Related
Just thought I would share a cheap accessory I found. This is a wireless charging module for a QI charging base. In the past I have bought alternative modules (this one) and they never seemed to work right. I would spend a lot of time moving my phone around trying to get the charge working(my wife always got so annoyed)... but this one does the trick.
I have a S4 Active and it works flawlessly, you may lose the water seal but it is worth it in my opinion. I picked it up at Tmart (here)... these guys have always taken care of me(fast shipping and so on).
Here are some pictures of how it looks, I also bought the gold battery works great and has great battery life(a little less than the OEM):
If you have never seen how this works... basically just insert the module, put the back of the phone back on and toss it on the charger. Hope this helps!
joshuadjohnson22 said:
...I have a S4 Active and it works flawlessly, you may lose the water seal but it is worth it in my opinion....
...I also bought the "gold" battery works great and has great battery life(a little less than the OEM)...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't get it.
Why bother with S4 Active (instead of regular S4) if you don't care about water seal???
What is the purpose of switching from original high quality Samsung battery for "gold" one with smaller capacity??? Does it have some other Austin Powers or Goldmember magic powers? Was it desperate move to get rid off NFC from your phone (you know, PRISM is watching us)?
Diamond 2 owner said:
I don't get it.
Why bother with S4 Active (instead of regular S4) if you don't care about water seal???
What is the purpose of switching from original high quality Samsung battery for "gold" one with smaller capacity??? Does it have some other Austin Powers or Goldmember magic powers? Was it desperate move to get rid off NFC from your phone (you know, PRISM is watching us)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the s4 and the active is much better, the LCD kills the amoled I'm and that was the selling point. Water resistance is still nice and I think if I was to drop it in water it would hold up a little better than the s4. I use the second battery as a back up so I can go multiple days without a charge. I don't use NFC much so no problem there. But thanks for your concern .
Oh almost forgot... the Active doesn't scratch or break as easy, it is a lot easier to see outside(screen)... it is what the S4 should have been... I like the hardware buttons because I don't accidently press the back button when playing games... The brush metal on the glass looks better than bubbles... It has a better build quality... Plus almost all the features of the regular S4....
How does the charging module perform through a thick(3mm) case?
qwerp said:
How does the charging module perform through a thick(3mm) case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also curious to know this, I wanted to buy one but I don't want to take my phone out of its case each time to let it charge
joshuadjohnson22 said:
I had the s4 and the active is much better, the LCD kills the amoled I'm and that was the selling point. Water resistance is still nice and I think if I was to drop it in water it would hold up a little better than the s4. I use the second battery as a back up so I can go multiple days without a charge. I don't use NFC much so no problem there. But thanks for your concern .
Oh almost forgot... the Active doesn't scratch or break as easy, it is a lot easier to see outside(screen)... it is what the S4 should have been... I like the hardware buttons because I don't accidently press the back button when playing games... The brush metal on the glass looks better than bubbles... It has a better build quality... Plus almost all the features of the regular S4....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, now it seems quite reasonable.
I personally prefer SAMOLED over LCD, so I think it is great move of Samsung, that they differentiated Galaxy line so much, that everybody could much features and specifications set to their preferences/usage/needs.
Keep in mind, that S4 Active uses Gorilla Glass 2, while regular S4 have latest version - Gorilla Glass 3 (it is 40% more scratch resistant and 50% stronger by manufacturer's specs).
btw. gsmarena rated battery endurance factor (measures battery lifetime for average usage model) for regular S4 S600 for 69h. For S4 Active they measured 57h. It is half day difference. That was for stock batteries in both phones. If you switch S4 Active stock battery with non-genuine battery ("gold" or other questionable zerolemon etc.) this difference will be even more than half day. Probably close to one day. This is huge difference in real life experience.
Diamond 2 owner said:
Yes, now it seems quite reasonable.
I personally prefer SAMOLED over LCD, so I think it is great move of Samsung, that they differentiated Galaxy line so much, that everybody could much features and specifications set to their preferences/usage/needs.
Keep in mind, that S4 Active uses Gorilla Glass 2, while regular S4 have latest version - Gorilla Glass 3 (it is 40% more scratch resistant and 50% stronger by manufacturer's specs).
btw. gsmarena rated battery endurance factor (measures battery lifetime for average usage model) for regular S4 S600 for 69h. For S4 Active they measured 57h. It is half day difference. That was for stock batteries in both phones. If you switch S4 Active stock battery with non-genuine battery ("gold" or other questionable zerolemon etc.) this difference will be even more than half day. Probably close to one day. This is huge difference in real life experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well on the s4 I have used I got scratches on the plastic easily, the active has taken everything I have thrown at it and not even a tiny scratch has surfaced. The glass is less but it is also cheaper to replaced... The lcd and digitizer is only 100 bucks which is half the cost of the s4's equivalent part. The battery life between the s4 I have and the active seem the same and I can get easily 24 hours on a charge with about 2 to 3 hours of screen time. The gold battery is perfect for what I use it for and I am well pleased. The LCD looks much better than the amoled, I had to return it because of the cartoonish looks and ugly whites personally it was a turn off. If they would just get rid of their pentile pixel layout the screen would be amazing.
Basically you have 2 types of people, some love over saturated screen and some like natural. Samsung has got both camps covered with both of these phones. For me the active is the phone I have been waiting for from Samsung. The regular s4 is awesome and I wish they had a version with lcd but the only choice I have is this beautiful active.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
qwerp said:
How does the charging module perform through a thick(3mm) case?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Garen21 said:
I'm also curious to know this, I wanted to buy one but I don't want to take my phone out of its case each time to let it charge
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It works great through my case which is this
The other modules did not
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Active S4 Active wireless receiver up in Ebay today
ebay item number 181200237784 Ive sent him a message saying it wouldnt fit he replyied the following: I've had both in my hand and it fits I wouldn't put something up if it wasn't for what they say it was.
Just a heads up only 2 units left
My S7 edge is the perfect size with the best battery life I've had on any phone. Naturally I'm looking at the S8+ as a replacement, but looking at the size of the thing I'm more inclined to get the normal S8.
Only thing that is slightly worrying is the smaller battery. Which one to go for...
Biggenz said:
My S7 edge is the perfect size with the best battery life I've had on any phone. Naturally I'm looking at the S8+ as a replacement, but looking at the size of the thing I'm more inclined to get the normal S8.
Only thing that is slightly worrying is the smaller battery. Which one to go for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plus all the way.....
My s7 edge screen is way too small. I. Really excited samsung is making a 6" plus screened device. About damn time
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
Biggenz said:
My S7 edge is the perfect size with the best battery life I've had on any phone. Naturally I'm looking at the S8+ as a replacement, but looking at the size of the thing I'm more inclined to get the normal S8.
Only thing that is slightly worrying is the smaller battery. Which one to go for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phones are nearly exactly the same size with the s8+ being 6mm wider. I guess the question is are you really going to be able to tell what 6mm feels like in the hand. I doubt you will even notice, you will be too distracted by the gigantic screen lol
seh6183 said:
The phones are nearly exactly the same size with the s8+ being 6mm wider. I guess the question is are you really going to be able to tell what 6mm feels like in the hand. I doubt you will even notice, you will be too distracted by the gigantic screen lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll definitely notice the extra 6mm. It's quite a lot if I'm finding the S7 edge just right.
I know what will happen though. I'll get sucked in by wanting the best model and go for the S8+ anyway. Lol
I think this new aspect ratio should be reclassified. 5.7 inch on a 18x9 is really like a 5.5 inch with extra width, not height. So for watching videos it will be like a smaller but wider screen. I guess the 6.2 inch will be more like a 5.7 inch with extra width. 5.7 in s8 is very different to 5.7 on say the note 7 or note 5.
Just my 2c
Sent from my MHA-L29 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Biggenz said:
My S7 edge is the perfect size with the best battery life I've had on any phone. Naturally I'm looking at the S8+ as a replacement, but looking at the size of the thing I'm more inclined to get the normal S8.
Only thing that is slightly worrying is the smaller battery. Which one to go for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
100% agree. I noticed this for the first time with tablets.
I've just seen the price of the S8 and S8+. I will be keeping my S7 Edge as there's no way I'm paying that for any phone.
Biggenz said:
My S7 edge is the perfect size with the best battery life I've had on any phone. Naturally I'm looking at the S8+ as a replacement, but looking at the size of the thing I'm more inclined to get the normal S8.
Only thing that is slightly worrying is the smaller battery. Which one to go for...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is very less probability that they will launch a flat model S8
S8+ would be roughly the same size as the Note 7, which was slightly bigger than the S7 Edge.
the battery is the worrying thing here....3500mah battery for a 6.2 inch phone?! hmmm....and 3000mah for 5.8 inch phone?! more hmmm
abdelha said:
the battery is the worrying thing here....3500mah battery for a 6.2 inch phone?! hmmm....and 3000mah for 5.8 inch phone?! more hmmm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seeing that these phones have similar dimensions as the s7 and s7 edge where exactly do you think they'll fit bigger batteries? Do you want another note7 fiasco?
peachpuff said:
Seeing that these phones have similar dimensions as the s7 and s7 edge where exactly do you think they'll fit bigger batteries? Do you want another note7 fiasco?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
they could make it a bit thicker....also the s8+ is a bit bigger than the S7E...and the S7E has 3600mah.....so give it a 3800mah, and the normal s8 3200mah....believe me they don't wanna make the same mistake they did with the S6, i have that phone, and everything is great except the battery, it's just bad...really bad...i have to charge it twice everyday
abdelha said:
they could make it a bit thicker....also the s8+ is a bit bigger than the S7E...and the S7E has 3600mah.....so give it a 3800mah, and the normal s8 3200mah....believe me they don't wanna make the same mistake they did with the S6, i have that phone, and everything is great except the battery, it's just bad...really bad...i have to charge it twice everyday
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure if they could fit a bigger battery they would but i have a feeling they're playing it very safe this time around. As for the s6... ya it could of been a bit thicker.
peachpuff said:
I'm sure if they could fit a bigger battery they would but i have a feeling they're playing it very safe this time around. As for the s6... ya it could of been a bit thicker.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am planning to get the S8/+ but i don't wanna have the same battery life as my current S6...
abdelha said:
i am planning to get the S8/+ but i don't wanna have the same battery life as my current S6...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't see it being that bad, the battery life on the S6 is complete crap and I just dont see that happening with the S8.
Sammy has to much riding on this device after the note 7 screw up to give us another one with crap battery life
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
force70 said:
I can't see it being that bad, the battery life on the S6 is complete crap and I just dont see that happening with the S8.
Sammy has to much riding on this device after the note 7 screw up to give us another one with crap battery life
Sent from my Note 7, S7 Edge or S6
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if they make any mistake now they gonna get it so hard...so i hope they optimize the S8 in the battery and performance
I'm really looking forward to seeing both devices in person. Will be an easy decision then.
abdelha said:
if they make any mistake now they gonna get it so hard...so i hope they optimize the S8 in the battery and performance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, they cannot afford another screw up..not even a little one
The SD835 is supposed to be VERY efficient so I think the battery sizes will be just fine.
madgalaxy said:
The SD835 is supposed to be VERY efficient so I think the battery sizes will be just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i don't believe in these "efficient" cpu's, you have a 6.2 inch WQHD+ screen, nothing will stop it from draining the battery
I have been putting out information about U11+ in hamdir's thread for couple of days. I thought may be I should collate all the information and create a thread. So, here it is. Note that I am going to keep adding stuff as I use the phone everyday to point out the good the bad and the ugly. Go ahead and ask questions. If its possible for me, I will try to answer.
Quick update
Very quick update folks....
I got the amazing silver in my hands now. Been fiddling with options etc. for last 30 mins.
It a thing of beauty, let me tell you that first and foremost!! Amazing silver is really a shiny light blue colour. I love it!
Indoors, its brighter than my HTC 10 Tianma display. By how much? I don't know but its uncomfortably high for me at max. I won't use it at anywhere close to max. May be around 50%. Can't compare outdoor in direct sunlight until tomorrow. Will update again.
The weight is not a concern for me, its a little bit more than my 10 but not by much. The screen is gorgeous and much better than 10!!
The FP scanner is a little bit of a problem for me because I am not used to the rear scanner. I am finding it odd to pick the phone to use it. But I knew this going in. So, some mental recalibration is necessary. I can see OCD types hating this aspect, but I am fine with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of more quick updates:
1. Speakers are much better than HTC 10. Louder and clearer. You would be very pleased to hear these if you upgrade from HTC 10. Just saw the infinity war trailer on it and listened through Thriller....
2. Lowest screen brightness gets very low. Good for night time, in-dark browsing. Much lower than HTC 10.
3. The screen gets much blacker than HTC10 in "day dream" or "always on" mode in the complete darkness, which may help with battery if you are thinking of keeping AOD on always. The "light bleed" associated with LCD panels is still there through. In fact, its little uneven compared to HTC 10. On HTC 10, you can clearly see that the whole screen is lit up but only the text is brighter. On U11+, the lower left part of the screen is almost complete black whereas the right side shows more light bleed. I don't know if its a defect in my unit or its just something impossible to achieve during LCD panel manufacturing. Not perfection but not a big deal for me.
The default is not AOD but it is turn on the dimly lit display when you pick up the phone.
Double tap to wake works (someone asked earlier). On display button let's you put it to sleep in case you don't want to press power button to lock/put it sleep.
So far, thrilled to get this phone. I hope we work out TWRP really quick, root and I can move to this phone as my daily driver.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
GSMArena got the battery life wrong on this phone or they tested a different phone. I have been setting up, installing apps, syncing email accounts and generally fiddling with this phone for past 3-4 hours with 1h40m of SOT (screen brightness at 50% with Auto on, my typical setting for HTC 10) and it has consumed about 16% of battery. Haven't got that kind of battery life from any phone I have used or seen anybody else use in practical terms (I don't believe in artificial benchmarks). I think there is nothing to worry about battery life on this phone. This will last even the big time users through the day (10-12 hour day) easily.
One thing i notice is that its idling very well when turned off. My HTC 10 did not do that very well. So, the wifi chip seems to have been fixed up.
Note that its running 8.0.0 with Oct 1st patch. So, this has to still get the 8.1.1 release, which potentially should improve things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its still morning here in bay area and not afternoon sunny yet. But with the morning sun behind me, I can clearly say that U11+ is better than my HTC10. With HTC camera app, I looked through a chain of balconies shaded by trees, and sun behind me, to see how far each screen shows me. Side by side, I could see more detail and farther in U11+. This is highly unscientific but the brightness in sunlight is an upgrade from HTC10 Tianma to U11+. I will try to get some photos of the two phones' camera app in sunlight later in the day.
I think brightness jump is not huge from HTC 10, but its big enough for me to say I feel more comfortable taking photos/videos outdoors. Note that Camera sensor may also be playing a role in this. HTC 10 has a smaller f/1.8 aperture. So, more testing may be needed on the screen brightness in general. But practically speaking, I browsed around and I had no trouble reading text with sun behind me, falling directly on the phone. That's good for me, 500 nits or not.
I tried with both Auto brightness enabled and disabled, at max brightness. Results are same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone asked about the FP gestures earlier. I did not find any settings for them and moving the finger around on FP in any direction or double tapping it, does not do anything. So, no gestures on FP, yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone had asked for 4G/LTE support in the US. At least in the area I am in (bay area, CA), the coverage is same as what I got in HTC 10 on T Mobile.
Regarding the wifi, its much better than HTC 10. I compared side by side and HTC10 needed to be closer to the router by about 10 feet to be able to do speedtest from the point where I could speedtest on U11+ and still get full 90Mbps download speed. U11+ has an excellent wifi range and throughput. I get around -71dBm (signal strength) from my router at a spot where my HTC10 gives me -83dBm. At that spot, U11+ maxes out the internet traffic, whereas 10 is limited to about 45Mbps. So, anyone with HTC 10 will appreciate the huge jump in performance of wifi.
Also, the idling issue found with HTC 10's wifi is not there in U11+. It does not eat through battery while idling on wifi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Couple of more inputs:
1. I went to work with the phone but unfortunately I did not have the other phones with me to click the photos in bright sunlight but I can tell you, the screen has no problems in the sun. It is very bright and very usable for me. Unless you have a defective unit, the brightness of the screen should not be a concern at all. My experience is only HTC 10 vs U11+, and I am loving the brightness upgrade.
2. Usage with my sunglasses. I can not use HTC 10 in portrait mode with my sunglasses on. It goes complete dark. I did not have any issues with U11+ in both portrait and landscape orientations. Am I thrilled to wear my sunglasses in the car again? HELL YEAH!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
jmitr said:
Sound wise, nothing so far has beat my M7 for in ear quality. If the U11+ proves a worthy successor in that area as well, my M7 may sit in the desk drawer for the first time in over 4 years!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make your M7 a cosy bed in that drawer because its going in there for sure and for a long time.... U11+ is big upgrade (from M7 and 10, both of which I own) in sound department, both the speakers and the USB-C headphone jack, through the bundled earbuds. I have found the bundled USB-C earbuds to be of very high quality. I usually throw away packaged earbuds because they usually fall off from my ear but these fit in my ear very well. And boy they block the noise!!! I have no complaints about the missing 3.5mm jack.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot for all these info. Looking forward to receiving my unit as well and start testing! I have high hopes for this one and I believe I will not be disappointed.
Thanks for all very detailed and useful things mentions.
It’s positive that more and more people having the device and the general impression is in very good level at all aspects despite all that crap GSM arena mention with their tragic review.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Did you hook it up to the TV yet? I wonder why nobody does that. It's a very useful feature that not many modern smartphones offer unfortunately.
I wish HTC would advertise this special feature a bit more... It's underrated and underreported.
Thank you for all this info.
I Pre-Ordered one but I was skeptical with THE BAD review that I read.
I was thinking of canceling my order but now I just can't wait to get my hands on it
lebigmac said:
Did you hook it up to the TV yet? I wonder why nobody does that. It's a very useful feature that not many modern smartphones offer unfortunately.
I wish HTC would advertise this special feature a bit more... It's underrated and underreported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I don't use this feature anymore. In fact, with casting feature working so well (AC wifi) and its so very convenient compared to the wire, casting gets used most of the time. I used to do this but I never bothered to buy the USB-C cable with my HTC 10.
May be I will try this again. Try some gaming on the big TV screen, fun fun fun!!
screen casting with chromecast or similar technologies always has a noticeable lag of 1-2 seconds. With direct cable connection there is no lag.
lebigmac said:
Did you hook it up to the TV yet? I wonder why nobody does that. It's a very useful feature that not many modern smartphones offer unfortunately.
I wish HTC would advertise this special feature a bit more... It's underrated and underreported.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you want to know?? I did it. But is like mirror screen
Not have desktop mode like Mate 10
detritu5 said:
What do you want to know?? I did it. But is like mirror screen
Not have desktop mode like Mate 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How is the video and audio quality? Is it real-time or is there any noticeable lag?
And what cable did you use? Thanks.
So can you please describe us the AOD(always on display)feature how it works with HTC.
Does it have the same customization option as with Samsung or LG(v30)with variety of clock or colors option,image background support,music control(play-pause-forward) and if support notifications from any kind app.
Also when receiving notification and hit it on the screen does it open directly the specific app or not.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
AptX HD and LDAC and display
devsk said:
I have been putting out information about U11+ in hamdir's thread for couple of days. I thought may be I should collate all the information and create a thread. So, here it is. Note that I am going to keep adding stuff as I use the phone everyday to point out the good the bad and the ugly. Go ahead and ask questions. If its possible for me, I will try to answer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi, i have two question
first i'd be appreciated if you tell us how is the bluetooth headphone quality on u11+ ? beacuse i know u11+ has AptX HD and LDAC
and my second question is about the display
is the display quality, color range, black colors, ... near amoled display ?
paatha13 said:
So can you please describe us the AOD(always on display)feature how it works with HTC.
Does it have the same customization option as with Samsung or LG(v30)with variety of clock or colors option,image background support,music control(play-pause-forward) and if support notifications from any kind app.
Also when receiving notification and hit it on the screen does it open directly the specific app or not.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOD on HTC U11+, in my opinion, leaves a lot to be desired. Few observations:
1. It only has two modes: a. show dimly lit clock/lock screen when picked up, b. always on mode, which is fixed 24/7 or on a time schedule. It lacks the mode "show dimly lit clock/lock screen when notifications arrive and repeat every 5 mins until cancelled".
2. Always On mode is a hog. Nearly 2% per hour idling. Not very useful. Its darker than any LCD I have seen before but it still show most of the display in complete darkness.
It does not provide any customization in either mode. You get 4 types of clock and that's about it. It shows apps (including music app) and their notifications with icons on small area and clicking takes to the app after unlock.
e_georgia said:
hi, i have two question
first i'd be appreciated if you tell us how is the bluetooth headphone quality on u11+ ? beacuse i know u11+ has AptX HD and LDAC
and my second question is about the display
is the display quality, color range, black colors, ... near amoled display ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have bluetooth headsets to test this sorry.
But the display is the best LCD I have seen. It can not be equal to amoled in terms of blacks, but its the closest that an LCD has come in terms of blacks. I think the LCD technology does not allow this any better compared to amoled in terms of blacks. The contrast is amazing and the brightness is very very good. The usage in direct sunlight is very comfortable.
Unless you want to knit pick (like always on display has slight light bleed, which is the result of them trying too hard to emulate "black"), you won't have any issues with this display.
lebigmac said:
How is the video and audio quality? Is it real-time or is there any noticeable lag?
And what cable did you use? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I specifically bought the HDMI->USB-C cable from Amazon for $19 (one of the most expensive cables I have bought) and tested it. It works great. No lags in the video (my TV is 1080p). The sound through my sound system sounded great.
The link to cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075JGM4W8
Idle drain is very minimal
It looks like wifi draining the battery when idling that was seen and documented by me on HTC10, is gone on U11+. I left the sync ON, data and wifi ON overnight. And I lost 2% battery in about 10 hours. This is how it should be.
Very very pleased with the battery and the phone overall. For me, this phone gets almost everything right. It will get better once I get hold of root on it.
devsk said:
I don't have bluetooth headsets to test this sorry.
But the display is the best LCD I have seen. It can not be equal to amoled in terms of blacks, but its the closest that an LCD has come in terms of blacks. I think the LCD technology does not allow this any better compared to amoled in terms of blacks. The contrast is amazing and the brightness is very very good. The usage in direct sunlight is very comfortable.
Unless you want to knit pick (like always on display has slight light bleed, which is the result of them trying too hard to emulate "black"), you won't have any issues with this display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how about the audio quality of headphones ?
Does the phone get hot with brightness on max? Or during heavy downloading of Apps or charging?
How long does a full charge take?
Are you using a case / cover? Noticed any scratches on the back?
Does YouTube allow you to stretch to full screen?
Thanks!
Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk
Great feedback on this device. Thanks for doing this @devsk
I am in SF also. I have been seriously torn about buying a international no warranty phone. I jumped to the LG V30, purchased from B & H then cancelled the order a couple days ago.
However, I ordered the U11+ last night from Amazon - NGP Store USA. They get decent reviews but have a really strict return policy. I tried the U11 earlier this year but returned it. The U11+ had all the U11 was missing + more. [emoji3]
-- Who did you buy from and did you entertain buying a warranty? If so, from who.
-- Cases seem to be limited. Do you purchase one?
Thanks.
johninsf said:
Great feedback on this device. Thanks for doing this @devsk
I am in SF also. I have been seriously torn about buying a international no warranty phone. I jumped to the LG V30, purchased from B & H then cancelled the order a couple days ago.
However, I ordered the U11+ last night from Amazon - NGP Store USA. They get decent reviews but have a really strict return policy. I tried the U11 earlier this year but returned it. The U11+ had all the U11 was missing + more. [emoji3]
-- Who did you buy from and did you entertain buying a warranty? If so, from who.
-- Cases seem to be limited. Do you purchase one?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I bought it off of amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PJXZFK
I did not buy a warranty. I took a chance and its been fine so far. The quality of the device and manufacturing is very very high. I am very pleased with the whole experience. Do not believe anybody who disses this device. It checks pretty much every box I had. Biggest thing is Treble. I expect to run well supported AOSP on this thing.
I am using the bundled transparent case and I am fine with it. Its minimal and it shows off the amazing silver very well.
iad77 said:
Does the phone get hot with brightness on max? Or during heavy downloading of Apps or charging?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This phone does not get hot under any circumstances (brightness or extended play). I have it in the bundled minimal case, and I played racing games for extended periods of time (connected to my TV using a USB-C to HDMI adapter). It drove the TV's 1080p display without any delay and with great sound! It felt warm after an hour of play but I would qualify that a lukewarm. My HTC 10 definitely gets much warmer than U11+. So, its an upgrade for me.
iad77 said:
How long does a full charge take?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never measured this from 0 to 100%. I am not worried about this though. All I can tell you is it charges very fast.
iad77 said:
Are you using a case / cover? Noticed any scratches on the back?
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I am using the bundled minimal case. Its transparent and shows off amazing silver well.
iad77 said:
Does YouTube allow you to stretch to full screen?
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It depends on the video's aspect ratio. For example, Inifinity War Trailer filled the screen but apple sway ad did not. It does not stretch in general and I think that's the right thing to do. I would not like videos with a different native aspect ratio than 2:1 to stretch and show all stretched faces etc.
Just picked up one of these watches having moved from a Moto 360 V2. So far it seems nice but when load custom watch faces using Watchmaker, I notice the watch face does not fill up the entire display. There is a band of black about 2mm thick around the face. I tried a standard Fossil watch face and it appears to be the same. Is this a display feature or have I missed some setting in the watch somewhere? It's hard to believe the watch would only display a watch face on 90% of the display.
What you were seeing around the display is the black bezel, like any phone display. There is not actually "display" in that area.
Yes, the black border around the screen is the worst thing with this Fossil. But threre are not any good competitors with full screen right now, like the Huawei watch 1, or the Moto 360 had for example.
Skickat från min CMR-W09 via Tapatalk
Yep major let down there. It is to accommodate the light sensor and the NFC aerial apparently.
1 Get rid of the light sensor, never issue it in any event.
2 The Ticwatch Pro seems able to have NFC without losing screen real estate.
palexr said:
Yep major let down there. It is to accommodate the light sensor and the NFC aerial apparently.
1 Get rid of the light sensor, never issue it in any event.
2 The Ticwatch Pro seems able to have NFC without losing screen real estate.
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My Moto 360 V2 had an area at the bottom of the screen that was the sensor I guess. But the rest of the screen was totally filled with the display. After a while I never noticed this little bump at the bottom but on the Fossil I notice the black bezel all the time since it makes the screen face smaller than even the Moto 360 V2 I was using (Watchmaker Pro watch faces).
Gen 5 Display size
lchiu7 said:
My Moto 360 V2 had an area at the bottom of the screen that was the sensor I guess. But the rest of the screen was totally filled with the display. After a while I never noticed this little bump at the bottom but on the Fossil I notice the black bezel all the time since it makes the screen face smaller than even the Moto 360 V2 I was using (Watchmaker Pro watch faces).
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Yeah I love the size of my 360v2. I have the Carlyle and have a hard time see the display ( have font on large too)
I'll be looking for a new wearOS watch with a larger display, hopefully one will launch soon. Still have the fully functioning Moto 360v2, best watch ever, I've beat the crap out of that thing ever since i've had it and have had absolutely no issues, other than it being slow.
I think it's funny the original moto 360 got so much grief for the "flat tire". Years later, I would still gladly trade my thick dark border area on my Fossil Carlyle for a larger display.
palexr said:
Yep major let down there. It is to accommodate the light sensor and the NFC aerial apparently.
1 Get rid of the light sensor, never issue it in any event.
2 The Ticwatch Pro seems able to have NFC without losing screen real estate.
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Click to collapse
electricpete1 said:
I think it's funny the original moto 360 got so much grief for the "flat tire". Years later, I would still gladly trade my thick dark border area on my Fossil Carlyle for a larger display.
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Agree completely. I use a custom watch face that is modelled on a real watch. It looks a bit small on the Fossil compared with the Moto 360V2 I replaced it with. I never minded the flat tire - got used to it.
electricpete1 said:
I think it's funny the original moto 360 got so much grief for the "flat tire". Years later, I would still gladly trade my thick dark border area on my Fossil Carlyle for a larger display.
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That grief is leaking into the year 2020, because I still use my 360 as a weekender.
At least I'm not alone - moving from a Moto360 v2 due to a sick battery and so far not liking the Fossil Gen 5 Carlyle
The screen ends up being tiny and I am having trouble seeing the time on any decent watch faces. I didn't buy it to be a digital watch, but they are about the only ones were a glance is enough to see the time...
Marine Commander on Google play is about the best analog / digital I have found, but still not that impressed.
2015 we had wireless charging, a large bright screen, 2 days battery and something that looked premium on your wrist - years later, and it seems we have gone backwards!
Even the new Moto360 Gen 3 is small and suffers the black ring issue.
I have ordered a new battery for the 360 v2 to see if I can fix it, if I can, the Fossil might just go back !
Rik
lchiu7 said:
Just picked up one of these watches having moved from a Moto 360 V2. So far it seems nice but when load custom watch faces using Watchmaker, I notice the watch face does not fill up the entire display. There is a band of black about 2mm thick around the face. I tried a standard Fossil watch face and it appears to be the same. Is this a display feature or have I missed some setting in the watch somewhere? It's hard to believe the watch would only display a watch face on 90% of the display.
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Click to collapse
Yes it is the worst thing that has a black border around the display screen but is a display black bezel
Wanted to post my feedback about the Pixel 5. I have read plenty of reviews, but wanted to give my opinion as a regular customer. I have owned every Pixel device since the OG. I currently have the 5 and the 4XL and wanted to give my opinion about the two.
Size- Coming from the 4XL the 5 feels like a toy. Its much lighter weight and smaller physically. I will have to get used to it and I think it will be a positive thing. The body/screen ratio is much better than the 4XL. Yes the 5 is smaller but the actual screen isn't too much smaller. The 4XL is much heavier in the hand, I forgot my Pixel 5 was in my pocket a few times because its lighter weight.
Built materials- I love the Pixel 5 for what they did with the recycled aluminum. My 4XL was very slippery and a fingerprint magnet by comparison. The 5 is all around superior in my opinion.
Fingerprint sensor- I am honestly extremely excited that Google brought this back. They never should have removed it for Face unlock. Face unlock didnt work vey well and with a lot of people wearing face masks its a pain. The fingerprint sensor feels like my Pixel 2XL did. Extremely fast and accurate and I love that I can use it to access the pull down menu. One of the primary reasons I got this phone.
Screen- The 5 has a brighter(nits) screen over the 4XL. This can be a good thing in sunlight outdoors. At 50% or above, I feel that the colors are more washed out on the 5 compared to my 4XL however. I have both set in Adaptive. I don't mind the hole punch.
5G/Signal- I don't have it in my area. I didn't yet get a "new" SIM card to see if it makes a difference. I have the same signal strength as my 4XL.
Camera- I think we can assume its the same as the Pixel 4. I don't really care for the wide angle and prefer the 2x optical zoom, but this is just a personal thing with I take photos of the kids.
Performance- I use this phone for work(call and emails) and a lot of photos. I do not game on a phone. To me I can tell slightly on start up that its slower than my 4XL and that the photos seem to take slightly longer to process. I don't think its an issue at all though. The phone is very fluid and fast still.
Battery- For once I think Google figured it out. Between the processor and the large battery, I can tell this phone will be significantly better than my 4XL that suffered drain issues like many.
Speaker quality- This is my largest gripe by far. Relative to my 4XL the speakers in the 5 are terrible, I don't care how anyone tried to spin it. I adjusted the earpiece to be louder in Accessibility to help balance them out, which did help for balance. Side by side there is a huge difference in mid range and bass compared to the 4XL. The 5 sounds hollow and tinny especially at higher volumes.
Earpiece calls- Similar to above this is a really big miss having the speaker under the screen. It makes people sound like they are talking in a can. At high call volumes the earpiece quality sounds terrible. I usually have to adjust the volume down at least 2 clicks from max volume just so I don't get frustrated with the phone.
Squeeze for Assistant- Just noticed that the Pixel 5 does not have the squeeze for Google assistant. Not a big deal to me, but was used to it on the 4XL.
Overall I would say that the Pixel 5 is a side-grade instead of an upgrade of my 4XL. There are a lot of concessions Google took with this phone, which helps the cost. I can live with all of them, but the speaker and earpiece is a big miss for me. I am going to use the phone for a few days to determine if I am going to keep it. I am leaning toward yes, but the earpiece quality alone is a big deal to me since I use it for work. Typically 5+ hours on the phone daily and the quality drives me nuts.
If there is anything specific you want to know just ask and I can comment or test.
What color do you have?
Is there a gap btwn screen and body by the FFC?
Are you having any charging issues? (Battery displays wrong %)
What is your SOT after first cycle?
What camera mode has the most delay in processing? What resolution?
Do you notice any dust or stuff gathering on body of device where it meets screen?
What country are you in?
Is this enough questions? Lol
TokedUp said:
What color do you have?
Is there a gap btwn screen and body by the FFC?
Are you having any charging issues? (Battery displays wrong %)
What is your SOT after first cycle?
What camera mode has the most delay in processing? What resolution?
Do you notice any dust or stuff gathering on body of device where it meets screen?
What country are you in?
Is this enough questions? Lol
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Black
There is a slight variation is screen gap, but not nearly as pronounced as other photos I have seen. I am not scared or turned off by what I received.
I am not having any charging issues
Today will be the first full day after fully charging the phone. I will screenshot SOT and battery stats later tonight and upload
All camera modes are very slightly delayed. My 4XL did this too while it processed, but the 5 seems just a tad slower
I am sure some dust will accumulate in the voids over time, but my 4XL did the same thing so this is not an issue to me. I dont notice any immediate dust gathering from just taking it in and out of my pockets.
I am in the USA and purchased an unlocked direct from Google.
Oh wow I thought you had phone longer. Might wanna wait for few days before a review next time.
TokedUp said:
Oh wow I thought you had phone longer. Might wanna wait for few days before a review next time.
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Why, it's his initial impressions of the phone and some may find it helpful..... I do.
His title is Real World Review. But he doesn't have real world results yet. This is a first impression thread. Dont take it so personal.
TokedUp said:
His title is Real World Review. But he doesn't have real world results yet. This is a first impression thread. Dont take it so personal.
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I love it when people get all offended and try to throw it back on someone else. I'm not taking it personal, but then I'm an adult. Why don't YOU not take it so personal.
It's really just the title of the thread that is a little misleading. No big deal really take it for what it's worth. But let's keep this thread going it can be of help moving forward. I'd like to see also some the the new features and hidden gems we find.
I changed the title to make everyone happy on a Friday.
I created this so that people who have phones in route or on the fence could compare against Googles previous model. The only thing that will or would change is battery life. After a few days and power cycles I am sure it will only get better, but my opinions relative to the 4XL will remain the same day 1 or 30 days later.
That being said, here were the screen shots from yesterday. I had a light day for work. I ended up with 50% battery at 1am. The battery is much better than my 4XL already.
When websites get the phone they do an initial impression then after few days they do a review. Its like reviewing a video game after playing the demo.
iceman4357 said:
I changed the title to make everyone happy on a Friday.
I created this so that people who have phones in route or on the fence could compare against Googles previous model. The only thing that will or would change is battery life. After a few days and power cycles I am sure it will only get better, but my opinions relative to the 4XL will remain the same day 1 or 30 days later.
That being said, here were the screen shots from yesterday. I had a light day for work. I ended up with 50% battery at 1am. The battery is much better than my 4XL already.
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Read an article last night guy was getting 9hrs screen time! Pretty damn good
Day 2 battery results.