Database Develop

[Q] Updates expectations

Hi everyone!
I'm looking to buy this tablet (me176cx) or galaxy tab 4... My doubt about this tablet is the hopes of an oficial update. How's Asus with the update policy? Is there a rom comunity?
Thanks

No there is not a rom community....I would go with the nexus or stick with the galaxy tab 4 if you're a samsung fan. Also, to note, everyone has their own individual experiences with companies....Mine with Asus is not good. I am sending back my 176cx for the second time and I've only had it a couple months. The customer service is awful. FWIW

There is no unlocked bootloader at this point. Without that, no roms. As far as updates, I am leaning towards we'll see one. Personally if I had to do it over again, I'd have bought a 2013 nexus or the tab 4. Who knows, maybe I'll see some earth shattering update but at this point my Galaxy S3 actually runs better. I see slow response and horrid memory management on this device. Apps closing themselves, streaming almost impossible. I'm actually shocked Asus ever made a nexus device. Imo they learned nothing from it. Ultimately though, I will probably shy away from Intel based devices in the future. Even the Kindle Fire wouldn't have been a bad choice. You have to sideload Google but that doesn't seem like too big of a deal.

^^ Completely agree.

I'm not happy with my me572 (which is supposed to be more performant) either. It runs out of memory after a day even after killing absolutely everything and clearing all cache. I basically have to restart this device at least once a day to properly use it. It's great for media consumption (good screen and micro SD slot) and the occasional Web surfing, but performance is awful. The nexus 7 2013 is a much, much better option. At this point I'm considering returning it (got two more weeks left), add cash and get the Galaxy tab s, or the IPad mini retina.
But this is definitely my last Asus product ever, if they would have unlocked the bootloader and let us run cyanogenmod this tab would be at least enjoyable.

Samsung is underestimating their competition likely to Galaxy Note 4

I'm apologizing for all outburst!
Samsung has a bottom line today is not in competition (Iphone plus? Nexus 6), of course it's the line Note has a niche market. Niche of the most demanding customers.
I love the line note note is different is not a smart phone is not a phablet, tablet. Note is observed.
PDA PALMTOP remember he had in 2004, for years had no competition. He later turned to dust.
Samsung have to stop this behavior much like a hyperactive child with acute attention deficit lost to a very wild market.
Samsung is underestimating their competition likely to be very careless with your most demanding customers.
As for update delays and low quality of the current Lollipop. Surely this must be the number of models and variants exist. But it does not justify S6 has a much better operating system "S6 5.1.1 ota rollout", and note 4 stay with median lollipop.
I do not like to compare, but even if IOS8 had many flaws the iPhone 4S and iPad 2 receive the same attention updates together. I think the mistake strategy, think Samsung is still low self-esteem, the exaggerated respect for Apple, which is also intended for the low sales of IPHONEPLUS ??? You may have influenced the strategy is to let the note 4 to the side and focus too much on the S6. I'm just guessing.

You have to consider the fact that Samsung has a lot of devices to update. You can't compare IOS who is a closed ecosystem with 5-6 device to upgrade and maintain with Android and Samsung who has a lot of phones and tablets.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

Well first, none of us users asked for a hundred versions of the same device. Let alone hundreds of devices to flood the market.
Second, as OP stated, most of Note users are demanding power users. If you want to stand out in a market full of big screen phones/phablets now, you have to be up to it and dedicate the resources (time, staff, ...) for this.
Third, Note 4 isn't like iPhone 4S or iPad 2. It's this year's flagship for God's sake!
Fourth, Samsung is all about S6 and making up for S5 sales, which isn't wrong. But in the process a company that big mustn't overlook their existing flagship and their true signature device. Afterall, people still buy through word of mouth.

George.B said:
You have to consider the fact that Samsung has a lot of devices to update. You can't compare IOS who is a closed ecosystem with 5-6 device to upgrade and maintain with Android and Samsung who has a lot of phones and tablets.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ahmedrehan said:
Well first, none of us users asked for a hundred versions of the same device. Let alone hundreds of devices to flood the market.
Second, as OP stated, most of Note users are demanding power users. If you want to stand out in a market full of big screen phones/phablets now, you have to be up to it and dedicate the resources (time, staff, ...) for this.
Third, Note 4 isn't like iPhone 4S or iPad 2. It's this year's flagship for God's sake!
Fourth, Samsung is all about S6 and making up for S5 sales, which isn't wrong. But in the process a company that big mustn't overlook their existing flagship and their true signature device. Afterall, people still buy through word of mouth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
: cyclops:: cyclops:: cyclops:: cyclops:
First I should learn English before posting basic things,
Second, I made a mistake in making comparisons (IOS) thing I disapprove.
Third, I would not say "Note 4 is as iPhone 4S or iPad 2 or iPhone plus or nokia, playstation 4"
I consider the Note 4, unique not cocorrente no comparisons!
Room I made a big investment, it is believed that Samsung provide a change of heart! If I'm wrong on this site complain too much.
Certainly Quinta got it wrong!
To conclude, I am complaining about the note 4 is still my choice! I'm frustrated with my battery, then slow to open applications, and more!
My expectations are to caller line company Samsung!
I'm not a noob, not enteder logical differences, which means a unique system dedicated to small appliances line. An open system, bla bla bla bla bla Blal!
I will study English, and in the future maybe I'll be right back!

Maiaman said:
: cyclops:: cyclops:: cyclops:: cyclops:
First I should learn English before posting basic things,
Second, I made a mistake in making comparisons (IOS) thing I disapprove.
Third, I would not say "Note 4 is as iPhone 4S or iPad 2 or iPhone plus or nokia, playstation 4"
I consider the Note 4, unique not cocorrente no comparisons!
Room I made a big investment, it is believed that Samsung provide a change of heart! If I'm wrong on this site complain too much.
Certainly Quinta got it wrong!
To conclude, I am complaining about the note 4 is still my choice! I'm frustrated with my battery, then slow to open applications, and more!
My expectations are to caller line company Samsung!
I'm not a noob, not enteder logical differences, which means a unique system dedicated to small appliances line. An open system, bla bla bla bla bla Blal!
I will study English, and in the future maybe I'll be right back!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe that you made your points correctly and we understand them. I have been wondering the same thing, why is an S4 so much different from an S5 in terms of the software? Why is a Note 3 so much different from a Note 4? If Samsung wants to stay ahead of the curve, I thing a great place to start would be to keep their software matching to a greater degree, from TW to S-Notes to... you name it. I think that Sammy is losing focus in trying to capture the new user while not understanding that they are losing users out the back door because of their software.

I agree. But you know what teaches a company a lesson? By going to another company... They not only get one less sale, their rivals get one more sale. I think my Note 4 is very fast EXCEPT in the multitasking button (or recent apps button, whatever you want to call it). It's very slow, and it is rather frustrating. If Samsung cannot fix this within the next months before the Note 5 comes out, my next device will certainly not be a Samsung device. I paid well over 600 euros for a device, and I expect it to work well. Now, if they can't, that means that their current users aren't a priority and they're only focusing on their future users; ironically losing their current ones.
It's a buyers market. As you mention, the Note line has some very big pros on its side, such as the SPen. Apart from that, there are other devices that could give Samsung a run for their money. I recently tried using Windows Phone as my daily driver and it was a VERY nice OS (but no Android). I'll never go back to iOS because of how closed it was... But in Android itself there are TONS Of phones - that's the beauty of it. You have so many choices!
But you should never blindly give a company your money if they're not working to maintain you... I mean, after all, you PAID them for their product. This would be another story if they gave you their phones freely! But heck, for 600+ euros... I'd expect them to want to take care of their customers.
Bottom line: I'm very happy with my Note 4. Battery life could and should be improved. Speed could be improved from what I read on the forums. I'll give them until the Note 5 release, and then I'll reevaluate... Until then, there is nothing I can do, less selling the phone is an option and picking up another device. But I'll be sticking with my Note 4

Great topic bro
Seriously Samsung is not giving a teention to note 4 at all i mean even after the outdated update still most of the countries have KitKat and still waiting LP
This policy of samsumg is drawing users away from this product. I mean coommon i have an octa core processor and the touchwiz is making this phone like its runing on single core always delays and stutters . lag lag lag and lag everywhere. Even a nexus from 4 years can feel snapier than note 4. Of course we get 50000 + on antutu but that number doesnt translate to reality day to day. All is that i can say the software on note 4 is very poorly optimized if non . i have 3 gb of ram and nothing is open in recent apps and im already consumin 2.2 gb of ram. If samsumg cannot do it at least send us the open source codes so that the talented people over xda can make it happen
Sent from my SM-N910H using XDA Free mobile app

Problem is,at the moment I see no real competition to the Note 4. The M9 is a massive disappointment, the Z4 looks to be stuck In last year, the G4 has got a locked bootloader again. Despite its flaws,the Note 4 is still one of the best phones out there. I changed my phone 4 times last year and this year so far I haven't seen anything that offers better than the N4.

The heavy PWM samsung chooses for the display made this my last samsung. Probably my next one will be an LG, they dont use the heavy PWM like samsung does but then again they dont have the quality samsung has with it's screens.
Technology luxury problems.....

SquirtingCherry said:
The heavy PWM samsung chooses for the display made this my last samsung. Probably my next one will be an LG, they dont use the heavy PWM like samsung does but then again they dont have the quality samsung has with it's screens.
Technology luxury problems.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with you about the PWM, it really annoys me but the fact you won't be able to flash a new ROM or kernel on the G4 annoys me even more.

Everyone here loves their Note 4. That's why we demand the attention it deserves. It's the best android device ever created (minus some software optimizations, support, multitasking lag).
But to wait a whole year until the Note 5 comes out to get a -by then a year old- OS update?! That makes no point to me at all. Like other people pointed out, most countries still await 5.0.1 update. Having paid €600+ for this phone, i paid for the best phone on the market. That includes support and OS updates and performance and stellar camera performance -as promised/advertised- and here we are after 6 months since release, with no updates or a very poorly optimized update.

If only nexus devices had sd card and removable battery, i think they will kill almost all android sales. I am surprized my daughter's aging nexus 7 is still running Lollipop 5.1 today while my samsung phones even the newer ones are running kitkat.
I had nexus 4 before and never had any issue with the screen. Same with the nexus 5.
I think think samsung wants us to upgrade our hardware to get the latest software. They are now talking about the note 5.
I will keep my note 4 for maybe 18 months ang see what is in the market. I'm also getting tired with samsung and it's BloatwiZ os.

Samsung is paying for their mistakes in the past and it may take longer than imagine, the line Note is one of his greatest hits, so I fell in love with the note 4. I see no other option, I can only regret that we are paying for cost of his mistakes. So I resign myself and enjoy this great device!
Cheers to all

xdm9mm said:
If only nexus devices had sd card and removable battery, i think they will kill almost all android sales. I am surprized my daughter's aging nexus 7 is still running Lollipop 5.1 today while my samsung phones even the newer ones are running kitkat.
I had nexus 4 before and never had any issue with the screen. Same with the nexus 5.
I think think samsung wants us to upgrade our hardware to get the latest software. They are now talking about the note 5.
I will keep my note 4 for maybe 18 months ang see what is in the market. I'm also getting tired with samsung and it's BloatwiZ os.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the Nexus 6 had an Sd card and good quality camera I'd move over straight away, I love all the custom Roms and kernels my N5 had and N6 has. Unfortunately for what I use the phone for, the N6 just isn't good enough and from what I've seen from the other flagships launched this year so far, they aren't either.

xdm9mm said:
If only nexus devices had sd card and removable battery, i think they will kill almost all android sales. I am surprized my daughter's aging nexus 7 is still running Lollipop 5.1 today while my samsung phones even the newer ones are running kitkat.
I had nexus 4 before and never had any issue with the screen. Same with the nexus 5.
I think think samsung wants us to upgrade our hardware to get the latest software. They are now talking about the note 5.
I will keep my note 4 for maybe 18 months ang see what is in the market. I'm also getting tired with samsung and it's BloatwiZ os.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, if the Nexus 6 had MicroSD and removable Battery I'd have most probably chosen that over the Note4, although the VR issue remains, since at the moment only Samsung has a proper implementation of Mobile VR with GearVR.

Anyone who buys Note4 for anything else then stylus is fool. There are many same or better devices for much better price - if you do not want or know to utilize active digitizer.

I don't think we are all fools for buying Note4. I don't use very much the stylus. But Note 4 still remains one of the best phones of the market. Believe me I've had a lot of phones, i meen a lot. I've had Sony, LG, Xiaomi, HTC, BlackBerry, Apple, Huawei and a lot more I can't remember right now. But every time I'm returning to Samsung. We should admit that Samsung has a lot of good parts. Ok it is not the best company when it comes to updates, but not the worst. Belive me Sony has the updates for lollipop rolling right now, Huawei still waiting, Xiaomi still waiting. Maybe HTC and LG moved a little faster.
Sent from my SM-N910F using XDA Free mobile app

Lollipop update on Z3 is garbage

OK I got Note 4 with Exynos chip (64-bit disabled !!!) and I'm running Lollipop 5.0.1 with a lot of issues, lag & bugs and RAM management issues also.
no API 2 camera or RAW support, they just sent Lollipop update missing many advantages of the original Lollipop OS, Samsung just fooling us by a Software (Touchwize) reducing our Hardware (Note 4) real capabilities.
like
1- camera missing RAW support and other options.
2- no 64-bit abilities for Exynos model.
Samsung should fix the Note 4 issues as fast as possible & we don't have to wait for Note 5.
we need full Lollipop update with a fix to the 5.0.1 update bugs.
I always was an Android user but I'm thinking seriously to leave Android to Windows Phone 10 or even iOS, because with those OS's you will find much more respect, updates & development .
Now Samsung just focusing on Galaxy S6 with an update like every few days to solve S6 issues & they are ignoring the rest of devices, specially a flagship like Note 4
our voice should reach Samsung ..................... guys if you are going to buy Samsung device please think again.

[Q] as of today

would you buy the nexus 6 again today over other phones?

Yes but not direct from Motorola
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app

Probably not.
bambam126 said:
would you buy the nexus 6 again today over other phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I perhaps would try the LG G4. Prior to switching I had the LG G3 and it was a pretty great phone. Considering you only needed root and the exposed framework to do many cool features. Thought that it was a great concept for moving forward with devices. No longer waiting for that special ROM to come. It was truly a no hassle phone.
I'd go with the Sammy S6 edge except it is very small on screen size. But my number one concern with any phone is support for Android Auto, cause when I'm mobile, I am and want to be hands free mobile. But in my humble opinion, the Nexus is much more of a dedicated ROM, Framework, and Governor type phone which requires constant attention and tweaking by the user to get the most out of.

I love my N6 but I wish the camera was faster. The camera on the G4 is the only thing I covet
Sent from my Benzo'd Google N6 on VZ

Yes, I was not at all impressed with the m9. I must admit the s6 did impress me however only 5 inches and no front facing speakers makes me not want it. I must admit I am anxiously waiting for the note 5 and what ever the next Nexus device is going to be at the end of the year. If the next Nexus is smaller than 5.5 inches I will definitely consider the Note 5.
I am still very happy with my Nexus 6

I tend not to buy phones that are 6 months old. If it was 3 months ago, then yes.
There is nothing now that I feel would be any better either though. I'd probably be waiting until Autumn unless I had a desperate requirement

Yes, mostly because root is more and more elusive. There's so much less to worry about with a Nexus device: no need for exploits nor bootloader codes, no worries about bricking, and no lack of dev support.
That said, there are areas I would like to see improvement. Between Google and all the dev support, we don't have to wait long to see and implement them.

Coming from a S4 to this phone is like night and day. Boot loader, root, general flashing all much easier with a great forum to provide support.... whats not to love?? If none of those things matter to you then any phone would do but if you like to live a little on the edge and try new stuff.... this type of phone is a good choice.

Yes. Tired of waiting for ROMs and bootloader hacks and root access for other phones. Google gives you access to everything right out the box.

I would buy my Nexus 6 today in a heartbeat. Even though it's now an "older" device, there are many points that I love and haven't really seen in other devices. Top 5 reasons:
1. Aftermarket/community support
2. Build materials and quality (I like the plastic back with the metal frame. Might not be as "pretty" but the back is less likely to show abrasions and won't dent)
3. Lollipop/"Pure" Android (no bloat, cutting-edge software, timely updates)
4. The amazing hardware package (although we all agree the camera could be better on a device in this class)
a. awesome processors
b. lots o' RAM
c. fantastic radios (cell, GPS, BT, WiFi)
d. wonderful front stereo speakers
e. dat screen, doh
f. etc...
5. Size and shape

As others have said, I cannot go without an rooted and unlocked device. My heart would sink if i had an unmodable phone. The dev and community support is great. Other phones may have nice features here and there or higher benchmarks but if it cannot rooted and unlocked I'll pass. The manufacturers may have a their own idea of how a phone should be setup, but I don't prefer it. I want to tweak it to my liking, especially since this is primarily what in use to communicate with the world.
Just as in the plethora of ROMs available here: some are stock+ while others have a ton of features. I, fortunately, have the ability to choose which user-interface best pleases my needs.
If all phones were unlocked and rootable I would have to rethink my answer.

I would absolutely buy it again.

I did just purchase mine. Had the s6 and had to return it because of display issues and the battery life was terrible. At the store they gave me a replacement with the same display issue (pink tint on bottom 1/3 of the display, very noticable next to the display model). Looked at the g flex 2 and m9 and decided I wanted to go with this. I had been saying I was gonna get a nexus anyway but the s6's hardware was very appealing. I am not disappointed with my decision at all. I did think the battery life would be a little better on this and it does get uncomfortably toasty at times but I do love this phone.

Definitely would buy again.
1) Unlockable bootloader with so little hassle
2) Dev community
At the same time I have been putting up with a slow camera ;(
Edit: good solution for camera just found: open camera (in the GPS: Dev mark Harman)

glenny buster said:
I did just purchase mine. Had the s6 and had to return it because of display issues and the battery life was terrible. At the store they gave me a replacement with the same display issue (pink tint on bottom 1/3 of the display, very noticable next to the display model). Looked at the g flex 2 and m9 and decided I wanted to go with this. I had been saying I was gonna get a nexus anyway but the s6's hardware was very appealing. I am not disappointed with my decision at all. I did think the battery life would be a little better on this and it does get uncomfortably toasty at times but I do love this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out the disabling services thread in general http://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-6/general/disabling-google-play-services-guide-t2999821/page22 post 220 talks about disabling receivers, it refers to the google play update receivers they start with system.update. I disabled those 3 and battery life has been pretty good (along with other stuff I don't use... Fit, Kids, and such). Of course you need to be rooted to do this, I am using My Android Tools (I got the paid version but there is also a free version I think) to disable stuff. Just pay close attention to the thread and don't try to experiment.... at a minimum, you will want to have a nandroid backup before you start just incase you disable something by mistake.

in tech, its all about timing. there are 810 phones i can get today.. though i think i might be happier with the 805 than the 810, but the chips in the s6 look pretty good... i might even wait for the 6s-plus to come out if i were shopping today (if the 6 plus had 2 gigs of ram i would have gotten a 6 plus)... the phone i wanted more than anything was the droid turbo when deciding (was between nexus 6, moto x, m8 and droid turbo... so lots of moto). after seeing all the development for the nexus, i dont think i would go to another phone... but an lg nexus with ips display might be nice (dont need 4k, 1080 is fine... want a 4200 mAh battery).
and i have a feeling we are still unlocking new potential with the phone, porting moto features, getting cm implementation ironed out... lollipop is still in growing pains...

I just bought mine a couple weeks ago so I'd say yes. I was just tired of lack of root and delayed updates on the Note 4.

Why buy Samsung ?

I understand many people do not care Samsung Devices are loaded with bloatware, but the price !!!!
I can not justify spending $1000 plus for a phone, especially when you can buy devices with relatively clean Android, hardware as good and in some cases better for $100s of dollars less.
How does somebody buy a Samsung device for say $1100.00 when the can but a OnePlus for $600.... ?

For me, the most important factor is the screen. Samsung is the only manufactorer I know that has the best screen, great hardware, and decent software. The bloatware could possibly be removed and I wish it could be cheaper.
I am actually using a Pixel 3 XL now. The software is clean but boring. I am mostly disappointed with the hardware. That I why I am waiting for the GS10.

garyHal said:
For me, the most important factor is the screen. Samsung is the only manufactorer I know that has the best screen, great hardware, and decent software. The bloatware could possibly be removed and I wish it could be cheaper.
I am actually using a Pixel 3 XL now. The software is clean but boring. I am mostly disappointed with the hardware. That I why I am waiting for the GS10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here lol
Btw, you should try this company, they are offering free cases for s10
https://armadillotek.com/

garyHal said:
For me, the most important factor is the screen. Samsung is the only manufactorer I know that has the best screen, great hardware, and decent software. The bloatware could possibly be removed and I wish it could be cheaper.
I am actually using a Pixel 3 XL now. The software is clean but boring. I am mostly disappointed with the hardware. That I why I am waiting for the GS10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually love my Pixel 3Xl and got tired of Samsung taking 6 + months to update the phones to new OS. After owning every generation of Note, I got tired of no root and locked down bootloaders. Despite the great screens, I'm staying on the pixel side.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app

First thing is that I love the Galaxy series.
Why Samsung??
All I am gonna do is just browse through Internet,social media, capture some decent looking pictures and I need phone with a display which is best in industry and has a great design and build quality.
When I think of all these the only thing that comes to my mind is the Galaxy series. I agree that OP phones are faster than the galaxy series but when it comes design and build samsung is well better.

Best quality display is keeping the samsung unique in the market. Viewing angles is great in samsung displays. Especially in camera it has variable aperture and a super slow motion. And still it has a headphone jack and micro SD slot.

AstroDigital said:
I understand many people do not care Samsung Devices are loaded with bloatware, but the price !!!!
I can not justify spending $1000 plus for a phone, especially when you can buy devices with relatively clean Android, hardware as good and in some cases better for $100s of dollars less.
How does somebody buy a Samsung device for say $1100.00 when the can but a OnePlus for $600.... ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung devices are not, the provider branded versions are, but that is equally true of all branded devices.
The Samsung Device that would be in the $1100 price range is going to be light years more advanced in power, storage, and just tech in general than the $600 one from OnePlus. Now if you Compare the $600 Samsung device to the $600 OnePlus device then you getting closer, but the Samsung device is still going to be more advanced, the gap just will not be nearly as big.
Eudeferrer said:
I actually love my Pixel 3Xl and got tired of Samsung taking 6 + months to update the phones to new OS. After owning every generation of Note, I got tired of no root and locked down bootloaders. Despite the great screens, I'm staying on the pixel side.
Sent from my [device_name] using XDA-Developers Legacy app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung doesn't take that long, unless it is a rather old phone. The people taking that long are the Wireless providers who take their sweet time removing all the good stuff and adding different bloatware.
---------- Post added at 02:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:41 AM ----------
I really wish that Samsung would just start getting some of their CDMA radios from Intel, that way we could get an Exynos chipset with an unlockable bootloader that is easily useable on Verizon and Sprint.

Kaliaila said:
Samsung devices are not, the provider branded versions are, but that is equally true of all branded devices.
The Samsung Device that would be in the $1100 price range is going to be light years more advanced in power, storage, and just tech in general than the $600 one from OnePlus. Now if you Compare the $600 Samsung device to the $600 OnePlus device then you getting closer, but the Samsung device is still going to be more advanced, the gap just will not be nearly as big.
Samsung doesn't take that long, unless it is a rather old phone. The people taking that long are the Wireless providers who take their sweet time removing all the good stuff and adding different bloatware.
---------- Post added at 02:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:41 AM ----------
I really wish that Samsung would just start getting some of their CDMA radios from Intel, that way we could get an Exynos chipset with an unlockable bootloader that is easily useable on Verizon and Sprint.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I beg to differ from you. While preliminary versions of Android Q are already being worked on and tested in the wild, my Note 8 still sits on Oreo. I know there is an unofficial version of Pie for it, but not the official version yet . This is over 7 months after Pie was released. I've had every note that came out except the original. I bought my Note 8 on day 1 when it came out and paid about $950 after taxes. It was by no means a cheap device at the time. At the time, people who had unlocked exynox versions were upset because their updates which were supposed to come directly from Samsung were taking even longer than the carrier ones. Read up on it. Samsung + carrier delays are horrendous. IMO, It's embarrassing that what was once considered their top device would take 7+ months to receive an official software update.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL

Eudeferrer said:
I beg to differ from you. While preliminary versions of Android Q are already being worked on and tested in the wild, my Note 8 still sits on Oreo. I know there is an unofficial version of Pie for it, but not the official version yet . This is over 7 months after Pie was released. I've had every note that came out except the original. I bought my Note 8 on day 1 when it came out and paid about $950 after taxes. It was by no means a cheap device at the time. At the time, people who had unlocked exynox versions were upset because their updates which were supposed to come directly from Samsung were taking even longer than the carrier ones. Read up on it. Samsung + carrier delays are horrendous. IMO, It's embarrassing that what was once considered their top device would take 7+ months to receive an official software update.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Note 9 came out with Oreo as well as pretty much all the other myriad Samsung phones in that same release year. The Note 8 getting Pie only 6 months (the global Samsung release is this month) after Pie is officially released is impressive given the number of phones ahead of it. If your phone is not getting it this month it is due to the branding of your phone and that wireless provider holding it up.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Global release means nothing if only a few people get it or only a few versions of the phone get it at that time. The point I'm making is that IMO it's pathetic Samsung takes even 6 months to update the OS on a phone that was a flagship when it came out a bit over a year ago. The Note 9 is all they care about right now since it's the latest one out but soon enough once they have your money, they'll care only about the S10. IMO, Samsung has an obligation to upgrade phones quickly and timely, specially on devices they charged nearly 1k and were/had flagship status when released. Meanwhile, phones like the Essential (practically unknown and on sale for $239 on Amazon get it on the day is released by Google). I clearly get the concept of skins added on to the OS to provide extra features which adds to testing time etc... but IMO 6 month + is a pathetic timeline for a flagship phone. As per your thinking, I suggest Samsung adds a disclaimer to the box of a new phone which states "Due to the impressive number of phones made ahead of yours, updates will come on this flagship 6+ months after the official release date". I wonder how many people would buy it if they came clear and admitted it? As much as I love Samsung (proof is that I've owned almost every note), I do not excuse their shortcomings when it comes to OS updates.
Sent from my Pixel 3 XL

Samsung offer a lot more hardware than a OnePlus. Waterproofing, headphone jack, heart rate scanner, better cooling/heatsink. Also wireless charging, MST payment (very useful in Asian countries where NFC payments are non existent), better screen, better camera.
I have owned both OnePlus(3) and Samsung (Note 8) devices. In general, I have observed that the Note 8 receives monthly updates which are extremely stable. Whereas OnePlus has released half baked updates (like 7.0 for OP3) followed by hotfixes.
Honestly, if OnePlus for still around the 450$ price, it would be unbeatable.
Edit: Forgot pressure sensitive home button.

Apple updates its iOS software incrementally over the year until a revamp of the operating system is released before new iPhones come out in September. The same can also be said of Android where the operating system gets a new refresh once a year. Two different O/S ecosystems, two different O/S update systems. You can't make everyone happy.

LOS support "forever".

slipstreamer88 said:
Edit: Forgot pressure sensitive home button.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well no more with s10...

The galaxy S10 is actually cheaper than the 2017's iPhone X in my country :/
We can pre order it for 929$ with a free galaxy watch and a free wireless charger, while the iPhone X is for 950$+
Also the apple "lower end" iPhone XR is more expensive than the S10...
I am talking about the regular S10, not the S10 plus or the S10e.
Samsung offers more than apple and is still cheaper, it offers more than any android phone also. They have everything you can ask for in a smartphone.

garyHal said:
For me, the most important factor is the screen. Samsung is the only manufactorer I know that has the best screen, great hardware, and decent software. The bloatware could possibly be removed and I wish it could be cheaper.
I am actually using a Pixel 3 XL now. The software is clean but boring. I am mostly disappointed with the hardware. That I why I am waiting for the GS10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
New iphones and ipad screens are pretty dang amazing. I didnt think so till my wife won the latest gen ipad pro at work in a contest. The screen is by far superior to any samsung tablet or phone I have seen.

To me there is no other brand other than Samsung - 0 competition. Sammy has everything in one device and that's why I love them. You don't need to have the latest Android update right away as many features are already existent in the device even if it's on an older software version. Best screen, best camera, has headphone jack, ultrasonic fp scanner, super premium build, amazing hardware. List goes on, I'm just waiting for them to get rid of the hole(s) and will get that Note (10 or 11 hopefully).

koragg97 said:
To me there is no other brand other than Samsung - 0 competition. Sammy has everything in one device and that's why I love them. You don't need to have the latest Android update right away as many features are already existent in the device even if it's on an older software version. Best screen, best camera, has headphone jack, ultrasonic fp scanner, super premium build, amazing hardware. List goes on, I'm just waiting for them to get rid of the hole(s) and will get that Note (10 or 11 hopefully).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Note 10 is a definite no. The Note 10 will be pretty much the S10 with a slightly larger screen and S-Pen goodies. They've never strayed too far from the S line when it comes to the Note. It's bigger, more powerful, etc. but it usually doesn't stray far from the S version of its year.

AstroDigital said:
I understand many people do not care Samsung Devices are loaded with bloatware, but the price !!!!
I can not justify spending $1000 plus for a phone, especially when you can buy devices with relatively clean Android, hardware as good and in some cases better for $100s of dollars less.
How does somebody buy a Samsung device for say $1100.00 when the can but a OnePlus for $600.... ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st off I always buy the unlocked version of the latest Galaxy S phone so I do not have all the nasty bloatware which comes from the carriers. The unlocked versions are very clean.
Regarding price, I'm looking at pre-ordering the S10+ for $999 (It will end up costing me $599 after trading in my old phone + using a gift card from xmas) Yes it will be the most I've ever paid for a new phone, but Samsung screens cannot be beat. I love the triple camera (which just received the highest camera rating of any cell phone from DXO - tied with Huawei Mate 20), ultrasonic FP reader, headphone jack, SD card slot, waterproofing, wireless charging, and pre-orders are coming with free Samsung AirPods. I also really like the automatic 42% blue light reduction. That should help alleviate some eye strain. I like that the Sammy AirPods can charge wirelessly by simply setting the case on the back of the phone.
Having said all that, I am disappointed the S10 has only increased the charge rate by 29%. I was hoping for something closer to 100%. That is one area where I feel other phones like OnePlus and Huawei have an advantage in charging speed.
In any case, I will pre-order the S10+, but in the future I will certainly be watching carefully the OnePlus 7, MI 9, and other high end but less expensive phones.

JayRolla said:
New iphones and ipad screens are pretty dang amazing. I didnt think so till my wife won the latest gen ipad pro at work in a contest. The screen is by far superior to any samsung tablet or phone I have seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
???... I hope u know that those screens are from Samsung... but nice try

What would you buy to replace your 8.4 Tab S ?

Love my Tab S but thinking on upgrading in the near future. What do you guys think is a honorable replacement?

Nothing.
There does not exist a comparable replacement. The Android tablet market made about three steps back since the Tab S series were released. Seriously.

Akopps said:
Nothing.
There does not exist a comparable replacement. The Android tablet market made about three steps back since the Tab S series were released. Seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agree!! Tab s 8.4 is my tablet for years now. I am bothered that I can't find a perfect rom for it to flash (some things do not work on each rom) but no matter how ofter I search for a replacement, I always go back to my conclusion: There is no tablet like this! And sometimes I wonder why Samsung made such a GREAT table THAT early. Even the next ones (Tab S2, S3 etc) are not THAT much of a leap forward. Either poor battery, or lower screen quality, or no IR etc etc... So currently I stick with my beloved Tab S 8.4.
Now...to find a new rom......

artocube said:
Totally agree!! Tab s 8.4 is my tablet for years now. I am bothered that I can't find a perfect rom for it to flash (some things do not work on each rom) but no matter how ofter I search for a replacement, I always go back to my conclusion: There is no tablet like this! And sometimes I wonder why Samsung made such a GREAT table THAT early. Even the next ones (Tab S2, S3 etc) are not THAT much of a leap forward. Either poor battery, or lower screen quality, or no IR etc etc... So currently I stick with my beloved Tab S 8.4.
Now...to find a new rom......
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, S3 was a big leap forward in terms of SoC, but with its 600 dollar MSRP, what a poor value it was. And the S4 was good, but pricing completely mad. For that much money I can buy an entry level business class ultrabook. Tablet is great for media consumption, reading, and entertainment, but let's admit it's kind of a toy, it's not a business tool, and for what they offered the successive Tab S-line models were ridiculously overpriced. My Tab S 8.4 does feel kind of slow and I guess I could replace it when I see a tablet for better specs that's priced right, perhaps a heavily discounted Tab S4 during the holidays.

Akopps said:
Well, S3 was a big leap forward in terms of SoC, but with its 600 dollar MSRP, what a poor value it was. And the S4 was good, but pricing completely mad. For that much money I can buy an entry level business class ultrabook. Tablet is great for media consumption, reading, and entertainment, but let's admit it's kind of a toy, it's not a business tool, and for what they offered the successive Tab S-line models were ridiculously overpriced. My Tab S 8.4 does feel kind of slow and I guess I could replace it when I see a tablet for better specs that's priced right, perhaps a heavily discounted Tab S4 during the holidays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, for me a tablet IS a business tool as I use it twice a week (or more) for talks and presentations. And furthermore I like the 8.4" size and am not fond of bigger screens. Unfortunately Samsung doesn't release any decent small-sized tablets anymore. All the good stuff (RAM, CPU etc) exist on the bigger S3, S4, S5. The 8-inch-sized S and S2 were the only ones that did the trick for me. And currently upgrading to an S2 is not a good idea I believe. My (older) S 8.4 has better screen resolution, bigger battery, IR support... So yeah, I stick with it, for a little while at least. I really hope Samsung releases a smaller Tab S5 or (future) S6 (If that is even a thing) on a 8" form factor. I would really like to upgrade this sometime. Until then, it is the best table I ever had. Not gonna change it.

artocube said:
Well, for me a tablet IS a business tool as I use it twice a week (or more) for talks and presentations. And furthermore I like the 8.4" size and am not fond of bigger screens. Unfortunately Samsung doesn't release any decent small-sized tablets anymore. All the good stuff (RAM, CPU etc) exist on the bigger S3, S4, S5. The 8-inch-sized S and S2 were the only ones that did the trick for me. And currently upgrading to an S2 is not a good idea I believe. My (older) S 8.4 has better screen resolution, bigger battery, IR support... So yeah, I stick with it, for a little while at least. I really hope Samsung releases a smaller Tab S5 or (future) S6 (If that is even a thing) on a 8" form factor. I would really like to upgrade this sometime. Until then, it is the best table I ever had. Not gonna change it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huawei is still making nice high end tablet with 8 inch screen (Mediapad M6), but sadly because of trade war, we're not going to see it on our shores.

Akopps said:
Nothing.
There does not exist a comparable replacement. The Android tablet market made about three steps back since the Tab S series were released. Seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I replaced my T-800 with the Tab S4 when Best Buy was blowing them out at $260 or less this past Christmas.
While my Tab S was very sexy and I had the Logitech Type S keyboard I loved it very much it was a no brainer upgrading at that point.
Here is my thread explaining the $260 sale:
https://slickdeals.net/f/13607677-s...-s4-64gb-tablet-wi-fi-black-260-in-store-ymmv
I would expect the S6 is about to go on deep discount soon so I would be on the look out if you're in the market for a new Samsung Tab.
I just sold off my T-800 in perfect shape, I do plan to hold onto my T-700 as Samsung just does not make sexiness like that any longer.

Hi guys I recently tried to understand whether it was possible to replace my Tab S 8.4 LTE and... I'm astonished. Android tablets are dead. I paid 350€ for this tablet at launch so taking into account 6 years of technological development I was expecting to find at the same price the following specs: 64-128gb of storage, 8gb of ram, same screen since oled technology had some troubles advancing, modern high end processor, a camera with not necessarily more pixels but with less noise and more details, no IR because we don't use TVs anymore.
What I found instead was: crappy low end overpriced tablets, with barely any ram, and no advancements whatsoever in productivity applications. The obvious choice would be to go for an x86 Windows tablet... But I don't dare to run Windows with less than 16gb of ram (any browser uses 5-6gb of ram to begin with with my usage scenario) and onestly those tablets have poor battery life and there are no small tablets to begin with. This leaves only the ipad mini... Which I had terrible experience with (ipad mini 2 was dropped from support and update very quickly and became slow as hell with the last updates it received).
Do you guys have any suggestion? Huaway is out of the question... I don't want to be caught in a stupid useless war.

There is no suitable replacement. I use mine as a phone and there is just nothing with as large a display that has an earpiece that you can hold up to your face and make calls with. I now own 3, 2 working, so I have spare parts as bits break.

Actually that is a usage scenario that happened a couple of times. My phone was temporarily down (anything from a bricked rom to a simply drained battery) and I always simply took the sim out of it, stuck into the tablet and continued my day with no problems whatsoever. Before buying this tablet I was super into the Asus transformer line. A phone that you insert in a screen that becomes a tablet with additional battery life, then you attach the keyboard and bump in terms of productivity. They where unreasonably costly to begin with had bad software support, and super died probably because the company got more money selling separate devices. I tried to create my own version of it with a raspberry pi but it was obviously very clunky.

hi you all!
i have been researching about this subejct and found this thread...
i was also looking into replacing my 8 inch tab S tablet but havent found anything good out there... and i thought tablets were getting better and better each release... like cellhphones...
seems like the 8 inchers are forgotten by the manufacturers... its sad...
my tablet works, sometimes i think it is slow... i guess i keep on comparing to my cell galaxy s10e...
i have the ORIGINAL keyboard that locks into the tablet... i loved this keyboard since it came out! such an awesome design...
anyway... i was thinking above the Huawei MediaPad M6 8 inch... but cant decide...

iPostNak3d said:
hi you all!
i have been researching about this subject and found this thread...
i was also looking into replacing my 8 inch tab S tablet but haven't found anything good out there... and i thought tablets were getting better and better each release... like cellphones...
seems like the 8 inches are forgotten by the manufacturers... its sad...
my tablet works, sometimes i think it is slow... i guess i keep on comparing to my cell galaxy s10e...
i have the ORIGINAL keyboard that locks into the tablet... i loved this keyboard since it came out! such an awesome design...
anyway... i was thinking above the Huawei MediaPad M6 8 inch... but cant decide...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi There is no replacement to our beloved tablet except for the Huawei Mediapad. Chuwi does make a very compelling android tablet with keyboard... but it is way bigger than the Tab S 8.4.
If you don't mind a slightly shorter screen-on time with your current battery you can change the CPU governor to something more performing. That coupled with a thermal mod gave a totally new life to my tablet (I was close to trashing it before these 2 things together). Now its running so great that I'm tempted to buy a new battery ( or 2 batteries hacked up together) and go on with it for a couple more years.

knosso said:
Hi There is no replacement to our beloved tablet except for the Huawei Mediapad. Chuwi does make a very compelling android tablet with keyboard... but it is way bigger than the Tab S 8.4.
If you don't mind a slightly shorter screen-on time with your current battery you can change the CPU governor to something more performing. That coupled with a thermal mod gave a totally new life to my tablet (I was close to trashing it before these 2 things together). Now its running so great that I'm tempted to buy a new battery ( or 2 batteries hacked up together) and go on with it for a couple more years.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using a custom rom?

Tab S 10.1

Princeland said:
Are you using a custom rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi yes I'm using the latest Lineage OS Deathly (android 7.1). The rom is probably close to its EOL since there is much less activity and updates. ROM. I've undervolted the tab and put an aluminium bar on the SOC to stop it from overheating... I would not describe the experience as high end but it's way better than before. The same developer made roms also for the WIFi only model and for the 2 bigger models.