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To Z5 or not to Z5

Hi,
I'm due for my upgrade and I have the option to upgrade from my Z2 to a Z5...
Should I? Or should I wait for the Z6?
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

Honestly, I'd wait to see how good (or bad) Marshmallow will be on the Z5 before buying it. I have a Z5 and Marshmallow will decide if I sell it or keep it. If Marshmallow isn't better than Lollipop is, I'm not keeping that phone.

I do that change from Z2 to Z5 and im very happy, the z5, has a better battery, better camera i dont notice the overheating problem. If you can and want wait for the Z6 wait for it. But if you want a change do it. MM in Z3 is amost perfect, i supposed in Z5 it would be

Z5 e6653
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i think that you should wait Z5 is almost like Z3

Phazonclash said:
Honestly, I'd wait to see how good (or bad) Marshmallow will be on the Z5 before buying it. I have a Z5 and Marshmallow will decide if I sell it or keep it. If Marshmallow isn't better than Lollipop is, I'm not keeping that phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on this.
I just switched to a Z5 from a Z2 a little over a week ago and I have mixed feelings, though mostly good. Some background: I only switched because my Z2 has been crapping out lately with a seemingly corrupt data partition and reboot issues. I had a Z5 on hand which I had bought on eBay because the seller had it up for a really great deal plus a bunch of brand new unused accessories (originally just bought it to try it out and resell if I didn't want to upgrade), so I switched to it as a backup when my Z2 got totally borked just hours before I was leaving for vacation.
The Z5 is nice overall. The hardware is beautiful. It feels considerably lighter than the Z2, which is really great (but probably mostly thanks to the 300mAh less of battery juice ). It is a tad thinner and a little less wide, too, so it does have a better feel in my hand. I miss some specific custom rom features I have become used to, but not as many/much as I would have expected. Mostly I've found myself missing control over LED notification colors for every app, control over heads up notifications per-app, and the handy delete button on the notification when you take a screenshot (seriously didn't even realize that wasn't an AOSP feature). I know there are apps and Xposed modules for the first two things, but I've yet to successfully install Xposed on the phone without perpetual bootloops. Speaking of the notification LED, I do miss the more attractive in-speaker placement of the LED on the Z2 (Z5 just has a dot on the top-left corner of the glass), however, it is much easier to see it on the Z5 when laying flat on a table/desk since it's no longer dipped down in a cavity (which caused it to be blocked by the edge of the top glass panel on the Z2).
As far as the SD810 inside, I don't notice a big difference in the performance compared to the SD801 in the Z2, for my usage. The UI does run a bit more fluidly, but that may be because of the custom rom and/or other mods I had on my Z2 that I don't have on the Z5. I would say I'm a moderately heavy user, but mostly of less intense apps. I rarely play games on my phone and the only one I've played so far on the Z5 is Pocket Mortys, which has no 3D rendering. That said, it runs perfectly fine without lag, though I haven't played it for more than about 15 minutes at a time. The phone does heat up a bit, but not noticeably more than my Z2 or any other phone I've used. It doesn't ever feel hot during my regular usage.
The volume rocker position is weird, but not as inconvenient as you might expect. I actually don't mind it at all.
I very much like not having to open an annoying flap to plug in a USB cable.
The microSD slot is built into the SIM card tray, so you cannot remove the microSD without the phone rebooting itself because the SIM card was removed. You probably rarely have to do this, but it's something to note.
Not sure if it's just my unit, but the screen has a noticeable backlight bleed at the top. It's not a huge deal, but it can be bothersome if you're OCD like me. I usually stop noticing it, though. Also, the screen has this weird software quirk where it'll have REALLY high contrast for several seconds after turning the screen on. My guess is it's incorrectly reading ambient light and thinks it's really bright out. I think it should be fixable with a software update, but who knows if Sony will indeed fix it. This issue isn't a big deal either, but it's kind of annoying.
The camera quality is still crappy compared to every other flagship phone available. The post-processing seems to just soften everything and you get absolutely no micro detail in any textures or anything. The edges of objects blend into their backgrounds and there's no sharpness. It really sucks. Worse than my Z2. It's the software post-processing for sure, as Google Camera takes better photos across the board from what I've tested (I'm far from any kind of pro photog, though), but unfortunately it and every other camera app I've tried to use can't seem to read the camera lenses properly (it only has resolution options up to 8.1MP and the Google Camera viewfinder shows everything squeezed in disproportionately) and have a LONG shutter delay. It's honestly unacceptable IMO. I'm still searching for a camera app that doesn't suck on this phone... Fortunately, I don't take a lot of serious photos (I mostly just Snapchat stupid or funny things I see), but I was trying to do so more before my Z2 crapped out. This phone is making that difficult.
Another problem I as well as others on this forum have is bluetooth. My Z2 had no problems, but with the Z5, my Pebble will at some point start to lose connection constantly, which sometimes resolves on its own after a while or force me to reboot the phone to resolve it. It also sometimes doesn't connect automatically to my car's bluetooth, which is a huge pain while driving.
Apparently Xposed works on the phone, but I have yet to get it to install and boot properly. The guides on XDA say it need to bootloop "a few"/"2-3" times, but I have not had any luck waiting for several reboots. So that's something to consider if you like Xposed.
So as you can tell, in my experience, the worst things about the Xperia Z5 are software-related and hopefully might be fixed in the next update from Sony or in a custom ROM if someone releases one. There are some nice hardware improvements, but nothing worth using an upgrade or spending money on IMO (unless you reallly want a fingerprint sensor). I think it's worth waiting it out as long as your upgrade window doesn't expire. And if the Z5 doesn't get improved, at least it'll only be a couple more months until the Z6 is announced... :silly: And this is a point in the year where a bunch of exciting new devices are about to be announced, so I think it'd be worth your wait if you aren't completely committed to Sony phones.

Yes it's stylish reliable, has an awesome camera. You get a premium high powered phone hassle free with a great fingerprint scanner, be aware if you have come out of the shower or just washed hands the fingerprint scanner will be hit and miss but is not an issue.

+neonixxx, thanks for a great review
Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

neonixxx said:
+1 on this.
I just switched to a Z5 from a Z2 a little over a week ago and I have mixed feelings, though mostly good. Some background: I only switched because my Z2 has been crapping out lately with a seemingly corrupt data partition and reboot issues. I had a Z5 on hand which I had bought on eBay because the seller had it up for a really great deal plus a bunch of brand new unused accessories (originally just bought it to try it out and resell if I didn't want to upgrade), so I switched to it as a backup when my Z2 got totally borked just hours before I was leaving for vacation.
The Z5 is nice overall. The hardware is beautiful. It feels considerably lighter than the Z2, which is really great (but probably mostly thanks to the 300mAh less of battery juice ). It is a tad thinner and a little less wide, too, so it does have a better feel in my hand. I miss some specific custom rom features I have become used to, but not as many/much as I would have expected. Mostly I've found myself missing control over LED notification colors for every app, control over heads up notifications per-app, and the handy delete button on the notification when you take a screenshot (seriously didn't even realize that wasn't an AOSP feature). I know there are apps and Xposed modules for the first two things, but I've yet to successfully install Xposed on the phone without perpetual bootloops. Speaking of the notification LED, I do miss the more attractive in-speaker placement of the LED on the Z2 (Z5 just has a dot on the top-left corner of the glass), however, it is much easier to see it on the Z5 when laying flat on a table/desk since it's no longer dipped down in a cavity (which caused it to be blocked by the edge of the top glass panel on the Z2).
As far as the SD810 inside, I don't notice a big difference in the performance compared to the SD801 in the Z2, for my usage. The UI does run a bit more fluidly, but that may be because of the custom rom and/or other mods I had on my Z2 that I don't have on the Z5. I would say I'm a moderately heavy user, but mostly of less intense apps. I rarely play games on my phone and the only one I've played so far on the Z5 is Pocket Mortys, which has no 3D rendering. That said, it runs perfectly fine without lag, though I haven't played it for more than about 15 minutes at a time. The phone does heat up a bit, but not noticeably more than my Z2 or any other phone I've used. It doesn't ever feel hot during my regular usage.
The volume rocker position is weird, but not as inconvenient as you might expect. I actually don't mind it at all.
I very much like not having to open an annoying flap to plug in a USB cable.
The microSD slot is built into the SIM card tray, so you cannot remove the microSD without the phone rebooting itself because the SIM card was removed. You probably rarely have to do this, but it's something to note.
Not sure if it's just my unit, but the screen has a noticeable backlight bleed at the top. It's not a huge deal, but it can be bothersome if you're OCD like me. I usually stop noticing it, though. Also, the screen has this weird software quirk where it'll have REALLY high contrast for several seconds after turning the screen on. My guess is it's incorrectly reading ambient light and thinks it's really bright out. I think it should be fixable with a software update, but who knows if Sony will indeed fix it. This issue isn't a big deal either, but it's kind of annoying.
The camera quality is still crappy compared to every other flagship phone available. The post-processing seems to just soften everything and you get absolutely no micro detail in any textures or anything. The edges of objects blend into their backgrounds and there's no sharpness. It really sucks. Worse than my Z2. It's the software post-processing for sure, as Google Camera takes better photos across the board from what I've tested (I'm far from any kind of pro photog, though), but unfortunately it and every other camera app I've tried to use can't seem to read the camera lenses properly (it only has resolution options up to 8.1MP and the Google Camera viewfinder shows everything squeezed in disproportionately) and have a LONG shutter delay. It's honestly unacceptable IMO. I'm still searching for a camera app that doesn't suck on this phone... Fortunately, I don't take a lot of serious photos (I mostly just Snapchat stupid or funny things I see), but I was trying to do so more before my Z2 crapped out. This phone is making that difficult.
Another problem I as well as others on this forum have is bluetooth. My Z2 had no problems, but with the Z5, my Pebble will at some point start to lose connection constantly, which sometimes resolves on its own after a while or force me to reboot the phone to resolve it. It also sometimes doesn't connect automatically to my car's bluetooth, which is a huge pain while driving.
Apparently Xposed works on the phone, but I have yet to get it to install and boot properly. The guides on XDA say it need to bootloop "a few"/"2-3" times, but I have not had any luck waiting for several reboots. So that's something to consider if you like Xposed.
So as you can tell, in my experience, the worst things about the Xperia Z5 are software-related and hopefully might be fixed in the next update from Sony or in a custom ROM if someone releases one. There are some nice hardware improvements, but nothing worth using an upgrade or spending money on IMO (unless you reallly want a fingerprint sensor). I think it's worth waiting it out as long as your upgrade window doesn't expire. And if the Z5 doesn't get improved, at least it'll only be a couple more months until the Z6 is announced... :silly: And this is a point in the year where a bunch of exciting new devices are about to be announced, so I think it'd be worth your wait if you aren't completely committed to Sony phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
U can use ledblinker to control the led colour
Sent from my Xperia Z5 using XDA Labs

Better, unbiased review compared to reviewers across the internet.
I am also planning of replacing my Z2 to Z5. My Z2 still runs really well but i might be getting Z5 just for the sake of it being newer and has a fingerprint scanner and better camera. That may be a wrong move that would actually make me regret spending $700 just for the incremental changes. Im starting to doubt the camera's picture quality too. In addition to SD 810 heating issues.
Apart from Z5, I have my eyes on X Performance too.. Although shrinking the screen size and gaining a bit of a bulk, and lesser battery, I am not sure now.. Maybe waiting for the next Xperia flagship later this year.
I had an Samsung GalaxyS6 while I was trying to sell my Z2, and I didnt like it. I have developed this phobia with Touchwiz phones. They feel slooow, too cluttered, too much unnecessary features and apps. And battery was awful compared to my Z2. Although I believe camera performance was better.

Personally... My missus has the new Motorola X Force. It's am awesomely indestructible phone and i think I'd pick that over the Z5 after using both
Sent from my Xperia Z5 using XDA Labs

Hi there,
I went from Z1C to Z3C (was a very good and even a better device) and now I switched to Z5 (the 5.2"). I have to say, it is a good phone, but the difference is not that significant. As soon as the X performance comes I am going to change again..

Is the Xperia Z5 still flagship capable?

I was having the Z, Z2, Z3 and now the Z5. I like the design and I like Sony's version of Android and the water proof concept is a major bumper for me. I've been all over happy with the Z and Z2 but from Z3 on I don't know... both phones have been repeatedly in repair because of display (brown spots). The glass of Z3 was breaking several times (luckily this does not happen with the Z5 anymore). The repair service is good and fast but yet it takes a week without phone. I'm tired of it.
In addition:
- The battery life of the Z5 is a disaster and I'm not coming through the day anymore as with earlier Xperias (mostly business use, I'm not a gamer or active on social media).
- Even half a year after release of Marshmallow there's none available for the Z5 (considering it's the recent flagship)
- There's no update policy on security issues (as others have imposed and I remember Stagefright took a long time to fix)
Where did Sony's devotion to its Xperias go? Is it time to move on? Or is it just me? With the news about the new Galaxy phone emerging I'm wondering if I should switch away from Xperia.

No device is perfect, whether it's a flagship or not.
I'm getting around 5 hrs SOT with my Z5, which is around 2 hours better than my Moto X Style, around 1 - 1.5 hours better than my Nexus 6P (after the 6.0.1 update) and similar to the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, and around 2 hours better than the standard Edge. It's also around 1.5 hours better than the Priv.
(Yes I have a lot of phones - community expert for Vodafone).
I'm on the .200 firmware and battery on my Z5 is more than decent in my own experience and more than matches the other flagships I've used extensively.
As for Marshmallow, what's the big deal ? Google on Tap is near useless in daily use on my 6P. Doze on paper is meant to give fantastic standby, but it's no more as affective as the Xperia's with Stamina, or the Samsung with Power Saving modes ... Very similar battery depletion in standby between them. Likewise Doze does nothing beneficial whilst your actually using the phone. And as I mentioned earlier the 6.0.1 update has been poorer experience on my own 6P so it's far from perfect.
The Z5 fingerprint reader has similar accuracy to both S6 Edge & Edge Plus, 6P and even my Touch ID sensor on my 6S+, so again is " keeping up with the Jones " in flagship regards.
As for security patch updates, my 6P is on January despite being two weeks into February. Samsung made big promises for monthly security updates and are likewise nowhere to be found in practice. So Sony are not the only ones falling at that hurdle.
So yes the Z5 is still a flagship by any measure and whilst it's not perfect by any means - neither are any of the competition if you really want to analyse them and have had any extended use of them in practice.
You don't have to like the Z5, that's your prerogative, and maybe if your disappointed in it quite as much as you seem, it's time to try something else. But don't go fooling yourself that "the grass is greener in the other field" as it really isn't. It's just the same grass, albiet a slightly different shade. (There are always negatives regardless of device regardless of OEM)
So yes, by all means get one of the new Galaxies (they look set to be great handsets), but do so realising Samsung's update rollouts are just as protracted as Sony's. That Samsung's history of leaving it's flagships stuck on whichever Touchwiz UI it shipped with, rather than updating to their latest version is annoying when your device is still young, whereas Sony / HTC / Moto generally update their handsets UI to match newer revisions. Realise that Samsung's memory management on previous handsets including S6/Edge/Edge+/Note5 is simply attrocious and so bare that in mind, because they really need to fix it in the S7 - if they don't your experience will be compromised if you multitask significantly. Buying one and just expecting it to fix all your woes, may leave you just as bitter and disappointed in practice. So try them if they take your fancy, but keep your expectations realistic, there is no perfect device and unlikely there ever will be. But maybe it is time to try something else ...
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Samsung's memory management has been fixed since Android MM: https://youtu.be/F-WH0rGnxwU

NewBieSS said:
Samsung's memory management has been fixed since Android MM: https://youtu.be/F-WH0rGnxwU
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No... It's improved. It's not fixed.
Compared to the likes of Z3, Z5, 6P, G4, M9 etc.. they still significantly out peform ...
Just because Samsungs can now hold 7 apps in memory whereas before it would struggle with 4, does not constitute a fix. The other devices above can easily get 12-14 apps open without force refreshesing contents. Still significantly greater than Samsung on MM.
I was one of the origins of the 'aggressive ram' issue - it was my S6 edge thread/post and another xda members S6 thread/posts that were the origin Source of all the news and media reports. I do have plenty of first hand experience and indeed it was my thread that first labelled it as 'aggressive ram' and it subsequently stuck/labelled. I currently have marshmallow running on my Samsung and as I says it's improved, but not by any significant margin to EVER call it Fixed !!
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Jump from V30+ to Op6?

Okay guys am a bit torn. I've an LG V30+ and am thinking of switching to the Op6. I mainly use the cell for surfing the net and an occasional casual gameplay. Listening to music is awesome in the V30 but the camera leaves something to be desired. The output is bland.
And LGs update sucks. Still stuck in 7.1.2
Should I jump the gun?

achyut said:
Okay guys am a bit torn. I've an LG V30+ and am thinking of switching to the Op6. I mainly use the cell for surfing the net and an occasional casual gameplay. Listening to music is awesome in the V30 but the camera leaves something to be desired. The output is bland.
And LGs update sucks. Still stuck in 7.1.2
Should I jump the gun?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, sounds like you want this. I'd just sell the v30+ on Swappa and use that money to pay off most of the op6.

Done. Switched.
Lol

I want to switch to lg v30+

I had lg v30+ weeks back. Returned it and bought OnePlus 6. For the reasons like stock OS,6gig ram and mainly for the developer support op6 will have like bootloader unlocking, roms. Because the v30+ variant which i bought is officially not supporting bootloader unlocking itself.
While at the same time, i preferred few things in lg over op6.
Design, looks, weight, always on display, hdr display quality, wide angle camera, and also notch less design.
Things i didn't feel change in both are performance, multitasking, battery.

I went from V30 (no plus) to Op6. Very happy with Op6 so far. Last V30 update broke wifi for me, so I agree with poor update statements.
The only thing I miss is that the fingerprint sensor is also the power button. Unit is on and unlocked in one step.
Face unlock is working pretty good, but then again I'm one ugly s.o.b. And easy to recognize :silly:

The V30+ 2as awesome. The looks, the cameras, esp. the sound quality on my Hd600s was mind boggling.
But am a flashaholic and the V30+ didn't even allow unlocking of bootloaders. Still I did some modding like complete full screen with gesture navigation. Naptime for saving battery and got the GCam.
Was a good phone, but I need the liberty of android to truly enjoy Android. If I was to be tied so tightly, I'd rather take an iPhone 8. My whole family is tied to iPhone ecosystem. Am the odd duck who swears by Android. ?

I have a V30+ and put an order for the 6 over the weekend, pretty impulsively, still not entirely convinced it was the right move. Aside from the guilt associated with this being the 5th phone that I'm paying full price or more for (like paying premium to purchase prior to wide availability) in about 2.5 years:
- I don't take pictures often at all so I don't really care about cameras, but when I do, I found wide-angle to be super convenient, so that'll be missed.
- Yes I still have a headphone jack but definitely going to miss the quad DAC.
- Battery life and screen on time on the V30 was by far the best I've ever had. I'll have to see how OP6 holds up, but anything less would be tough to get used to.
- I would've missed wireless charging...except I never used it with the V30 (unlike my previous phones which supported it), because of the battery lasting all day.
- I've read a few complaints about the vibration motor being bad. They were very good in my last couple of phones, so I'm a bit concerned here.
- Always on display, for the time/battery/notification information being constantly available without any user input or action
- 1440P. Honestly I find the quality of the panel to be much more important than the resolution but would've preferred paying a bit more for the extra pixels.
- Waterproofing, although I recently chipped the corner so I don't know if it would still hold up. Definitely not something I'd risk anyway so not much lost there.
But still, considered the following (for all of 10 minutes before buying..):
- The near stock Android. I was pleasantly surprised at my V30's performance and lack of lag even after 6 months of use, considering the UI is on the heavier side. Buuut can't beat Nexus/pixel/op level of fluidity.
- Faster updates. Although I imported my V30 from Korea because I didn't want to wait for North American release, and updates were actually pretty damn fast as a result. I don't see this continuing now that the G7 is out and V35 due out soon.
- 8 GB RAM vs. 6 GB.
- Going from the Mi Mix (which was full of its own issues) to the V30 I really didn't like coming back to the top bezel. While a notch is hardly the ideal solution for me, maybe it could be a decent compromise (really hoping the upcoming Vivo Apex is trash...otherwise I may be in for further trouble)
- Gesture control. Opinions seem to be fairly mixed on this. But I'm already using a 3rd party gesture control app on my V30 with the navbar hidden, so looking forward to using something similar baked into the OS. I don't like Android P's implementation of it (isn't the whole purpose so you can get rid of the navbar and more of the screen can be opened up for other use?) so I'm hoping OP6 will stick to its current implementation or at least provide the choice to keep it when P is rolled out (probably not)
- No always on display, but def like how the ambient display handles incoming notifications.
And I'm pretty sure the entire point of this post was me trying to justify another impulsive purchase lol. But maybe it'll help someone.

I don't care what the reviewers say - I love this phone!

Hello,
I know this may be a duplicative topic, but I am a big fan of HTC but have not been a big fan of them lately. I pre-ordered on May 23rd, and received one of the first production units, and I had an issue with the first one, so mystery button presses etc. and I subsequently returned that first one and they replaced it with one that says "hardware version 3" in the about section. I have had zero problems with this phone and have had ZERO problems with any button function and have found there are some features that I actually love making it my favorite phone of 2018, and I have had the S9+, Oneplus 6, and LG V30 etc... It is too bad HTC seems to have lost so many fans (based on my observation of how active this forum is with the U12), because this is a great phone!
Pros for me:
No notch
Beautiful Hardware and finish
HTC Theme Support
Screen looks great to me (AMOLED could be better, but i am happy)
No notch
Camera awesomenes
Edge Sense - love this feature!
HTC email app for Exchange - perfect support for folders
Unlockable bootloader
IP68
SD card slot
Bloat free experience
Sunshine S-off support just announced (temporary)
Cons for me:
battery longevity concern (though I am encouraged by results posted here)
No TWRP
Camera quick access via power button double press not always working for me (may be OE)
no wireless charging
Android 8.0.0 not 8.1
HTC is slow with updates
QC 4.0 charger not shipped in box
Just my 2 cents...

Can agree with all posted here. I really enjoying my U12+

Great device - came from an XZ Premium / Essential
Yep, I think it got a bad rap on some early release devices or something.
The build quality is awesome
Wifi is stable and fast
Connection to Tmo network seems much stronger than my XZPremium or my Essential
Battery life thus far has been on par with the Sony, which is VERY hard to accomplish
Feature rich without being overbearing
I haven't used software etc... to confirm signal strength and throughput, but where I live TMo signal is always a problem. Not true with this device at this stage. I also like the edge sense, though I haven't customized it yet. It does take some time to get used to.
Need to get out and snap some pics, need to get my audio stuff setup, and I definitely want to throw a custom kernel and Viper on this bad boy.
I'd say overall, if you're looking for a premium quality build phone with a solid hardware for business / voice and general use, this should be on the short list. I don't game, so I wouldn't know what the experience is like there.

I agree.
The biggest concern for me is the slow/lack of updates.
The buttons, which were bashed so much, are relatively fine, although it seems to only register if you are holding the phone properly (reaching the left hand around won't register pushes)
I only have one issue which is that when Smart Display is on, if I unlock via fingerprint, the phone freezes and is totally unresponsive (except for the power/volume buttons)

Should i switch from s8 to XZP?

Hey everyone i just want to know is xzp better option then s8?
Is Xzp good interms of rom development and future software support?

Hello . no doubt you should buy the premium xz. all videos on YouTube shows that the xz premium is faster than the s8.
Envoyé de mon G8141 en utilisant Tapatalk

Wolvym4 said:
Hey everyone i just want to know is xzp better option then s8?
Is Xzp good interms of rom development and future software support?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
roms? dont know about that mate, but speed its faster, also nicer screen, although the design of the s8 is better, but the XZP feels snappier, better screen, and overall just out performs the s8 in almost every corner
but in terms of rom developing this isnt the best phone I can tell you that, I dont know if things will change after android Pie is out, but nothing is sure, I hope though
but I would definatly say the S9 is better, has a better camera, screen that is also great, better design, feels better and more stylish

Wolvym4 said:
Hey everyone i just want to know is xzp better option then s8?
Is Xzp good interms of rom development and future software support?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as official software support, Pie is the last Android XZP will get.
If you're switching from S8 in hope of getting longer software support, then XZ2/XZ2P might be a better choice for you.
As far as XZP vs S8 goes, it's difficult to say which phone is better, depends what you're looking for.
S8 has a better camera and more software toys and gadgets. However, that's the primary reason why I steer clear from Samsung and LG-the software. I've dealt with months old S8s and S9s that had lag and freezing issues, bad battery life and random shutdowns. It's behaviour I haven't seen in a single Xperia for the last five years. They just simply work, and they're built like tanks for the most part.
The second reason why I keep rocking Sony is the battery life. The first phone that got me through two days without a charge with normal usage was the Z3, and that's where I got hooked and stayed with Sony.
Xperias are just as flawed as any other brand, it's just a matter of what you're looking for.
If I needed the best camera phone on the market, I'd go for Pixel, for example.
Bottom line, if you're considering Xperia and the budget allows it, rather go for XZ2 lineup. I'm looking at the XZ2, bit I just can't stomach the design of it. Had it in my hand, it just feels odd to me, unlike XZ2P even though it's bigger. Probably a matter of being used to really slim Xperias.
As far as custom rom support goes, I'd guess the Samsung scene is richer, but then again, since I started using Sony, I stopped rooting and flashing custom roms, I just don't see the need for it. The OEM software is very clean and debloated, you can further disable stuff you don't need and you get quick monthly updates, I have yet to see a compelling reason to root it and flash a custom rom, considering my needs.
Good luck
Cheers

Went from always having Samsungs to risking it and buying an XZ Premium. I'd say don't get the XZP, to be honest. The camera is good on paper, but it's actually pretty bad compared to my Note 7. Low light is terrible. A lot of these devices (including mine) have intermittent WiFi connection issues and piss poor screen share stability with a lot of lag.
I dropped my Note 7 loads of times and it was fine. Dropped this once and the screen is all scraped. I'm going back to Samsung soon.
Future software support isn't looking good either.
Have a look at how cheap these phones are on eBay already. People are finding them hard to sell

cmac669 said:
Went from always having Samsungs to risking it and buying an XZ Premium. I'd say don't get the XZP, to be honest. The camera is good on paper, but it's actually pretty bad compared to my Note 7. Low light is terrible. A lot of these devices (including mine) have intermittent WiFi connection issues and piss poor screen share stability with a lot of lag.
I dropped my Note 7 loads of times and it was fine. Dropped this once and the screen is all scraped. I'm going back to Samsung soon.
Future software support isn't looking good either.
Have a look at how cheap these phones are on eBay already. People are finding them hard to sell
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I dont know about camera man, I tried it with my friend he has a s8 and i have xzp, unless he uses manual settings, mine on auto is better, on manual his can get pretty good only slightly better even in low light, but not enough to concider switching... in terms of dropping phone I dont know about you man, my phone dropped multiple times and I was amazed how I barely see scratches (fell like 5 heavy drops with no case on) there are drop marks on the frame of the phone but thats all. I agree wifi connection HAD issues but it was due to software bugs but now its all good.
future software support, we are confirmed to get the Android Pie, concidering the phone comes android 7 out of the box, that is 2 major updates already and we might even get the third as in after android Pie, the updates start to roll form Google them selves rather than each phone's manufacture. (I am not sure if all phones, or only the ones that come android 8 out of the box tho)
the only thing or two someone would put the S8 better than the XZP is the design and sometimes camera (not in all cases tho).
In terms of speed, no lags in the long run, battery life, screen (in terms of realistic and not colorful, as some people think the s8 is better but its only more saturated but the XZP is more realistic and has 4k HDR), the XZP is the clear winner, heck my brother has he s9+ and I still have better battery life even on 4K mode!

Wolvym4 said:
Hey everyone i just want to know is xzp better option then s8?
Is Xzp good interms of rom development and future software support?
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I have a friend with the s8 and he really want to have the same device like me because the xz premium is a beast , more smooth , faster than s8 better screen , camera , battery etc

madshark2009 said:
I dont know about camera man, I tried it with my friend he has a s8 and i have xzp, unless he uses manual settings, mine on auto is better, on manual his can get pretty good only slightly better even in low light, but not enough to concider switching... in terms of dropping phone I dont know about you man, my phone dropped multiple times and I was amazed how I barely see scratches (fell like 5 heavy drops with no case on) there are drop marks on the frame of the phone but thats all. I agree wifi connection HAD issues but it was due to software bugs but now its all good.
future software support, we are confirmed to get the Android Pie, concidering the phone comes android 7 out of the box, that is 2 major updates already and we might even get the third as in after android Pie, the updates start to roll form Google them selves rather than each phone's manufacture. (I am not sure if all phones, or only the ones that come android 8 out of the box tho)
the only thing or two someone would put the S8 better than the XZP is the design and sometimes camera (not in all cases tho).
In terms of speed, no lags in the long run, battery life, screen (in terms of realistic and not colorful, as some people think the s8 is better but its only more saturated but the XZP is more realistic and has 4k HDR), the XZP is the clear winner, heck my brother has he s9+ and I still have better battery life even on 4K mode!
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Some fair points there, but my WiFi and lagging screen mirroring problems are still there - same with a hell of a lot of other people. If you ever have this issue, you'll soon find people flooding forums demanding that Sony give them refunds or fix the problem, since the updates didn't fix the issue at all.
I can see why you would defend the phone though. I loved it at first, but now on reflection after using it for around 8 months, I'd personally go for something else next time. Constant WiFi signal drops are getting pretty annoying.
Sony's Xperia division doesn't exactly have a good reputation for reliability, and I'm beginning to see why. And this is coming from someone you could probably call a Sony "fanboy". I think I'll stick to their PlayStations and headphones!

In terms of specs they are similar, but xz premium software is much closer to stock android.

I'm on a xz premium .and the lineage15 .1. It's very good combination . Fast smooth . 4k is here with a little procedure. s8 is slow compared to xz premium. here the applications opens instantly. the video proves that the original xz is faster than the s8. slightly. so better. after only your choice is important.
Envoyé de mon lineage_maple en utilisant Tapatalk

cmac669 said:
Some fair points there, but my WiFi and lagging screen mirroring problems are still there - same with a hell of a lot of other people. If you ever have this issue, you'll soon find people flooding forums demanding that Sony give them refunds or fix the problem, since the updates didn't fix the issue at all.
I can see why you would defend the phone though. I loved it at first, but now on reflection after using it for around 8 months, I'd personally go for something else next time. Constant WiFi signal drops are getting pretty annoying.
Sony's Xperia division doesn't exactly have a good reputation for reliability, and I'm beginning to see why. And this is coming from someone you could probably call a Sony "fanboy". I think I'll stick to their PlayStations and headphones!
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like yah im not saying XZP is the best phone and after trying sony for a while i think there are better options out there, but i wouldnt go for the S8, I would go for S9 to feel a worthful upgrade, or google pixel, or iphone X