Moto Z2 Force $500 @ T-Mobile! - Moto Z2 Force Guides, News, & Discussion

Finally, they've listened and the price has been dropped. This price is exclusive to T-MOBILE though!

yep, just got mine last night, so far so good

Do you still get the projector mod free at that price?

Shaffer678 said:
Do you still get the projector mod free at that price?
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Click to collapse
Yep, submitted my request last night. Better get it, one of the bigger reasons I got this phone. Don't think Moto can do anything when a carrier drops their price, you know

Just got me second one still haven't got my first projector

joemossjr said:
Just got me second one still haven't got my first projector
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Click to collapse
kinda wish they would let you choose your mod, i would rather have the Hasselblad camera over the projector

I'm definitely pulling the trigger at the end of the week. A price drop was all that I was waiting on.

Tmobile will adjust the price too if still within your 14 days, just did that today.

Midnight_Rider said:
kinda wish they would let you choose your mod, i would rather have the Hasselblad camera over the projector
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I work for TMobile and got all the mods free as well as the phone being the brand ambassador of Motorola. Pony up for it, it's sick.

Got the deal with 2 days left for the projector mod promo submitted my proof so no idea if i will every use the projector but seems cool anyway.

Just bought mine......so far no complaints. Will definitely root this joint later
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk

JodyBreeze901 said:
Just bought mine......so far no complaints. Will definitely root this joint later
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a beautiful device. I have NO regrets whatsoever! I'm rooted and loving it!

Picked mine up a few days ago. The screen scratches very easily:crying: Does anyone know of a good screen protector on Amazon? Other then that it is an excellent phone The performance is great as well as the battery life especially considering the small battery.

I picked up a few of these, for the family and I am working my way through the device. Battery life is great, BUT I think some CPU throttling is going, by Lenovo design--- as my device renders websites, forum threads (xda labs/Tapatalk) VERY slow. Tidal streaming take 20-30 seconds to buffer the first song in HiFi mode. This is very different than any of my other Samsung, LG,Sony phones on the same network, same plan, same city etc. The CPU and 4GB ram should not be this slow, especially when the phone transitions from app to app quickly and scrolling is very fast.
Screen is great at the $500 price, the DPI should be 480 out the box though. 640 is far to big. Also with the huge bezels, they should have made the navbar smaller, directly above the huge lower bezel. Or just capacitive buttons in the huge bottom bezel, like old Samsung devices. It should not be big ole navbar, mated to a big ole bezel [emoji38]
The music/podcast speaker output is awesome for such a thin device and only one speaker. The phone call speaker output is subpar, though.
The button placement is great, but I keep wanting to use the Motorola circle on the back as the finger print sensor [emoji38]. Its in the PERFECT rear position where my fingers sits when holding the phone rt handed.
The audio out dongle is ok, but the noise floor is pretty bad ( for those music based). It works, but this is NOT a multimedia device if that is your focus. Some background hissing, and electronic background noise, almost like a ground issue in the port. I am using some pretty sensitive iems though. If you are using $20 dollar headphones, doubt you would mind.
Bluetooth strength is good, but this output also suffers from the slight interruptions, here and there. Just small minute sound buckling, not full on stopping the songs. It's as if the phone falls out of range for a millisecond. Again I think this is a software background ram/cpu management design.
Also the notifications (silent or sound on mode), interrupt music pretty hard. That's another reason I think the software is throttling the cpu's pretty hard.
Great job TMobile for the unlocked bootloader with a US snapdragon. This may be the only option for rooting a USA 835 CPU based device.
Rooting Kills the warranty though, So I may not root my other devices. As I found out last night, even if you RELOCK the bootloader, the first screen still notifies you of a different OS. Basically no way to return to TMobile for a warranty fix, if something does fail. Early adopters might want to wait a bit to see if a Dev can mask the unlock/relock black screen back to full stock.
Signal strength is great, in my area. The size (slimness) and weight (super light) feel of the phone is amazing for all that's in this phone.
Camera loads fast, images are just OK, but the auto focus speed it good. Not great, just good.
This is basically a OnePlus 5, without the bubble scrolling issue [emoji38].
Back to enjoying a great, low priced, high spec option. Couple this with the projector mod/free offer, this is an AWESOME deal.

vibraniumdroid said:
Picked mine up a few days ago. The screen scratches very easily:crying: Does anyone know of a good screen protector on Amazon? Other then that it is an excellent phone The performance is great as well as the battery life especially considering the small battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any screen protector is better than none. i was gonna get a glass one but saw this 8 pack so grab it, im pretty careful will my phones (knocks on wood)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B071LQHCM5/
---------- Post added at 05:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:10 PM ----------
Amd4life said:
I picked up a few of these, for the family and I am working my way through the device. Battery life is great, BUT I think some CPU throttling is going, by Lenovo design--- as my device renders websites, forum threads (xda labs/Tapatalk) VERY slow. Tidal streaming take 20-30 seconds to buffer the first song in HiFi mode. This is very different than any of my other Samsung, LG,Sony phones on the same network, same plan, same city etc. The CPU and 4GB ram should not be this slow, especially when the phone transitions from app to app quickly and scrolling is very fast.
Screen is great at the $500 price, the DPI should be 480 out the box though. 640 is far to big. Also with the huge bezels, they should have made the navbar smaller, directly above the huge lower bezel. Or just capacitive buttons in the huge bottom bezel, like old Samsung devices. It should not be big ole navbar, mated to a big ole bezel [emoji38]
The music/podcast speaker output is awesome for such a thin device and only one speaker. The phone call speaker output is subpar, though.
The button placement is great, but I keep wanting to use the Motorola circle on the back as the finger print sensor [emoji38]. Its in the PERFECT rear position where my fingers sits when holding the phone rt handed.
The audio out dongle is ok, but the noise floor is pretty bad ( for those music based). It works, but this is NOT a multimedia device if that is your focus. Some background hissing, and electronic background noise, almost like a ground issue in the port. I am using some pretty sensitive iems though. If you are using $20 dollar headphones, doubt you would mind.
Bluetooth strength is good, but this output also suffers from the slight interruptions, here and there. Just small minute sound buckling, not full on stopping the songs. It's as if the phone falls out of range for a millisecond. Again I think this is a software background ram/cpu management design.
Also the notifications (silent or sound on mode), interrupt music pretty hard. That's another reason I think the software is throttling the cpu's pretty hard.
Great job TMobile for the unlocked bootloader with a US snapdragon. This may be the only option for rooting a USA 835 CPU based device.
Rooting Kills the warranty though, So I may not root my other devices. As I found out last night, even if you RELOCK the bootloader, the first screen still notifies you of a different OS. Basically no way to return to TMobile for a warranty fix, if something does fail. Early adopters might want to wait a bit to see if a Dev can mask the unlock/relock black screen back to full stock.
Signal strength is great, in my area. The size (slimness) and weight (super light) feel of the phone is amazing for all that's in this phone.
Camera loads fast, images are just OK, but the auto focus speed it good. Not great, just good.
This is basically a OnePlus 5, without the bubble scrolling issue [emoji38].
Back to enjoying a great, low priced, high spec option. Couple this with the projector mod/free offer, this is an AWESOME deal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tl;dr
most of the things you are complaining or pointing out can and just might be updated or fixed in a custom rom (cpu, speaker output, audio, bluetooth, camera)
my dpi was set at 360 out of the box and can be changed in Developer options/Smallest width
when you get an unlock code from Motorola it states that by just getting the code you void the warranty so yeah, we know that going in
people put too much in the bezel thing, sure an edge to edge screen is cool, but not a game changer (for me anyways). i was gonna get an LG G6 or V30 simply for the fact that both phones are almost the exact same size as my G4 but with a bigger screen. it was basically the price drop and the free projector that pulled me over to the Z2 Force, plus when i tried the camera and saw how fast it was, that helped too

@Midnight_Rider
That protector has very bad ratings do you know of any other one?

vibraniumdroid said:
@Midnight_Rider
That protector has very bad ratings do you know of any other one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
really? it has 3 reviews, 2 of them are 5 stars and 1 is 1 star cause the guy didnt like the fact that it did not cover the entire screen. i wouldnt call that "very bad ratings"
search Amazon or google, im sure you can find one that suits you

The Verizon Flexible Glass Display Protector is the best.
I had last years version on my Moto Z Force Droid on Verizon and it never had an issue.
I have this year's version on my T-Mobile Moto Z2 Force and it works great.
I actually am on my 3rd Z2. First one was pre-ordered and would not connect to voice mail so Tmo replaced it.
2nd one was fine other than the texting issue on Tmo, but I fell for the hype and Jumped to the Note 8.
A week and a half later I jumped back to the Z2 Force and got it for $500

I could kick myself for not waiting to get this until T-Mobile dropped the price. :/
The one thing that's really impressed me with this phone is the battery life, given the smaller (compared with the last Z2) nonremovable battery.

pgg285 said:
I could kick myself for not waiting to get this until T-Mobile dropped the price. :/
The one thing that's really impressed me with this phone is the battery life, given the smaller (compared with the last Z2) nonremovable battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how long ago did you get yours? 2 years ago when i got an LG G4, they dropped the price like this 2 months after i bought it, went back to the store and while they did not give me the full discount, they did give me $80 bucks off, reduced my number of payments by 4 months

Related

Personal Verdicts?

What are the verdicts so far from y'all lucky ones that have the phone already? I have seen lots of reviewers out there talk well about it but I'd like to know from the real life users who have been using the phone for days or more now!
I really want this phone and plan to get it when it drops in the US but what is everyones' personal review?
Of all the phones I've had I might just be the best. Battery life is good. I unplugged it 10 hours ago (8:15 am to 18:15) and I'm down to 70% in that time I've sent a few texts, emails, listen to podcast in my car over Bluetooth for half an hour. Taken a few pictures and listened to 20 mins of music. Not bad really. It's been on wifi for most of the day which is less taxing than 3G.
The screen is very sharp and colours are good. The screen looked a bit washed out for the first day or so, but that's because I've been using amoled for the last two years. Anyone thought the same? I'm already used to the new screen now though.
Still not sure about the camera? Stills really are hit and miss and when it misses its really not good. 1080p video is good, but only in standard mode. Use the 60fps or slow motion and there are some horrible artefacts which make it unusable for me.
The speakers are amazing! Listening to music on this just blows everything else away. Call quality is again a bit hit and miss. I've heard the odd hissing, popping and sometimes the caller sounding muffled, but in fairness the muffle could have been the caller's end.
So far I've not seen the slightest hint of any lag. This phone is very snappy and looking at the used and available RAM, the management looks good. Whenever I've checked there has always been over a gig of RAM free. Why do I keep looking? Because I've come from a Galaxy S3 which was crippled by its measly RAM. This is nothing like that I'm please to say. It looks premium and feels premium too. I can't think of anything else to trump it at the moment. Go get it!
A step forward
MrSteez said:
What are the verdicts so far from y'all lucky ones that have the phone already? I have seen lots of reviewers out there talk well about it but I'd like to know from the real life users who have been using the phone for days or more now!
I really want this phone and plan to get it when it drops in the US but what is everyones' personal review?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The One is a Smartphone and not a phablet like the Note 2. If you want a top end Smartphone this is the One to get. Love the screen clarity and music playback. Will be using the my One a lot for music playback. Battery life so far better than I expected. Got through a work day with 60% left. I replaced the standard launcher with Nova and I am much happier now.
Read the stickied thread about reviews to see what users have to say. Mine is on the last page aswell.
Sent via my HTC One using XDA Premium
mwatson said:
Still not sure about the camera? Stills really are hit and miss and when it misses its really not good. 1080p video is good, but only in standard mode. Use the 60fps or slow motion and there are some horrible artefacts which make it unusable for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hit and miss? you never showed us your hits
hamdir said:
hit and miss? you never showed us your hits
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true! optimism, denial on my part maybe maybe?...
My personal verdict: From a scale from 0 to 10 I give a 10000
Superfast, beautiful design, good materials used, best-looking user interface (I even like it more than vanilla android), awesome stereo speakers, perfect screensize for me. Also important is 2GB Ram (1GB is out of date, apps get closed in the background too fast) and LTE...yes, there are some phones also with 2GB Ram and LTE but for me the HTC One is the best one of them, so I chose it as my next phone ^^ Never have been so satisfied by a phone
Screen: In a word, stunning. Once or twice in the past 2 weeks I have almost gone into a daydream like state looking at this thing.
Audio: I have never heard audio of such a quality from any mobile device. It literally makes people ask "what is that". If I had one small complaint, it would be that the lowest volume level is not low enough. The granularity of the incremental volume levels is too coarse. Maybe 24 levels and not just 10-12.
Battery: I have been pleasantly surprised by the battery life. I get through a day fine with it. If you play Real Racer a lot or wish to make a blockbuster movie with the thing then battery will not last as long.
Camera: Superb for a phone. If you wish to print out your shots then you will not be able to get higher resolution images out of it. This is not the job of a camera though. The video and snaps are fantastic I have found. HDR is pretty good also.
Speed: It's fast. Yep.
If you are getting this thing soon... if you have it on order... you will really like it. It just oozes quality. It just feels like a supremely well made piece of hardware. Oh... it looks amazing also.
Ok, they are having some trouble getting this thing out of the factories to the stores... but when they do... people will forget the frustration. It is superb.
Beautiful, lag free, awesome speakers - nuff said.
How is the overall UI experience? is it TRULY smooth/lag free? not smooth like people claim EVERY Android phone is (ok thats a stretch). I have yet to own a 100% lag free Android phone. Some pretty close, some smooth in many places, but not a single one would I call "lag free". That includes the Nexus 4, Note II, S3, etc... AOSP/TW/didnt matter.
Aosp on Note II was probably the closest but it had its bugs .
Had mine for a week now, I am a heavy user (not games, but lots of music /Internet/twitter /texts.
No lag at all yet.
I have had the nexus 4 and it even beats that and that was quick.
As someone said earlier, this is the nearest to the ios lag free feeling from any android phone. (even ios lags sometimes)
For me the only thing is the camera which I have not made my mind up about yet, I have had some amazing results but also some poor (probably more good than bad though) I need more time with the camera but overall I think it will be acceptable.
I have had a lot of phones and I have to say this is in the top 3 and I think it will be my number 1 but need more time with it before it gains that honour
crawlgsx said:
How is the overall UI experience? is it TRULY smooth/lag free? not smooth like people claim EVERY Android phone is (ok thats a stretch). I have yet to own a 100% lag free Android phone. Some pretty close, some smooth in many places, but not a single one would I call "lag free". That includes the Nexus 4, Note II, S3, etc... AOSP/TW/didnt matter.
Aosp on Note II was probably the closest but it had its bugs .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The One is smooth. But lack of smoothness is Google issue as the first version of Butter was better but they changed for some reason. It is also faster than the Note 2.
Sent from my GT-N7105 using xda premium
This phone marks the end of the race in terms of screen quality. The camera is excellent if you have the time to make a quick couple of adjustments before you shoot. Blinkfeed is a consumer orientated gimmik aimed at users who have never heard of flip board. Lag is a thing of the past. Battery life is about what you expect from a top end smart phone, you'll see the day out with average use.
Speakers are the best of any device yet, just don't expect HiFi. Sense and indeed the initial stock and custom ROMs are very embryonic. I.e. when paranoid android breaks for this device it will open up a whole new world.
From a phone enthusiast who started with a Phillips savvy and one day traded a sony Z for a HTC canary.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
As a One X owner who intended to keep his phone for the full 2 years, I originally didn't have much interest in this phone...but the build quality is striking, and my One X is definitely feeling the limitations of its 1 GB of RAM.
Really looking forward to trying this out when it finally gets released in the US.
Here's my review after five days of ownership. Please remember where I make a statement below like 'x is better than y' it is purely my subjective opinion and i understand and realise others will not echo my thoughts. This is a reworked and updated review from the one I posted on Phandroid a few days ago.
This is my first HTC phone, having currently got an iPhone 5 and a Samsung Galaxy S2 which has been replaced by the HTC. I did have a Galaxy S3 but thought it was a POS.
Battery
Wow, i'm impressed. I ran it alongside my iPhone 5 and both had emails pushed to it at the same time. I received and replied to about five sms messages on the iPhone and about fifteen on the HTC and had maybe twenty emails to both devices over that time. I took them both off charge on Monday morning at about midday and the iPhone died at 11pm on the Tuesday night. The HTC didn't die until approximately 5pm on the Wednesday although it did have power saver on for the last fifteen percent. I am a light to moderate user of any phone and I am truly impressed that the battery on the HTC is a real stormer. For instance, I took the phone off charge one hour and twenty two minutes ago and it is still sitting on 100%. This battery is way better than my iPhone and that was impressive in itself. I couod not be happier with this result. I don't care what any of the reviews say, for me this battery is brilliant and that's what matters.
Build materials and Build quality
It's spot on. No gaps, no dead pixels, no dents, dings or scratches. Perfect. It feels great in the hand, has a pleasing weight to it; not too light, not too heavy. It looks and feels a million dollars. The aluminium is beautifully designed and the volume buttons sit flush with the side of the phone and have been cut in a concentric circle pattern, which is one of those little touches that shows that someone has really thought about this phone when they designed it. Sometimes I miss the power button with my huge spade-claw hands but that is more to do with me getting used to the power button being on that side (remember, I am an iPhone user so the power button on the top is perfectly natural to me).
Screen
Dear god! The best screen I have ever seen on a smartphone! No ghosting, no bleed, no tears and videos are crisp, clear and extremely high quality. I am very very impressed with the screen. The finger glide action is crystal smooth and the viewing angles are actually very good indeed. At the moment, colours seem vivid. I gather from other reviews that the screen colours look slightly washed out against other phones. If that is the case, you will not notice unless you are looking for it. For me, they are perfectly fine. Darks are dark and lights are light and all the colours in between seem rich and vivid; so I can't complain.
Beats Audio
Loud or what? Incredibly clear and distortion-free no matter whether you are playing Mussorgsky or Megadeth (I tried). Forget about booting up that phone in a quiet room like a bedroom at night or a library though! Try as I might, I couldn't get it to distort at all, no matter what I played through it.
Sense 5
Very good indeed. Easily better than my experiences with stock Touchwiz on my Samsung S3 and S2. Very smooth scrolling and the icons look sharp and have obviously had a rework for the new high-def screen. I thought I would dislike the vertically scrolling App drawer but it feels fine to use. I wish I could put more icons on my homescreen though but that will require a launcher. Maybe i'll do that in the not too distant future. Blinkfeed was interesting for a while but I found it very cluttered so I have removed all feeds from it. I will try it out again in a few days once the initial small-child-at-Christmas feeling has subsided a bit. As I mentioned in another post somewhere, Blinkfeed would be miles better if we could add in our own feeds or mail accounts. I would have no issues in having that as my home screen then. Until that time, it has been relegated to another screen and emptied of feeds.
The stock UI has some great touches and the various inbuilt apps are lovely and uncluttered to use. there isn't the sense that HTC have tried to cram as much in whether it will fit or not. Again, to me it looks like real thought has been given to the apps they have in the UI and they haven't tried to dazzle users with a function that looks cool but will never practically be used by 95% of the populace (i'm looking at you Samsung 'Popup Play' feature).
Camera
I am not David Bailey, so I don't care if my photos are not the best in the world. I have an expensive DSLR if I want to take exceptional quality pictures anyway. The camera on the HTC is perfectly adequate for my needs. It's not the best out there for a smartphone, sure, but it is perfectly serviceable and it is far from the worst. Low light photos are great and they easily capture more light than my naked eye can see. Zoe is fun to use and I have already found it useful for capturing 'that perfect shot' and discarding the rest. The time from tapping the camera app icon to taking an auto-focus shot is approximately one second, which is astonishing and way quicker than I was expecting.
Afterthoughts: - HTC Sync Manager
I'm new to the HTC and found this to be a very crappy piece of software that tries to be smart and immediately started trying to add in over twelve terabytes of movies and music (yes you read right). I imagine I would probably have had to come back sometime late next week once it had finished. I dislike the way it tries to intelligently scan for all your media. I have a lot of media across my RAID and NAS and so I have had to manually delete everything from HTC Sync Manager as there was no easy way that I could find to do it en masse. It does however allow you to port an iPhone backup straight to your HTC which for me was an absolute godsend.
constructorx said:
Speed: It's fast. Yep.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it faster than pure android though?. Looking at N4, that also seems instant & fast imho.
I give it 500 out of 10 it's awesome
Only let down my video recording has hissing on it new phone from 3 coming today
Sent from my HTC One using xda premium
Scootmien said:
Here's my review after five days of ownership. Please remember where I make a statement below like 'x is better than y' it is purely my subjective opinion and i understand and realise others will not echo my thoughts. This is a reworked and updated review from the one I posted on Phandroid a few days ago.
This is my first HTC phone, having currently got an iPhone 5 and a Samsung Galaxy S2 which has been replaced by the HTC. I did have a Galaxy S3 but thought it was a POS.
Battery
Wow, i'm impressed. I ran it alongside my iPhone 5 and both had emails pushed to it at the same time. I received and replied to about five sms messages on the iPhone and about fifteen on the HTC and had maybe twenty emails to both devices over that time. I took them both off charge on Monday morning at about midday and the iPhone died at 11pm on the Tuesday night. The HTC didn't die until approximately 5pm on the Wednesday although it did have power saver on for the last fifteen percent. I am a light to moderate user of any phone and I am truly impressed that the battery on the HTC is a real stormer. For instance, I took the phone off charge one hour and twenty two minutes ago and it is still sitting on 100%. This battery is way better than my iPhone and that was impressive in itself. I couod not be happier with this result. I don't care what any of the reviews say, for me this battery is brilliant and that's what matters.
Build materials and Build quality
It's spot on. No gaps, no dead pixels, no dents, dings or scratches. Perfect. It feels great in the hand, has a pleasing weight to it; not too light, not too heavy. It looks and feels a million dollars. The aluminium is beautifully designed and the volume buttons sit flush with the side of the phone and have been cut in a concentric circle pattern, which is one of those little touches that shows that someone has really thought about this phone when they designed it. Sometimes I miss the power button with my huge spade-claw hands but that is more to do with me getting used to the power button being on that side (remember, I am an iPhone user so the power button on the top is perfectly natural to me).
Screen
Dear god! The best screen I have ever seen on a smartphone! No ghosting, no bleed, no tears and videos are crisp, clear and extremely high quality. I am very very impressed with the screen. The finger glide action is crystal smooth and the viewing angles are actually very good indeed. At the moment, colours seem vivid. I gather from other reviews that the screen colours look slightly washed out against other phones. If that is the case, you will not notice unless you are looking for it. For me, they are perfectly fine. Darks are dark and lights are light and all the colours in between seem rich and vivid; so I can't complain.
Beats Audio
Loud or what? Incredibly clear and distortion-free no matter whether you are playing Mussorgsky or Megadeth (I tried). Forget about booting up that phone in a quiet room like a bedroom at night or a library though! Try as I might, I couldn't get it to distort at all, no matter what I played through it.
Sense 5
Very good indeed. Easily better than my experiences with stock Touchwiz on my Samsung S3 and S2. Very smooth scrolling and the icons look sharp and have obviously had a rework for the new high-def screen. I thought I would dislike the vertically scrolling App drawer but it feels fine to use. I wish I could put more icons on my homescreen though but that will require a launcher. Maybe i'll do that in the not too distant future. Blinkfeed was interesting for a while but I found it very cluttered so I have removed all feeds from it. I will try it out again in a few days once the initial small-child-at-Christmas feeling has subsided a bit. As I mentioned in another post somewhere, Blinkfeed would be miles better if we could add in our own feeds or mail accounts. I would have no issues in having that as my home screen then. Until that time, it has been relegated to another screen and emptied of feeds.
The stock UI has some great touches and the various inbuilt apps are lovely and uncluttered to use. there isn't the sense that HTC have tried to cram as much in whether it will fit or not. Again, to me it looks like real thought has been given to the apps they have in the UI and they haven't tried to dazzle users with a function that looks cool but will never practically be used by 95% of the populace (i'm looking at you Samsung 'Popup Play' feature).
Camera
I am not David Bailey, so I don't care if my photos are not the best in the world. I have an expensive DSLR if I want to take exceptional quality pictures anyway. The camera on the HTC is perfectly adequate for my needs. It's not the best out there for a smartphone, sure, but it is perfectly serviceable and it is far from the worst. Low light photos are great and they easily capture more light than my naked eye can see. Zoe is fun to use and I have already found it useful for capturing 'that perfect shot' and discarding the rest. The time from tapping the camera app icon to taking an auto-focus shot is approximately one second, which is astonishing and way quicker than I was expecting.
Afterthoughts: - HTC Sync Manager
I'm new to the HTC and found this to be a very crappy piece of software that tries to be smart and immediately started trying to add in over twelve terabytes of movies and music (yes you read right). I imagine I would probably have had to come back sometime late next week once it had finished. I dislike the way it tries to intelligently scan for all your media. I have a lot of media across my RAID and NAS and so I have had to manually delete everything from HTC Sync Manager as there was no easy way that I could find to do it en masse. It does however allow you to port an iPhone backup straight to your HTC which for me was an absolute godsend.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any lag with live wallpaper?
msterner123 said:
Any lag with live wallpaper?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm happy to report that no, there is no lag on my device with live wallpaper enabled.
Wow! So this phone basically sounds about as amazing as I keep reading online. But the one thing I keep hearing about is the camera.. I'm going from an EVO 4G LTE (so basically a One X)... Is the camera quality going to be better or worse? From what I hear it's hit or miss but on average would you say it's an improvement?
I mean I really only use my camera for Instagram pics so I'm not really expecting 100% professional quality but I just want to make sure it's not a decrease in quality from my phone.
I just want a release date for Sprint now

Really worth it?

I just wanna ask the people who have run out and bought this phone if its really all that? I have read reviews watched them talk about it on android central and looked at the specs and compared it to the other phones that are out. I just want to know expierences so far
Well the scary thing to me is... I don't feel the need to root at the moment... It's smooth, battery life is amazing, active notifications are AWWWWESOME. once bootloader is figured out I may change my tune but my phone is in a very comfortable state. I LOVE IT!
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
This phone changes the game. The spec sheet race is kind of silly when you think about it. I've never held a phone in my hands that feels as good as this one. I'm very happy with it
Simple answer. Yes. X8 core processors system is the way of the future.
Sent from my XT1058 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
totally worth it
i truly prefer this over my year old s3
Love it! Switched from my S4GE and love the smaller size and feel in hand. Im only looking forward to root for tethering capabilities.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 2
What is the call quality and speakerphone like?
I picked this phone over my s4 and I think I've made the right choice.
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 4
re
kstone2274 said:
I just wanna ask the people who have run out and bought this phone if its really all that? I have read reviews watched them talk about it on android central and looked at the specs and compared it to the other phones that are out. I just want to know expierences so far
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Click to collapse
i went to the att store today and played with this phone and i can say im definately not impressed at all. i compared the screen side by side and the difference in the 2 screens is really noticable. Also it so reminds me of a iphone i dont know why but it just does. i know alot of people are gonna argue my opinion but as for a phone guru as myself i can pretty much say its not any kind of a flagship device. only thing that may be good about it more than my HTC One is battery life. I al really hoping the hanami is gonna be a great phone and be my next purchase
i think you meant to start a new post that said "i saw this phone for 5 minutes, i'll answer all my own questions!"
I think the more you use this phone the more you will appreciate the innovation and little things. I now love this phone.
Sent from my AT&T Moto X
lensgrabber said:
What is the call quality and speakerphone like?
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Click to collapse
I came from the N4, which totally sucked. I had to strain to hear people. The X has excellent call quality, earpiece and speaker volume.
Well worth the cash:beer:
Sent from my XT1058 using Tapatalk 2
People crying over the dual-core processor...Motorola decided to choose what mattered more, which is battery life over "raw computing power". without increasing the size or the weight of the phone by adding a bigger and bulkier battery. Our phones just need to be fast and smooth enough for our every day tasks such as watching videos, playing games, browsing etc. We're not using these things for high end computing or folding proteins etc. Just like a computer with a 12 core processor won't matter if you're still using HDD and not SSD. Or people who only care about the "horses" on a car and disregard the weight of the vehicle or its transmission etc. I don't think people understand the software possibilities of having hardware designed for "always-on" mode besides the touchless google now feature. I've tried installing a voice assistant like the one on Moto X from the play store and my battery died within a couple hours with the screen off. The X8 system is really redefining how conventional smartphones would work in the future once people realize the possibilities that can bring. Now whether or not you agree that your smartphone should always be on and listening/aware is a different debate.
Droyyd said:
People crying over the dual-core processor...Motorola decided to choose what mattered more, which is battery life over "raw computing power". without increasing the size or the weight of the phone by adding a bigger and bulkier battery. Our phones just need to be fast and smooth enough for our every day ta"qsks such as watching videos, playing games, browsing etc. We're not using these things for high end computing or folding proteins etc. Just like a computer with a 12 core processor won't matter if you're still using HDD and not SSD. Or people who only care about the "horses" on a car and disregard the weight of the vehicle or its transmission etc. I don't think people understand the software possibilities of having hardware designed for "always-on" mode besides the touchless google now feature. I've tried installing a voice assistant like the one on Moto X from the play store and my battery died within a couple hours with the screen off. The X8 system is really redefining how conventional smartphones would work in the future once people realize the possibilities that can bring. Now whether or not you agree that your smartphone should always be on and listening/aware is a different debate.
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Click to collapse
The phone isn't underpowered. Its GLBenchmark results are better than the SGS4 and HTC One. The CPU is two Krait 300 cores (which is the same as what's in the Snapdragon 600). With two cores disabled on the Nexus 4, the device runs just fine. If I can get this device for a good price, it will be my next phone.
I'll be the first to admit I wrong (there I said it). When I first heard the specs and price point, I figured Moto was doomed and their marketing gurus priced them right out of a comeback. Again, I was wrong.
Friday I picked up a Galaxy Mega 6.3 from AT&T and I took it back on Saturday afternoon. Very laggy (not as much as the S4 though), it was huge (and I'm a big guy at 6'3" 330lbs), the only thing I can say was good was the typing experience because I had so much room on the screen. But the phone was just too big, probably a great device in the end but just not for me.
Saturday afternoon I picked up the Black AT&T Moto X and this phone is fantastic and I don't say that about a lot of phones at all (I think the last time I said it was in 2007 when the first iPhone came out (yes I've used and respect all of the OS's, each has their own pluses and minuses) and before that, when the Moto Razr came out.
The phone feels perfect (IMO) in the hand, like Moto took the time to actually do the research with actual customers and see what they liked and didn't like and made change until they got it right. The 4.7" screen, in the same space as the iPhone 5 claims to only be able to fit 4", is great. Battery life is phenomenal (I'm not a heavy user but I never charged it out of the box and the charge that came on it lasted until it hit 4% this morning (Monday) when I got to the office at 6:30am. Build quality is great and believe me I have a mild case of OCD so I checked it out, buttons are nice with a definite tactile click to them (unlike the HTC One's power button that's almost always sunken in), buttons don't rattle (like they do on the S4 and the i5), soft touch material is great, screen is bright and not quite as SAMOLED'y as the S4 (again IMO) but marginally less impressive than the Super LCD3 on the HTC One. Focusing on day-to-day use and user experience, I have to admit I think it was the right way to go for a change.
There's more but I'm sure those of you that have one know what I'm talking about and those that don't, go try one out (at least if you're on AT&T for the moment here in the US), if you don't like it, return it but you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I've only had it for two days but as right now, barring anything major popping up before the end of the next 10 days, I think this one is a keeper. And if this one develops an issue, I don't think I'd be getting anything else, I'd have this one DOA'ed and get another, it is really that good.
Excellent Job Google and Motorola on this one; very, very impressed.
A-Gon said:
I came from the N4, which totally sucked. I had to strain to hear people. The X has excellent call quality, earpiece and speaker volume.
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Click to collapse
That's really good to know. I had a N4 for a week and absolutely loved it. I had the ticking sound in the earpiece when on a call and buzzing whenever the screen was on. I couldn't justify the money for such obvious design flaws. It is comforting knowing the X is better in this regards.
Jeff199 said:
I'll be the first to admit I wrong (there I said it). When I first heard the specs and price point, I figured Moto was doomed and their marketing gurus priced them right out of a comeback. Again, I was wrong.
Friday I picked up a Galaxy Mega 6.3 from AT&T and I took it back on Saturday afternoon. Very laggy (not as much as the S4 though), it was huge (and I'm a big guy at 6'3" 330lbs), the only thing I can say was good was the typing experience because I had so much room on the screen. But the phone was just too big, probably a great device in the end but just not for me.
Saturday afternoon I picked up the Black AT&T Moto X and this phone is fantastic and I don't say that about a lot of phones at all (I think the last time I said it was in 2007 when the first iPhone came out (yes I've used and respect all of the OS's, each has their own pluses and minuses) and before that, when the Moto Razr came out.
The phone feels perfect (IMO) in the hand, like Moto took the time to actually do the research with actual customers and see what they liked and didn't like and made change until they got it right. The 4.7" screen, in the same space as the iPhone 5 claims to only be able to fit 4", is great. Battery life is phenomenal (I'm not a heavy user but I never charged it out of the box and the charge that came on it lasted until it hit 4% this morning (Monday) when I got to the office at 6:30am. Build quality is great and believe me I have a mild case of OCD so I checked it out, buttons are nice with a definite tactile click to them (unlike the HTC One's power button that's almost always sunken in), buttons don't rattle (like they do on the S4 and the i5), soft touch material is great, screen is bright and not quite as SAMOLED'y as the S4 (again IMO) but marginally less impressive than the Super LCD3 on the HTC One. Focusing on day-to-day use and user experience, I have to admit I think it was the right way to go for a change.
There's more but I'm sure those of you that have one know what I'm talking about and those that don't, go try one out (at least if you're on AT&T for the moment here in the US), if you don't like it, return it but you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. I've only had it for two days but as right now, barring anything major popping up before the end of the next 10 days, I think this one is a keeper. And if this one develops an issue, I don't think I'd be getting anything else, I'd have this one DOA'ed and get another, it is really that good.
Excellent Job Google and Motorola on this one; very, very impressed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What device were you originally coming from? I'm coming from the HTC Vivid (I'm torn between trading it in for cash and shooting it out of a cannon)
ShamanicEnzan said:
What device were you originally coming from? I'm coming from the HTC Vivid (I'm torn between trading it in for cash and shooting it out of a cannon)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recently I've had the SGS4, HTC One, iPhone 5 and the Optimus G Pro. User experience and build quality, the X wins and like I said in my post, I was not a believer of the X when I first heard about it but after trying it I'm am very pleasantly surprised. My suggestion again would be to try it and if after a week you aren't at least partially sold on it, take it back. There are definitely a lot of good choices out there right now, it's all about what works for you.
Jeff199 said:
Recently I've had the SGS4, HTC One, iPhone 5 and the Optimus G Pro. User experience and build quality, the X wins and like I said in my post, I was not a believer of the X when I first heard about it but after trying it I'm am very pleasantly surprised. My suggestion again would be to try it and if after a week you aren't at least partially sold on it, take it back. There are definitely a lot of good choices out there right now, it's all about what works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I plan on going motomaker, doubt there are refunds on that one.

Moto Z Force. After two weeks.

So after two weeks i think i have a good idea on how this device is. Previous phones this year are. S6 Edge, Droid Turbo 2, Nexus 6p, S7 Edge and as of yesterday Note 7. And this is by far the best.
Smooth. Not Nexus smooth...Smoother. Smooth enough to when iphone users are talking about how there is lag in android i just pop on the John Cena entrance song and hand it to them and tell them that iphones are laggy.
Screen is great. Just remember put a tempered glass screen protector on it before you touch the display. I went with the Verizon one as it covers more then the zag. Few parts did not want to go down but after a few hours it was all good and they all went down with no problem. My turbo 2's display always felt t was pretty deep under the shattersheild and digitizer. The z feels like a typical display. Glad they fixed that on what i will call the second gen of shatter shield.
Fingerprint reader's location sucks. But im getting use to it again. But its fastest. Fastest i have ever used. And i love you just touch it again and it locks the phone.
The active display is a nice welcome. Unlike samsungs fail on it Moto did it right. This time smaller sensors and pretty much no impact on battery life..unlike samsung that sucks atleast 8% of the battery on my note 7. Thats kicking 280mAH of battery in the ass every day. They should of really did it like Moto.
Cameras are ok. Better for moto but a bit of a downgrade for point and click vs my S7E and N7. But you can take just as good pictures if you know what you are doing and know how to use all the manual camera settings. Point and click samsung still holds the crown.
Performance. Beast mode. In benchmarks like Antutu its faster in everything and absolutely crushes my N7 and S7E in the Ram part. Like i said this is the smoothest phone you can buy and i really cant bog it down. I was not expecting it to feel this much faster but its enough to flip around in the phone and say "damn thats snappy"
Charging. 35W.......35W Yeah full power you charging at over 6 amps.
Overall i love this phone. Moto mods are amazing. JBL speaker sounds great. Do not get the crapy tumi pack and go right for the incipo. Makes the phone heavy but its easy to hold. The weight will be the turn off for most. But 5,720mAH son. Set to efficacy mode and enjoy.
My S7E and my N7 are being sold. Z force is just better. I love the way my N7 feels and the display is great. But its same old same old. Its bringing nothing new. Nothing to wow me. Nothing to show off...oh its got a retina scanner. Thats slower then using your thumb and you have to swipe just to use it. And even then an engineer at my work when i let him see it took it came back with it unlocked and said might wanna delete anyone who may steal your phone off facebook and make all your images private. But the phone has class. It just feels classy. Like a Benz. It makes you feel good. But you not going to run around showing off stuff because most of that crap is on someone ford focus.
Moto mods have me thinking. Moto mod style back that takes 2 micro sd cards and dare i say it....RAID 0 them?!?! FLIR moto mod. E ink display, M.2 or Msata housing? I cant wait to see what comes of this. It got me excited about the phone. All around this is an amazing device and by far the best phone i have ever owned. If you are thinking about buying it just go use it at the store. After using it for a few min i bought on on the spot its that smooth..even with all of Verizons bloat.
Note about the verizon bumper case. Get a Razer with it. You need to trim a little for the moto mods to work. Little lip on the back just cut it flat "You will see" and all mods work perfect. But if you get the force do not leave the store without a screen protector. That i'll wait a day and do it wont fly. These screens on the force scratch if a mouse farts.
Downsides
No data cable. Better buy a quality usb a to c if you wanna use a data cable or any other chargers. Lenovo really could of gave us a data cable. or a converter. But the phone is great and im just going to be thankful that they did not cut massive corners to keep the profit up and toss in a data cable.
That was poetry in motion!^^
I agree with your comments. I am shocked how much faster the Z force is than my rooted Turbo was, even when I had RR 6.01 on it. Its a great phone, even just looking at pictures on it they just pop with that screen. Again, the screen is much better than my Turbo was. Love the fingerprint reader, still on the fence if front location is better than the rear like the 6P has.
oldidaho said:
I agree with your comments. I am shocked how much faster the Z force is than my rooted Turbo was, even when I had RR 6.01 on it. Its a great phone, even just looking at pictures on it they just pop with that screen. Again, the screen is much better than my Turbo was. Love the fingerprint reader, still on the fence if front location is better than the rear like the 6P has.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah its the only phone that im able to use out of the box as is that does not feel laggy or slow. Hell even my 6p felt slow. Only thing i did was install nova launcher so i can hide all the verizon crap until i can delete it for good to clean up my app drawer but the phone is amazing.
Im use to the fingerprint reader on the front now. And use to the weight of the battery mod and holy crap i love the battery life. Heavy use 2 days no problem running 5+ hours of sot a day.
More or less my experience. I am going screen-protectorless, though. I don't want this thing any thicker than it is. I already have a couple tiny scratches, but since you can replace the top layer for $39 I figure I'll just do that in a year.
Yeah.. cheap USB C cables are no good. I tried a $2 chinese one from ebay. Didn't work at all. Here's a cheap old USB - USB-C cable that worked fine for me, to charge from your old chargers:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B432JQ4
Got this C to C one, works great:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017VIHQ6O
I got this car charger after returning another one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ESIWWGE
3A charge on USB C, I can confirm it's pretty fast. Just got back from a trip this weekend. From a full charge I got over five hours in the car with Waze running before I was below 20%... unbelievable. Plugged er in and it took an hour or so to recharge completely. with that car charger.
The one downside is that I can't have it plugged in while the phone is in my car holder because the cable is so chunky, it doesn't bend around my dashboard! Looking for a right-angle one, but haven't found yet. OTOH if I can go almost 6 hours and then just plug it in for an hour, who cares..
My wife got a plain Z, while I purchased the Force. I took the Force mainly for the extra battery, my job requires me to log the miles I drive and that app can be a killer in mountain areas. I was using a 6p before, but got tired of most people I call complaining of the echo, and the phone losing GPS constantly.
Well said. Granted, I think ANY phone I upgraded to from my OG Moto X would have felt amazing, but I really wanted to keep Moto Actions/Display, and I'm VERY pleased with my MZF.
blynkofaneye said:
Well said. Granted, I think ANY phone I upgraded to from my OG Moto X would have felt amazing, but I really wanted to keep Moto Actions/Display, and I'm VERY pleased with my MZF.
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Click to collapse
I just upgraded from the OG Moto X as well, and the Actions/Display were a big part of my decision on a new phone. Ever pick up your X nowadays? It seems so tiny when I pick it up now!
As for the screen, I find it just fine as it is. I am sure the tempered glass would make it feel that much better, but it doesn't really bother me.
With the fingerprint reader, I just made sure to add my thumb to it, as it feels natural to just place my thumb on it rather than an index finger.
TheKaz said:
I just upgraded from the OG Moto X as well, and the Actions/Display were a big part of my decision on a new phone. Ever pick up your X nowadays? It seems so tiny when I pick it up now!
As for the screen, I find it just fine as it is. I am sure the tempered glass would make it feel that much better, but it doesn't really bother me.
With the fingerprint reader, I just made sure to add my thumb to it, as it feels natural to just place my thumb on it rather than an index finger.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm still using my Moto X as a gym music player, and yep, it seems TINY in comparison now. I held off upgrading for so long because I wanted a smaller phone with top-end specs. Realized that wasn't going to happen (save maybe the HTC10), so just bit the bullet. But man, the moto actions are SO much faster on this beast!
blynkofaneye said:
I'm still using my Moto X as a gym music player, and yep, it seems TINY in comparison now. I held off upgrading for so long because I wanted a smaller phone with top-end specs. Realized that wasn't going to happen (save maybe the HTC10), so just bit the bullet. But man, the moto actions are SO much faster on this beast!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed. And once I heard no Moto X this year...
How was your battery on the X? Mine was draining insanely fast. Part of what sped up my decision to upgrade.
TheKaz said:
Indeed. And once I heard no Moto X this year...
How was your battery on the X? Mine was draining insanely fast. Part of what sped up my decision to upgrade.
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Click to collapse
Battery life was(is) dismal. Bought an new OEM battery off Amazon a couple months ago to stave off the upgrade. It ran GREAT for a few weeks, then almost overnight went right back to being crap again. Probably only lasts about 6 hours now.
I just got mine two days ago, won it through Moto Insiders. Why do you suggest getting a screen protector for it? To protect from scratches?
jamtre said:
More or less my experience. I am going screen-protectorless, though. I don't want this thing any thicker than it is. I already have a couple tiny scratches, but since you can replace the top layer for $39 I figure I'll just do that in a year.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does Moto/Lenovo offer that replacement service? Could you link me to it?
Yes, to protect from scratches. The replaceable shattershield doesn't seem to be available yet. Are you able to share about Moto insiders or is it a Fight Club kind of thing? It sounds different than soak testers.
benjamminh said:
Yes, to protect from scratches. The replaceable shattershield doesn't seem to be available yet. Are you able to share about Moto insiders or is it a Fight Club kind of thing? It sounds different than soak testers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's like a rep website. I work inside a Best Buy, and the Motorola rep signed me up for the site a while ago. They run contests sometimes for free phones, and there are things you do on the site that earn you points that you can cash in for free stuff, ranging from small things like a mug and larger things, like a Moto Hint, or a Moto X Pure
bignazpwns said:
Do not get the crapy tumi pack and go right for the incipo.
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Click to collapse
Could you explain this? They seem to have similar specs but with the incipo being cheaper.
Thanks in advance and thanks for your review, I'm off to the store today!
cenobite138 said:
Could you explain this? They seem to have similar specs but with the incipo being cheaper.
The TUMI is made by Incipio... So it's pretty much the same thing, with a different shell on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe someone can help me with this,,,when you use the "okay moto Z" to wake the phone and do something like make a phone call,,,in previous moto phones there was an option to turn on the phone speaker when making calls,,,I cant seem to find that option?
You have to say 'OK Moto z, call someone on speaker phone'. They are using Google commands exclusively for Z so whatever Google supports.
I've had me device 2 days, and all I can say is wow. Major improvement over the V20 I was using. I returned it the day I got this phone. White and gold make it seem more of a premium phone. Super snappy and battery is amazing. Def. A keeper for me.
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Z51 said:
I've had me device 2 days, and all I can say is wow. Major improvement over the V20 I was using. I returned it the day I got this phone. White and gold make it seem more of a premium phone. Super snappy and battery is amazing. Def. A keeper for me.
Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i also returned my V20 after one day. went back to the S7 Edge for a week then got the Moto Z Force Droid from Best Buy. Love it, putting the S7 Edge on eBay tonight

Worth going to S8 from S7 Edge?

I hate the s7. Slow and laggy. Not to mention locked boorloadet. S8 any better?
I made the jump and this device is unbelievably better. Smoothest sndroid phone I've owned since the HTC One X, which was my favorite android phone of all time. After one week of pretty heavy use, no lag. Hate to say it like this but the UI is as smooth as iPhone, minimal if ever stutters. I recommend making the jump. Also the display is as incredible as all the reviews say
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
F9zSlavik said:
I hate the s7. Slow and laggy. Not to mention locked boorloadet. S8 any better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had S7, S7e, HTC 10, and iPhone 7Plus in last year. Jumped to the S8 (standard, not plus). Absolutely happy with my decision. Easily the best phone I've had. UI smooth as butter with no lags, Camera is fast enough that I sometimes take 2-3 pictures before I actually realize the first press of shutter actually took one (quality top notch as well), Screen is gorgeous, storage is abundant, battery life is good (avg 4hr screen time and 28hr per charge for me), iris scanner works through sunglasses and is great extra security.
Only weird thing is fingerprint location...works best of you're holding phone left handed. I just use the iris scanner anyway. My only concern is protecting the beautiful screen...nearly no truly protective or fully effective tempered glass protectors, but I'll take my chances.
I don't think you'll regret it one bit if you go with it.
If you have the money to blow sure, performance wise you are not going to notice anything. The camera is basically the same, front I believe is 8 instead of 5 mp. It is a larger screen, but the aspect ratio is a little weird. But with larger screen at Max resolution your battery is going to die a lot faster. I think you would be better off waiting till the note 8. If I could go back I would have stuck with my S7 edge and waited for the note 8. Still a great phone, but nothing ground breaking.
F9zSlavik said:
I hate the s7. Slow and laggy. Not to mention locked boorloader. S8 any better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the note 3 then note 5 and now the S8. I can say the only reason that i would have stayed on my prior phone is because root. There is no root method on here yet and you should stay with S7 until we have root and ROMs to choose from. Here's something that may make your phone snappier:
1. Go to settings
2. Click on Developer tab
3. Scroll to Windows animation scale change it to 0.5
4. Go to transition animation scale change it to 0.5
5. Go to Animator duration scale change it to 0.5
Good luck!
F9zSlavik said:
I hate the s7. Slow and laggy. Not to mention locked boorloadet. S8 any better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not own an S7, however I will say the S8 is an amazing device. It's fast as can be, and very smooth. No lag. I put a black Spigen thin fit case on it.
It's everything it's cracked up to be. I'm delighted about how great this device is. The only issue I had was deciding to get the S8 or plus, and I'm very happy I got the regular SO because I didn't realize how much bigger the screen actually is on the regular one. It takes a little while to get used to but the screen is really big.
The S8 is a monster jump, not an incremental one. Every device, except possibly the S7 edge (due to the screen shape) was an incremental change. Small improvements that were debateable in terms of being worth spending your hard earned money. This device is absolutely worth the jump, and I'm totally satisfied spending my money on this. Honestly I have no idea what they can improve, and what could make me buy another phone. This device has it all. Even the battery life is great.
The only "complaints" people have are annoyances. Yeah, the fingerprint scanner is annoying but you get used to it. Yeah the clock on the always on display is weird and annoying. Bixby is kind of useless. But those are, at best, annoyances. The phone itself is just incredible. For 800 dollars, it better be. It truly is worth the money and it puts a smile on my face every time i pick it up.
Buy one.
wil318466 said:
The only "complaints" people have are annoyances. Yeah, the fingerprint scanner is annoying but you get used to it. Yeah the clock on the always on display is weird and annoying. Bixby is kind of useless. But those are, at best, annoyances. The phone itself is just incredible. For 800 dollars, it better be. It truly is worth the money and it puts a smile on my face every time i pick it up.
Buy one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to find something to complain about with a phone of this magnitude, and of course people will always latch onto them. I have no doubt that within a few months these will fade away in light of the greater changes on the phone. I'm upgrading from an S4, so it's a monumental change for me... and even with Bixby, there is no way I'm not going to be shell-shocked and impressed.
If you're switching from an S4 the change would be jaw dropping.
This phone (S8) is the best upgrade I've ever had in any single electronics device that wasnt revolutionary, like the PC or first iPhone.
Everything is better, and I'm not just saying that. Opening web pages is faster, switching apps is instant, opening navigation is instant, watching a YouTube video, switching to mail, reading that email, switching back to YouTube is just astonishing how quickly it all happens. Just opening this website and typing on the keyboard is flawless and enjoyable, my old phone was laggy and a pain to do a long response on a message board. Not anymore.
It really is amazing how awesome this phone is. Every single experience when it comes to the phone itself is improved. Again, i don't see how they can make this device better unless new technology is needed (such as Bluetooth 15.0). Could it possibly have better speakers? Of course. But I'm worried about things like speed, response, performance and the screen. I just can't see how they can make a phone faster, or the screen bigger. It's almost edge to edge top to bottom and the only way to get a bigger screen is to get a bigger phone, and I don't want that. It fits perfectly in my hand and I have the font tiny and I can read everything clearly. This phone delivers on everything and I just couldn't be happier (the screen is really something to behold, you'll see). It even looks good in the sunlight and it's pretty much water proof! (I wouldn't swim with it but I wouldn't be worried at all to take a picture while it's raining).
They'd have to invent a phone that does my dishes for me to want to upgrade again, that's how good this thing is. It does everything and it does everything​ well. I give it a 10/10 because I won't hold something like the fingerprint scanner against them, i consider that personal preference.
Don't believe anyone who says this thing isn't incredible. Walk into a store and check out the display model for yourself. It's well worth the money.
I think the question from the OP is *IF* the jump to the S8 from the S7/S7E is worth it. No one is debating if the S8/S8+ is a terrific device, I think we can all agree that it is. (even though I personally do not own one). I have used the S8+ at length, and yes I think its amazing... however, that being said - I choose NOT to upgrade from my S7E at this time. I think I will hold off until the Note 8 and decide then. I think that might help answer the original posters question without offending anyone who does have the S8/S8+
Since owning the s4 i jumped ship to nexus phones. Because touchwiz lag as hell. I sold the nexus 6p and tried s7 edge. And touchwiz lag still there on the s7 edge. Sold the s7 edge and got the regular s8 and i can tell s8 is smooth like nexus phones. And im glad i tried the s8 again. Hhappy camper here
Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
wil318466 said:
If you're switching from an S4 the change would be jaw dropping.
This phone (S8) is the best upgrade I've ever had in any single electronics device that wasnt revolutionary, like the PC or first iPhone.
Everything is better, and I'm not just saying that. Opening web pages is faster, switching apps is instant, opening navigation is instant, watching a YouTube video, switching to mail, reading that email, switching back to YouTube is just astonishing how quickly it all happens. Just opening this website and typing on the keyboard is flawless and enjoyable, my old phone was laggy and a pain to do a long response on a message board. Not anymore.
It really is amazing how awesome this phone is. Every single experience when it comes to the phone itself is improved. Again, i don't see how they can make this device better unless new technology is needed (such as Bluetooth 15.0). Could it possibly have better speakers? Of course. But I'm worried about things like speed, response, performance and the screen. I just can't see how they can make a phone faster, or the screen bigger. It's almost edge to edge top to bottom and the only way to get a bigger screen is to get a bigger phone, and I don't want that. It fits perfectly in my hand and I have the font tiny and I can read everything clearly. This phone delivers on everything and I just couldn't be happier (the screen is really something to behold, you'll see). It even looks good in the sunlight and it's pretty much water proof! (I wouldn't swim with it but I wouldn't be worried at all to take a picture while it's raining).
They'd have to invent a phone that does my dishes for me to want to upgrade again, that's how good this thing is. It does everything and it does everything​ well. I give it a 10/10 because I won't hold something like the fingerprint scanner against them, i consider that personal preference.
Don't believe anyone who says this thing isn't incredible. Walk into a store and check out the display model for yourself. It's well worth the money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh hell yes, I've already jumped ship with the S8. Unfortunately I am studying abroad and won't be able to get back home for a few more weeks -- then I can finally meet my new S8. And yes, coming from an S4 (which poorly survived an ocean drop), I'm practically salivating at the prospect. The camera could have better, sure. They didn't need to include the atrocious Bixby, definitely. But it's such a great prospect upgrading after 4 years... and I'm hoping that it will be good for me for another 4 years at least, if not more. Meanwhile, my friend with a Nexus 6P is already itching to upgrade to a OP5 when it comes out... heh.
Short answer - Yes
Long answer - Jumped from S7 Edge to S8. Have to say this is the best phone I have ever had. I was a huge fan of the physical home button but I rarely miss it at all. The only problem is me hitting the snooze in the morning on my alarm not as easily as with a button. Fingerprint scanner in the back is super quick and not bad at all. That's how I naturally hold my phone for the most part anyways and I have big hands so there is no real struggle. I've always been wanting to play emulated games on my phone and this thing can handle Gamecube games for Dog's sake! I have a Madcatz controller that is great for gaming with phones and makes the torture that is the MBTA go by like nothing. My brother got one shortly after I got mine and he also says it's the best phone he's ever had. He came from a dying S5 Edge I think. We also got both our phones for $0 down and just restarted payments on a new device. Battery life is way better than S7 at this point and I'm about 40% when I leave work usually. As opposed to S7 where I would have to re-charge at about 3pm if I didn't want it to die on the way home. But as with all Androids the early battery life is way better in the beginning as opposed to 6 months to a year later. Time will tell though.
Edit - Forgot to mention the display. I wasn't a display snob by any means but this phone has now made me one. Incredible, especially when gaming. Completely immersive with the minimal bezels and edge to edge display. It's like a floating screen that encompasses your entire field of vision. Twilight Princess, Smash Bros, and FF7 never looked so good.
Yes, noticeable improvement in performance. That weird S7E lag thing is gone and battery is noticeably better. I think back to the first few months with my S7E, it might have been closer but after a year, the degregation in battery life makes the new s8 seem significantly better. That alone is worth it to me.

Phone worth buying at 300$ if ill receive it in feb 2020?

hey guys so my country does not have this sale (black fri) and i really like the phone... so a friend agreed to get one for me but he will come around feb next year
so according to you all is it a good purchase or shall i wait for anything else?
thanks in advance
Crusiefire said:
hey guys so my country does not have this sale (black fri) and i really like the phone... so a friend agreed to get one for me but he will come around feb next year
so according to you all is it a good purchase or shall i wait for anything else?
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this phone is a spec monster. Great deal for 300!
chpimentelpr said:
Yes, this phone is a spec monster. Great deal for 300!
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Click to collapse
thank you for replying
but will it be a good buy in 2020 as well?
Crusiefire said:
thank you for replying
but will it be a good buy in 2020 as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, there's no other phone at that price point with the specs included.
right before the black Friday when I went to Amazon for the 300$ deal, I saw that they are out of stock. expected delivery February 2020, so went to razer. com and found that they have in stock for the same 300$. so I ordered it right away, shipped on November 28th, coming tomorrow December 6th.
yesterday went back to their website and noticed price is 399$ now.
curious
Hey, akmsr
Let me know how you like it. Mine is coming the 9th. Curious how your experience will be.
Thanks!!
This device is a beast, it will be viable for a pretty long time IMO.
Eagle0527 said:
Hey, akmsr
Let me know how you like it. Mine is coming the 9th. Curious how your experience will be.
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been using it for couple of weeks now. I have OnePlus 6T which is exactly razer 2 (same spec except dual sim and 256 GB storage.)
Signal..... Razer 2 edges out by a tiny margin
User comfort..... 6T
Gaming..... Razer 2
Smoothness..... Razer 2 at 90hz
Sound loudness... Razer 2
Sound using Bluetooth headset , notifications, calls, keyboard experience..... Hands down 6T
Battery life..... Same even though Razer 2 has bigger battery (maybe 90hz)
6T has OLED display so more pleasing to the eye.
I have some apps that don't run properly on Razer 2. After you reboot sometimes it doesn't recognize keystrokes properly. Both phones fast charge with their respective charger. Only reason i got it because of price. Its essentially a 6T with microsd support and 120hz refresh rate for 300$. When you game with higher refresh rate, it shines. It's smaller screen than 6T and I kinda miss the bigger immersive vivid screen but it's okay.
I originally posted my review over at Android Central, but it's fitting here because I wrote it in the context of being a cheap phone and value for the price. Only in my case, I got it for $250 from Best Buy. Long story short, definitely worth it at $300.
------------------------------------------------------------------
After using the Razer Phone 2 for about two weeks now on Verizon, overall I'm happy. I'm actually keeping signal now in places I thought were just dead zones when I was using an LG V20. While that's a major benefit, the V20 has also spoiled me. It's my benchmark when comparing phones because nothing has ticked all the boxes like it did (not even the successors, V30-50).
First the good stuff:
Reception and faster mobile data speeds
VoLTE and HD calling (at least on Verizon)
Flat LCD screen
SD card slot
Loud front facing stereo speakers
Telephoto camera lens
Rear Razer logo lights up with cool effects
Decent battery life
Nova Prime launcher included as OEM stock
Customizable performance options
The bad stuff:
No secondary display or quick slide functions
Speakers are a little muffled (due to water resistance)
Non-removable battery
Glass back
Wireless charging quirks
Power and volume button placement hit and miss
User interface a bit clunky
No headphone jack (USB dongle included)
Camera performance laughable at times
Auto-brightness reacts too quickly
I'm not going to expand on every single point, but there are a number deserving a greater explanation.
In the pros section, the logo lighting up isn't just a static color. It's a multi-LED logo that can cycle through colors, flash as a notification light, simply fade in and out, and a "wave" feature that has the colors shift across the logo. It's not extremely bright and I leave it off most of the time except for notifications. I read it can eat 3%/hr of your battery, so no point leaving it on when I'm mostly alone. If using in public, I'll turn it on to show off. Lol. The performance options allow you to adjust the processor speed, resolution, and maximum frame rates either across the board or on a per app basis. For example, I'll run Shadowgun Legends full tilt, but some of my more relaxing games I run at the lowest settings because they only run low graphics anyway and it saves battery with no performance loss on them.
On the down sides, this phone leaves a lot to be desired. By giving up the secondary display and quick slide functions when I left the V20, a number of actions now take longer. What use to be available from any screen as a single tap or two now requires exiting to the home screen and going to whatever function I wanted. If you've never had that kind of quick actions before, then you're not losing anything going to the RP2. If you have used those features before, you know my pain.
The phone does have wireless charging, but is not fully up to the Qi standard. The reason why is because the charging coil sits lower than standard, making it hard to align on Qi pads. On stand up charging stands, it may be impossible to charge wirelessly. Instead, Razer sells their own Qi charger stand for the phone that does work correctly. It has lighting effects that can sync with the phone, but is also pricey at US$100. I've never bothered to jump on the wireless charging bandwagon, so this isn't a big deal for me. If you want to wireless charge, good luck unless you buy their charger.
The power and volume buttons are on both sides in the middle of the frame. The case I have for it makes the volume buttons hard to push, which can result in also pressing the power button if your fingers or thumb are not spaced right. The fingerprint sensor in the power button is slow to register, making it easy to get "finger moved too fast" errors. It also only activates the reader with the screen on. I think overall I preferred the power button on the back and the FPS to activate even with the screen off. On the RP2 you either put more wear on the power button, or you can turn on the double tap to wake option to turn on the screen and FPS without pressing the power button.
The user interface is also somewhat odd at times. On every other phone I've used, pressing the volume buttons with no audio paying would adjust the ringer volume. Not so on the RP2. The volume buttons only work media volume. To adjust the ringer, or other volume settings, you have to press a volume button, then the settings button on the pop-up (which is located opposite of the buttons, completely non-intuitive). There's is at least a silence toggle on the pop-up. The navigation bar use two buttons + gestures. I think gestures can be great, but the back button is on the far left and hard to reach with my right thumb. Again, I'm missing V20 features, where I had 5 navigation buttons that were able to be arranged in a way I liked. If I could at least have one more on this phone, it would be one to drop the notification shade from any screen for better one handed use. Nova does have a swipe down gesture for this, but that only works on the home screen.
So about this laughable camera. Well everyone is slamming the app for being buggy, having limited controls, and mediocre photos. It's a gaming phone, so some tradeoffs are to be expected. Thankfully I haven't encountered any bugs (I took a system update right after setup that was supposed to address those camera bugs). What made me honestly laugh when I checked some samples is how bad HDR photos are compared to normal photos. HDR is supposed to give greater details and lower noise. Check the two sample photos and you'll see the exact opposite. The non-HDR photo on the left looks better in almost every respect.
The Gcam app has been ported over to the RP2, but I haven't looked into using it. From what I've read, those using it are saying it's worlds better than the stock app. I'd personally rather use a more manually focused (no pun intended) camera app, but it seems the api is firmware limited. When using an app with manual controls, I'm only able to get 1/4" exposure at most. I'm use to 30" maximum exposures.
With all that said, what's it like in everyday use? Mostly good. It's a gaming phone, and as such, plays games very well. Running in full performance mode, nothing has made it so much as hiccup. The screen has a 120Hz refresh rate to really run things buttery smooth, but I've kept things mostly to 90Hz. I don't really see enough difference between the two, so not worth the extra battery hit. The developer options allow showing the current frame rate on screen, and most of the games I play don't make much difference. On one hand, Shadowgun Legends looks phenomenal, but is app locked to 60fps. Actual game play on ultimate graphics hovers around the mid 40's, but still runs smooth. I'll take that over Unkilled, which is a 120Hz rated game from the same developer but doesn't look near as good.
Everything else is nothing special, with the camera app being the lone downfall so far. Being a hobby photographer, that was a huge tradeoff for me, and even average users will dislike it. So with all those downsides and quirks, why do I say it's worth it? Price. I picked the phone up during a Black Friday sale at Best Buy for $250. I basically stole it at that price, and makes those tradeoffs worth it without question. If it were still full, or even half price, that would be another story. It's currently $330 at Best Buy with activation today, but otherwise $380 through them, or $400 direct from Razer. Those prices still aren't too horrible, but anything above $350 would start tipping the scales on the value judgement for me.
Also, an honorable mention for the Dolby Atmos demo video. You can view it on YouTube here, but it's included in the Atmos app on the RP2. I never thought virtual surround sound could be that good, at least not from standard two speakers. Wow!
https://youtu.be/3VZFpwlXKpg

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