of use, the phone is a solid choice.
Striking a good balance with a decent screen size & still manageable to use one-handed.
The display is plenty bright , even in sunlight outdoors, colors are excellent, right up there with the best AMOLED displays on the market.
Sound from the FF Dual speakers is plenty voluminous, quality is there as well, tweak with your music/equalizer app of choice or, as I do, use what's on board.
The addition of wireless charging is welcome, THX Sony!
Ditto for the US model having a working FPR.
I'd prefer a front or side-mounted FPR, but, use of the FPR is waaay down on my list of desired features, I can take or leave it, regardless of position, or, missing altogether.
Battery life, well, JMHO, you'd be hard pressed to find any phone that's not at least acceptable & this one is no different. The discussions on battery life are subjective at best & range to the ridiculous.
My 2¢ on the subject:
If you're employed/in-school, or otherwise engaged in activities that take priority over using your phone full time, odds are you can make it 1.5-2 days between charges on any phone. If you have more free time than that, YMWV.
No phone is perfect & this one, while I think is a keeper, has a few areas in need of improvement.
1) No 3.5 mm jack. While this is of no consequence to me, nevertheless, it was a boneheaded decision to drop the option, 'nuff said.
2) It's gotta be the slickest (read:SLIPPERY) phone I've ever used. If you're gonna use a case, this is moot, but, when I'm @ home, I like to shed the case for a more comfortable grip. The fit in hand is perfect, but, I do wish Sony woulda/coulda done something with the back glass to ensure a more secure grip. (Textured glass, a la Sandstone finish, just spit-ballin' here).
3) The super-sized vibration motor is, IMHO, total nonsense. The space it occupies would have been better utilized for the MIA 3.5 mm jack, larger battery, an I-R Blaster.
One or all of these would be welcome, compared to the gimmicky vibration motor.
4) No 6GB RAM option Stateside (possibly in other markets as well,worth looking into before buying).
I bought a 6GB RAM model on Swappa, but, having the different RAM versions, especially in the price range, is a head-scratcher.
Overall, a very nice phone for every day use. As for recent offerings (six months or so), I've used the following:
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Note FE
Mi Mix2 (highly recommend)
Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design
Note 8
Xiaomi Mi A1
RazerPhone
Moto X4 (Android One)
OnePlus 5T
Galaxy S9+
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
I'd take this one, the Sony Xperia XZ2, every time, without hesitation. Still have the Xiaomi Mi Note2 as a 2nd phone..........................,the Mi Mix2, OnePlus 5T & Samsung Galaxy Note FE were/are viable daily drivers,can't go wrong w/either one of 'em.
They're all great phones, but, for my use, the XZ2 is tops.
Put a stylus on your phone already Sony,& I'd probably never give the competition more than a casual glance....
I was going to send it back after a few days but it is growing on me, the screen is really really nice, with good deep blacks and superb brightness and clarity (it is hard to believe it is not a higher resolution), it is very fast and it has a very premium feel (if a little slippy). I also have the XZ1 and prefer the form factor of the XZ1 but the XZ2 has more going for it as an overall package. Some online reviews have been quite dismissive at times of this phone but it does have something, a bit of character?
Personally, I'd never buy a Samsung for a lot of reasons and I suppose you could call me a bit of a Sony fanboy in that I've owned lots of them down the years. This is the best Sony phone for a good long while, a great all rounder.
Very pleased with this one.
KOLIOSIS said:
After a few days of use, the phone is a solid choice.
Striking a good balance with a decent screen size & still manageable to use one-handed.
The display is plenty bright , even in sunlight outdoors, colors are excellent, right up there with the best AMOLED displays on the market.
Sound from the FF Dual speakers is plenty voluminous, quality is there as well, tweak with your music/equalizer app of choice or, as I do, use what's on board.
The addition of wireless charging is welcome, THX Sony!
Ditto for the US model having a working FPR.
I'd prefer a front or side-mounted FPR, but, use of the FPR is waaay down on my list of desired features, I can take or leave it, regardless of position, or, missing altogether.
Battery life, well, JMHO, you'd be hard pressed to find any phone that's not at least acceptable & this one is no different. The discussions on battery life are subjective at best & range to the ridiculous.
My 2¢ on the subject:
If you're employed/in-school, or otherwise engaged in activities that take priority over using your phone full time, odds are you can make it 1.5-2 days between charges on any phone. If you have more free time than that, YMWV.
No phone is perfect & this one, while I think is a keeper, has a few areas in need of improvement.
1) No 3.5 mm jack. While this is of no consequence to me, nevertheless, it was a boneheaded decision to drop the option, 'nuff said.
2) It's gotta be the slickest (read:SLIPPERY) phone I've ever used. If you're gonna use a case, this is moot, but, when I'm @ home, I like to shed the case for a more comfortable grip. The fit in hand is perfect, but, I do wish Sony woulda/coulda done something with the back glass to ensure a more secure grip. (Textured glass, a la Sandstone finish, just spit-ballin' here).
3) The super-sized vibration motor is, IMHO, total nonsense. The space it occupies would have been better utilized for the MIA 3.5 mm jack, larger battery, an I-R Blaster.
One or all of these would be welcome, compared to the gimmicky vibration motor.
4) No 6GB RAM option Stateside (possibly in other markets as well,worth looking into before buying).
I bought a 6GB RAM model on Swappa, but, having the different RAM versions, especially in the price range, is a head-scratcher.
Overall, a very nice phone for every day use. As for recent offerings (six months or so), I've used the following:
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
Note FE
Mi Mix2 (highly recommend)
Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design
Note 8
Xiaomi Mi A1
RazerPhone
Moto X4 (Android One)
OnePlus 5T
Galaxy S9+
Huawei Mate 10 Pro
I'd take this one, the Sony Xperia XZ2, every time, without hesitation. Still have the Xiaomi Mi Note2 as a 2nd phone..........................,the Mi Mix2, OnePlus 5T & Samsung Galaxy Note FE were/are viable daily drivers,can't go wrong w/either one of 'em.
They're all great phones, but, for my use, the XZ2 is tops.
Put a stylus on your phone already Sony,& I'd probably never give the competition more than a casual glance....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the detailed feedback.
Does VoLTE work on T-Mobile?
dachao said:
Thanks for the detailed feedback.
Does VoLTE work on T-Mobile?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the H8296 model (non-US).
As for does it have VoLTE?
Short answer: Maybe?
Here's why I say that:
Using the search function in settings nets the following result:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
However,when navigating from that,I don't "see" it:
If I go here:
I get this:
When I select this option,I lose all APNs & have to manually enter the APN,wash/rinse repeat.
I do see the LTE+ icon in the status bar,not sure if that's related or not:
If you have a dialer code that might reveal hidden settings, that'd be awesome & I'll take a look...
Perhaps flashing US Firmware will show the settings,or,it's already active,but,the setting is unaccessible(?) (a future root solution,perhaps).
If you have a method/app to check/confirm VoLTE,I'd be glad to check it out & share the results ......... :good:
EDIT:
I used T-Mobile's BYOD App to verify VoLTE & judging by their wording, not definitive:
Could be B.S. to get you to buy one of their phones,T-Mobile US just got fined $40 MILLION USD by the FCC for being less than truthful regarding rural service connections/calls...........
https://www.tmonews.com/2018/04/t-mobile-pay-40-million-fcc-settlement-failed-rural-calls/
FWIW,T-Mobile's DIGITS app works just fine:
@KOLIOSIS
The settings are the same as the settings on my XZ.
I don't understand why Sony phones don't support VoLTE but most of the Chinese phones do.
I know the topic has been covered before however I'm trying to gauge the potential upgrade with the existing OP 7 Pro Android 10 firmware and latest camera updates.
Been rocking a Pixel 2XL for the last 2 years. Love it and despite the lack of wireless charging I've been very happy with it (coming from Note 5).
Being IP67 is a big plus as I don't have to worry about the inadvertent dip in the pool. Camera is definitely one of the main reason I had purchased it along with the pure Android OS and frequent updates.
I know OP is not far being in terms of patches, so I probably could live with it (been using all previous betas before the were ever released and it's been nice to get ahead of the curve).
I love the way the OP 7 Pro looks and 90hz screen seems like a must these days... after all looking at the screen is what we do the most with the phone.
Bezel less screen seems like a must these days which is why I was very disappointed with the P4XL (outside of the crappy battery and lack of fingerprint).
Lack of wireless charging does suck however probably can be lived with (provided the battery will last as long or longer than my P2XL which was another important factor).
IP rating would also be nice, at least to have the piece of mind that I wouldn't ruin my phone upon first H20 contact (which based on some of the online reviews might not happen... still scaring that knowing it is rated).
Always on display... not sure why it would be missing.... but I'll miss it.
Now since I play games on my phone daily, the upgrade would definitely be nice, especially with some of the modes offers on the custom OS.
Now for the elephant in the room... the camera.
I've been pretty much looking at every reviews out there on picture quality. From what I can see, things are all over the place (somewhat to be expected). It's not clear cut like the Pixel where the camera is just plain awesome for most.
It seems that the latest software improved the camera significantly. From what I can see looking at some of the photos taken, they appear to be just as good and some reviews, if not even better than the Pixel 3 or 4 (let alone the 2). Night shots are a mixed bag but pretty much on both sides.
Older reviews definitely show some very bad oversaturated pictures and plain awful night shots.
While I wouldn't expect the level of quality of the Pixel 4 XL on all shots, I'd like to know it's at least consistently better than my old Pixel 2 XL and for the most part very close to the Pixel 4 XL in terms of quality.
I just can't seem to make up my mind and really don't want to be disappointed making the purchase as I know I will likely keep this phone for a while. Price (especially now) is very attractive. Camera however still has me concerned.
Any input would be appreciated.
Why didn't you just ask in the already existing thread instead of creating a new one all over again?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-7-pro/help/coming-pixel-2xl-op-buy-t3995593
Indeed I should have... 2 year old jumping on my face, 9 yo screaming in the background clouded my thinking.
Please delete this post.
Hi guys,
I need to decide between those 2 devices.
I'm not a gamer but the Asus phone is really amazing piece of hardware .
In the other hand the camera is not good enough and it's quite important for me.
My question is if there is any way to make camera better , for example gcam and if it's really help?
Second thought
What you think about rog phone as non gamer phone?
Thanks
Rog 5 is great!!
ROG Phone 5 is great if you are heavy into gaming, need the added battery to still use GPS, and don't mind a few missed notifications or emails in the background.
OnePlus is better if you want to stay current on the latest software updates and security improvements, prefer a wider selection of or more affordable accessories, and value a larger community for support or development.
Further reading:
The ROG Phone 5 packages security updates into the firmware versions, so they are not released separately. This means they are a bit slower to arrive and tend to skip incremental versions.
GPS and 5G are expensive on your battery life and despite having a rather large battery and quick charging, gaming needs most of it. A lot of the ROG Phone 5 features for gaming include disabling background tasks and minimizing network traffic, which are hard to do if you actually need those.
Thank you all!
The battery is never been issue for me since I got available charger must of the day.
I'm not such a gamer honestly , but this phone is so cool that I just can't ignore it .
What about the camera ?
It's my main concern, is there any way to make it better with root ?
sagiag said:
Thank you all!
The battery is never been issue for me since I got available charger must of the day.
I'm not such a gamer honestly , but this phone is so cool that I just can't ignore it .
What about the camera ?
It's my main concern, is there any way to make it better with root ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. You can improve the perceptual quality, but the (lens) resolution won't actually change. It was silly to add that AR feature to Armory Crate knowing they cut corners on the camera because it only made it more obvious.
Got you .
So I guess I'll skip this one and choose the OP thanks guys
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"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Personally I had the same dilema, I picked the rog phone 5. No regrets so far. The battery is so much better, I can make it last 2-3 days on a single charge. The screen is amazing. Speakers are literally among the best speakers on a smartphone, possibly THE best. Software is amazing too. I had an OP3T before and I loved oxygen OS more than stock android, unfortunately OnePlus is going in a different direction. Thanks to the cooling, performance is pretty darn great too, beats the OnePlus any day . ZenUI has almost all features of oxygen os and MORE. Design is pretty cool, and so is the camera if I'm being honest. Here's some photos that I took a couple of days back. Not really a huge sample but perhaps it'll help you. No editing or retouching was done.
After looking a bit deeper, it appears the OnePlus 9 camera is 50MP. Reviews keep saying how amazing it is, but its still a budget lens.
thejus44 said:
View attachment 5362951Personally I had the same dilema, I picked the rog phone 5. No regrets so far. The battery is so much better, I can make it last 2-3 days on a single charge. The screen is amazing. Speakers are literally among the best speakers on a smartphone, possibly THE best. Software is amazing too. I had an OP3T before and I loved oxygen OS more than stock android, unfortunately OnePlus is going in a different direction. Thanks to the cooling, performance is pretty darn great too, beats the OnePlus any day . ZenUI has almost all features of oxygen os and MORE. Design is pretty cool, and so is the camera if I'm being honest. Here's some photos that I took a couple of days back. Not really a huge sample but perhaps it'll help you. No editing or retouching was done. View attachment 5362947
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
have the photos been made in any mode, and in 64mp?
ChrisFeiveel said:
have the photos been made in any mode, and in 64mp?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No no, absolutely zero tinkering. Tried it using default settings. I took them in 64MP but had to downscale as XDA wasn't accepting higher resolutions. More than a couple of people have remarked on the camera quality so you should be perfectly fine in that regard.
Also btw, Asus actually won the MKBHD blind camera test of 2020 so camera quality wouldn't be an issue. The Sony sensor here is really good, I can confirm.
thejus44 said:
Also btw, Asus actually won the MKBHD blind camera test of 2020 so camera quality wouldn't be an issue. The Sony sensor here is really good, I can confirm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But the ZenFone 7 pro (the winner) doesn't have the same camera does it? At least my research revealed those are different one.
thejus44 said:
No no, absolutely zero tinkering. Tried it using default settings. I took them in 64MP but had to downscale as XDA wasn't accepting higher resolutions. More than a couple of people have remarked on the camera quality so you should be perfectly fine in that regard.
Also btw, Asus actually won the MKBHD blind camera test of 2020 so camera quality wouldn't be an issue. The Sony sensor here is really good, I can confirm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Results From This Blind Smartphone Camera Test Will Surprise You
Marques Brownlee, also known as MKBHD, hosted his third annual, 17-minute blind smartphone camera test featuring 20 new smartphones. The phones were
petapixel.com
Brownlee is using the default settings with no focus on still images.
What you can take from it is that on Twitter, Brownlee's followers chose the generic photos of the Zenphone 7 Pro. The second you click anything or the target begins to move, the results are obsolete.
Hi guys
Thank you all for your help!
I found out that the Sony IMX686 sensor is the sensor in the Zenfone 7 and also in the rogphone 5
It's a pretty decent sensor.
The issue is that I have kids and when I taking a pictures ia can't guarantee that they will stand still .
About night shot , must of my photos is in daylight or indoor so almost no nightshots in my case.
I would say if you really want decent photos - get neither of them and buy something that has a focus on cameras.
Sources told me OnePlus never had such a decent image quality (Cannot say for myself, I have a OnePlus but I could not care less about image quality nor do I even recognize "high/good" quality as good quality because they mostly look ugly to me compared to "lower" quality)
However if it's only between those two I would say buy an Asus - take some pictures and return it in case the quality is not good enough for you or take a look at reviews with their photos and decide if that's enough.
I wouldn't agree that gaming phones are only for gaming. They have decent hardware, large batteries and high display quality. If you care about those things - then even a gaming phone might be something for you.
They are still smartphones. you can call with them, chat with your friends/family and so on. Even GPS works and doesn't drain more battery than on average phones.
The only thing that might matter are updates.
If you care much about those things OP is better. It all depends on your needs and requirements. For example I don't care about manufacturer updates. The last one I installed was about 2012 before I started to flash my phones.
Anubarak16 said:
I would say if you really want decent photos - get neither of them and buy something that has a focus on cameras.
Sources told me OnePlus never had such a decent image quality (Cannot say for myself, I have a OnePlus but I could not care less about image quality nor do I even recognize "high/good" quality as good quality because they mostly look ugly to me compared to "lower" quality)
However if it's only between those two I would say buy an Asus - take some pictures and return it in case the quality is not good enough for you or take a look at reviews with their photos and decide if that's enough.
I wouldn't agree that gaming phones are only for gaming. They have decent hardware, large batteries and high display quality. If you care about those things - then even a gaming phone might be something for you.
They are still smartphones. you can call with them, chat with your friends/family and so on. Even GPS works and doesn't drain more battery than on average phones.
The only thing that might matter are updates.
If you care much about those things OP is better. It all depends on your needs and requirements. For example I don't care about manufacturer updates. The last one I installed was about 2012 before I started to flash my phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tnx bro .
Really appreciate your answer
Honestly I'm flashing my devices like crazy so OTA is not big deal for me .
I'm really disappointed with OP 8 can feel that they go to a very bad way oxygen OS have plenty of bugs and the product feels to me like not completed product.
Let's say that you have the option to choose any smartphone in the world.
What would you take?
Samsung is not an option btw
Well... I'm not the best choice to answer your question. In my opinions notches, punch holes, curved displays and no bezels are disgusting.
I hate none symmetrical phones so all those are totally a no go for me. Plus I mostly have my phone in my hands when I use it so small bezels / curved displays result in faulty touch recognitions.
That being said most phones in the world are nothing for me. Out of those I care about power and performance because I buy my phones for 4/5 years. An outdated chipset / lesser power might be a pain in the ass in 3 years when I still want to use chrome with my 30 tabs, play games simultaneously and write messages between loading screens by switching apps in <1s.
So currently my choice is the Asus cause it fulfills nearly all my criteria. If OnePlus had no Notches/Punch holes + a larger battery I would take those. I considered many other phones but all of them either look not so good and are weaker compared to Asus. Funfact: Buying a new Smartphone usually takes me around 4/5 months every 4/5 years
Shame Samsung isn't an option. The Note 20 Ultra takes great photos. The pinhole camera is a silly design, but at least they centered it. The raised camera lens is awkward, but easily fixed with a case.
I've taken pictures of people flying past that look like they stopped to pose. Samsung makes good cameras, so you may still want the lens inside someone else's shell.
Sometimes someone makes bad experiences with certain brands. Let it be customer support or defective devices.
I would never buy a Samsung device for myself as well because no other brand caused me so much trouble in the past. Let it be unlocking the bootloader or other related things.
Anubarak16 said:
Sometimes someone makes bad experiences with certain brands. Let it be customer support or defective devices.
I would never buy a Samsung device for myself as well because no other brand caused me so much trouble in the past. Let it be unlocking the bootloader or other related things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fundamentally, the internals are only one of a couple sets each generation. Even the software and entire support staff are changed out. You may not want to support Samsung, but you did. Guess who made your display panel?
I never said I don't want to support or harm them. I know many use their panels.
It's the same for OLED TVs and LG.
Of course they may also change the software but I rooted several Samsung devices and except for my very first one (Galaxy s1) all of them were not as easy as OnePlus devices or Nexus.
It's a combination of many things together that disappointed me or friends - not only with phones It's the same with other devices. (I had to work with the software of their TV devices once and it was a pain in the ass compared to LG WebOS or Sony to make my software running).
I'm open to give them a chance again when I think it will become better (I highly doubt this will ever be the case since I guess I'm not their peer group) but until that day I won't buy devices directly from Samsung.
I don't just say "it's trash" for no reason or "hate" them or whatever... I keep in touch with the company and inform me about their products but mostly they don't suit my requirements
I'm looking at getting a "new" phone to replace my Moto G5. I absolutely don't use the phone enough to justify paying big $$ for any totl model and I personally can't stand that every new phone is the size of a license plate (TBH, I hate using smart phones period, but they have just enough usefulness to make it worth having one)
The G5 biggest drawbacks are it's slow and laggy with most modern software (I'm running LOS 14.1 just to keep things as light as possible) and it doesn't have a compass either (I completely overlooked this when I purchased in the first place)
So, a refurb 3a is looking to be the best option so far - I would consider a 4a except the prices on those are ridiculous, even for a refurb. It all depends on whether the hardware can still cut it (btw the first thing I'll do is flash another rom, so the fact Google is dropping update support doesn't matter much)
Thoughts? (I also wouldn't mind alternative choices either)
If you're going to root and load a custom rom I go for the phones with the best hardware for the price. Older highly rated flagships be ideal. A SD card slot be useful.
Keep it simple: A 60hz refresh rate Amoled display with a high color rendering index.
That support 4G VoLTE.
Who's bootloaders compatible with firmware you want to load.
You have a lot of options, take your time and buy from a reliable vendor, whatever you chose.
Why do you want to change anyway? The Moto G5 still has official Lineage support. And technically it offers everything you need with a perfect small size. If you want a new one, you can't go wrong with a Pixel. I currently have a Pixel 1 and am very satisfied. Great quality and perfect custom rom support.
trisolaris said:
Why do you want to change anyway? The Moto G5 still has official Lineage support. And technically it offers everything you need with a perfect small size. If you want a new one, you can't go wrong with a Pixel. I currently have a Pixel 1 and am very satisfied. Great quality and perfect custom rom support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried out Lineage18, the g5 was an absolute slug. Probably because it only has 2gb of RAM. Way better sticking with Nougat/Oreo vintage roms. Even on LOS14 I find the odd time I do use it for typical smartphone crap (web browsing, etc) it still is pretty ponderous. I also keep kicking myself in the ass for not noticing there was no compass either. Based on that alone I would've bought something else.
The Pixels do seem to check all of the boxes, feature wise, and I keep reading recommendations about buying older flagship models. I just haven't done much digging into the Pixel lineup until now and have no idea how much older is a safe bet.
I also have looked at some of the older Oneplus models, but it seems like they're prone to screen issues - most of the ones I've seen for sale mention screen burn
Horrible Username said:
I tried out Lineage18, the g5 was an absolute slug. Probably because it only has 2gb of RAM. Way better sticking with Nougat/Oreo vintage roms. Even on LOS14 I find the odd time I do use it for typical smartphone crap (web browsing, etc) it still is pretty ponderous. I also keep kicking myself in the ass for not noticing there was no compass either. Based on that alone I would've bought something else.
The Pixels do seem to check all of the boxes, feature wise, and I keep reading recommendations about buying older flagship models. I just haven't done much digging into the Pixel lineup until now and have no idea how much older is a safe bet.
I also have looked at some of the older Oneplus models, but it seems like they're prone to screen issues - most of the ones I've seen for sale mention screen burn
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All AMOLED displays have a finite lifespan. The higher energy blue pixels tend to go first, reds last. How high the brightness and for how long has a direct bearing on lifespan.
This N10+ has been heavily used for 2.5 years and has gone through one battery, soon the second one as well. Yet the display is still perfect.
I almost never use in direct sunlight and rarely go above 50% brightness, I manual brightness only except very rarely. I also use dark mode and wallpapers. Minimized red icon pack.
Problem is with used devices all you can do is use ScreenTest to look for damage or age related wear. This should be done even with new displays. One of the first things I test. For a higher price unsold older factory sealed new phones from 2020 can be had. My second N10+ was one of these. The benefits are obvious but they are almost double the price of a used one.
Regardless always buy from a trusted vendor, best to talk with them first. There's a lot of scamming going on... always use a Visa or MC to buy it with so you can do a charge back if needed.
blackhawk said:
All AMOLED displays have a finite lifespan. The higher energy blue pixels tend to go first, reds last. How high the brightness and for how long has a direct bearing on lifespan.
This N10+ has been heavily used for 2.5 years and has gone through one battery, soon the second one as well. Yet the display is still perfect.
I almost never use in direct sunlight and rarely go above 50% brightness, I manual brightness only except very rarely. I also use dark mode and wallpapers. Minimized red icon pack.
Problem is with used devices all you can do is use ScreenTest to look for damage or age related wear. This should be done even with new displays. One of the first things I test. For a higher price unsold older factory sealed new phones from 2020 can be had. My second N10+ was one of these. The benefits are obvious but they are almost double the price of a used one.
Regardless always buy from a trusted vendor, best to talk with them first. There's a lot of scamming going on... always use a Visa or MC to buy it with so you can do a charge back if needed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good advice. Most likely I'd end up buying through Amazon.ca. They seem to have a decent refurb. policy, and of course are great for returns.
I'd totally buy a NiB or open box except the prices for those units are absurd here in Canada - basically original MSRP for a 3yr. old phone when it comes to the Pixel models
Horrible Username said:
Good advice. Most likely I'd end up buying through Amazon.ca. They seem to have a decent refurb. policy, and of course are great for returns.
I'd totally buy a NiB or open box except the prices for those units are absurd here in Canada - basically original MSRP for a 3yr. old phone when it comes to the Pixel models
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not pleased with what Samsung or Google Android have released since the Note 10+ and Android 9 respectively. So I run my N10+'s and just don't care... or update.
Probably be 2-4 years until I buy another phone.
Maybe a Sony device could be a solution. Sony have a very good developer support. You can find very good refurb devices at a good price.
Horrible Username said:
I'm looking at getting a "new" phone to replace my Moto G5. I absolutely don't use the phone enough to justify paying big $$ for any totl model and I personally can't stand that every new phone is the size of a license plate (TBH, I hate using smart phones period, but they have just enough usefulness to make it worth having one)
The G5 biggest drawbacks are it's slow and laggy with most modern software (I'm running LOS 14.1 just to keep things as light as possible) and it doesn't have a compass either (I completely overlooked this when I purchased in the first place)
So, a refurb 3a is looking to be the best option so far - I would consider a 4a except the prices on those are ridiculous, even for a refurb. It all depends on whether the hardware can still cut it (btw the first thing I'll do is flash another rom, so the fact Google is dropping update support doesn't matter much)
Thoughts? (I also wouldn't mind alternative choices either)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought my pixel 3A a couple months ago, it's japan version. and i think this device still can be use as my primary device till a year ahead, i have nothing to complaint about this phone.
With 4G a SD card slot be useful.
12gb of ram be very useful.
The N10+* is a big (but thin) phone so you're probably hating that
However the Beast is just a joy to use. The spen is irreplaceable when needed for Smart Capture or as a bt remote camera shutter release. Build Q is impeccable as is its reliability... but it's huge... great for vids
The earlier S models from 2019 are smaller but lack the spen and the almost nonexistent bezel of the N10+, the N10 is smaller but so is the battery/SOT. The S series can be had with everything else though including a great AMOLED display. Stay away from all of the Folds.
I would make sure whatever you get has no higher than Android 10 on it. Because of the age of the phones you're targeting use the experiences of users as far as how they hold up and known faults for that model.
Samsung's especially the flagships are very customizable stock. The Galaxy store has hundreds of free icon packs, themes, plus the Good Lock family of customization apps.This is the Beast dark moded out, all stock running on Pie.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
*Note, most of the Samsung Snapdragon variants are notoriously hard to root including the N10+.
Unfortunately that generation of Samsung's is where you see a big leap in performance especially in ones with 12gb of ram. The Exynos variants are easily rooted but depending on the model may have poorer performance than the Snapdragon's. Read newer user reviews to see if this is an issue.
Horrible Username said:
I'm looking at getting a "new" phone to replace my Moto G5. I absolutely don't use the phone enough to justify paying big $$ for any totl model and I personally can't stand that every new phone is the size of a license plate (TBH, I hate using smart phones period, but they have just enough usefulness to make it worth having one)
The G5 biggest drawbacks are it's slow and laggy with most modern software (I'm running LOS 14.1 just to keep things as light as possible) and it doesn't have a compass either (I completely overlooked this when I purchased in the first place)
So, a refurb 3a is looking to be the best option so far - I would consider a 4a except the prices on those are ridiculous, even for a refurb. It all depends on whether the hardware can still cut it (btw the first thing I'll do is flash another rom, so the fact Google is dropping update support doesn't matter much)
Thoughts? (I also wouldn't mind alternative choices either)
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I am in the same boat. Looking for Pixel 3a as they suppose to have a good camera and a smaller size. It's going to replace Oneplus X which still works fine but there is no Lineage support anymore and /e/OS has some software issues and no updates.
Did you get it or choose something else in the end? How much did you pay?
Thanks.
Fostel said:
I am in the same boat. Looking for Pixel 3a as they suppose to have a good camera and a smaller size. It's going to replace Oneplus X which still works fine but there is no Lineage support anymore and /e/OS has some software issues and no updates.
Did you get it or choose something else in the end? How much did you pay?
Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Still haven't made up my mind yet, but It's looking more likely that I'll get either a 3 or a 4a. The price diff. between refurbed 3 and 3a on Amazon isn't enough to not get the better specced phone. The 4a are quite a bit more $$ here in Canada, but probably are more "future proof" with the 6gb of RAM. I doubt I'd bother with the 5G 4a however
Personally, I'd stay away from the Pixel 3 due to disappointing battery life and overheating issues. The 4a is a bit better. The best value IMO is the 5a. Same SoC as the 4a5g and 5, with a larger screen and battery.
Unless your credit is terrible, you'll likely qualify for the interest free financing. Look for a sale on the 5a when the 6a launches. I picked the 5a up for my wife for $349 when the 6/6Pro launched.
V0latyle said:
Personally, I'd stay away from the Pixel 3 due to disappointing battery life and overheating issues. The 4a is a bit better. The best value IMO is the 5a. Same SoC as the 4a5g and 5, with a larger screen and battery.
Unless your credit is terrible, you'll likely qualify for the interest free financing. Look for a sale on the 5a when the 6a launches. I picked the 5a up for my wife for $349 when the 6/6Pro launched.
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Probably good advice, but I hate smartphones enough that there's no way I'd pay +$500 CAD just to get a refurb (TBH, for what and how much I use my phone, ~$200/250 is plenty). Plus, I would prefer to keep my screen size under 6"
I ordered Pixel 3A yesterday, based on the hype of the great camera and a good screen. Then I found that SO MANY users broke the screens just by a small 1 feet drop.
And yes, they had expensive screen protectors, cases and still, the screen shattered. As could be expected, Google is making the phone purposely weak as screen damage voids their warranty and cost a lot to replace.
Tons of Reddit and Google support posts evidencing this.
Why so many companies are advertising Pixel 3A screen replacement?
It's really simple - supply and demand!
Google is no different from Apple and other brands. They make those phones in China for a few bucks and sell them to you for a few hundred.
I will be returning this one and will look for a proper phone. I have Oneplus One (2014 model), Oneplus X (2015), and Oneplus 5T (2017). All of them were dropped multiple times, from more than one foot, sometimes on concrete.
They are still fully working. OP1 and OP5T just received the Android 12 update. Even the original batteries are still going strong. The Gorilla glass seems to be way better than the one they used on those 3A's.
The 3A is prone to screen crack. It's a weak phone with an inferior glass.
Hard to deny that after spending some time on research.
Fostel said:
I ordered Pixel 3A yesterday, based on the hype of the great camera and a good screen. Then I found that SO MANY users broke the screens just by a small 1 feet drop.
And yes, they had expensive screen protectors, cases and still, the screen shattered. As could be expected, Google is making the phone purposely weak as screen damage voids their warranty and cost a lot to replace.
Tons of Reddit and Google support posts evidencing this.
Why so many companies are advertising Pixel 3A screen replacement?
It's really simple - supply and demand!
Google is no different from Apple and other brands. They make those phones in China for a few bucks and sell them to you for a few hundred.
I will be returning this one and will look for a proper phone. I have Oneplus One (2014 model), Oneplus X (2015), and Oneplus 5T (2017). All of them were dropped multiple times, from more than one foot, sometimes on concrete.
They are still fully working. OP1 and OP5T just received the Android 12 update. Even the original batteries are still going strong. The Gorilla glass seems to be way better than the one they used on those 3A's.
The 3A is prone to screen crack. It's a weak phone with an inferior glass.
Hard to deny that after spending some time on research.
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Click to collapse
More good info. Considering I have a longstanding feud with gravity, maybe a 3a isn't a good choice for me.
Maybe I'll just say screw it and keep my Moto Potato until it complete packs it in
I can't vouch for the 3a, but the Pixel 2 is a similar form factor and power. I loved it, though it had overheating issues and some apparent software flaws with LineageOS. I'm here now because after cracking it, I dropped it again and the screen is finally dead. No case.
A year ago when I bought the Pixel 2, it was neck and neck with the 3a. I happened to get a deal on the 2 so that's what I went with. If you want a cheap Android phone it makes sense to get a popular old phone like a Pixel series. The good camera requires Google apps, and on the Pixel 2 it didn't always work. But that was a hacked APK to get night sight.
My Pixel 2 was very expensive (new from Google), and both of them developed bulged batteries, both the original and its warranty replacement. In contrast, my Pixel 3a started out cheaper, and has been trouble free ever since.
About a month ago, I noticed that there was a wide selection of used Pixel 3a's on Ebay for around $55 - $70! I bought several (all from vendor "wise-deals"; no affiliation) for my kids to use as Minecraft tablets, for which they're excellent. No complaints; battery life seems ok, and even the "fair" graded phone looks great. I like the simple clear Spigen Liquid Crystal case, $9 or $10 from Amazon. Currently it looks like the selection of used Pixels is down, but you can still get an unlocked 3a XL for $75 or so. A used Pixel 4a 5G also seems like a good deal at around $175, but of course that's more than twice the price.
The only downside I see to these used 3a's (or the 3a XL) is that Google is stopping all further software updates. They just pushed a June security update to my 3a, and there might be one more coming, but that's it. Definitely nothing past their current Android 12 for these released-in-2019 phones. If you ever want to install non-stock software, be sure to get the "unlocked" 3a 2020G model. It works on any (American) cellular network, and it's easy to unlock its bootloader and install a different Android ROM, just follow the instructions. The Verizon-only G020E model is usually slightly cheaper, but regardless of whether it is SIM locked or unlocked, it has a PERMANENTLY locked bootloader; you can NEVER install your own version of Android on it.
blackhawk said:
If you're going to root and load a custom rom I go for the phones with the best hardware for the price. Older highly rated flagships be ideal. A SD card slot be useful.
Keep it simple: A 60hz refresh rate Amoled display with a high color rendering index.
That support 4G VoLTE.
Who's bootloaders compatible with firmware you want to load.
You have a lot of options, take your time and buy from a reliable vendor, whatever you chose.
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Can you recommend me a replacement for my P3A? the headphone jack is dead and I tried to open it thinking it was like the Nexus5/X but apparently it is glued on.. basically I ruined the entire edge of the phone trying to just replace the jack port. So I think I'll just get a new phone.
I use LineageOS, I'd like to keep using that, pref 64gb minimum 32gb, must have a headphone jack on the top of the phone, and able to load custom roms(lineage etc), kernels, root it, install something like TWRP backup permanently because it's so awkward on this phone I never once made a nandroid backup and I'd like to be able to do that again.
I'll be getting something used on ebay, it doesn't have to be powerful just at least a bit better than the P3a.
Could you ping me with a couple suggestions I can check out please?
Thanks in advance.
paradoxiumwind said:
Can you recommend me a replacement for my P3A? the headphone jack is dead and I tried to open it thinking it was like the Nexus5/X but apparently it is glued on.. basically I ruined the entire edge of the phone trying to just replace the jack port. So I think I'll just get a new phone.
I use LineageOS, I'd like to keep using that, pref 64gb minimum 32gb, must have a headphone jack on the top of the phone, and able to load custom roms(lineage etc), kernels, root it, install something like TWRP backup permanently because it's so awkward on this phone I never once made a nandroid backup and I'd like to be able to do that again.
I'll be getting something used on ebay, it doesn't have to be powerful just at least a bit better than the P3a.
Could you ping me with a couple suggestions I can check out please?
Thanks in advance.
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Click to collapse
I run stock Samsung N10+'s. They are Snapdragon's that are notoriously hard to root with no 3.5mm jack. Not a good rooting candidate... but a superb workhorse.
You want expandable storage if possible. The upper midrange Samsung's have both. Like the S10. I'm not well enough versed to give you a good opinion on this.
For your purposes there may be better choices from other manufacturers like LG, HTC, etc.
This is a known good vendor that sells new, factory sealed Google and Samsung's, many were bought up as overstock. A good choice if you want a new unit. WYSIWYG...