Overall love - Samsung Galaxy S7 Active Real Life Review

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Samsung Galaxy S7 Active is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!

Missing the FM radio....
Everything on here but the FM radio.....
WTF were they thinking when the specs were being planed?
***Lets fully load the phone but leave out the radio, so when the stupid consumer goes to a hockey or football game or any other sporting event, they cant listen to the play by play broadcast ..... He He He ..... ***
Evil little bastards! Now I have to carry an extra piece of equipment each time I go to a game.
Cant listen to my Blues program on Saturday afternoon (CKUA).
Love the phone, hate the fact there is no radio.
3 STARS only, for the SNAFU (I feel it was intentional) in the Samsung RD department.

OK phone. Used an S6 Active previously. I too wish there was a radio app!

My biggest complaint is how little custom development there is for it. I have been modifying and tinkering with my phones for years and all that stopped when I got the S7 Active.
I miss the heart wrenching moments when you think you bricked your phone and you can't afford a new one, and fix it many hours later...

EnduringGuerila said:
My biggest complaint is how little custom development there is for it. I have been modifying and tinkering with my phones for years and all that stopped when I got the S7 Active.
I miss the heart wrenching moments when you think you bricked your phone and you can't afford a new one, and fix it many hours later...
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Click to collapse
I really don't see the reason to R00T the phone, I've been able to use all my ringtones, the OS gives me access to them so there is no need put them into system>media>audio. I just dumped them into internal storage.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwg9puqwK5o-YWE5bDUxVnRUN00
There always seems to be a problem with KNOX breaking something, no matter what method is used, this must be designed into the phone, deliberate and intentional.
I still have to update to QD4, or better when something becomes stable.
There is substantial bloat that could be removed and space freede up, it's not really necessary though b'cuz you have the ability to load the apps to the SD Card.
Change the startup screen ... I really don't sit there and startup my phone habitually just to watch or show off my startup screen, most people would think this behaviour would be suspect!
I use NEXT LAUNCHER, so I don't use the Samsung GUI, there are better launches than what sam gives you.
So for me it really boils down to the bloat......%[email protected]#&#! bloat.
To each his own, R00T away.....

UnableToResetOldProfile said:
I really don't see the reason to R00T the phone, I've been able to use all my ringtones, the OS gives me access to them so there is no need put them into system>media>audio. I just dumped them into internal storage.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bwg9puqwK5o-YWE5bDUxVnRUN00
There always seems to be a problem with KNOX breaking something, no matter what method is used, this must be designed into the phone, deliberate and intentional.
I still have to update to QD4, or better when something becomes stable.
There is substantial bloat that could be removed and space freede up, it's not really necessary though b'cuz you have the ability to load the apps to the SD Card.
Change the startup screen ... I really don't sit there and startup my phone habitually just to watch or show off my startup screen, most people would think this behaviour would be suspect!
I use NEXT LAUNCHER, so I don't use the Samsung GUI, there are better launches than what sam gives you.
So for me it really boils down to the bloat......%[email protected]#&#! bloat.
To each his own, R00T away.....
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Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-active/development/rom-mod-release-t3635879
I just did this to root and apply other mods. Fixing my roommates mistake lead me to this post and It is a charm.

I absolutely love the hardware, just like I loved the S4 and S6 active versions...
But this will be my last Samsung. Or any carrier branded phone for that matter.
Sick, sick, sick to death of bloat and crap software. It is absurd that they haven't gotten the message yet that bloatware is universally despised, and in fact they seem to be trying harder to force it down our throats.
So I'm done. Next time I'm voting with my wallet. Maybe Google will release a rugged variant of Pixel by the time I'm ready for my next toy...

Is it really so bad though? I just deactivated everything I could, and what was left does not seem to cause any real harm to battery or performance (unrooted stock BQG1 atm). Of course it would be nice to just get rid of it all but it's not a deal breaker IMO.

It has been tolerable for me up until now, but the future is clear. Originally I would just root my phones to get rid of the crap, but they stopped us from doing that. Then I started using various package disablers, but now they have been attacking them. At the same time, the amount of bloat I see on new model phones has become ridiculous. To me the message is clear - you are going to use our crappy software and like it.
It wouldn't be so bad if their apps actually were better or innovative. But they are invariably just replacements for already established mature apps that don't work nearly as well.
Further, if they insist on it anyway, it should be like a cheap laptop that comes pre-loaded with a bunch of junk. Those who want it, keep it. The rest of us can format the machine with a basic install of our preferred OS and load what we want from there. Would you buy a laptop from a company if you were *forced* to keep whatever junkware they put on it forever, as well as your ISP loading it up with another bunch of their own garbage? Of couse not. Why do we put up with it on our phones?
Anyway, I am no longer going to reward them for this. I will go back to a dumb flip phone before I buy another phone from any company or carrier that thinks they know better than I what I should have on *my* phone.

For those wanting to use the fm radio just use the next radio app as that access the fm radio perfectly..

Related

Anyone else own/owned a iPhone before owning the G1?

Ok, to start this off, I don't want to sound like a fanboy. In all reality, the whole reason I switched to the G1 from a 3G iPhone was because of all of Apple's shaddy practices with releasing new firmware / new phones. Anyway, my question to those of you that have owned both is this: do you really love your G1 as much as you did your iPhone. Now, don't flame me for the way I asked this, and I will support what I say here.
My first, biggest problem, with the G1 was no native Exchange support. That was almost a deal breaker for me on the first day. I did not want to have to pay to have support for business applications that should be included on a smart phone in this day and age. And, to those of you that had an iPhone, you probably already know that it's really nice that all of your contacts sync with your Exchange server. Imagine my surprise when I stuck my sim card into the G1 and only had my contacts from the last phone that utilized saving contacts to the sim. Major disappointment!
2nd problem with the G1 is the lack of a well organized app store. How many times have you searched for a specific application, and came up with nothing, but if you change that search query to become a little more complete, all of a sudden you get a hit. (Ex. searching for weather and then searching for weather widget. (this isn't an exact example, just an example))
3rd problem is, the iPhone is way more responsive. Yes, I know you can install other roms that are better optimized, but the deal is, it's been well over a year and most of these issues should have been ironed out. I had my iPhone completely unlocked and jailbroken, with background support, etc, and still got way less force closes and whatnot then the G1.
I could go on with more issues, but I'm sure I'm just beating a dead horse. Now, don't get me wrong, I've been running Slackware Linux since version 7 and many other distros before and after that. I've got OSX Leopard on my Gateway laptop just for the fun of it. I buy game consoles for the sole reason of figuring out to hack them, play with it for a couple of months, and then sell it off to a buddy. I'm no stranger to modifying code and troubleshooting things. I just kinda see the whole Android movement kinda flawed.
So, now I'm at a decision point. I've got about 4 days left on my buyer's remorse period and not sure if I should stick with the G1 or go back to my iPhone and deal with the crappy battery, and the giant hassles it is to deal with Apple. Or, on the other hand, I can stick with the G1 and ride out the bumpiness of the OS until all is well. Has anyone else been against this decision and maybe gone back to the iPhone and regretted it? Just looking for other people's insight. I know that it all boils down to personal preference, but anyone who wants to flame / offer suggestions / etc. it'd be much appreciated.
Hi,
I intend getting a G1 this month, so this post is an interesting one to me. I have been using a HTC Universal for years now and I recon it is time for me and it to part. its been an ace PDA and some parts of it are still ahead of its time, but stuff like a good camera and GPS are missed. Now with windows mobile it is easy to get a program (APP) for what you want but you need to search the net of different companies and most times you have to load it from your PC. The Iphone was another choice for me but I felt 3G in this day is a bit pants, the universal has that! and the battery life is not good. So if you want my penny worth I would stick with the G1, even if it was only for the battery situation. Plus with all these roms to use and speed things up. Great I recon.
Regards
Jay
these are the ramblings of a person who hasn't even got a G1 yet LOL
chesh420 said:
Ok, to start this off, I don't want to sound like a fanboy. In all reality, the whole reason I switched to the G1 from a 3G iPhone was because of all of Apple's shaddy practices with releasing new firmware / new phones. Anyway, my question to those of you that have owned both is this: do you really love your G1 as much as you did your iPhone. Now, don't flame me for the way I asked this, and I will support what I say here.
My first, biggest problem, with the G1 was no native Exchange support. That was almost a deal breaker for me on the first day. I did not want to have to pay to have support for business applications that should be included on a smart phone in this day and age. And, to those of you that had an iPhone, you probably already know that it's really nice that all of your contacts sync with your Exchange server. Imagine my surprise when I stuck my sim card into the G1 and only had my contacts from the last phone that utilized saving contacts to the sim. Major disappointment!
2nd problem with the G1 is the lack of a well organized app store. How many times have you searched for a specific application, and came up with nothing, but if you change that search query to become a little more complete, all of a sudden you get a hit. (Ex. searching for weather and then searching for weather widget. (this isn't an exact example, just an example))
3rd problem is, the iPhone is way more responsive. Yes, I know you can install other roms that are better optimized, but the deal is, it's been well over a year and most of these issues should have been ironed out. I had my iPhone completely unlocked and jailbroken, with background support, etc, and still got way less force closes and whatnot then the G1.
I could go on with more issues, but I'm sure I'm just beating a dead horse. Now, don't get me wrong, I've been running Slackware Linux since version 7 and many other distros before and after that. I've got OSX Leopard on my Gateway laptop just for the fun of it. I buy game consoles for the sole reason of figuring out to hack them, play with it for a couple of months, and then sell it off to a buddy. I'm no stranger to modifying code and troubleshooting things. I just kinda see the whole Android movement kinda flawed.
So, now I'm at a decision point. I've got about 4 days left on my buyer's remorse period and not sure if I should stick with the G1 or go back to my iPhone and deal with the crappy battery, and the giant hassles it is to deal with Apple. Or, on the other hand, I can stick with the G1 and ride out the bumpiness of the OS until all is well. Has anyone else been against this decision and maybe gone back to the iPhone and regretted it? Just looking for other people's insight. I know that it all boils down to personal preference, but anyone who wants to flame / offer suggestions / etc. it'd be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install exchange email apk.
prettyboy85712 said:
Install exchange email apk.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said. We've added Exchange support to many ROMs at this point. Most ROMs are extremely responsive (try cyanogen's or MyTouchv1.0 by cc or any of the ION ROMs for that matter). Most of the time, just updating the ROM will fix many of the FC problems you're having.
Like you said, it all comes down to personal preference, but much of your problems seem to have been addressed with the custom ROMs, you should try them out before you run out of time to return it. If it comes down you not liking it, you can always unroot and no one would be the wiser when you returned it.
The Market problem is the only one I still have with the phone (and I'm using JACHero too ). I can't really search for an app unless I know exactly what its called, but the Market works, and does its job, just a little unrefined (remember, the G1 has only been out for a little while compared to the iPhone, we'll eventually catch up).
I know that these problems should have been addressed by HTC or Google already, but because they're slow, we've done what we could with what we've had, and its worked out pretty well for us. Regardless, even if they released a fast, bug free ROM, you can bet your ass that the cooks at xda will make it better.
I had a 2G iPhone before I bought my G1, and I'm so glad I did. Mainly because of 3G and GPS, but also because of Apple's firm grip over what the device could do.
1) I've always used gmail, so no problems there, but hey, I'm no business user.
2) Yeah market search sucks big time, which is more than ironic coming from google, but it's not something that annoys me too much.
3)Can't relate to your experiences with crashes. I had jailbroken and tried using the backgrounder app. It was useless, the phone would constantly run out of memory and start killing my IM app (without my knowledge) and Lastfm. I've only ever had force closes on Hero, but on Haykuro 6.0 (magic port) I haven't gotten a single one.
There are ROM's with Exchange support (eg the non-rosie Hero ROMs) and third party apps. I'm sure google will update the market in 2.0 (donut) because surely they must know how bad it is. Not really sure what to suggest with FC's, just try out different ROMs?
The rogers roms are very fast and stable G1 ROM's.... and they have FULL exchange support built in - syncs calendar/email/contacts via exchange... The hero roms do as well but that won't be your cup of tea.
Get Ravenges Rogers ROM -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=524074
I use exchange extensively with hero and rogers roms and it works really, really well. You have a lot of control over it and functionality is spot on.
Get the Rogers ROM as it's basically made for G1 hardware, so everything works and it's fast and responsive. T-Mobile is the reason for such crappy exchange support - as HTC based ROMs have been supporting it fully for quite some time now.
p.s. - Google Voice on this phone is BAD ASS. I love the toggle icon as well, i can turn google voice on with 1 press, make a call via my GV phone #, then turn it back off and be back on my regular cell instantly... LOVE IT.
Well, I've been using JACHero since 2.6.0 and it hasn't been bad. Rosie is a little unresponsive, but once JACHero came out with 2.7 and added Launcher back in, I just switched to JACHero 2.72 Full w/ Launcher instead of TouchFLO. It's definatly faster and I do have my Exchange support which is good. It also now syncs my contacts from the Exchange server which is nice too. I dunno, on one hand you have Apple's death grip over the phone and it's OS and on the other hand you have Google with it's hand in every one of your pockets. Which is a bigger burden? The company that locks you into how they do things, or the company that lets you do what you want, but wants to know everything about it.
Apple's appstore just hit 1yr old. I know the Android market isn't quite that old yet, so we have some things to wait for. Everything is just kinda buggy. I dunno. It's really just a waiting game really to see how great Android can possibly be. Here's another part of my decision that I didn't mention. When I got the G1, I still had 6 months left till my official upgrade. I ended up shelling out $350 for the phone. I still have my iPhone 3g and could probably sell it to cover this cost without a problem on eBAY. Knowing this, would you return the phone now and get back the $350, stay with the iPhone until I have the upgrade, and then picking up the G1 (or maybe another android) in Feb when it would only cost me $99? Decisions, decisions.....
vr24 said:
The rogers roms are very fast and stable G1 ROM's.... and they have FULL exchange support built in - syncs calendar/email/contacts via exchange... The hero roms do as well but that won't be your cup of tea.
Get Ravenges Rogers ROM -
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=524074
I use exchange extensively with hero and rogers roms and it works really, really well. You have a lot of control over it and functionality is spot on.
Get the Rogers ROM as it's basically made for G1 hardware, so everything works and it's fast and responsive. T-Mobile is the reason for such crappy exchange support - as HTC based ROMs have been supporting it fully for quite some time now.
p.s. - Google Voice on this phone is BAD ASS. I love the toggle icon as well, i can turn google voice on with 1 press, make a call via my GV phone #, then turn it back off and be back on my regular cell instantly... LOVE IT.
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I haven't looked at the Rogers ROM due to such an old build date (LOL, it's only a couple of weeks I know). But, as I've turned off everything that makes the Hero rom, Hero, I don't think it would hurt to switch. The only thing that I see would change is no flash support, which is mostly broken anyway (well, maybe not broken, just not as useful as everyone thought).
If I was to try out that Rodgers rom, would I just need to wipe and reflash as I'm coming from JACHero 2.7.2? I've already got my SD card all partitioned up with fat32, ext3, linux-swap.
How well does flash support in the browsers on these roms work? as I understand it, not all browsers in these roms include flash support. In WM 6.0 we were kind of spoilt, as we had a browser called skyfire. It was very good at flash playing and rendered the page as on a desktop pc with a zoom option.
Well, you can see flash animations on ign.com, but on sites like youtube and hulu, don't even count on anything loading (I know there's a huge difference in the Flash content, but just an example). I've used skyfire on my Shadow (phone I had before the iPhone) and it was pretty good back in it's initial alpha/beta stages. The browsers just work. And, as it's built off of Webkit, I'm pretty familar with it (same browser backbone as the iPhone). So, in other words, flash is there, just don't count on it working on everything
So is there a stand alone YouTube player for this OS then? I kind of remembering seeing there is? if so is it any good? Funny you saying about the Alpha, Beta of skyfire, coz I thought the beta was better than the latest release.
chesh420 said:
I haven't looked at the Rogers ROM due to such an old build date (LOL, it's only a couple of weeks I know). But, as I've turned off everything that makes the Hero rom, Hero, I don't think it would hurt to switch. The only thing that I see would change is no flash support, which is mostly broken anyway (well, maybe not broken, just not as useful as everyone thought).
If I was to try out that Rodgers rom, would I just need to wipe and reflash as I'm coming from JACHero 2.7.2? I've already got my SD card all partitioned up with fat32, ext3, linux-swap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If Hero is running good for you, then stick with it. Rogers is like Hero without the Widgets, Flash, Gallery, etc... it has the HTC (Hero) Dialer and Exchange and for the most part is like a cupcake build. If I'm not on Hero, I definitely prefer it.
As for wiping, I would say you probably have to wipe and format the ext3 partition, which is easy. But you'll have to reload all your apps.
Right now I'm on JACHero 2.7.3 and it's running really well for me, very responsive, but I was on Rogers for 2 months before that.
I never really liked Skyfire too much. It was just OK. I prefer the G1 web browsing, especially with the HTC Browser (Hero/Rogers) and multi-touch.
The flash is overrated, nothing special. It'll load things like flash banners and minor flash pieces just fine. Don't expect to stream flash video, games, or full blown flash websites.
Stand alone youtube player works great.
I have the Iphone 2G and the G1...For awhile i would switch back and forth...missing the last phone for a few hours then enjoying whichever i was using. The Iphone on TMobile service sucked as a phone but was quite the entertaining piece...the G1 lacks in 3D graphics and games but was excellent as a phone/web browser. If you find your self not minding the lack of service as a phone on the Iphone i would say wait and see what the next Android device is. Although from what i read it won't have a physical keyboard...but if you are enjoying the the iphone's VK then you shouldn;t mind not having the physical keyboard.
It all comes down to how well it works as a phone for me...I use the exchange sync but never sync my contacts...I have been a gmail user since the original beta in 2003, so i never had a problem with syncing contacts to the G1 but with the Iphone. I had to export from gmail to Outlook, then export to Itunes and sync to the Iphone.
I would say if you are happy with the Iphone on Tmobile's network return the G1 and get that $350...that's a lot to spend on it. Wait for the next greatest Android device.(MyTouch has double the storage but everything else is basically the same) I would save up some money then sell the Iphone on ebay and buy the unlocked Hero device when it comes out. Android is still an infant but is growing up very fast. Just think about 2-3 months ago we only had a few ROMs to choose from...now we have more then i care to count at the moment =)
I have always been a fan of cooked roms and cooking roms, but what is bad about the stock G1 rom? I could give a list of bad points that put me off the stock rom in WM5 so what is it on google? I did a search and saw that speed was an issue. or is it just buggy?
Jay
No exchange, no flash, no multi-touch by default. The rom itself is pretty fast, and the looks and feel aren't bad at all. Just a preference thing. But, just like in Apple world, as new updates come out to the main firmware, new features are added and old bugs fixed. I think that goes for any phone though.
how dare u say th i word in here =x lol jk.
I had an iphone on att before (and my wife currently is using it on tmobile) and wanted to put in my two cents.
iPhone Pros:
Iphones games are just as good as a psp, and pretty cheap from the itunes store and there are TONS of them.
Apps crash way less
GPhone Pros:
Alerts - iphone is still not up to par with this, any g1 app can alert you to new emails, etc
Util apps - out of the box the apps on the g1 can affect things like power, wifi, and even more system settings. This lets you have a much better range of util apps
If you plan to root/jailbreak your iphone/gphone:
iphone - Adds the above GPhone pros but slows down the phone a lot, it just wasnt ment to handle it
gphone - run linux easily -- way fun!
Thats what sums it up in just a few lines!
kmc127
One thing that I can say is getting awfully annoying on the G1 is my mail. When I read mail on my G1, it doesn't correctly update my account with which emails are read and which ones are still new. So, I have to login to the account and check them as read in order for them to stop saying they're new. Kind of a pain, but liveable.
On the iPhone on the other hand, you read an email, whether it be Yahoo, Exchange, Hotmail, etc., it updates to the online mail system. The G1 tries to do the update, but most of the time, it misses at least half of the emails.
In other words, if you want games- go with an iPhone. If you want a phone for communication purposes (and still lots of cool games) go with a G1.

Now I understand why people don't like android...

Hello all, I know this will sound like a rant against the phone but in reality I just want to know if others share my opinion or if I'm alone on this one thus making the "problem" me.
I recently bought an HTC sensation 4g and I have a problem called companies customizations!
My problem with sense is that it has tons of apps that I don't need: ereader, stock; or other that I need but are bloated: weather.
It's probably a seller to see big cloud on such a great screen, but on the long run I wished it opened up immediately with the hourly forecast and less fullscreen animation to drain battery.
I heard a lot of my friends that didn't like android (mostly hated samsung or htc) and I never understood why. My nexus one with stock android wasn't the prettiest phone to look at (compared to iphone) but with some customization it was quick, usable and provided more functions than pretty graphics. But now I know! With loads of extra useless apps and their contents or awkward design choices (like the not very friendly coverflow looking thing to choose backgrounds and such). Yesterday I heard from my friend that his girlfriend galaxy s came with avatar and they had a long struggle trying to remove it from the phone sd card because they didn't care about it. When I checked the phone the avatar icon was still there since they're not very tech-savvy.
Don't get me wrong I don't hate my phone, the hardware is great, the screen is better than I expected, I love android, but that extra stuff that I really don't need should have an easy way to come off, it should not be installed in a way that I can't remove it without rooting. No wonder why people hate android... it's because they mistake android for the extra load it comes with it that slows down the phone, uses their monthly data and drains their battery. Apple doesn't do that and there's a reason "normal" people tend to pick up an iphone so quickly.
I wish there was an official way to ask companies to make all this stuff optional! Please don't think that I have it with HTC or sense, I'm referencing sense because that's what I experienced this problem with. Let me know what you think maybe if others have this issue with companies, we could organize a petition or something?
That's not android its more of a service provider and hardware supplier way of getting a cut from development companies .my Samsung had a heap of unwanted bloatware and service provider crappy useless battery consuming memory hogging apps the best thing i ever did was root this phone no more random reboots battery improved by 50% and everything on the phone is what i want on it not something that the companies think or want you to have on it .So with all that said if you have patients and can do some searching on the xda forums you will find a solution to what you want to achieve on your device .Believe me if you like it now you will love it when you get it the way you want it.
Hope that help .
I moved from iphone 4 to the SGS2.
One thing i know whatever i do to this phone it can be fully restored back to stock and the warranty will still be there providing i don't brick the phone
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Mustoura said:
That's not android its more of a service provider and hardware supplier way of getting a cut from development companies.
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Click to collapse
He said that himself
DBBGBA said:
I love android, but that extra stuff that I really don't need should have an easy way to come off, it should not be installed in a way that I can't remove it without rooting. No wonder why people hate android... it's because they mistake android for the extra load it comes with it that slows down the phone, uses their monthly data and drains their battery.
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Click to collapse
I could not agree more with the OP. I used Nexus 1 builds on my HD2 for about 8 months and loved it. I've now got a Samsung Galaxy S2 (I just wanted a newer, faster phone, but with the same size screen), and despite being a great phone I found myself longing for that AOSP experience. I tried a couple of AOSP ROMs in the SGS2 forum and breathed a sigh of relief at how much difference they made, but they unfortunatly aren't currently stable enough to use day-in-day-out. So I've recently gone down a different route - MIUI. I've literally only done it today, and so far I'm loving it.
Anyway, I digress. There should be some manufacturers out there that recognise this gap in the market and sell basic Android phones, with no other crap on them. I know Google do that (obviously), but I wish more did the same. People shouldn't have to know how to flash a ROM or root and freeze apps, just to get the best possible basic Android experience available.
Rant over
Point taken and yes i agree.
I missed that bit as I'm half asleep
Wow i just had a read over again i apologies that i missed that whole section lol sorry for telling you how to suck eggs
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
Mustoura said:
Point taken and yes i agree.
I missed that bit as I'm half asleep
Wow i just had a read over again i apologies that i missed that whole section lol sorry for telling you how to suck eggs
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App
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Heh. I have a sneaking suspicion that you're not the 1st person to comment on a post after not reading it correctly. I reckon in the history of the internet it's happened at least 3 times
Id like to see a major manufacturer do a little experiment on there next big handset.
Supply two different versions, one with there overlay and one aosp fresh from the oven, see which one sells.
I know they are only trying to add functionality to the device but they could at least write there apps properly so they dont cause wakelocks and hog resources, hell there's a whole forum full of very competent developers im sure would be happy to help
@johncmolyneux
off topic but have you tried the latest Cm7 for the SGS2? the latest nightly is pretty complete, the devs have done a stand up job. Keep it aosp baby
mynamesteve said:
@johncmolyneux
off topic but have you tried the latest Cm7 for the SGS2? the latest nightly is pretty complete, the devs have done a stand up job. Keep it aosp baby
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I've not, but I've shied away from non-standard ROMs normally. After the very favourable MIUI experience I may well give CM7 a play. I did have a sort of CM ROM on my HD2 for a while, but it looked and played pretty much like AOSP, but was blue instead of green.
Thanks for the advice
johncmolyneux said:
I've not, but I've shied away from non-standard ROMs normally. After the very favourable MIUI experience I may well give CM7 a play. I did have a sort of CM ROM on my HD2 for a while, but it looked and played pretty much like AOSP, but was blue instead of green.
Thanks for the advice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was the same meself tried a few out and stuck with Villain, been testing CM out occasionally to see how development is going and very impressed! if i'm not mistaken Miui is based on CM so if thats working for you its party time
the main thread with the download link is in the Q&A thread in Q&A, just so you know
Was rocking Hyperdroid Cm7 on my HD2 too so i know the feeling
I think I just officially hijacked this thread! sorry OP
That's why I have a g2x, pretty much vanilla android. But then again, just take all that crap off yourself or flash a custom rom.
Sent from my LG-P999 using xda premium
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
Overstew said:
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, that is a very valid point. People would end up buying phones purely on colour and shape, if the hardware was close enough and they were all AOSP. I do like mynamesteve's suggestion of manufacturing 2 devices - 1 with their own software and 1 with basic Android, but I can't see anyone really doing that unfortunately. I guess there isn't really a practical solution to this. Not that I can think of, anyway.
Incidentally, I like your avatar. Homage to The King. He may be dead, but his burgers most certainly are not!
Overstew said:
What would really be the difference in the phones if they were all AOSP? Sure they've got different hardware specs, but if all had the same hardware, it'd be nearly impossible to know the difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure you get it Sir!
aosp = stock android = no bloatware
Standard and fast for you to add what YOU want, not have crappy coded apps forced on you that are difficult to remove.
Simples
I agree...
But I think this Operating System Fragmentation is a USA problem. Sure it happens elsewhere. The problem is the carriers use the bloatware and other specialty apps as a revenue stream. So far, Apple is changing that game and Google is doing what it can but with so many handsets and the open nature of Android it's really hard to control. I won't say anything about the closed ecosystem Apple has built vs the Android Market since both have redeeming qualities as well as flaws.
I have 3 phones on my account, all android. All were rooted on first day out of the box and had all that bloatware removed, including Inception which took up too much space on the memory card.
I wish the USA would take the approach found almost everywhere else. You pick your phone, then you pick your carrier. There's lots of great stuff going on elsewhere in the world like NFC, handsets that aren't gimped by the carrier... etc.
Just IMHO.
Cheers
johncmolyneux said:
Actually, that is a very valid point. People would end up buying phones purely on colour and shape, if the hardware was close enough and they were all AOSP. I do like mynamesteve's suggestion of manufacturing 2 devices - 1 with their own software and 1 with basic Android, but I can't see anyone really doing that unfortunately. I guess there isn't really a practical solution to this. Not that I can think of, anyway.
Incidentally, I like your avatar. Homage to The King. He may be dead, but his burgers most certainly are not!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But really deep down arn't they all just android?
I will admit the overlays draw customers, I was drawn in by sense bk in the winMO days (RIP) but other than some fancy widgets its really not much better than stock.
I understand they get paid for most of the note/ereader/Doc Dre beats headphone rubbish that gets shipped so things will most likely not change
but thank you for treasures like this website.
I know tings i.e. rooting can be daunting for the beginner but if ya follow the guides and read, ya never know you might even learn something (John this wasn't directed at you at all just peeps in general i know your a kick ass developer, i read it bk n thought wtf lol)
TLDR:read it
mynamesteve said:
But really deep down arn't they all just android?
I will admit the overlays draw customers, I was drawn in by sense bk in the winMO days (RIP) but other than some fancy widgets its really not much better than stock.
I understand they get paid for most of the note/ereader/Doc Dre beats headphone rubbish that gets shipped so things will most likely not change
but thank you for treasures like this website.
I know tings i.e. rooting can be daunting for the beginner but if ya follow the guides and read, ya never know you might even learn something (John this wasn't directed at you at all just peeps in general i know your a kick ass developer, i read it bk n thought wtf lol)
TLDR:read it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To a certain degree, yes, but the SGS2 doesn't even have the stock Android launcher available, never mind the cluster of Samsung apps that everyone seems to be freezing straight out of the box. Samsung have pretty much made it their own device, which is obviously fine, and it's still a very stock-looking experience, but just freezing apps doesn't make it AOSP unfortunately.
I think (italics because I'm not sure) that a lot of people would learn more about their device if it was a bog-standard stock Android experience from day 1. They'd try different apps and launchers etc.. I've got a friend with a Desire HD and he's never even opened the Market app. He's 0% techie, so fair enough he's not gonna undervolt and overclock the thing, but he didn't even realise he had a satnav device! I don't want to turn this into a xxx manufacturer against yyy manufacturer, but certain other devices on the market are popular because of what they can do. I think Android is being sold short by not making it obvious how far it can go. That, I believe, is partly down to having a device loaded with apps that obscure the possibilities.
Rant over
BTW, thanks for the compliment, but I'm simply a developer. This place has far more kick ass developers than me!
I have to say, if it wasn't for HTC I wouldn't have an android phone.
Tried a Nexus ROM on my HD2, really hated it. Tried the SGS2, really couldn't get on with it (nice screen though).
I can understand and respect that many people do like aosp, and I'm glad that we have the options available to us.
My stock sensation is fast and sense 3 is lovely and polished.
I really wish carriers (apparently mostly in the US) didn't take a fast phone and turn it into something reportedly sluggish though.
johncmolyneux said:
To a certain degree, yes, but the SGS2 doesn't even have the stock Android launcher available, never mind the cluster of Samsung apps that everyone seems to be freezing straight out of the box. Samsung have pretty much made it their own device, which is obviously fine, and it's still a very stock-looking experience, but just freezing apps doesn't make it AOSP unfortunately.
I think (italics because I'm not sure) that a lot of people would learn more about their device if it was a bog-standard stock Android experience from day 1. They'd try different apps and launchers etc.. I've got a friend with a Desire HD and he's never even opened the Market app. He's 0% techie, so fair enough he's not gonna undervolt and overclock the thing, but he didn't even realise he had a satnav device! I don't want to turn this into a xxx manufacturer against yyy manufacturer, but certain other devices on the market are popular because of what they can do. I think Android is being sold short by not making it obvious how far it can go. That, I believe, is partly down to having a device loaded with apps that obscure the possibilities.
Rant over
BTW, thanks for the compliment, but I'm simply a developer. This place has far more kick ass developers than me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sadly no it doesnt make it aosp and as the user above pointed out theres a lot of fragmentation in android, manufactures are messing with the core of the system and not just building an overlay/launcher.
Sometimes this works sometimes this doesn't i do feel alot of the resources could be used to better the stock system, better all round compatibility, better drivers and make android better for all there users. but thats like asking for world peace, and im no CEO of a major corp so what do i know
But i know how it works in the real world, i gave my sister my HD2 and she doesnt care what Rom is on there as long as it looks nice and everything is there out the box. (cant believe i gave her the most versitile handset on the planet with that attitude but thats beside the point )
The OS ease is very important to people and i understand that for a non-tecky, i think that is also part of the reason why we cant have stock out the box, the 'mobile market' needs the icon on his device to begin with so the manufacturers try to supply that, but do it very badly.
Phew! sorry about that.
I also much prefer AOSP.
I loved sense on winmo but I absolutely detest the android equivalent.
Touchwiz is just plain vile and as jcm mentioned the SGS2 is lacking that really stable aosp experience....
Luckily though if your unhappy with your phone and need to make changes then your in the right place
No I haven't missed the op's point about wanting more customisation out of the box but I just wanted to make the point that every single resource you need to achieve whatever you want to do with your phone (within reason) is right here under your nose.
I now have a rom for my phone that is (nearly) exactly how I want it, no Touchwiz, less bloat, all the cool little tweaks that our talented devs have given us and all it took was one day of reading and a lot of trial and error...... it was fun too.
Sure I cheated and used a kitchen but hey, gotta start somewhere right.
Anyway I digress, my point is that we can all wish for HTC/samsung etc to start catering for our every need until we are blue in the face but they won't.
Sometimes you just have to roll up you're sleeves and do things for yourself.
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.......
conantroutman said:
I now have a rom for my phone that is (nearly) exactly how I want it, no Touchwiz, less bloat, all the cool little tweaks that our talented devs have given us and all it took was one day of reading and a lot of trial and error...... it was fun too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And are you planning on releasing this? You've had my dev work. It's only fair I have yours
johncmolyneux said:
And are you planning on releasing this? You've had my dev work. It's only fair I have yours
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I very nearly did but you know how many zip file heroes there are in that section. Do we really need another?
That and I'm too lazy to update it for each new firmware that trickles out.
I think I will release one though, probably with a very tongue in cheek OP....
And yes, I and a lot of others had many, many hours of enjoyment from your work so thanks for that
Sent From My Fingers To Your Face.......

Finally got another phone. So much happier.

I finally had enough and jumped ship. I got what I originally wanted but was too impatient to wait, the Galaxy Skyrocket. I had to dish out full price (used) but it's worth it. The amount of frustration using the Thrill was far outweighing the cost of just getting a new phone. i've found that the only thing that made the Thrill bearable was by flashing CM7 but then you lose any benefit of having it to begin with (3d).
FTR, I had flashed GB O3D rom on this phone and used that for the past 3 months or so prior to finally flashing CM7 and losing the 3d.
The 3d isn't worth the disadvantages of having this phone after all and I wish I had listened to others from the beginning. Even with CM7, the phone is nowhere near as snappy and productive as the STOCK bloated rom on the Samsung Galaxy S2 phones. Prior to having the Skyrocket, I didn't quite understand what the advantage would be, if you compared specs to specs. Apparently there is something else other than hardware specs that makes one android phone simply better than the other hands down. Sorry for the rant, but I am posting this in case others who have been putting up with their Thrill have been on the fence and don't know what they're missing. I bought the Thrill 1 week prior to its release date and have been a trooper putting up with it until this week. I'm so glad to be done with it, it's now sitting in my junk drawer. Good riddance!
Not trying to be rude, but it'd be nice if useless clutter such as this was not posted.
It's completely irrelevant.
i dont know why ppl hate this phone so much i love it after rooting it and putting a custom rom on it rocks the house have no problems with missed calls or sms's np gettting a full day out of the battery now that were off froyo my buddy at work has an sg2 and my phone is just as fast as his phone.
I do not know why people are complaining about this phone either... I have put the thriller rom on it and the battery is lasting for almost 2 full days now... I still have my 3D (which if you ask me is much nicer in theory than it is in actuality.) and rarely use it... You people that are complaining about it as you are, are just too damn picky... Lighten up and enjoy the phone for what it can do. Dont just jump on the "oh i cant upgrade to GB so its shyt" bandwagon...
We're complaining because some of us (myself) ditched the iPhone for a more "open" platform that we wouldn't have to worry about hacking as much so we could do stuff that a phone should do without jailbreaking. I was always doing stuff to my iPhone to the point where it was very unstable an I just wanted to go legit. So I got an Android, now the only way to get anything out of it is to mod and hack again, which bumps you right back into that "sketchy" territory. I'm glad roms and hacks work for you but there are cons to those pro's as well. I've spent far to much time flashing KDZ's on this phone trying to get it functional. Not a single GB worked for me and I tried them all. I always had ghost calls. I've been considering the SGSII so I'm glad to hear it's as good as I think/hope it is.
Update: to further reply to your "I don't know why your complaining" comment about "being too damn picky" All I want is for my phone to last 1 day and not miss any phone calls. Oh, and not freeze in the middle of a game or app. On froyo my battery life is ****e and there is tons of freezing. On GB I miss calls and texts on a regular basis. Now tell me I'm being picky.
I don't think it's the case of being too picky, it's the quality of the phone and the company that gets people. Think about it LG knew the battery life of these phone would be shytty while testing it but they still released it.... plus to my understanding their updating progress is way to long of a wait for such a powerful phone, by the time we "may" get an ICS update jellybean will be out (I think) As for my experience with thrill my only issue was the battery life (which I took care of) other than that I love my phone and very satisfied with it
Sent from my LG-P925 using xda premium
I used one of my upgrades to get a galaxy note. Stock for stock the thrill was almost as fAst as it and scored much better on fps in graphics tests. I've oc'd the note now and the thrill doesn't come close. I could see the thrill being just as quick oc'd and tweaked. And, the thrill plays more games without having to do any tweaking. Don't get me wrong, i gave the thrill to my son and will probably never go back to the thrill only because of the screen size and lte. Though i did give the son strict orders to take care of it as i want it back when he finally upgrades.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away!
Mad383Max said:
I used one of my upgrades to get a galaxy note. Stock for stock the thrill was almost as fAst as it and scored much better on fps in graphics tests. I've oc'd the note now and the thrill doesn't come close. I could see the thrill being just as quick oc'd and tweaked. And, the thrill plays more games without having to do any tweaking. Don't get me wrong, i gave the thrill to my son and will probably never go back to the thrill only because of the screen size and lte. Though i did give the son strict orders to take care of it as i want it back when he finally upgrades.
Sent from a Galaxy far, far away!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just finished putting thiaz03d 2.6 with 1158 oc kernel .4 and stripping it down to the apps that I use and man this phone is blazing fast did a antutu benchmark and scored 6538 witch is higher then a stock sg2 so I'm very happy with this phone now it just flys.
Posts like this crack me up, hence my screen name haha. I love this phone. It's got an awesome screen, super fast dual core processor and a high quality feel to the build. All the samsung phones just feel like they're made out of toy plastic. I'm also glad LG doesn't try to overwhelm us with an over-the-top Android overlay such as Sense, TouchWiz, MotoBlur, etc. I replaced the stock launcher with launcher pro as soon as I got it and it got much better battery life. LG Home is a battery sucker and a resource hog. I like the widgets they provided with it too, they're really classy and useful. For a phone with only 512 MB of RAM, I usually manage to get around 200 MB of RAM free when I'm not running anything. Try asking someone with a Captivate how much of their memory they can get free (usually about 100 MB or less), they'll be shocked when you say you can get that. I think the people who complain are too unfamiliar with the Android operating system and its customizability and were just looking for something that works without any tweaking. If you want something like that, just get an iphone. And I'm not knocking that at all, Apple only builds one phone for a reason, so they can concentrate on it and make it work flawlessly despite any perceived hardware shortcomings. But I'm glad I chose my Thrill so I can make it do what I want it to do, and it does. And nothing beat the price point this thing was at back in September.
lg_haters_make_me_lol said:
Posts like this crack me up, hence my screen name haha. I love this phone. It's got an awesome screen, super fast dual core processor and a high quality feel to the build. All the samsung phones just feel like they're made out of toy plastic. I'm also glad LG doesn't try to overwhelm us with an over-the-top Android overlay such as Sense, TouchWiz, MotoBlur, etc. I replaced the stock launcher with launcher pro as soon as I got it and it got much better battery life. LG Home is a battery sucker and a resource hog. I like the widgets they provided with it too, they're really classy and useful. For a phone with only 512 MB of RAM, I usually manage to get around 200 MB of RAM free when I'm not running anything. Try asking someone with a Captivate how much of their memory they can get free (usually about 100 MB or less), they'll be shocked when you say you can get that. I think the people who complain are too unfamiliar with the Android operating system and its customizability and were just looking for something that works without any tweaking. If you want something like that, just get an iphone. And I'm not knocking that at all, Apple only builds one phone for a reason, so they can concentrate on it and make it work flawlessly despite any perceived hardware shortcomings. But I'm glad I chose my Thrill so I can make it do what I want it to do, and it does. And nothing beat the price point this thing was at back in September.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hardware is nothing without good support. And LG support frankly isn't very good.
youra6 said:
Hardware is nothing without good support. And LG support frankly isn't very good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i havent had any problems with lg support there always straight up with me told me when were getting ics when i asked and also to the guy above you i get 200 to 250mb free when i close all my apps so i cant complain at all
i know some ppl have this ghost call thing but you ever think its your carrier and not lg ive used all the roms that claim to have gc probs and i never had any.
I eligible to upgrade and a white galaxy note is what I might get depending on how long at&fee decides to update to ics. Along with that a lag fix and price drop.
I never get more than 100 ram free unless I just stopped playing a heavy game and that's only for a few seconds before everything launches again. What in the world are you doing to get 200 free?
Are you using the stock launcher or a (better) one from the market? I use launcher pro, and it uses much less resources from what I can tell. Whenever I tried going back to LG Home, I noticed there was so much less free memory in the app manager. Actually right now I only have about 76 MB free, but that's because I let Gmail, Go SMS Pro, Opera Mobile, Pandora, and the finance app stay in there because I use them all the time. If I clear them out I'll be over 160 MB and in the green easy.
well i have thiaz03d rom 2.6 and it has lgs newest launcher then i used that post in the 03d forum to remove all the apps that im not using and froze every thing that i didnt want to delete that i dont us i pertty much striped my phone right down and install only the files for my phone and apps i use to run. o and hardly any thing runs in the back ground.
Quack
Posts like this should be deleted by the mod. It serves no useful purpose and just sounds likes a duck quacking on a pond.
The phone is what you make of it. All smartphones are. if you dont like battery life, find the culprit and eliminate it. If you dont like stock, root it. If you dont like something you have acquired because you didnt do your homework dont whine about it in a place where people are trying to make the best of what they have chosen. Keep your mouth shut and move on. Dont like the phone, go write a review on cnet.
Quack! please delete this along with the whole string
Don't defend LG till they fix the phone
Firstly everyone who doesn’t get ghost calls, are you shore? have you checked, I am only saying this since it is hard to tell, I didn’t think I wasn’t getting any until lots of people started saying that I never answer my phone, and when I started testing it guess what to my surprise I was getting them, and it’s so random that it might happen only 1 out of 20 or even 1 out of 50 but since it is random when it happens you never know, I once was testing it I called 6 times in a row and it was 6 out of 6 ghost calls, and the thing with ghost calls they don’t go to the answering machine they don’t leave missed call notifications and it’s the same with text msg's there is no trace of them at all, and for the people that are calling you they just think you are being rude by not answering or never returning their calls not to mention missing important business calls, so I know when some people say I never get them well for all you know you have and never realised it, and how can anyone defend LG's O3D/Thrill when they have such a serious issue and still haven’t fixed it, not to mention people who get the error "reorganizing internal processes" when trying to call out which I have had in the past, what if you are in an emergency and you need to call but all you get in "reorganizing internal processes" and then you have to wait for the phone to fix itself or restart it, and we all know how long the O3D/Thrill takes to start up don’t we, or you go to make a call and have no reception and have to restart the phone, or have you forgetting the main purpose of a mobile = calling and communication....
whycali said:
Posts like this should be deleted by the mod. It serves no useful purpose and just sounds likes a duck quacking on a pond.
The phone is what you make of it. All smartphones are. if you dont like battery life, find the culprit and eliminate it. If you dont like stock, root it. If you dont like something you have acquired because you didnt do your homework dont whine about it in a place where people are trying to make the best of what they have chosen. Keep your mouth shut and move on. Dont like the phone, go write a review on cnet.
Quack! please delete this along with the whole string
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't like these posts? Quit reading them.
On a lighter note I will buy any ones old lg thrill/o3d for parts as I have hardware bricked mine and need a new logic board/main board.
TylDurden said:
Don't like these posts? Quit reading them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not that we don't like the post.
It's that it is completely useless and serves as clutter.
This isn't a general section for ALL android phones.
It's the general section for the LG Thrill. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Understand?

Stock android 7 on Huawei p9

Hi all
Just bought my new Huwaei p9 after 3 years of iPhone-use.
Can't say that I'm loving it yet; slow, too big for the average hand and some apps crashes.
Anyway - is there a way to tear all the software out and only run the stock android, as this might be the solution?
If you dont like it, replace it... most of shops in every normal country give you 5-7 days return policy...
Especially when you say that its too big for you... because how the hell you could buy phone without checking it first? -_- I seriously dont get people who whine about phone being small/big/have low res screen or have bad camera.... You live in damn world where every legit shop in the world give you possibility to check device before buying it, and they give you 7days return policy, if you are not happy with it... not to mention that you have damn internet to check info about phone... Jesus...
As far as being slow... you seriously didnt saw other flaghips devices... in terms of stability P9 actually beat even S7 that can lag even when you scroll menu... Its not king of performance and games like S7 but its definitely not slow in everyday usage. and if your device is slow... maybe its YOUR device is slow not model it self?
First what you always do after buying new phone is factory reset. that for most of time remove half of problems with device that people always find.
In terms of crashing apps.... normal people would rather blame app, not phone... especially when you didnt even mention what app crash.
EMUI on P9 is actually keept really clean in terms of amount of sideloaded apps, that most imortant: you can delete or turn off.
As for look and functions of EMIU, moving to stock app would be like moving to older car, that sooner or later you would need to fill with new parts, read: more side apps that extend its functions.
I dont know how many devices with android you had before, but stock android is not actually faster because its ripped from addons, its faster because specific phone was optimized to run it, trying to replace phone stock system with modified "clean" android can give you more troubles that you would think. There is just simple rule to having good working phone: take car of phone, and phone will take care of you. so keep it clean, keep it in good shape, and it will never give you any problems.

Question reviews'

Any honest reviews on samsung galaxy s21?
After 16 months of release, I guess whatever you will read about the device will only be the brutal truth.
It's perfectly fine. All I wanted to know was the truth.
I thought I'd bump this to share my opinions on this phone for the op and anyone else who may be interested this far into its lifecycle.
I absolutely love pretty much everything about it. Up until now, I've rooted every Android I could but held off with this phone. That said, I've been able to accomplish 95% of what I normally care about with root anyway - namely, debloating.
I'm a horsepower junkie with my hardware and I consider the raw performance of this phone to be flawless. The camera is outstanding. The battery life gets a B+/"very good" from me. Keep in mind I'm on a11 and staying there.
I'm rough with my phones and often treat them as borescopes with work I do in my garage. Durability gets an "A" from me which is a welcome surprise - I didn't anticipate this one.
I love the stock camera, keyboard, and gallery apps. That plus Good Lock really kicks ass - I didn't anticipate this either before I bought the phone.
Complaints: it's a tad heavy and can pull my shorts to Bieber levels if my belt isn't tight 8D. It could be a little louder as occasionally I'll find myself maxxing out the volume. I find quick point-and-shoot photos to be superior on iphones but I can live with taking the time to frame and set up a shot. It came heavily bloated and I refuse to set up a Samsung account for app updates but there are ways around that.
I know this isn't a real detailed, technical review - I'm writing this from my phone and nursing a nasty hangover. I simply love the phone and it's the best I've owned. The XDA community has, as always, been great with education on it as well. Keeping it until it dies!
burnxtc said:
I thought I'd bump this to share my opinions on this phone for the op and anyone else who may be interested this far into its lifecycle.
I absolutely love pretty much everything about it. Up until now, I've rooted every Android I could but held off with this phone. That said, I've been able to accomplish 95% of what I normally care about with root anyway - namely, debloating.
I'm a horsepower junkie with my hardware and I consider the raw performance of this phone to be flawless. The camera is outstanding. The battery life gets a B+/"very good" from me. Keep in mind I'm on a11 and staying there.
I'm rough with my phones and often treat them as borescopes with work I do in my garage. Durability gets an "A" from me which is a welcome surprise - I didn't anticipate this one.
I love the stock camera, keyboard, and gallery apps. That plus Good Lock really kicks ass - I didn't anticipate this either before I bought the phone.
Complaints: it's a tad heavy and can pull my shorts to Bieber levels if my belt isn't tight 8D. It could be a little louder as occasionally I'll find myself maxxing out the volume. I find quick point-and-shoot photos to be superior on iphones but I can live with taking the time to frame and set up a shot. It came heavily bloated and I refuse to set up a Samsung account for app updates but there are ways around that.
I know this isn't a real detailed, technical review - I'm writing this from my phone and nursing a nasty hangover. I simply love the phone and it's the best I've owned. The XDA community has, as always, been great with education on it as well. Keeping it until it dies!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't agree more overall. I'm also on A11 and staying off the A12, for now. Wife's got the same phone with A12 and mine seems to do better photos...
However I do not understand your choice not to root it. I rooted it in the 1st few days I got in around March 2021 and I'm glad I did. Ketan ROM works splendidly with Magisk hide and all that. Battery is pretty good too, compared to my older phones.
The s21u is a masterpiece overall.
A small potential advice regarding your sound volume, have you got dolby atmos turned on?
First off I love hearing that you say you think a11 photos are better. Photo curiosity is the only reason I've thought of testing a12 again. I'll take your word for it.
I held off on root for a few reasons. I wanted to get used to the phone and ensure it wasn't a dud before I unlocked the bootloader. I also didn't have much of a choice because I was on firmware 4 (Snapdragon) and there wasn't a solution out for that just yet. Once I found AdbAppControl, the simplicity of that app kinda put root in the back of my head.
At this point I belong bringing myself up to speed with root on this again. One of the things I'd like to do and probably need root to do it is to enable tethering/entitlement without a ping to Verizon letting them know I've enabled tether. I pay for unlimited everything and to me, they've no business knowing what I'm doing with my data.
That plus playing with roms again now that I know this phone inside and out would be worthwhile. I just don't want to lose anything I've got now... Knox, banking apps, etc. Need to bring myself up to speed again.
Forgot to mention, I do not have Dolby on. Thoughts on this?
Typically when I'm streaming a vid, 80% volume is just fine. However there are times I bump it to the top and it makes me paranoid I'm going to damage the speakers because I'm not familiar with the audio system's compression abilities. I feel like the way 100% sounds on this phone should be more like 70%.
burnxtc said:
First off I love hearing that you say you think a11 photos are better. Photo curiosity is the only reason I've thought of testing a12 again. I'll take your word for it.
I held off on root for a few reasons. I wanted to get used to the phone and ensure it wasn't a dud before I unlocked the bootloader. I also didn't have much of a choice because I was on firmware 4 (Snapdragon) and there wasn't a solution out for that just yet. Once I found AdbAppControl, the simplicity of that app kinda put root in the back of my head.
At this point I belong bringing myself up to speed with root on this again. One of the things I'd like to do and probably need root to do it is to enable tethering/entitlement without a ping to Verizon letting them know I've enabled tether. I pay for unlimited everything and to me, they've no business knowing what I'm doing with my data.
That plus playing with roms again now that I know this phone inside and out would be worthwhile. I just don't want to lose anything I've got now... Knox, banking apps, etc. Need to bring myself up to speed again.
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Ah when it comes to Snapdragon I do not know about the camera quality difference between firmware versions. I was referring to the international EU version of the phone with the Exynos CPU.
Regarding Dolby atmos, in my experience it makes the sound better and louder. And I do not worry about maxing out the volume even though sometimes maybe it becomes a bit crackly with some louder songs... It is usually just dust gathered on the speaker waterproofness membrane. Nothing will happen to it with some extra volume.

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