Related
Is it worth buying an S7 now in mid 2017? What do you guys think? I really have to upgrade to a new device. I passed on OnePlus5 because of the jelly effect, and all sorts of problems. The S7 is not flawless I know that, but I'm curious what recent users, or previous users think about it. Would you recommend buying it? I hope you guys can help me with this. Thanks in advance
ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.
RiTCHiE007 said:
ofcourse it is still worth it if you can get it for a decent price. Ill take a s7 over a Oneplus 5 any day due to the fact that you can add a sd card and of its water resistance and i really like the option to go with a non curved screen because they break to easy when dropped and the curved phones have terrible cases.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir
I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.
Tados99 said:
Yeah I found some decent prices, and they are still offering it in a lot of colours too, so no problem with the availablity. I haven't thought about the curved edges at all, but good point, thank you. I absolutely agree with you there, even though the S7 is slippery because of all that glass finishing. In my opinion the S7 is a great looking phone.
The sd card was another big reason for me, so I hope thats alright, thanks for mentioning it.
Do you have any tips on cases for this phone? Or dbrand skin?
Thanks for your answer tho Sir
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have this Spigen Rugged Armor case, highly recommended
https://www.spigen.com/collections/galaxy-s7/products/galaxy-s7-case-rugged-armor-black
Takes 2 seconds to put on and take off
The S7 is a fine phone, but not exceptional. I had a Xiaomi Mi5 before it and I replaced it because of the rubbish software releases when it moved to Nougat. The Mi5 was lighter and sexier. the S7 is heavy and reliable like a family car but nothing really leaps out. Video is good, Stills camera is remarkably not sharp. S7 comes with the usual lorry load of bloatware. I use one of the battery saving modes.. its no where near as good as the Mi5 was on battery. so there you go, Strong and Stable
the\downslash\ said:
I'd say it depends on the variant - if you can grab an exynos model, go for it, but avoid snapdragon variants because of the inferior performance and locked bootloaders. I was torn between the OP5 and an S7 (exynos) and decided to buy another samsung because I could get it for >200€ cheaper.
The performance, display and the camera still perform really well and I like some of the unique touchwiz features, such as always on display etc. Battery life is quite good too-I can get 4h of sot without even trying. Touchwiz is still there but is better than ever with nougat. The good news is that there is plenty of AOSP development going on, so if you don't like touchwiz or tw-based-roms, you have other options to choose from.
So, in my opinion, the exynos variants of s7 are well worth it, even in the mid-2017. Just don't overpay this phone-I got a barely used one for 300€, which I think is a good deal.
What's your budget btw? If money isn't a problem you could wait for a few months and get yourself a pixel 2...
And for the skin question: I can recomend slickwraps because they are cheaper than dbrand and cover the sides of the phone as well. I am using one right now and am in love with it. If you want more customisation options, you might want to go with dbrand though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.
Tados99 said:
I can't afford the Pixel right now, so budget is a deal here. It's hard to tell you how much my budget actually is, because in my country prices could be a bit strange. But about 400 € - 450 €. If you have any other suggestions I welcome it, but I want a somewhat elegentish kind of phone, closer to high end, with great camera and battery life. I also like if a phone is durable, but thats not the most important thing at all. More like to be close to stock android. (I know TouchWiz is there, but it's still more stock then a Huawei for example)
Thanks for the tip on the chipset, I checked it, and it is Exynos Octa core. But I did not know thats a deal breaker so thanks for mentioning it really.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.
the\downslash\ said:
Well, another option in that price range would be an Oneplus 3/3T. Oneplus doesn't sell them anymore, but you can get used ones for cheap. They are far more durable than the s7, battery life is superior and the performance is still top-notch, thanks to close-to-stock os. The only things that you are really missing out on compared to the s7 are camera and wireless charging.
LG G6 has dropped in price significantly as well so that might be another option to consider. I am not a big fan of their UI, but that's just me.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!
Tados99 said:
Problem is that I don't want to buy an used phone. And the camera is very important for me. But if One Plus would still sell them, I would have selected the 3T, because I am an OP fan really. But like this, that's not an option. I check if I can fimd any new ones, not from the original site. Thats on option.
Thanks tho!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, it cold be find to find a brand new one right now... In that case, the S7 is probably your best option. You might consider some of the other last-year-flagships as well, such as the HTC 10. Anyway, good luck with your purchace.
It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.
Androidlover99 said:
It's a pretty nice phone, I just got mine a few months ago.
Keep in mind, my previous phone was a Moto X Pure, also this is the Exynos variant of the S7.
Battery life is about twice as long as what that phone was, I get an average of about 4-6 hours of SOT and with Nougat it should last fine on standby.
Display looks amazing, an AMOLED panel at a 2K resolution in a 5.1 inch phone looks super sharp and nice, gets bright outside.
Speaker pretty much sucks... It gets decently loud, but it's so easily to cover it by accident even with a case on.
The design of the phone is pretty and nice, it holds up very well in 2017. Sure it has big bezels and no curved screen (I have a flat S7), but it's still a solidly built phone that looks beautiful. But I have to say DO NOT USE THIS PHONE WITHOUT A CASE!!! The back is VERY slippery, one drop and that beautiful glass back will get shattered...
Fingerprint scanner is decently fast and accurate, only complaint is that the scanner is in the middle of the home button, I wish it was a concaved home button like on the iPhone.
The camera is very nice, can record 60 FPS at 1080P with video stabilization making your videos look good. Pretty decent in low light, The auto focus is SUPER fast, focuses instantly and the camera snaps pictures in an instant, double pressing for camera is quick and convenient. Front camera pretty much sucks tbh, not really possible to turn off all the dumb beauty features. Tons of camera modes to play around with, not much different in terms of the camera from my Moto X Pure.
Water/dust resistance, I haven't tested this and I don't plan to, basically all I can say is people please only consider this as a failsafe as in don't rely on it, like if your phone falls in water then you should go after it right away and the phone should be fine.... But if it's not, the warranty WILL NOT COVER IT!!! So go swimming at your own risk. Also, you can use the volume buttons to take pictures for underwater photography.
And lastly..... THE SOFTWARE.
Now.... What do I have to say about the infamous Touchwiz coming from stock android? Well, my first phone was an S3 (I had it before the MXP) so I kind of knew what to expect from Touchwiz in terms of features. And I can say this phone is just PACKED with lots of neat software features! I disabled the bloat, decided not to use a theme, used the default launcher, and the phone runs fine and works fine for me. Do I miss stock android? Not really, Touchwiz has a lot of added features that I wish Stock had, and small tweaks/changes that make the experience better in my opinion. Also, there are definitely small hiccups here and there with stutters, but it's nothing too bad tbh, apps open up nice and fast and the phone is always responsive, only thing that really sucks is the usage... RAM usage is kind of high even when your recents are cleared, and the storage available out of the box is kind of low so I would recommend a Micro SD Card if you take lots of pictures (though, those can slow your phone down keep in mind). I got about three software updates (all security) since May of when I got this phone, so updates don't seem to be too bad. But keep in mind it'll be ages until we see Android O on this phone, just a heads up. All in all, Touchwiz has grown up and refined its features instead of including a million features and being laggy (S5 and below), it's now simpler and more streamlined since the S6.
And that's all I have to say about the phone! I hope my review has helped someone out there looking to see if they want to buy a Galaxy S7.
I would say try to get the Exynos variant though if you can, I heard the Snapdragon one is horrible.
Depending on how much you find this phone for, I would definitely recommend it! It has a great display (one of the best), great camera (really can't go wrong with the camera), a beautiful design (no ugly ports for water resistance), good battery life (for the average user), and the software, is not all that bad IMO, though some people do swear against it lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!
Tados99 said:
WELL! Thanks man for the long breakdown. In the end I bought the s7. Right now I'm using it. It is amazing, I really liking it so far. There are a bunch of stuff what I haven't tried yet, but we shall see! Thanks again for your breakdown!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem! Just saying my honest opinion on the phone, if you need anything just ask!
I've either cognitively dissonated myself into loving this phone, or it is really quite good. The official camera fix did some good and leaves open the good possibility that further refining will yield a great result, or I'll stick with the progress being made on the GCam port and use the native app for great monochrome shots (I love the B&W sensor and it is EXCELLENT). That said, no cases... I guess no problem - I ordered some SquareTrade insurance coverage today - if it drops or dies, they'll replace it for a hundred beans - I can handle that kind of coverage...
I'm not seeing the same quality defects others are reporting with their handsets (light bleed, TMOB signal issues, etc.) so either I got a keeper or others are being overly sensitive (nothing personal guys).
I asked for and will likely receive a return package, but I think I'll be sending it back empty. Sorry for the trouble Essential, but you are in my daily carry category now - my S8+ will stay ready for outdoor action as needed (water resistance, etc).
The aesthetics are what has done it for me... Maybe you feel the same? The feeling I get holding and using the Essential do indeed remind me of the first day with the OG iPhone - only ten years better. Hell - I still have some great pics I took with that lousy 2MP, fixed focus, no flash shooter from 2007 on my drive.
Anyway, just one man's changed opinion. If it grew on you too, please post your thoughts. I'm interested to know how many others have now caved.
rootdude said:
I've either cognitively dissonated myself into loving this phone, or it is really quite good. The official camera fix did some good and leaves open the good possibility that further refining will yield a great result, or I'll stick with the progress being made on the GCam port and use the native app for great monochrome shots (I love the B&W sensor and it is EXCELLENT). That said, no cases... I guess no problem - I ordered some SquareTrade insurance coverage today - if it drops or dies, they'll replace it for a hundred beans - I can handle that kind of coverage...
I'm not seeing the same quality defects others are reporting with their handsets (light bleed, TMOB signal issues, etc.) so either I got a keeper or others are being overly sensitive (nothing personal guys).
I asked for and will likely receive a return package, but I think I'll be sending it back empty. Sorry for the trouble Essential, but you are in my daily carry category now - my S8+ will stay ready for outdoor action as needed (water resistance, etc).
The aesthetics are what has done it for me... Maybe you feel the same? The feeling I get holding and using the Essential do indeed remind me of the first day with the OG iPhone - only ten years better. Hell - I still have some great pics I took with that lousy 2MP, fixed focus, no flash shooter from 2007 on my drive.
Anyway, just one man's changed opinion. If it grew on you too, please post your thoughts. I'm interested to know how many others have now caved.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really want to like it, I'm trying real hard.
The performance sucks and is not faster than a Moto Z with a Snapdragon 821.
This phone does some really aggressive thermal throttling.
This bothers me.
I really want to like it.
I kind of came to the same conclusion the other day. Software can always be improved with updates, and there's not another phone out there built with better materials. It looks, feels, and is, an upscale phone.
tech_head said:
I really want to like it, I'm trying real hard.
The performance sucks and is not faster than a Moto Z with a Snapdragon 821.
This phone does some really aggressive thermal throttling.
This bothers me.
I really want to like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm interested to hear what you know about thermal throttling. I'm a power user and I play Royale like an idiot and I haven't even felt it get warm, nor do I see the incredible battery drain I see with other devices I've played on in the past (the Pixel XL was the worst for that power drain). Do you have CPUZ installed on it and can get some screenies of the throttling b/c of overheat conditions?
rootdude said:
I'm interested to hear what you know about thermal throttling. I'm a power user and I play Royale like an idiot and I haven't even felt it get warm, nor do I see the incredible battery drain I see with other devices I've played on in the past (the Pixel XL was the worst for that power drain). Do you have CPUZ installed on it and can get some screenies of the throttling b/c of overheat conditions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see/feel the phone get hot. That's the point, before it even gets hot the CPU gets throttled.
If I artificially cool the device or I'm in a cold environment; I can run Antutu and get close to the Qualcomm numbers for their reference platform in the 178k range. I can do that only in a cold environment. If the device is in a warm room the performance drops to 160k or so. If the room is hot or if I try to run again the performance can drop to 150k. I have seen the results drop to below 120k.
Geek bench scores are somewhat better but not great.
1900 single core and 6000 multicore.
The renderscript score is about 8000. Which puts in 33% behind an iPhone 7.
The software grew on me as more mods and ADB tweaks come out...but every time I decide to keep it and slap a skin of the back I find new scratches. Now I even have a scratch on the finish on the titanium. No clue where any of these came from. I haven't had a scratch on a phone in years... I upgrade every few months and always sell my phones mint on Swappa. I've had this a week and it's already scratched to ****. I love the look and feel and I'm happy with the software now but man..it's getting destroyed.
NeutronBomb said:
The software grew on me as more mods and ADB tweaks come out...but every time I decide to keep it and slap a skin of the back I find new scratches. Now I even have a scratch on the finish on the titanium. No clue where any of these came from. I haven't had a scratch on a phone in years... I upgrade every few months and always sell my phones mint on Swappa. I've had this a week and it's already scratched to ****. I love the look and feel and I'm happy with the software now but man..it's getting destroyed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting. Mine still looks like it just came out of the box, and it even took a 4 foot tumble to my bathroom floor the other day.
So I hope the new update improves performance.
Right now if the phone gets to an internal temp of 44C it will throttle to less than half the maximum frequency.
This puts the performance, when warm, behind and LG G4, Samsung Galaxy S6 and my old Nexus 6P.
Not happy.
I'm battling the decision now. I'm still in that 15 day return window, and like others am trying really hard to want to like this device.
Love the display. Don't mind that it's not AMOLED - I still get 5-6 hours SoT with moderate-heavy internet/call/text on wifi w/bt connected. No light bleed issues or lifting of panels for me, everything seems in order there.
There are some problems with the software that make me wonder if the problems I have are hardware or software. The micro-stuttering during scrolling (only while touching the screen during scrolling) could be a hardware problem, could be throttling, or could be OS optimization for this device in general. It's smooth as butter as long as I flick-scroll. Even if I slow finger-scroll vs slow flick-scroll the difference is noticeable, goes from stutter to butter. Finger-on-screen lag is like that of a bloated EVO3D trying to flip homescreens.
Then there are the definite software glitches that are present even after a full wipe of the phone (I really wish you could wipe the cache partition on this thing). This includes the occasional 10 second freeze while scrolling, the microstutters mentioned above, having to press back twice when in a conversation in the default messaging app, random screen presses when not touching the screen, regularly having to tap the screen repeatedly to get response from buttons.
And then there's the support - it takes a very long time to get response. I realize they are busy and trying to be responsive, and I am really trying to support this new company... One of the biggest problems I have is for solely existing as a consumer communications device manufacturer, they have some terrible consumer communication processes happening (or complete lack thereof). All I really want to know is that they are aware of and are working on the specific issues. Maybe I have control issues, but the dark is not a friendly place to be with 700 bucks on the line!!
I'm going to leave myself undecided for a few days and see where things go. If I don't see some kind of a software update addressing many of the issues some of us are experiencing I may have to reconsider... Despite all of the short-comings the new company has had as a baby, it's a beautiful baby. Let's just hope it learns fast I'm really hoping the screen issues I'm having are software related, but without confirmation from the company I can't say that I have high confidence right now. I love the feel and design of the device itself, though! *torn*
I am really trying hard to like this device. In terms of overall feel it's immaculate. They did very well on the design of the the phone. My issues come with software and future development. Right now there's clear software bugs and other optimization that needs to be done. If they can work on some of those things the experience on this phone would improve tenfold. Also once they get the source code and kernel out then we can start seeing more Community Development. We could also get things such as custom recovery and root. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks this phone and the community support will improve. I think I'll keep my device for while to see if that happens if not I may be lookin at a Pixel 2.
theandroidbot said:
I am really trying hard to like this device. In terms of overall feel it's immaculate. They did very well on the design of the the phone. My issues come with software and future development. Right now there's clear software bugs and other optimization that needs to be done. If they can work on some of those things the experience on this phone would improve tenfold. Also once they get the source code and kernel out then we can start seeing more Community Development. We could also get things such as custom recovery and root. I'm hoping that in the coming weeks this phone and the community support will improve. I think I'll keep my device for while to see if that happens if not I may be lookin at a Pixel 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There isn't a massive amount of development on the pixel in relation to other Nexus devices likely due to the A/B partitions so I'm dubious on the pixel 2 at the moment
spotmark said:
Interesting. Mine still looks like it just came out of the box, and it even took a 4 foot tumble to my bathroom floor the other day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can the QC really be that hit and miss? I have zero scratches as well on front or back.
rootdude said:
Can the QC really be that hit and miss? I have zero scratches as well on front or back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here. The one thing I absolutely love is the build quality. It looks exactly as the day it arrived.
Mine looks like the first day. I'm very impressed with the build quality.
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
No issues with mine fr a build standpoint. Fell a few times and no scratches. I'm using a glass screen protector even though there is a halo. Rather that scratches than the screen. The update that came out today is probably the software the phone should have shipped with initially... but we were all in a rush to get it. I'm keeping this device for sure! I also like confusing the heck out of ppl... I'm running the Arrow Launcher, blackberry keyboard and I use the iPhone sms sound for text notifications..
Sent from my PH-1 using XDA-Developers Legacy app
My only complaint really is I think they went too small. Most smarts phones are a little larger.
hoopsdavis said:
My only complaint really is I think they went too small. Most smarts phones are a little larger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it's refreshing. I mean I love big phones, haven't used a small sized phone in years, but after using this phone for several days, I love how reasonably compact it is with this screen size. I should rephrase, I love big screen size, not necessarily big form factor. So to have this screen size packed in a smaller form, I think it's awesome.
hoopsdavis said:
My only complaint really is I think they went too small. Most smarts phones are a little larger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "small" form factor with big screen is the the biggest reason this phone came into my radar
flakko86 said:
The "small" form factor with big screen is the the biggest reason this phone came into my radar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same with me and many others. The big screen in compact size is among the major pros for buying this mobile. Besides that, I was also attracted to the clean design/material used and the pin port for 360 camera and other gadgets.
But I'm still waiting (impatiently) for how the Huawei Mate 10 pro turns out to be before I buy the essential phone. Hoping the Mate 10 pro is as compact and well built as well, combined with supposedly beast new Kirin 970 and improved dual camera, and maybe some new features like AI, Graphene battery, 3D Face recognition (all already introduced on Huawei's Honor magic). It would be the only contender to essential phone on my list. If Mate 10 pro disappoints then by that time Essential phone would be ready to ship out with 360 camera and charging dock in one go.
I have really grown to like this device. I have been using as my DD since the update, no significant issues and certainly no scratches or signs of wear. The size of the device is a key factor for me, I love the form factor.
I received my unlocked S9+ about a week ago after taking advantage of Samsung's trade-in offer. I'm coming from an S7 Edge and figured I'd share some thoughts, if anyone was considering the same. Hit me up if you're curious about something specific.
Size-wise, this phone isn't that much larger than the S7 edge, just maybe a couple mm wider and several more taller. However, there is a very noticeable weight increase that makes a big difference during extended sessions. The weight also makes the all-glass exterior difficult to keep a grip on and you'll have a thick disgusting smear of fingerprints to prove it -- I think a case is a must. I went with one of the alcantara cases and love it.
I haven't messed much with the iris/facial scanning, mostly because it wouldn't work anyway with most of my banking/security apps that only support a fingerprint. I love the location of the new fingerprint scanner and it is very, very fast.
Speaking of fast, this phone SMOKES. I install a crap-ton of apps and it's just as speedy as when I took it out of the box. 6 GB of RAM means apps get suspended less often, making the overall experience very, very fluid. The screen is also drop-dead gorgeous.
The camera hasn't disappointed me yet, even in fairly low light situations or with significant zoom, and all the widgets in Pro mode give full control over it all. I intend to give it a good workout during tomorrow's blizzard and see if the super slo-mo does a good job of catching the snow. The new AR emoji stuff is useless and ridiculous, I don't see it appealing to much of anyone over the age of 11 -- and even then only if they don't notice how awful it looks. It's just a half-baked attempt to emulate the nonsense on an iFruit.
Things I miss/wish were better:
*Night clock -- RIP, my bedside table friend. You will be missed.
*Edge lighting -- feels like a missed opportunity, it's just "not enough" to be really useful. It feels to me like a step back from the S7e's implementation somehow but I can't really put my finger on why.
*Bixby -- just give up already and take the button away. Awful.
*Samsung's customizations -- the Settings menus are still an exercise in frustration and patience to plow through, even without all the carrier bloat in this unlocked version.
Which version do you have? 64, 128 or 256? I will be upgrading from S5 next month, a huge upgrade for me. Can you tell me if 64 GB will be enough, keeping in view all the bloatware pre-installed. I am not a heavy user, don't keep music in my phone, just the camera and whatsapp stuff and a few bubble witch type games.
I have ordered a few cases and a tempered glass, will definitely keep the device protected. I tested it in the store and it is slippery plus finger print magnet.
ila420 said:
Which version do you have? 64, 128 or 256? I will be upgrading from S5 next month, a huge upgrade for me. Can you tell me if 64 GB will be enough, keeping in view all the bloatware pre-installed. I am not a heavy user, don't keep music in my phone, just the camera and whatsapp stuff and a few bubble witch type games.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the 64 GB version. Even with my huge pile of apps, I've still got 42 GB free. Ultra fast SD cards are so cheap these days, onboard storage is a non-event in my opinion. Store pics, vids, and music on the SD and it should never be a concern.
Plus, remember that unlocked devices don't have any of the carrier bloat!
I also came from an S7 Edge (with a couple of months on an S7 after the Edge was lost at sea. Literally.)
Anyway, I'm mostly thrilled with the upgrade. I don't find the weight an issue, but have small hands and do find the extra width just a bit uncomfortable. I could happily live with the shorter screen on the Edge, too. The extra height doesn't really buy me that much most of the time, but it isn't an issue, either. I agree a case is necessary, if for no reason other than to protect the glass if you drop it. But that's another area where the width is a problem--I used a more protective case on the Edge, but can't handle the extra width on the Plus so I'm using a thinner case.
Can't get the Iris scanning to work at all. It gets to about 50% and says my Irises couldn't be scanned. Guess I have weird eyes?
Agree Bixby is pretty much useless at this point, but (1) it should improve over time, and (2) it's Samsung's future UI for all their smart devices, phones, washers, stoves, you name it, so it's not going away. Would be nice if they'd let us remap the button, but at least there are 3rd party tools for that.
There are 3rd party edge lighting tools that are far better than Samsung's, btw. My biggest grip is the loss of per-contact text message sounds. I had to go to the 3rd party text app to get that back.
And yes, it's fast and smooth. No complaints there, even though I'm sure the Pixel cult will claim it's laggy and stutters. I'm also getting the best battery life I've gotten out of any phone, by far.
meyerweb said:
There are 3rd party edge lighting tools that are far better than Samsung's, btw. My biggest grip is the loss of per-contact text message sounds. I had to go to the 3rd party text app to get that back.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you recommend something that does a better job with edge lighting?
I also didn't realize per-user alerts were missing, I didn't use Samsung's built-in on the S7e because of the wonky sharing intent support. Nice catch.
Wallcrawler77 said:
Could you recommend something that does a better job with edge lighting?
I also didn't realize per-user alerts were missing, I didn't use Samsung's built-in on the S7e because of the wonky sharing intent support. Nice catch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lighting.edge.edgelighting
I was a beta tester for it and got it free. It meets my needs, so I haven't compared any of the other ones in the Play Store to see if they might be better.
Wallcrawler77 said:
I received my unlocked S9+ about a week ago after taking advantage of Samsung's trade-in offer. I'm coming from an S7 Edge and figured I'd share some thoughts, if anyone was considering the same. Hit me up if you're curious about something specific.
Size-wise, this phone isn't that much larger than the S7 edge, just maybe a couple mm wider and several more taller. However, there is a very noticeable weight increase that makes a big difference during extended sessions. The weight also makes the all-glass exterior difficult to keep a grip on and you'll have a thick disgusting smear of fingerprints to prove it -- I think a case is a must. I went with one of the alcantara cases and love it.
I haven't messed much with the iris/facial scanning, mostly because it wouldn't work anyway with most of my banking/security apps that only support a fingerprint. I love the location of the new fingerprint scanner and it is very, very fast.
Speaking of fast, this phone SMOKES. I install a crap-ton of apps and it's just as speedy as when I took it out of the box. 6 GB of RAM means apps get suspended less often, making the overall experience very, very fluid. The screen is also drop-dead gorgeous.
The camera hasn't disappointed me yet, even in fairly low light situations or with significant zoom, and all the widgets in Pro mode give full control over it all. I intend to give it a good workout during tomorrow's blizzard and see if the super slo-mo does a good job of catching the snow. The new AR emoji stuff is useless and ridiculous, I don't see it appealing to much of anyone over the age of 11 -- and even then only if they don't notice how awful it looks. It's just a half-baked attempt to emulate the nonsense on an iFruit.
Things I miss/wish were better:
*Night clock -- RIP, my bedside table friend. You will be missed.
*Edge lighting -- feels like a missed opportunity, it's just "not enough" to be really useful. It feels to me like a step back from the S7e's implementation somehow but I can't really put my finger on why.
*Bixby -- just give up already and take the button away. Awful.
*Samsung's customizations -- the Settings menus are still an exercise in frustration and patience to plow through, even without all the carrier bloat in this unlocked version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry after investing millions of dollars on development they're not gonna "just give up" on bixby because some people don't like it, HOWEVER, we can disable the button on bixby home, little gear icon on top and you can set the button to do nothing with a single press unless you press and hold
i like the Bixby button.... so that I can use "BxActions" to program it as my quick Sound/Vibrate button, or turn on flashlight, or take screenshot, or wifi on/off, etc...
Wallcrawler77 said:
I have the 64 GB version. Even with my huge pile of apps, I've still got 42 GB free. Ultra fast SD cards are so cheap these days, onboard storage is a non-event in my opinion. Store pics, vids, and music on the SD and it should never be a concern.
Plus, remember that unlocked devices don't have any of the carrier bloat!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I want to upgrade to a 9+ from a s6 edge+ sometime in the summer. I'm assuming I would have a harder time adjusting to it since the 7 edge is heavier than the 6 edge+. On the other hand, the 6 edge+ is slightly wider than the 7 edge.
Just my 2 cents as well....Also came from the S7 Edge. Had the S4,S5 and S6 before that. Didn't want to fork out the huge amount of money with my provider for the S8. Van honestly say that this S9+ is damn quick. When looking at the speed comparison tests on youtube I sometimes think my phone in hand is quicker then that... Physically it's nor much bigger then the S7 Edge, but it feels nicer in hand and is easy to operate with one hand...I have biggish hands... Camera in general is a bit better, didn't yet get time to really compare to my S& Edge. Low light is definitely nicer and less noise. Bixby is a first for me...Not to bad....Bixby doesn't always understand our South African english accent. Haven't used google assistant for 2 weeks now...Bixby does what I want and some more when it comes to the phone settings etc. Overall very happy with the phone. Battery life with my use is a bit better then the S7 Edge. I get at least 18-28 hours of battery life, with sot of 3-4.5 hours. The S7 edge got 12-16 hours with sot 2-3. UI is good and no lag detected at all, especially how I use the phone, not a heavy user, but I'm busy on the phone
Same here. I had an S7edge for two years and loved it. I now upgraded to S9+.
I want to be honest. After the first hype you get about a new phone etc. I cannot say that I am extremely amazed by this upgrade.
Don't get me wrong. S9+ is fantastic. It is a phone that has everything. I cannot find a fault. The smoothness is amazing, the screen is amazing, the speed is amazing. But if you used to have an S7 edge, you are also used to most of what samsung offers. Excellent camera, edge screen, samsung apps etc etc.
To be honest I am a power user, so I had installed most of the updated touchwiz apps through APKs (including the new touchwiz launcher) in my s7edge so my daily experience and use of the phone remain the same.
I don't know if I should have waited for oreo to come to S7edge and then decide to upgrade or not, but there were a few areas in s9+ that made me bite the bullet and proceed in ordering it.
- The looks. S7 edge is a very good looking phone but S9+... oh my... I think I am in love with the way it looks.
- 6gb of ram. S7 edge was lacking in this sector. The ram management was not so good. The ram management in s9+ is just extraordinary. There are times that I close an app at night, fall asleep, and the next morning I reopen the app and is in the exact same page that I left it.
- Battery seems better than S7 edge. Maybe power management is better in s9+ due to processor or Oreo android.
- Cameras of both phones take excellent pictures. So nothing too special about S9.
- Speakers is a big upgrade. S7 edge speaker was very low volume. S9+ rocks the place.
- S9 supports project treble. So hopefully S9 will be getting updates sooner. Timely android updates is the only sector that Samsung is falling behind.
Bottom line is that s9+ surely worths the upgrade, but if you come from an s7 edge don't expect the changes and your daily usage and feel to be extremely different and rock your world. Especially if you just update to the s9 and not the s9+.
If you come from another phone (not a recent samsung one), for sure you will be amazed.
I could live easily with s7edge for at least another year, especially if it gets the oreo update. Or I could easily root it and install an s9 rom.
I am just saying all this so an s7edge owner to take everything into account before rushing getting the s9+.
I reluctantly upgraded from an S7 Edge. Didn't want to lose FoxFi but the S7 was so slow and charging was becoming an issue. Got an unlocked S9+ direct from Samsung. This thing is lightening fast. Love the Intelligent Scan. There are times I want to unlock but have sterile gloves on and I don't feel like dealing with a PIN.
That being said...the battery life when I got it was AMAZING. I have long days where it's a pain to charge and it last(ed). Until the update. Now battery is not so stellar. Anyone else experiencing this?
I'm surprised at how many are in the same boat upgrading from the S7 Edge!
My Tmo S7E was so SLOW after all the updates, I resisted throwing it out the window. Their trade in program giving $360 for it was a steal so I jumped on it immediately. Loving the S9+ all the way! Phone is an absolute beast and I love the 6GB of ram. It keeps prompting me to update but I AM NOT UPDATING! don't fix what isn't broken right?
xxlikquidxx said:
i like the Bixby button.... so that I can use "BxActions" to program it as my quick Sound/Vibrate button, or turn on flashlight, or take screenshot, or wifi on/off, etc...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh man, I didn't know that! I'll have to look into this...! Really wish Samsung had a physical button to set to Loud/Vibrate/Mute
S7edge to S9+ here as well, I'll comment on the VR. I ordered the new GearVR headset before I got the phone in, and using it is like night and day.
-S7edge would overheat in 10-20 minutes, show error and lock up sometimes until it cooled. Unplugged, I'd get from 100-25% in less than 1 3d movie (avg 1:30 in battery only vr usage, 50% screen brightness) When plugged into the Samsung power supply would only drop battery from 100%-70% in 2 hours.
-S9+ has yet to overheat in VR, screendoor is a little more pronounced, but can watch 2:20 movie in 3D (50% screen brightness as usual) battery only 100%-55% and when plugged in would not charge unless headset is off (sleep mode) but would not discharge any battery, start at 100% end at 100%.
S9+ VR headset: SM-R325NZVAXAR is what I ordered. I use this along with Riftcat to simulate a Vive headset and play Elite dangerous for hours, no overheat and no battery drain when plugged in. Smooth as silk.
Another person going from S7 Edge to S9+. Overall I agree with the prior comments, the phone really isn't much bigger but the performance difference is HUGE. I setup many apps and the S7E was bogging down. For example: running Google Play Music and Waze in my car would make the audio choppy at times and Waze would lag. On the S9+ it runs smooth.
A few other comments:
- I used a UAG case ( specifically the Plasma ) for my S7 Edge and now my S9+, I think it is great
- I use BxActions and have it mapped to Google Assistant. I wish there was a way officially disable Bixby and map things to Google Assistant but the BxActions app works.
People are having lots of launch issues with the 7 series, but I just wanted to say that (so far) my P7P has been really good! I like the brightness of the screen, the fingerprint works better for me, everything is snappy, not too hot at all https://nox.tips/ https://xender.vip/.
I hope other people are having a good experience, and if you aren't I'm sorry it's gone that way, I just want nervous people who are stalking the subreddit and seeing all these issues to know that it's not all bad! Having issues sucks, and quirks that you don't like also sucks but remember that you can RMA it and you can get used to things, but also to keep an eye out for any issues people are posting about.
I'm not complaining about these posts btw, keep them coming and I just wanted to give my intial feedback of the phone too, it's been great and I hope it stays that way. Happy Pixeling my Googles
s1helly said:
People are having lots of launch issues with the 7 series, but I just wanted to say that (so far) my P7P has been really good! I like the brightness of the screen, the fingerprint works better for me, everything is snappy, not too hot at all.
I hope other people are having a good experience, and if you aren't I'm sorry it's gone that way, I just want nervous people who are stalking the subreddit and seeing all these issues to know that it's not all bad! Having issues sucks, and quirks that you don't like also sucks but remember that you can RMA it and you can get used to things, but also to keep an eye out for any issues people are posting about.
I'm not complaining about these posts btw, keep them coming and I just wanted to give my intial feedback of the phone too, it's been great and I hope it stays that way. Happy Pixeling my Googles
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm gonna say not nearly good for me so far but that's always been the case with me and nexus/pixel phones. I've always had lag issues, quality control issues and scrolling issues (particularly while we browsing). I've had all that with the current phone plus lost the ability to receive texts for 4 days. Everything seems to have resolved itself today for some reason but it'd par for the course for me. I used to think all android phones were buggy like this until I moved over to Samsung after the pixel 3 and it's been a great and smooth experience. I finally came back here hoping things would be better. I do miss the superior multitasking and overall brute force of the Samsungs but I do like the little things that the pixel gets right.
chetly968 said:
I'm gonna say not nearly good for me so far but that's always been the case with me and nexus/pixel phones. I've always had lag issues, quality control issues and scrolling issues (particularly while we browsing). I've had all that with the current phone plus lost the ability to receive texts for 4 days. Everything seems to have resolved itself today for some reason but it'd par for the course for me. I used to think all android phones were buggy like this until I moved over to Samsung after the pixel 3 and it's been a great and smooth experience. I finally came back here hoping things would be better. I do miss the superior multitasking and overall brute force of the Samsungs but I do like the little things that the pixel gets right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like Samsung's your brand bruh. Stick with what works for you tbh.
Power button placement really annoys me. Why would anyone put a power button above the volume rocker? I keep hitting the volume up button thinking its power.
Screen has been pretty nice. The curve is not too bad this time around. I have been avoiding all "waterfall" screens since the OP7P because of the glare and other annoyances that come with such screen but this one on the P7P is ok.
Picture quality is great, probably on par with the iphones and S22s. Video is ok. Antennas are ok, havent had issued so far. Phone can get pretty hot randomly though. Was uploading a couple videos to the cloud and it was taking forever, drained a decent amount of battery and was super hot. Killed the photos app and everything went back to normal. Also got pretty hot doing a couple other things but hopefully nothing serious.
Also, I dunno if its just my luck or maybe thats just the default behavior since Android 12 but I have been getting lots of app reflesh/reloads when switching between apps. So if I am browsing in the reddit app for example, switch to my browser to do a couple things online, maybe open a notes app and note something down, go back to reddit and it refreshes back from the top instead of where I left off. Switch back to the browser and the website would reload instead of resuming where I left off. 12gb of ram on this phone and even had 18gb on my Asus ROG phone but keeps happening. If someone knows how to resolve this, I would be super happy.
Will try playing CODM and see how that goes, havent found a phone that doesnt throttle too much. Everything with an SD 888 and newer has been throttling (yes I know this is not an SD chip).
Sorry for my long reply but wanted to share my experience. Overall, I still like this phone and will probably stay with it for the foreseeable future.
morphius88 said:
Power button placement really annoys me. Why would anyone put a power button above the volume rocker? I keep hitting the volume up button thinking its power.
Screen has been pretty nice. The curve is not too bad this time around. I have been avoiding all "waterfall" screens since the OP7P because of the glare and other annoyances that come with such screen but this one on the P7P is ok.
Picture quality is great, probably on par with the iphones and S22s. Video is ok. Antennas are ok, havent had issued so far. Phone can get pretty hot randomly though. Was uploading a couple videos to the cloud and it was taking forever, drained a decent amount of battery and was super hot. Killed the photos app and everything went back to normal. Also got pretty hot doing a couple other things but hopefully nothing serious.
Also, I dunno if its just my luck or maybe thats just the default behavior since Android 12 but I have been getting lots of app reflesh/reloads when switching between apps. So if I am browsing in the reddit app for example, switch to my browser to do a couple things online, maybe open a notes app and note something down, go back to reddit and it refreshes back from the top instead of where I left off. Switch back to the browser and the website would reload instead of resuming where I left off. 12gb of ram on this phone and even had 18gb on my Asus ROG phone but keeps happening. If someone knows how to resolve this, I would be super happy.
Will try playing CODM and see how that goes, havent found a phone that doesnt throttle too much. Everything with an SD 888 and newer has been throttling (yes I know this is not an SD chip).
Sorry for my long reply but wanted to share my experience. Overall, I still like this phone and will probably stay with it for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes, the power button in relation to the volume button is a little annoyance to but I figure you can get used to it eventually. Harder to take screenshots that way I've noticed. One definite positive to this phone compared to my last couple Samsung phones is the batter life. Seems to be much better in that regard for sure. Gaming is definitely better on other phones compared to this one for the more demanding titles. But unless you're into competitive gaming you won't notice much difference.
chetly968 said:
Ah yes, the power button in relation to the volume button is a little annoyance to but I figure you can get used to it eventually. Harder to take screenshots that way I've noticed. One definite positive to this phone compared to my last couple Samsung phones is the batter life. Seems to be much better in that regard for sure. Gaming is definitely better on other phones compared to this one for the more demanding titles. But unless you're into competitive gaming you won't notice much difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah for sure. Not doing any competitive gaming but will for sure be a downgrade when compared to Asus RoG Phone 5S Pro. Just not sure how much of a downgrade. Battery possibly also since that phone had 6k mAh. But obviously 2 very different price points. I am surprised you are getting better battery on this phone than the Samsungs (I guess depends which models you used). However I avoid all Samsungs due to no rooting ability so I cant compare personally (but my wife has been using them without issue).
Button I will probably get used to... or at least use double tap more often.
morphius88 said:
Yeah for sure. Not doing any competitive gaming but will for sure be a downgrade when compared to Asus RoG Phone 5S Pro. Just not sure how much of a downgrade. Battery possibly also since that phone had 6k mAh. But obviously 2 very different price points. I am surprised you are getting better battery on this phone than the Samsungs (I guess depends which models you used). However I avoid all Samsungs due to no rooting ability so I cant compare personally (but my wife has been using them without issue).
Button I will probably get used to... or at least use double tap more often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was most recently using the z fold 4 be t before that the s22 ultra. Definitely good battery life but this pixel is about 10-15% better for me.
This Pixel 7 pro has been nothing shy of awesome for me! First year of no Google shipment delays, out the box the phone set up mirroring my old phone upon just signing in to my account. Screen is great, speed & fluidness is great, love the biometrics, no problems with battery life, etc.
Overall Pixel 7 pro is definitely the best Pixel to date for me. The camera bar actually looks much better in a case but that's just my perception. I also don't have issues with the power button as I've been using pixels for a while, which is funny because I thought it was perfect that they lowered the buttons a little this year which felt like perfect placement to me.
I've always had love for Samsung phones but they just don't do a good job to me at cohesively supplying a consistent product for "everyone".
manners400 said:
This Pixel 7 pro has been nothing shy of awesome for me! First year of no Google shipment delays, out the box the phone set up mirroring my old phone upon just signing in to my account. Screen is great, speed & fluidness is great, love the biometrics, no problems with battery life, etc.
Overall Pixel 7 pro is definitely the best Pixel to date for me. The camera bar actually looks much better in a case but that's just my perception. I also don't have issues with the power button as I've been using pixels for a while, which is funny because I thought it was perfect that they lowered the buttons a little this year which felt like perfect placement to me.
I've always had love for Samsung phones but they just don't do a good job to me at cohesively supplying a consistent product for "everyone".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I agree with you, I think one of the most smooth launches.
This phone is a huge step up to the Pixel 6 Pro, even though the spec sheets don't really show it.
As others have mentioned here the Power button and volume buttons are in a strange place, I keep hitting the power button thinking I am going for the volume up. The location of these makes even less sense if you are using a car holder/cradle because most of these cover these buttons or even rock them while supported.
Camera is great for the little I have used it so far, am very impressed with the quality even with a decent amount of digital zoom
Bluetooth connectivity and reliability is my better than Pixel 6 Pro.
morphius88 said:
Yeah for sure. Not doing any competitive gaming but will for sure be a downgrade when compared to Asus RoG Phone 5S Pro. Just not sure how much of a downgrade. Battery possibly also since that phone had 6k mAh. But obviously 2 very different price points. I am surprised you are getting better battery on this phone than the Samsungs (I guess depends which models you used). However I avoid all Samsungs due to no rooting ability so I cant compare personally (but my wife has been using them without issue).
Button I will probably get used to... or at least use double tap more often.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not. I'm getting considerably better battery life on this phone than I did on my S21 Ultra which was the phone I got the best battery life with from all the Samsung devices I owned, and the S21 Ultra in turn had a better battery life than the S22 Ultra if reports are to be believed. Although I can't confirm it personally as I've never owned the S22 Ultra.
Also, I'm sure you know but Samsung phones can be rooted, but it can't be done in a way which is non-traceable if a warranty repair is subsequently required. I speak from experience when I say it will be refused even if you unroot and relock the bootloader thanks to the Knox e-fuse.
Beefheart said:
I'm not. I'm getting considerably better battery life on this phone than I did on my S21 Ultra which was the phone I got the best battery life with from all the Samsung devices I owned, and the S21 Ultra in turn had a better battery life than the S22 Ultra if reports are to be believed. Although I can't confirm it personally as I've never owned the S22 Ultra.
Also, I'm sure you know but Samsung phones can be rooted, but it can't be done in a way which is non-traceable if a warranty repair is subsequently required. I speak from experience when I say it will be refused even if you unroot and relock the bootloader thanks to the Knox e-fuse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
S22 Ultra had similar battery life, but not better than Pixel 7 Pro at least with my own usage. I had S22 Ultra 30 days for testing only.
Also, Knox and their e-fuse is an issue outside of EU. In EU, tripping Knox or unlocking the bootloader doesn't affect the warranty.
I dunno, I miss the power button above. My P7P shipped a week early, so I'll have it by early next week! can't wait to see how it stacks up against my S22Ultra and OnePlus 7 Pro
Beefheart said:
I'm not. I'm getting considerably better battery life on this phone than I did on my S21 Ultra which was the phone I got the best battery life with from all the Samsung devices I owned, and the S21 Ultra in turn had a better battery life than the S22 Ultra if reports are to be believed. Although I can't confirm it personally as I've never owned the S22 Ultra.
Also, I'm sure you know but Samsung phones can be rooted, but it can't be done in a way which is non-traceable if a warranty repair is subsequently required. I speak from experience when I say it will be refused even if you unroot and relock the bootloader thanks to the Knox e-fuse.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was under the impression that only Exynos version of Samsungs could be rooted and that it would trip Knox. I havent seen anything concrete about rooting a SnapDragon Samsung (at least not the last 4-5 years anyway).
ekin_strops said:
S22 Ultra had similar battery life, but not better than Pixel 7 Pro at least with my own usage. I had S22 Ultra 30 days for testing only.
Also, Knox and their e-fuse is an issue outside of EU. In EU, tripping Knox or unlocking the bootloader doesn't affect the warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A common misconception. It does. I've had a repair refused. Sure, I could perhaps take it further. Assuming I wanted to spend thousands on a court case.
morphius88 said:
I was under the impression that only Exynos version of Samsungs could be rooted and that it would trip Knox. I havent seen anything concrete about rooting a SnapDragon Samsung (at least not the last 4-5 years anyway).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To my knowledge Snapdragon Samsung phones can be rooted, providing you get one from a territory that doesn't have a locked down bootloader. The issue is that most Snapdragon Samsung phones in America are from providers like Verizon who lock down the bootloader, it's this that prevents root, not the SOC manufacturer.
Beefheart said:
A common misconception. It does. I've had a repair refused. Sure, I could perhaps take it further. Assuming I wanted to spend thousands on a court case.
To my knowledge Snapdragon Samsung phones can be rooted, providing you get one from a territory that doesn't have a locked down bootloader. The issue is that most Snapdragon Samsung phones in America are from providers like Verizon who lock down the bootloader, it's this that prevents root, not the SOC manufacturer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, it doesn't in Europe Union, it's not a misconception. You're free to read the EU ruling on consumer protection. If the shop/store refused to do it, they're just scamming (or have no clue about this), but it's against the law.
You don't need to privately file a lawsuit in order for them to follow the LAW. There are government institutions that deal with this stuff, you just have to knock on a proper door (assuming that you live in Europe Union, because if not, that's a different issue).
Beefheart said:
To my knowledge Snapdragon Samsung phones can be rooted, providing you get one from a territory that doesn't have a locked down bootloader. The issue is that most Snapdragon Samsung phones in America are from providers like Verizon who lock down the bootloader, it's this that prevents root, not the SOC manufacturer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ehhhh... Samsung locks them down when ordered directly from them as well. There have been exploits but most of the newer phones, there is a dude who charges people to unlock them.
ekin_strops said:
Again, it doesn't in Europe Union, it's not a misconception. You're free to read the EU ruling on consumer protection. If the shop/store refused to do it, they're just scamming (or have no clue about this), but it's against the law.
You don't need to privately file a lawsuit in order for them to follow the LAW. There are government institutions that deal with this stuff, you just have to knock on a proper door (assuming that you live in Europe Union, because if not, that's a different issue).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can only assume you haven't dealt with a big corporation like Samsung. Knocking on a "proper door" won't make a difference, the amount of red tape you would need to go through renders it not worth the bother unless you have a determination on principle. And even then it won't be easy or quick. Then they'd likely still refuse and deal with the consequences.
Big business don't care about consumer rights, law or no law.
EtherealRemnant said:
Ehhhh... Samsung locks them down when ordered directly from them as well. There have been exploits but most of the newer phones, there is a dude who charges people to unlock them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've rooted my Exynos s22u bought directly from Samsung, no problems (apart from Knox) Are we talking about SD here?
ekin_strops said:
Again, it doesn't in Europe Union, it's not a misconception. You're free to read the EU ruling on consumer protection. If the shop/store refused to do it, they're just scamming (or have no clue about this), but it's against the law.
You don't need to privately file a lawsuit in order for them to follow the LAW. There are government institutions that deal with this stuff, you just have to knock on a proper door (assuming that you live in Europe Union, because if not, that's a different issue).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Beefheart said:
I can only assume you haven't dealt with a big corporation like Samsung. Knocking on a "proper door" won't make a difference, the amount of red tape you would need to go through renders it not worth the bother unless you have a determination on principle. And even then it won't be easy or quick. Then they'd likely still refuse and deal with the consequences.
Big business don't care about consumer rights, law or no law.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be wrong, but I believe what @ekin_strops meant about "Knock[ing] on a 'proper door'" is to go after the "small shop/store", not the whole Samsung corporation on the matter of repairing a knox tripped device in the EU.....
I can imagine the "red tape" and litigation to try and make that happen, honestly would probably lead to Samsung not even implementing knox to trip when unlocking the bootloader to begin with, but they have their reasonings (mostly to market their security capabilities as well as appease carriers) to do this and I doubt they'd let it go easily.....
Beefheart said:
I can only assume you haven't dealt with a big corporation like Samsung. Knocking on a "proper door" won't make a difference, the amount of red tape you would need to go through renders it not worth the bother unless you have a determination on principle. And even then it won't be easy or quick. Then they'd likely still refuse and deal with the consequences.
Big business don't care about consumer rights, law or no law.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's why also big corporations like Apple need to switch to Type-C (in EU) because no one cares about the law, right? lol
I literally never got refused a repair from Samsung (In Germany) even though I OPENLY and CLEARLY mentioned that the Knox is tripped due to running custom binaries, literally sent the device in while it was rooted.
I'm not sure about your experiences, but in Germany, the law works pretty well, and regardless of how big a "company" is, if the law is on your side, there is no one scamming you out of your RIGHT to repair under warranty as it's stated in the LAW and the RIGHT for the WARRANTY under any of the mentioned circumstances.
Thinking about getting a Mix Fold 2, but having watched reviews, there’s a couple things which make me unsure if I should get it.
Seems like there haven’t been any real changes to the UI since release (hopefully there’ll be some improvements with MIUI 14 official release?), but have there been any patches / improvements to thermal throttling / overheating, and any camera optimization?
Really loving the design, form factor etc. of the Mix Fold 2, but feel like it lacks behind on UI functions, and the general optimization. Or atleast it did in the reviews I’ve seen, but most of them are now 4-5 months old.
Thoughts?
Hello, I have the phone since a few weeks. Started with MIUI13 and have received the update to MIUI14 1 week ago and to be honest, it was a very bad experience. There was really not a since noticable improvement from my opinion. I even worse, there are a few downsides which came along with the update.
I am now disappointed? No. If you really like foldable phones then this one is clearly the best.
The UI is so far okay and you can get around a few things by implementing here and there a workaround
UI is the same as it was at launch and I dont see them changing it any time soon.
I havent had any issues with overheating or throttling to a noticeable point. Its not very hot where I live though...
Camera app has had a few updates iirc so there should be some general improvements but I havent taken comparison images or anything.
As for it lacking behind in features I havent noticed myself missing anything I would want to do. The chinese skin does have a few quirks I dont like though so im just waiting on kernel sources so I can port lineage or something else.
The phone is optimised very well imo. I can easily get 8-9 hours SOT even with all of my changes to run apps in the background and everything runs super smoothly
MrSzyma said:
Thinking about getting a Mix Fold 2, but having watched reviews, there’s a couple things which make me unsure if I should get it.
Seems like there haven’t been any real changes to the UI since release (hopefully there’ll be some improvements with MIUI 14 official release?), but have there been any patches / improvements to thermal throttling / overheating, and any camera optimization?
Really loving the design, form factor etc. of the Mix Fold 2, but feel like it lacks behind on UI functions, and the general optimization. Or atleast it did in the reviews I’ve seen, but most of them are now 4-5 months old.
Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where are your concern? What do you expect?
Terminator-XX said:
Where are your concern? What do you expect?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hardware wise hands down my favorite foldable. More concerned about software. Seen in a couple reviews that it can get hot enough gaming, for even short amounts of time, to where the app crashes / force quits. Feel like it’s lacking abit camera wise too. Feel like that sensor can do better, just that the software needs optimization, but as Thatsjustlogic says there have been updates, so hopefully it has gotten better since those reviews.
Also feel like pretty much all foldables other than Samsung don’t utilize the foldable functionality that well (lack of horizontal split for example).
Chinese rom worries / worried me too.
Don’t want to spend 1500$ to then have a phone that feels «unfinished» I guess?
Having read through the forums now tho seems like many of my worries can be solved with some modules.
The phone is "finished"
Here and there are "missing" features. For instance I had for years Samsung and Folds as well.
In the Samsung camera app, when you take a selfie, you can raise your hand as a gesture and this will create a screenshot. This is just not there on the Xiaomi phone app.
In general all words pretty stable but yes you will "find" here and there some annoying things but this really depends on your personal behavior. Everybody who have this phone have a small list of this which are not working as expected. And I would say nobody of us a just average phone users, we are power users and we have high expectations. BUT, what is the alternative? Samsung fold 4? For my opinion, this small form factor of the phone is a big boomer. This outer display always fell to narrow and it just does not feel good. So I have unfolded the Samsung for every tiny action I did and this was annoying too.