Database Develop

My Samsung Focus S full review with comparisons to Focus! (Videos will come)

NOT DONE YET but here's my pretty long review of the Samsung Focus S and comparing it to the original Samsung Focus. I tried to go over every single thing I could possibly think of and hopefully someone appreciates it! Post any questions you have and I hope others will post their experiences as well.
Still in progress: CPU benchmarks, 4G speed tests, camera review and examples, battery life, some videos.
Performance
CPU - Still working on this!
With the faster processor loading times are definitely shorter on apps and games. You'll notice that XBOX Live and Marketplace both open a second quicker. Also you will see better performance within apps, with less lagging and faster scrolling. Runs great and I'm loving the performance boost.
(Benchmarks coming soon)
GPU
The upgraded GPU is great! I tested Super Mario Bros 3 on an NES emulator and was getting 48-55 fps WITH sound and 60 fps without! Plays near perfectly.
(Video coming soon)
4G - Still working on this!
So far I haven't noticed much of a speed increase. I live in a 4G covered area and I get 5 bars at home. I will do some more studying and speed testing and get back to this.
Internet sharing is listed on the settings page but when attempting to turn it on you get a message about signing up for an appropriate tethering plan. If you reload internet sharing through provision xml it will get rid of the message.
RAM
A few apps report it as having 354MB of RAM. They report the Focus as having 481mb. Both have 512MB and the 'missing' RAM is not useable because it's dedicated to the GPU. You won't even know it's gone though and the GPU's increased performance is worth it. I tried a test where I launched Fruit Ninja, Hydro Thunder GO, Sonic The Hedgehog Episode 1, and Twin Blades and checked the RAM usage. All games were in the middle of gameplay (not at the start screen) and dehydrate on pause was disabled allowing them to all stay where they were at in the game. My peak RAM usage reported as only 31MB.
GPS & WiFi
I tried them and they work just as they should. Still unable to connect to hidden WiFi networks though.
Battery - Still working on this!
I still need to go through a few more power cycles to know what it's like for sure. I'm a heavy user and I'm on my phone all day long so it does not last me the whole day. I'll post more info once I have a better idea.
Keyboard
Right now there is an issue with the keyboard. Many people think the keyboard is lagging. However I think it's just the keyboard tap sounds that are delayed. It makes it really annoying to type because you THINK it's lagging. To me the letters come up just as fast as I type them and when you turn off the sound it doesn't seem delayed in the slightest. It should only take a simple update to fix that.
Hardware
This phone is much thinner and lighter than the Focus. It does not feel too big in hand and I think it's a perfect size. After only using it for the first few hours, my Focus already felt like a brick compared to it. When pictures of the Focus S first came out I didn't like the aesthetics of the textured backplate but it feels nice in hand and adds some much needed grip. I wished the bezel around the around of the phone was less pronounced and it looked more like the original Focus in that aspect. At first it kinda feels cheapish because it is plastic and extremely light but I've gotten over that and no longer feel that way. The device feels solid. The backplate on it is the thinnest piece of plactic ever and it will bend and can easily break. Not extremely difficult to take off and I actually like it better than the Focus' which I thought was a pain to take off because I felt like I was gonna break the phone while doing so. A nice little added touch is that when you tap on a capacitive button it will dim the button's backlight a little bit.
Screen
The bigger screen size is great but my feelings about this SAMOLED+ display are mixed. I have a huge problem with the display and that is a ghosting/blurring issue. Whenever you are scrolling through lists the texts is blurry and once you stop you can see it 'snap' into focus again. It's also noticeable during animations such as launching XBOX Live. This might not bother some but to me I find it highly annoying! I don't experience it on my Focusat all. May be my biggest issue with the phone.
Another issue with the display is the brightness. I guess Samsung wanted to preserve as much battery life as possible and they made the lowest brightness of the screen extremely LOW. But let me explain, the maximum brightness is plenty bright, the problem is just the minimum brightness level. When comparing the Focus and Focus S both on the highest setting; the Focus S is definitely brighter, and on the lowest setting: the Focus S is way dimmer. The issue is what they have set for the lowest screen brightness, it's just too damn low! You will need to keep your phone on atleast medium brightness, low is pretty much unuseable and that's not even talking about during outside use. This also affects the automatic setting as well and it will be way too low most of the time. I don't think the brightness issue is a big deal though because:
1- It can easily be fixed with an update.
2- I put together a file you can deploy to your unlocked phone that will edit the registry to increase the brightness of the low setting. It will make the low setting similar to the brightness of the Focus' low setting. The only issue is it will NOT fix the automatic setting and that will continue to be way too dim.
Also there is another new setting that will mess up your brightness levels. Samsung added a page to settings called Extra Settings that will bring up the option to turn on/off the following:
Auto Display Intensity
Key Vibration Feedback
Echo Cancellation
Auto Display Intensity needs to be turned OFF. With it on you will notice the brightness constantly flickering, especially on a light background. It's extremely annoying. The problem though is you can turn it off but the setting doesn't want to stick! If you soft reset your phone it will turn back on and you'll need to switch it off again. Trust me you'll want to... I find it horrible. The did release an update for Extra Settings in the marketplace but it did not solve this issue. Atleast we know it's a simple app update through the marketplace though.
I think the Super AMOLED Plus' colors look a little fake and more saturated. I don't think it's too terrible though. The Focus' colors may be more true, but during movie playback I like how the Focus S' colors looked. Daylight use is fine as long as your on atleast medium brightness. Viewing angles are pretty good.
One last thing about the display. I did experience some weird flickering on my device the second day I had it. It hasn't happened since then but I don't think it's a good sign. I did get to take a video of it. It's hard to see it in the video because it kinda looks like distortion from filming but look closely, all those dark flickering bands you see are happening on the screen.
I don't know if it will happen again but if anyone else has experienced it let me know!
Camera - Still working on this!
Well this camera is definitely quicker than the Focus' and when holding each phones in the same spot, the Focus S will give you a greater viewing range and you'll be able to see more in the frame. But other than that I don't think the camera is much of an improvement on the Focus'. I'm still working on taking examples on both phones for a comparison. The camera offers no new settings (such as HTC's burst and panorama modes). I tested the LED on both the Focus S and the Focus in the dark and I think the Focus' LED is slightly brighter but it's pretty close and hard to tell. Overall I'm don't think I'm impressed with the camera.
I haven't taken any videos with the camera yet and will get to that later.
Front Facing Camera
It's there and it works! Quality is not great of course... standard poor webcam-type quality. Tango works great though and hopefully Skype will be released soon. Ability to use your phone as a mirror is nice. Pictures taken with the front facing cam are reversed after being taken, which I think is kinda annoying.
Storage
16GB actually meanings 14.07GB total. After a fresh install Zune will show you that 1GB is used with 12.53GB free. If you go into Zune's setting and lower reserved space to 0% it will give you 335.78MB used and 13.20GB free. It was depressing finding out the Focus S would only have 16GB instead of 32GB and no MicroSD slot. I never used the MicroSD slot in my Focus in fear of a random hard reset so 16GB is still an upgrade for me. I kept some music on my Focus (around 2 or 3GB) but no movies (never had space for them). My Focus was filled completely so it's nice to have some breathing room now. Even though it's not ideal I think 16GB is sufficient enough for now.
Speakers
First of all the speaker on the back is at the bottom of the phone. I think this is a poor position for it. While holding the phone your hand will tend to cover it and distort the sound. The loudspeaker is also not as loud as the Focus and doesn't sound as good. The sound with headphones plugged in was disappointing. Compared to the Focus it sounded very flat. The Focus has more bass and music sounds much better on it. Samsung doesn't offer any sort of equalizer app. Headphone volume also doesn't get as loud.
Microphone
I did a test where I recorded myself talking on both the Focus S and the Focus at the same time. The Focus S had a noticeable static in the background while the Focus' recording did not.
MicroUSB
The MicroUSB port is at the bottom now. It seems like it makes more sense to have it at the bottom. No little door covering it but I don't miss it. It's low profile and hassle free. If you keep your phone in a cup holder or so while driving it may be awkward to have it plugged in now. But it is easier to talk on the phone with it plugged in at the bottom. The moved it to the bottom but you know Samsung won't release a dock for this phone, it's a shame.
Buttons
The buttons on the phone feel really good, easy, and very pressable!
Call quality
So far I haven't had any dropped calls. Seems pretty decent in that regard. BUT I've been told there is an obvious decrease in sound quality on the other end since getting my new phone. Multiple times I've been told that the other person couldn't hear me at all. It seems to happen when I have the phone about 4-5 inches from my mouth (for example when I'm laying down and have the phone on pillow). The in-call volume is still too low just like the Focus. I wish I was able to hold the phone more than a few inches away from my head and still hear it. Speakerphone is pretty mediocre and not great. I'm disappointed with the microphone and speakers on this phone.
Homebrew
The current registry editors out there do not work. Only way to edit registry is with using a provisioning xml. I have used this method to enable the instant resume hack and to increase the brightness when on the low setting. I tried to change accent colors using this method but so far have been unsuccessful.
Interop unlock works but doesn't. You are able to install the unlock, removing your sideload limit and getting rid 0x81030120 error when deploying interop apps. BUT the apps you deploy won't work. They will either fail to start or their functions just won't work.
The diagnosis app is installed the same way as before (dialing ##634#). It is version 0923. Not all the codes are the same though! *#77284# (tethering) and *#9908# (GPRS Manager) still work. Some other ones that I tried like Auto SIM Configure do not.
USB tethering is possible! Similar to tethering on the Focus but an extra step is need as discovered by dbrandusa. See instructions here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19175627&postcount=8
Overall
Pros
New CPU/GPU offers a definite increase in speed and power. App launching, app performance, gaming, HTML5 all benefit from it
Bigger screen size and yet thinner and lighter, perfectly sized device in my opinion
Bigger storage capacity (but no MicroSD)
4G capable (but don't expect a significant speed increase)
Has front facing camera (even though quality is nothing special)
Easy to press buttons
Cons
SAMOLED+ display produces very annoying ghosting/blurring. Also potential flicker issue
Microphone has some static and issues with other people not hearing you during the call
Speakers are not as loud as Focus' and sound flat
Camera is not much of an improvement
Headphone quality is much worse than Focus' (needs more bass)
Headphone cable controls do not work anymore (Unsure if it's an issue with the aux design or a software issue)
Delayed keyboard tap bug *can be fixed with update*
Extremely low brightness when on low or automatic settings. Annoying "auto intensity display" setting that turns itself on after each soft reset *can be fixed with update*
I really want to love this device. Looking at it sitting there I just want to grab it and play with it much more than my Focus. But I think I was happier with it until I starting comparing it side by side with my Focus. At that point I started seeing it's flaws. I love the faster CPU & GPU, dimensions, screen size, storage upgrade, having a front facing camera, but the biggest dealbreakers for me are the ghosting on the display, poor headphone sound quality, and in-call microphone issues. I will definitely be exchanging it for a HTC Titan on the 20th and I'll see how I feel about that device. If I decide it's too big, the pixel density is too low, or some other major issue I will come back to the Focus S. If you have a Focus or other first generation device and debating between upgrading to the Focus S or waiting to see what is coming (from Nokia and such): just ask yourself are you content with your current storage capacity and screen size? Do you really need your apps to load a second earlier? Do you HAVE to have a front facing camera? If you do need those things NOW and the Titan is too big of a device for you than I think it'll be worth the upgrade. If you do get one you'll just have to be patient for the bug fixes though. If it's your first Windows Phone you'll probably be content with it as long as you turn the brightness up.

Does it seem faster?

MartyLK said:
Does it seem faster?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely, in my opinion.
---------- Post added at 07:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:38 PM ----------
On another side note, it's crazy how different the AT&T rep was today compared with last year. Maybe it was just that particular store, but the rep that sold it to me was blown away by it's responsiveness and decided to show it off to 3 other reps before handing it over to me. They only had two in stock (one was on display)...so I got lucky. But, I remember last year...and the rep that sold me the focus had spent some time trying to sell me an Android or iPhone even after he knew I was there for the Focus. So, is it a change in AT&T training for WP7, or that the product speaks for itself?

i went to an at&t store today, and the focus S and focus flash were sitting in a lonely corner the store was packed but not a single other person besides me was looking at it, haha
---------- Post added at 02:03 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:01 AM ----------
could you take some photo samples? I wonder if its the same lens from the GS2, that has pretty high praise for its camera

does your unit overheat when running graphic intensive games? I also noticed that autocontrast is quite poor
have you experienced this?

How does the quality of both the primary camera and front facing camera seem to other phones you've used in the past?

I picked up a Focus S today - like the OP said, it and the Flash were tucked away in the corner of the store. I use an iPhone, but was looking to upgrade an Android phone on our plan and have been interested in trying W7 Phone. The store had exactly one Focus S in stock.
First impression - really light, almost freakishly so. Fairly thin - a little lip at the bottom makes it easier to hold. Screen changes and app loading is very snappy. Screen is terrific.
One nice touch - bloatware, and there is some, is very easily removed. It's much closer to the iPhone where there is zero bloatware as opposed to an Android phone where you literally have to root the thing to remove the nonsense. (An Motorola Android phone on the ATT network might have upwards of two dozen preinstalled, unremovable apps.)
Can't really comment on anything else given that I'm about six hours into this Windows Phone thing.

I just picked up my first windows phone, focus s, i notice that when you lay it on its back, you can possibly scratch up the camera lense/cover over time....why would they design it to stick out like that?

Focus S vs. Focus
Here's some pics I took of Focus S vs Focus. It's hard to get a true feel of the difference b/w the two in regards to the screen, but I think a few of these pics are able to show it.
Samsung Focus S
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Samsung Focus

Wow, The S-Amoled Plus screen makes a big difference in the Eli Manning Photos

bennyj71 said:
Wow, The S-Amoled Plus screen makes a big difference in the Eli Manning Photos
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Focus has a screen protector on it, and that could make a difference.

Seed 2.0 said:
The Focus has a screen protector on it, and that could make a difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe,but the picture on the Focus is pixalated. Would a screen protector cause that?

bennyj71 said:
Maybe,but the picture on the Focus is pixalated. Would a screen protector cause that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would be the pen-tile matrix of the Super AMOLED display.. it has fewer sub-pixels than the Super AMOLED Plus display in the Focus S.
Notice how the text is blurrier in the Focus pictures? (look at the marketplace picture in particular)
here's a good comparison (not the focus.. but galaxy S and S II.. which use the same kind of screen as the focus and the focus S respectively)
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Supe...AMOLED-to-the-PenTile-matrix-and-back_id18700

I think thay should made the Focus S a bit more like the original Focus. in my opinion the design of the original Focus is great.
Anyway a good phone

Were there any cases for Focus S in stores? I do not see any listed on AT&T site and I can not buy a phone without a case.
---------- Post added at 08:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 AM ----------
suua said:
I think thay should made the Focus S a bit more like the original Focus. in my opinion the design of the original Focus is great.
Anyway a good phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing that irks me is the location of the USB port. While in car I keep my phone docked and having the car charger plugged in on top makes my phone physically unstable.

None of you has used a SGS2? The Focus S is almost a direct external copy of the international/AT&T version. There's a reason Samsung has sold as many as they have in so short a time. Far superior to the Onmia/Focus/Flash.

No, there were no cases in stock and none listed in the ATT system.

Thought I was on reddit for a second here, with the AMA =D
Sent from my T7575 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Trust me, this thing is diesel...reception is ridiculous...im loving how fast 4g is..if u liked ur focus, this is for you, as it's a much bigger upgrade than I had anticipated..i mean, those who have wp7 already know how fluid the os was/is with the 1st generation phones...so it was hard to imagine that they could run noticeably faster....well, they can. And, it's noticeable
Sent from my SGH-i937 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

Nice!! I took my brother to get a new phone yesterday and after him playing with the iphone, HTC Vivid (which is actually REALLY nice) and the Focus S, he finally settled on the Focus S. He asked a few pointed questions about each and myself and the rep gave him honest answers without much bias (despite both the rep and already owning the HD7 and HD7S). My brother makes up his own mind regardless of input and was really impressed with overall look of the OS and how smooth it was. And the phone was SO thin he said with such a huge screen!! It almost made me switch back to ATT, but figured I'd wait for what I've been waiting on a little longer (the Titan), before I decide. Overall impressions though were it's a really great phone, buttons are perfect in all aspects and it's the lightest and thinnest 4.3 in device out. If you dont want the Titan, get the Focus S for sure.

[Q] Smart Saving Bug - Anyone else seeing this?

Hello, guys. I am encountering what I think is a very weird bug with Smart Saver. I'm hoping that some other people can test this on their systems and if, it's just me, I'm going to return mine for a new unit.
With Smart Saving enabled, the screen will automatically increase and decrease brightness constantly as different pages and app's come up. In my case, the screen seems to flicker almost every time I swipe and I can't stand it, so I disabled Smart Saver. The icon is OFF on the pull down status panel and it's turned off under settings. However, whenever I reboot, I still encounter the screen flickering and dimming constantly (although it seems to be to a lesser degree). If I pull down the status panel, turn Smart Saving On and then off again, the problem goes away until I reboot the system. This is at least encouraging me that maybe it's just software and I can deal with it for a month or so.
Here's what I want someone else to test for me. Turn Smart Saver off. Turn the tablet off and then on again. Pull down the status menu and carefully watch the screen. The open portion of the home screen will dim once (which is normal). On my system, after about another 1/2 second or so, the screen will flicker or dim again slightly. It does this every time, but it might be hard to notice unless you are looking for it. When side scrolling between home screens, sometimes brightness will increase slightly and other times it will decrease. Pull down status panel, turn on smart saver, turn it off again and the problem goes away.
Help, please? Mine is a US model if that makes any difference on build 10.14.1.47.
Thank you very much in advance.

Did you download the used 10.14.1.47 manually from Asus website or was it an auto update from the device itself.
Sent from my New Asus Transformer Pad TF701T using Tapatalk HD

Manually from the website.

I kinda have the same problem, though on my tab it is only the auto brightness that sometimes will increase/decreased constantly. Disabling Smart Saving or auto brightness helps in my case. I only have the problem when i'm in a room where there's light but the room isn't totally bright, and the tablet is with its back to the light source.

Others can correct me if I'm wrong but the 10.14.1.47 isn't being pushed through the device itself. I'm finding most people are downloading it manually from Asus website. . My estimation, I think Asus is aware that the update has some issues, thus not force updating it through the device until they come out with the latest fix.
Sent from my New Asus Transformer Pad TF701T using Tapatalk HD

You might be right about the update. Although I was thinking more people should have this issue. Maybe they aren't rebooting their tablet often enough to notice it as once I enable/disable Smart Saver, the problem goes away until I reboot. That is a satisfactory work around, but I was hoping for confirmation from at least one other person seeing the same thing in terms of returning the device. Amazon has decent return terms, so I'll probably wait until the next update and see if that fixes it. Thanks.

I'm on .47 and I have the same issue as well. I also noticed that the brightness will increase 2-3 steps every time I bring up "settings". This is regardless of auto-brightness on/off, smart saving on/off, outdoor mode on/off.

Auto-brightness is useless: Usually it's much too dark, and the auto-setting is changing with strange behaviors.... it's kinda jumping up and down as other described...

Thanks, since others are experiencing it too, at least I'm hopeful that it will be fixed in a SW update.

Did someone contact the asus-hotline?

derekk1 said:
Thanks, since others are experiencing it too, at least I'm hopeful that it will be fixed in a SW update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same thing here, bought the unit in the US and also experiencing the same awkward behavior. This would actually go away when Auto Brightness is turned off.
I am also getting issues when docked. Sometimes after some time (maybe a couple of hours) as soon as I tilt the tablet to its normal position, I would find it completely off. Had to turn the device back on a couple of times now.
These are too many annoyances for such an expensive unit.
Hope they fix the Auto Brightness setting at least.

Disabling Asus Splendid app in settings -> apps seems to stop this behavior.

vBoedefeld said:
Disabling Asus Splendid app in settings -> apps seems to stop this behavior.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am now on 4.3 and it seems to be better (just some hours). It is not as dark as before and doesn't hop up and down every second :good:

Yezariael said:
I am now on 4.3 and it seems to be better (just some hours). It is not as dark as before and doesn't hop up and down every second :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you do the upgrade to 4.3? Seems like it is not yet available for the US. Would you install another SKU from TW lets say, if your tablet were from the US?
I really feel like upgrading cause there are too many things not working well on 4.2.2

efgyy said:
How did you do the upgrade to 4.3? Seems like it is not yet available for the US. Would you install another SKU from TW lets say, if your tablet were from the US?
I really feel like upgrading cause there are too many things not working well on 4.2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In Switzerland it was OTA :good:
Either download right version from asus.com or wait a bit, I guess it will not take long until it's rolled out everywhere...

Yezariael said:
Auto-brightness is useless: Usually it's much too dark, and the auto-setting is changing with strange behaviors.... it's kinda jumping up and down as other described...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I totally agree. It's much too dark on auto and the constant jumping around drives me bat$#! +. For a 4th Gen, nearly $500 tablet, you'd think this sort of thing would be figured out by now.

calimocho said:
I totally agree. It's much too dark on auto and the constant jumping around drives me bat$#! +. For a 4th Gen, nearly $500 tablet, you'd think this sort of thing would be figured out by now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did not read my statement about update to 4.3, no?
It's very fine now, bright and constant :good:

Yezariael said:
You did not read my statement about update to 4.3, no?
It's very fine now, bright and constant :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine is still the same after the 4.3 update. I can see whatever algorithm it is working. For example, switch to a dark screen, wait 2 seconds, watch it darken a little more once a second for the next three seconds. Then the reverse in switching to a mostly white screen/app.
The good news is the dock doesn't seem to disconnect anymore.
Just can't decide about this thing. I want to love it as much as I loved my TF101 but I just don't (yet?)

calimocho said:
Mine is still the same after the 4.3 update. I can see whatever algorithm it is working. For example, switch to a dark screen, wait 2 seconds, watch it darken a little more once a second for the next three seconds. Then the reverse in switching to a mostly white screen/app.
The good news is the dock doesn't seem to disconnect anymore.
Just can't decide about this thing. I want to love it as much as I loved my TF101 but I just don't (yet?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theirs nothing wrong with your device. It's the ambient light sensor built into the device. ..
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xRevilatioNx said:
Theirs nothing wrong with your device. It's the ambient light sensor built into the device. ..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely. It's just really freaking annoying.
I have it right here in a bright office with fluorescent lights, which I would think would vastly marginalize the amount of light reflected from the display itself back into its ambient light sensor. Merely dropping down the notification column causes visible shifts darker (when coming from a light background) in steps, over several seconds. (and it's in the dock on the desk, so the device isn't moving at all)
So my argument is the algorithm used to determine the backlight of the screen puts to much weight on the white balance of the screen. It's distracting and annoying. And it would be one thing if this only happened on "Auto Brightness," which it does not.

Not feeling much love for my P30 Pro yet

Hi, I am a long time Samsung Galaxy user, my last phone was the Galaxy S8+ i have just come to upgrade and thought I’d try the Huawei P30 Pro and seems it uses android as well, i thought it can't be much different. i have 14 days return and I’m really not sure if i am going to keep it or ask can i swap for an S10+
I don't know if i am just being biased because I’ve had Samsung for so long but i just hope someone here can persuade me keeping the P30 won't be too bad and that some of my issues are fixable.
I don't seem to be getting some notifications, mainly games, i seem to get texts but not always others, although if i turn my s8+ on, they still seem to be coming through on there. I have checked most settings i can find but can't see anything obvious, i have added the games to the app assistant.
I didn't know that this Huawei phone didn't have a notification LED, i guess it’s only a small thing but it's amazing how much you miss that flashing light, are there any ways to get any other screen notifications in some way?
The phone doesn't retain the Auto brightness setting when i restart the phone, I’m a bit confused by this as it would seem that Huawei may have this as a feature rather than a bug, I’ve read online that this is how these phones are set but surely you would want the setting to be retained how you leave it? is this a bug or here to stay? i keep turning auto off but every time i restart its back on!
The vibrate is extremely shallow to the point i hardly even feel it.
The optical zoom doesn't function if in 40mp resolution? what’s that all about, i tried it earlier and it says on it that it only works in 10mp resolution? the res you are in shouldn't stop the optics from moving should it? Also when set to 10mp and you can zoom, the zooming isn’t smooth in any way at all, it looks extremely jerky.
even though i have auto brightness off and also smart resolution set to off (which switches between low and high depending on what’s on the screen) - even though these are off i keep seeing my screen kind of flickering when i switch between something like a website to a picture etc, like the phone is still using the smart resolution. if i go to a website the white parts might be bright white for a split second then kind of flicker to a duller white.
I have only had the phone for 2 days but that’s is what is kind of bugging me a bit already if anyone can advise at all on any of them issues?
Thanks
James

About the "zoom", it's not an actual zoom and you are misunderstanding how it works. Having a look at the backside of the phone would explain some to you but i'll give it a go..
You got three lenses which equals three fixed focal lengths. This means you are simply jumping from one camera to the other when you perform a "zoom", which explains the jerkiness. It's expected behavior and is supposed to work like that since there is no gradual zoom with moving lense elements.
Each of these cameras have their own sensor which works at specific megapixels, there is no 40mpix sensor in all these three camera modules on the back of the device. The 5x tele lens has a 8mpix sensor. The ultrawide angle 16mm sensor is 20mpix and the main sensor is 40mpix which normally operates at 10mpix due to pixel binning.
The auto brightness is a long standing bug on Huawei devices, it's annoying and stupid i agree but it's there.
/ Magnus

Samsung has gone a step further on improving there software. Its really fluid and very user friendly. Huawei should focus on that aspect on there flagship.

giwta said:
Samsung has gone a step further on improving there software. Its really fluid and very user friendly. Huawei should focus on that aspect on there flagship.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One little thing I miss from my Galaxy S8+ was the coloured app notification icons on the Always On Display.
Was good for seeing where my notifications were from at-a-glance (blue for Messenger, red for YouTube, green for WhatsApp etc.).

Not having any of those problems with mine. In fact I'm ditching my Galaxy S10+ and keeping the P30 Pro. The fingerprint scanner on the Huawei is faster and more reliable than the one on the Samsung, the camera setup is far more versatile, battery life is better and I immediately stick Nova launcher on anyway so I don't have to put up with EMUI or One UI.

AntonyW999 said:
Not having any of those problems with mine. In fact I'm ditching my Galaxy S10+ and keeping the P30 Pro. The fingerprint scanner on the Huawei is faster and more reliable than the one on the Samsung, the camera setup is far more versatile, battery life is better and I immediately stick Nova launcher on anyway so I don't have to put up with EMUI or One UI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nova is just the launcher. The system UI controls far more aspects than just the launcher. EMUI/One UI is everywhere.

james_lpool said:
Hi, I am a long time Samsung Galaxy user, my last phone was the Galaxy S8+ i have just come to upgrade and thought I’d try the Huawei P30 Pro and seems it uses android as well, i thought it can't be much different. i have 14 days return and I’m really not sure if i am going to keep it or ask can i swap for an S10+
I don't know if i am just being biased because I’ve had Samsung for so long but i just hope someone here can persuade me keeping the P30 won't be too bad and that some of my issues are fixable.
I don't seem to be getting some notifications, mainly games, i seem to get texts but not always others, although if i turn my s8+ on, they still seem to be coming through on there. I have checked most settings i can find but can't see anything obvious, i have added the games to the app assistant.
I didn't know that this Huawei phone didn't have a notification LED, i guess it’s only a small thing but it's amazing how much you miss that flashing light, are there any ways to get any other screen notifications in some way?
The phone doesn't retain the Auto brightness setting when i restart the phone, I’m a bit confused by this as it would seem that Huawei may have this as a feature rather than a bug, I’ve read online that this is how these phones are set but surely you would want the setting to be retained how you leave it? is this a bug or here to stay? i keep turning auto off but every time i restart its back on!
The vibrate is extremely shallow to the point i hardly even feel it.
The optical zoom doesn't function if in 40mp resolution? what’s that all about, i tried it earlier and it says on it that it only works in 10mp resolution? the res you are in shouldn't stop the optics from moving should it? Also when set to 10mp and you can zoom, the zooming isn’t smooth in any way at all, it looks extremely jerky.
even though i have auto brightness off and also smart resolution set to off (which switches between low and high depending on what’s on the screen) - even though these are off i keep seeing my screen kind of flickering when i switch between something like a website to a picture etc, like the phone is still using the smart resolution. if i go to a website the white parts might be bright white for a split second then kind of flicker to a duller white.
I have only had the phone for 2 days but that’s is what is kind of bugging me a bit already if anyone can advise at all on any of them issues?
Thanks
James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. It's not Samsung
2. I had the S10... this camera is superior in every way except maybe video... (I don't shoot video in 4K for my purposes so it doesn't bother me)
3. Above camera superiority overall, the 5x & 10x zooms brings a whole new world of shooting pictures. I can truly leave a big camera / big lens at home now.
4. More true-tone pictures... people hate to admit this... but the real world is not over-saturated... Apple, Samsung, etc. stop promoting this as the normal for picture taking....
5. Features yet to be turned on but soon in updates... dual video record (maybe), TOF Sensor utilization (next update), etc.
Honestly though, I'm not a complete Samsung hater. I just hate the way Samsung does business... how can they release their "flagship" S10+ then months later add features to the 5G phone they definitely should have been included with the original... like the additional lenses... Am I considering the Samsung S10 5G. Sure I am... Will I maybe wait for the Mate 30 Pro... more than likely. Huawei, for all the talk about what they steal, they also keep trying to innovate... unlike Apple and to some extent Samsung.
At the end of the day, reserve your judgement until you get to use the camera on the phone when you need a zoom... like at a zoo, concert, etc. where you can't be right against the action... take a few pictures then compare to maybe your friends pictures... you'll then realize what the hype is over... :good:

King Mustard said:
Nova is just the launcher. The system UI controls far more aspects than just the launcher. EMUI/One UI is everywhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate your point but unless you're an obsessive settings tweaker (which I'm not - once my phone is set to my liking I leave it alone) EMUI/One UI fades in to the background.

AntonyW999 said:
I appreciate your point but unless you're an obsessive settings tweaker (which I'm not - once my phone is set to my liking I leave it alone) EMUI/One UI fades in to the background.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the thing; it doesn't just disappear.
I use Nova Launcher too but here are some EMUI annoyances (for me):
Not being able to open the tray from the lock screen
No quick launch shortcut to launch the camera from anywhere (such as double-pressing the power button)
The Phone app taking over any active app (annoying when navigating with Google Maps)

King Mustard said:
That's the thing; it doesn't just disappear.
I use Nova Launcher too but here are some EMUI annoyances (for me):
Not being able to open the tray from the lock screen
No quick launch shortcut to launch the camera from anywhere (such as double-pressing the power button)
The Phone app taking over any active app (annoying when navigating with Google Maps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair points. You can launch the camera by double pressing volume down though. Haven't come across the phone/Map problem yet.

How can you not the love when you get shots like this

AntonyW999 said:
Fair points. You can launch the camera by double pressing volume down though. Haven't come across the phone/Map problem yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can only use that shortcut from the lock screen.

King Mustard said:
You can only use that shortcut from the lock screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know. But if you've already got the phone unlocked I've never found shortcuts to the camera to be of much use. As they say, YMMV.

AntonyW999 said:
I know. But if you've already got the phone unlocked I've never found shortcuts to the camera to be of much use. As they say, YMMV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Saves an Camera icon on the home screen(s).

King Mustard said:
That's the thing; it doesn't just disappear.
I use Nova Launcher too but here are some EMUI annoyances (for me):
Not being able to open the tray from the lock screen
No quick launch shortcut to launch the camera from anywhere (such as double-pressing the power button)
The Phone app taking over any active app (annoying when navigating with Google Maps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The google maps issue is just a settings tweak with app draw over preferences.
the choices made by Huawei are logical ones... for Instance:
1. Tray not being able to open from lockscreen - this is annoying but the logical Hauwei take on this is that it doesn't allow someone to mess with the phone settings until security is verified... I'll give you the iPhone as an example. I can get into the app drawer from the lockscreen without anything being verified security wise meaning I can harmlessly turn on someone's flashlight if I wanted to as a prank (to let the battery drain faster) all the way up to maliciously turning off all connectivity of the phone... meaning calls, emails, etc. can't get to the phone... can you see the issues this may cause? personally the annoyance is small to my piece of mind that no one can screw with anything on my phone.
2. My theme has quick launch on lockscreen for camera... or press volume down twice so its in there you just can't readily tweak it

I have read online about the setting for app power consumption and to switch manage automatically off so that the phone wont keep alls from receiving notifications and let them run in the background. will have to try it and see.

james_lpool said:
Hi, I am a long time Samsung Galaxy user, my last phone was the Galaxy S8+ i have just come to upgrade and thought I’d try the Huawei P30 Pro and seems it uses android as well, i thought it can't be much different. i have 14 days return and I’m really not sure if i am going to keep it or ask can i swap for an S10+
I don't know if i am just being biased because I’ve had Samsung for so long but i just hope someone here can persuade me keeping the P30 won't be too bad and that some of my issues are fixable.
I don't seem to be getting some notifications, mainly games, i seem to get texts but not always others, although if i turn my s8+ on, they still seem to be coming through on there. I have checked most settings i can find but can't see anything obvious, i have added the games to the app assistant.
I didn't know that this Huawei phone didn't have a notification LED, i guess it’s only a small thing but it's amazing how much you miss that flashing light, are there any ways to get any other screen notifications in some way?
The phone doesn't retain the Auto brightness setting when i restart the phone, I’m a bit confused by this as it would seem that Huawei may have this as a feature rather than a bug, I’ve read online that this is how these phones are set but surely you would want the setting to be retained how you leave it? is this a bug or here to stay? i keep turning auto off but every time i restart its back on!
The vibrate is extremely shallow to the point i hardly even feel it.
The optical zoom doesn't function if in 40mp resolution? what’s that all about, i tried it earlier and it says on it that it only works in 10mp resolution? the res you are in shouldn't stop the optics from moving should it? Also when set to 10mp and you can zoom, the zooming isn’t smooth in any way at all, it looks extremely jerky.
even though i have auto brightness off and also smart resolution set to off (which switches between low and high depending on what’s on the screen) - even though these are off i keep seeing my screen kind of flickering when i switch between something like a website to a picture etc, like the phone is still using the smart resolution. if i go to a website the white parts might be bright white for a split second then kind of flicker to a duller white.
I have only had the phone for 2 days but that’s is what is kind of bugging me a bit already if anyone can advise at all on any of them issues?
Thanks
James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny enough, I also upgraded from an S8+. There are definitely minor bugs, but nothing deal-breaking for me. As for notifications lagging behind, it's a known Huawei bug. You need to turn off auto-app management for the apps you want to get notifications pushed.

james_lpool said:
Hi, I am a long time Samsung Galaxy user, my last phone was the Galaxy S8+ i have just come to upgrade and thought I’d try the Huawei P30 Pro and seems it uses android as well, i thought it can't be much different. i have 14 days return and I’m really not sure if i am going to keep it or ask can i swap for an S10+
I don't know if i am just being biased because I’ve had Samsung for so long but i just hope someone here can persuade me keeping the P30 won't be too bad and that some of my issues are fixable.
I don't seem to be getting some notifications, mainly games, i seem to get texts but not always others, although if i turn my s8+ on, they still seem to be coming through on there. I have checked most settings i can find but can't see anything obvious, i have added the games to the app assistant.
I didn't know that this Huawei phone didn't have a notification LED, i guess it’s only a small thing but it's amazing how much you miss that flashing light, are there any ways to get any other screen notifications in some way?
The phone doesn't retain the Auto brightness setting when i restart the phone, I’m a bit confused by this as it would seem that Huawei may have this as a feature rather than a bug, I’ve read online that this is how these phones are set but surely you would want the setting to be retained how you leave it? is this a bug or here to stay? i keep turning auto off but every time i restart its back on!
The vibrate is extremely shallow to the point i hardly even feel it.
The optical zoom doesn't function if in 40mp resolution? what’s that all about, i tried it earlier and it says on it that it only works in 10mp resolution? the res you are in shouldn't stop the optics from moving should it? Also when set to 10mp and you can zoom, the zooming isn’t smooth in any way at all, it looks extremely jerky.
even though i have auto brightness off and also smart resolution set to off (which switches between low and high depending on what’s on the screen) - even though these are off i keep seeing my screen kind of flickering when i switch between something like a website to a picture etc, like the phone is still using the smart resolution. if i go to a website the white parts might be bright white for a split second then kind of flicker to a duller white.
I have only had the phone for 2 days but that’s is what is kind of bugging me a bit already if anyone can advise at all on any of them issues?
Thanks
James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had every Galaxy S and Note phones that were ever released, every one. Last year, I was interested in the P20 P30, ditched my S9 for my first Huawei phone ever, and I loved every bit of it. Then I skipped on pre-ordering the Note 9, something I have never done before, I waited because I wanted to get the Mate 20 Pro, but that was a bad experience for me and my wife, as we had 6 units replaced in total due to glue gate. After returning it, I went back to Samsung, got the Note 9, and I was then reminded how bad Samsung's cameras have gone when compared to the latest from Huawei, Google, and Apple. Still, I believed that Samsung will definitely deliver with the S10, and the moment it was announced, I pulled the plug and ordered two S10 Plus for myself and my wife. Just 3 weeks were enough for me to get sick of it's subpar low light photography, especially indoors and mainly if you're taking pictures of kids, as Samsung cameras struggle with moving objects. My wife doesn't care that much about cameras, but I do, so I ditched it for the P30 Pro and I couldn't be any happier with it in my pocket.
The camera is much better than the one on the S10, especially if we are talking about the exynos version, which was the case for me. Videos might not be up to Samsung and Apple's standards, but at 1080 it is close, and even better in low light situations and indoors as well. Battery life is much better, the UI while isn't the prettiest, it feels a bit more zippy than the S10, which isn't a slouch either.
Now fixes for your problems.
For notifications, go to battery settings, and select the apps you don't want the phone to put in sleep, you won't be missing your notifications after that.
Notifications led is also missing on the S10, so on both phones you'll have to rely on AOD, which for some reason, doesn't affect your battery life on the P30 Pro as much as it did for me on the S10.
Fps while it was improved after the latest update, and I can confirm that it got significantly better, it's still no match in terms of accuracy and speed to the one on the P30 Pro.
Accidental touches are a nightmare on the S10 Plus, the curve is smaller, but it sits much closer to your palm. An issue that I don't face on the P30 Pro.
From my 6 months experience with the P20 Pro, the camera on the P30 Pro will improve by at least 20%, with every update, Huawei makes sure they keep on improving their image processing. While on Samsung, and I am sure you know that, Samsung only irons out the camera issues that comes with the software that the phone was released with, so after a month or so, forget about Samsung working on improving your pictures.
Pardon me for the long ass essay, but from my experience with Samsung phones, and the S10 in particular, I would advise you to hold on to your phone. Their is a learning curve for their UI, but once you get it, you'll love your phone.

Thanks for the replies, what themes are people using? I have tried the app management setting and it did seem to have fixed my notification issue.

AntonyW999 said:
Not having any of those problems with mine. In fact I'm ditching my Galaxy S10+ and keeping the P30 Pro. The fingerprint scanner on the Huawei is faster and more reliable than the one on the Samsung, the camera setup is far more versatile, battery life is better and I immediately stick Nova launcher on anyway so I don't have to put up with EMUI or One UI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also use Nova Launcher - Since Galaxy S6 - and haven't looked back!
I'm very surprised (and very pleased) to hear that the finger print scanner on the P30 works faster AND more reliable than the one on S10+ - can you please elaborate more?
I noticed that mine works very well, actually extremely well. Always wondered what the ultrasonic reader must be like if the claim of being more accurate is true!!???

General Hey i've got MIUI 12.5.1 on my Redmi Note 10 Pro (Global)...And...

...It is still crippled by the forced feature of only having 10 seconds AOD! i hoped and prayed this would of been sorted by now with the infamous MIUI 12.5.
It obviously didn't matter about the other threads i posted (and asking support over on Twitter) as it seems nobody else is bothered? so it appears other users are happy to either resort to rooting their phones and using Magisk or removing MIUI optimisation via developer options just to have a working AOD?
I for one am NOT! why should i? Its dangerous and you lose certain elements. i bought the phone for this feature, they took out the notification light so the least they could do is have an AOD that's, you know...ALWAYS ON!
I'm sick of having to wake my phone all the bloody time just to see if anything has turned up or if i missed a call when i wasn't around near my phone. This is not too much to ask, but it seems everybody else is fine with it? WHY?
On topic, i don't see much change from 12 apart from the sounds being different, a slight increase in speed..oh an the volume bar is different..woo!
(notes got an update waaay before i received 12.5 so that was nothing new.)
Oh, AND STILL NO SUPER WALLPAPERS!
Colour me unimpressed.
P.s this is copied from my MI account on their forums, so not specifically aimed at XDA folks.

Totally agree with you, I've heard they do this to make the false sensation of this being a premium feature, so they push users to buy expensive phones.
For 12.5 I expect proper AOD, super wallpapers and FIXED DEEP SLEEP.. Im tired of losing 20% battery overnight

Plus 1 on the AOD 10 second issue, there's absolutely no point in AOD if it's only on for 10 seconds. I've submitted an issue with Xiaomi Services and Feedback and they came back saying it was for battery drain reasons, which is bull****! Makes more sense to add the option for always on instead of 10 seconds and let the user decide!

My 168 hours will be up this afternoon at which time I'll hopefully be unlocking my BL and flashing MiuiMix. It gives the option to have AOD always on.
I totally agree, I shouldn't have to flash a rom just to get a working AOD but I also want call recording and if MiuiMix on my Mi 9T Pro is anything to go by, it is much better than stock.
I'll see how MiuiMix goes and I might also have a play with the unofficial LineageOS release that looks promising as well.

Yeah it's pretty bad, I got a reply from the developers saying it's for battery too, seems to me it's an artificial cap for their low end devices.

Spoons13 said:
Plus 1 on the AOD 10 second issue, there's absolutely no point in AOD if it's only on for 10 seconds. I've submitted an issue with Xiaomi Services and Feedback and they came back saying it was for battery drain reasons, which is bull****! Makes more sense to add the option for always on instead of 10 seconds and let the use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep total bollocks on the battery drain issue. If anything i waste more battery turning the bastard on and off every frigging 5 minutes (at full brightness) just to see if anything has turned up! An AOD (like on my GF's Mi9 is in a very low brightness state which moves every 2 minutes to prevent burn in) should be implemented on their midranges too...But it seems like it's a feature deliberately only available on their flagship products...If that's the case it's discriminatory and bang out of order.
Please guys tweet @XiaomiSupport as much as possible and get Redmi Note 10 users to do the same, also use the inbuilt feedback on your phones...i'll post a screenshot in a tick on how to do it.
Come on comrades if enough of us keep harassing and threatening to boycott they will have to take notice.

1 : Settings (scroll right to the bottom)
2 : Service and feedback (ignore FAQ)
3 : Suggestions (tick box)
4 : Enter your grievance (I did mine via my phone so due to predictive text a few mistakes, but you get the gist)
5 : Select item (home screen + settings - always on display)
6 : enter your email. (Send)
Try and highlight that is not too conserve battery as you waste more battery turning it on and off, and that their flagship phones have it... If you pre-empt their stock reply you have more chance of not being fed bull****.
Good luck lads

Man just turn off miui optimization and is aod

zoOMito said:
Man just turn off miui optimization and is aod
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't do it any longer Xiaomi have greyed out the option. (or it just isn't there)

seedaripper said:
You can't do it any longer Xiaomi have greyed out the option. (or it just isn't there)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Near the bottom of developer options there should be an option in the Autofill section called 'reset to default values'. Apparently if you tap this a few times the switch for MIUI optimization will appear again

Yep, pretty annoying. That's why I switched to PixelExperience I did notice a battery drain though when using it.
I'm now using NotifyBuddy, an app that only turns on AOD when I have a new notification. It replaces the notification led. Works well.

General New trial update adds lots of great split screen features!!

{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Wow.... Finally the update for multi-tasking

what does the update ade for multi tasking? And can you finally use custom icons on default launcher? I'm on x fold 2 and haven't gotten anything like that...

Unfortunately, the update is not yet displayed for me

It's currently out for me. If it isn't out yet, reboot your device and try again.
That being said the software experience is really REALLY similar to the vivo x fold 2. Just as snippy and I've been waiting on the implementation of the dock for a year.
For those with the original vivo x fold, there may not be a huge reason to upgrade given these fresh quality of life upgrades. Especially if you have a vivo x fold with a boot loader unlocked (or if you joined the developer beta/public beta in winter last year). I wish this came out last year like the Samsung ones but I can't really complain.

I still find it a pity that WhatsApp notifications are not displayed on the lock screen/always on screen

NeoGoku123 said:
I still find it a pity that WhatsApp notifications are not displayed on the lock screen/always on screen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see them with the app AOA: Always on display

I used that app, AOA, a few days ago and it worked great and then the next day never came back on. No matter what I did, even reboot the phone, it never appeared again. I turned the app off and on, I even locked it to the home screen so it didn't get shut down and nothing. Any ideas?

I tried the update. Like it. Only Battery seems to take a hit. Maybe it needs time.....

Cloverfield_33 said:
I used that app, AOA, a few days ago and it worked great and then the next day never came back on. No matter what I did, even reboot the phone, it never appeared again. I turned the app off and on, I even locked it to the home screen so it didn't get shut down and nothing. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly the same issue for me with AOA. Never shows up even though I pinned it, set auto start, and battery mgmt to max. I also turned off Vivo's always on display, and all I see the fingerprint scanner image.

gkarkala said:
Exactly the same issue for me with AOA. Never shows up even though I pinned it, set auto start, and battery mgmt to max. I also turned off Vivo's always on display, and all I see the fingerprint scanner image.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I managed to get it working again today by turning off the custom time (I had it turn off 10pm to 5am). I ticked the ALWAYS ON box and now it's working again. For now...

Cloverfield_33 said:
I managed to get it working again today by turning off the custom time (I had it turn off 10pm to 5am). I ticked the ALWAYS ON box and now it's working again. For now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did not work. I never setup custom time, and just verified. Do you still see the fingerprint icon?

gkarkala said:
Did not work. I never setup custom time, and just verified. Do you still see the fingerprint icon?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No but even when I had the finger print button on on AOA, it didn't do anything, it was just there for show.

Cloverfield_33 said:
No but even when I had the finger print button on on AOA, it didn't do anything, it was just there for show.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay. then somehow Vivo is killing the AOA process when I turn off the display.

gkarkala said:
okay. then somehow Vivo is killing the AOA process when I turn off the display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was stumped too. Was just about to delete it till I tried my fix. The stock aod is nice however can't get notifications for anything but phone and messages and the battery percentage is too small to see properly. I like the upside down purple triangle effect though and will go back to that if AOA fails again.

Cloverfield_33 said:
I was stumped too. Was just about to delete it till I tried my fix. The stock aod is nice however can't get notifications for anything but phone and messages and the battery percentage is too small to see properly. I like the upside down purple triangle effect though and will go back to that if AOA fails again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agree. Vivo's software philosophy is strange: no matter whether it is focused on Chinese or global users. Some of the restrictions does not even make sense even for the Chinese market.
But, damn the hardware is excellent! I am so sick of the narrow screen of Samsung Fold, I am tolerating the UX issues of Vivo. I also got Oppo Find N2, but that software is worse than Vivo.

gkarkala said:
Agree. Vivo's software philosophy is strange: no matter whether it is focused on Chinese or global users. Some of the restrictions does not even make sense even for the Chinese market.
But, damn the hardware is excellent! I am so sick of the narrow screen of Samsung Fold, I am tolerating the UX issues of Vivo. I also got Oppo Find N2, but that software is worse than Vivo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I was with Samsung since 2016 before this phone and my lost phone was the z fold 2 which was an amazing phone don't get me wrong but that narrow outside screen annoyed me more and more as the years went on. The fold 5 is going to he just as poor and the pixel fold will be too short and have problems of its own, plus just as expensive. Vivo was a no brainier, hundreds cheaper, amazing inside and outside screen, ridiculous battery life and charging speed, 1800 nits brightness plus much more. The software is definitely a learning curve and like you said, some things don't make sense at all. I'm struggling with notifications and I still, no matter what I do, can't get floating notifications for WhatsApp when I'm using the phone. If phone is on standby I get the message preview on lock screen, dark mode or not but when using the phone all I get is the icon at top left. I have every setting to allow notifications, I'm so stumped. Weirdly I'll get the message preview if I already have a WhatsApp message unread and then someone else sends, me a message. I get a line from each new message then. Very frustrating.

Cloverfield_33 said:
Agreed. I was with Samsung since 2016 before this phone and my lost phone was the z fold 2 which was an amazing phone don't get me wrong but that narrow outside screen annoyed me more and more as the years went on. The fold 5 is going to he just as poor and the pixel fold will be too short and have problems of its own, plus just as expensive. Vivo was a no brainier, hundreds cheaper, amazing inside and outside screen, ridiculous battery life and charging speed, 1800 nits brightness plus much more. The software is definitely a learning curve and like you said, some things don't make sense at all. I'm struggling with notifications and I still, no matter what I do, can't get floating notifications for WhatsApp when I'm using the phone. If phone is on standby I get the message preview on lock screen, dark mode or not but when using the phone all I get is the icon at top left. I have every setting to allow notifications, I'm so stumped. Weirdly I'll get the message preview if I already have a WhatsApp message unread and then someone else sends, me a message. I get a line from each new message then. Very frustrating.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly the same issue for me for Whatsapp messages. No floating message notifications.

gkarkala said:
Exactly the same issue for me for Whatsapp messages. No floating message notifications.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK so it's not just me. It's so weird isn't it. Hopefully it's something that can be fixed soon.

Google messages notifications works in dark mode now