Database Develop

[Q] What do you want to see on a 2015 smartphone? :)

Hey everyone! Hope everyone here is having a good day. So what would you guys/girls like to see on a 2015 smartphone?
I personally would like to see these specifications/features:
- Dimensions/size similar to a Nexus 5
- Unique design that stands out from other smartphones
- 5" Quad HD display
- Front-facing stereo speakers
- 8MP front-facing camera
- 21MP rear camera with OIS + 4K recording
- Stock Android
- Physical home button with pulse notification LED on it
- Aluminium bezel with a soft touch plastic back
- A multimedia panel like the Galaxy Edge but something less pronounced
- Snapdragon 810
- 4GB of RAM
- Adreno 430
- 4000mAh battery
- 16gb - 128gb storage capacity
- Variety of colour options
Yes... A long list of configuration. Boring, I know. So I decided to make a video on this 'Dream Smartphone' of mine, which I called the '2015 Concept Smartphone'.
I am new user to XDADEVELOPERS, so I cannot post links. Dam. But if you type in 'XTPN 2015 Concept Smartphone' in your YouTube search, it should be the first video.
And please do check it out! It'll help a lot
On a side note, please excuse my poor video editing and 3D modelling skills. I'm a first Industrial Design student so it's kind of all new to me. However, I'm open to all constructive criticism.
Thank you for passing by,
Phil

I would like to see more 3D screens on the market!

Thank you for this thread.
Honestly, mine isn't impressive but I think it could be made as a budget phone like the nexus 5.
4.7-5 inch screen in Nexus 5 form factor.
Android Lollipop of course
2 GB of ram.
Latest quad core
Minimum of 13 Megapixel back camera, 2 mega pixel front. Hopefully Optical Image Stabilization.
Stock android (Play edition?)
Front speakers
2,700 Mah battery
32GB starting storage, expandable up to 128GB SD card
Pulse notification light.
Soft buttons or even capacitive keys
1080p screen. Don't really care for Quad HD or 4k or whatever. I'd rather have battery.
To me that would be a fantastic phone.

- I would like to see fully waterproof phone that can stay into the water up to 30 meters for an indefinite period of time
- Battery that lasts more than 72 hours even after heavy usage and charges within five minutes
- REMOVABLE BATTERY
- DUAL ACTIVE SIM
I hope I am not asking for too much!

@goro11
That would awesome. Maybe like a 3DS-Phone? If you get my idea.
@Whiplashh
Love a budget phone. I own a Nexus 5 myself! I don't mind soft buttons or capacitive buttons either. But from my experience, I want something like the iPhone (home button + power button). The power button on my Nexus 5 got jammed a few months ago and there was no other way I could turn on the device. Luckily I had 3 months left on the warranty and got a replacement (thanks Google). And this is why I dig the buttons of the iPhone.
I would like to see an upcoming focused more the battery life too. I want something that would last a full day with medium usage. Not a full day as in MORNING-AFTERNOON, but a full-full day as in MORNING-MIDNIGHT. This would be great.
@maheshpatel
Sweet. As for the waterproofing, not only should they improve the duration of underwater usage and depth. They should also make the touchscreen usable whilst the device is in the water. Because most of the current waterproof smartphone(primarily the Sony Xperia Z line) has an unusable touchscreen whilst immersed underwater. Unless there is a device out there that has this ability?
Thanks for the replies everyone!!

The link to my '2015 Concept Phone' video. Finally!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GZP5tiEko8&list=UUrXHEU3hnGj3McjXUctKHOA
Thanks

How about upgradable ram?
Sent from my D6503 using xda premium

I want to see:
HTC One M9:
Snapdragon 810
4Gb RAM
5.2, 2K display
13MP Back Camera, 4K Video 60 FPS
Even better stereo speakers with BoomSound
Even better sound in earphones
And be able to change HTC Sense on pure Android

5.7-5.9" (Anything below 5.7" = NOPE.)
4GB RAM
64Bit Snapdragon 810 or maybe even 815.
Adreno 430
32-128GB + MicroSD slot
21MP 4K OIS rear camera (I don't care about the front one, I don't do selfies.)
Preferably waterproof, but it's not a dealbraker.
So, basically, the Note 5.

HTC and Sony
I'd like to see HTC making some more phones except high-end ones and flagships, and also, I'd like to see black ui in sony's android 5.0 skin. 4.3 and 4.4.x is too....white-y.

XTPN said:
@Whiplashh
Love a budget phone. I own a Nexus 5 myself! I don't mind soft buttons or capacitive buttons either. But from my experience, I want something like the iPhone (home button + power button). The power button on my Nexus 5 got jammed a few months ago and there was no other way I could turn on the device. Luckily I had 3 months left on the warranty and got a replacement (thanks Google). And this is why I dig the buttons of the iPhone.
I would like to see an upcoming focused more the battery life too. I want something that would last a full day with medium usage. Not a full day as in MORNING-AFTERNOON, but a full-full day as in MORNING-MIDNIGHT. This would be great.
Thanks for the replies everyone!!
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I completely agree with you.
to be honest, I would even be extremely happy with an HTC M7 with a 13 megapixel camera. That would be a fantastic phone I think.

Project ARA
By 2015 end well see Project Ara phones selling those are perfect for geeks
we know Basically phone features ,specs Revolve around the Chipset. example i prefer 810SoC to future proof it
Price ,availability are my concerns
if i could create $450 phone initially
then $250 bucks per year I think its great
But I'm still Concerned about Build Quality,Phone Looks, button placement etc
I would like to split the Chin bezel Of Sharp Aqueos Crystal and place it as fore head then
That would be awesome !!!!

Thank you for the replies and all your great ideas!
@stress40
Up-gradable RAM would be nice. Like @[email protected] said. This is where project ARA comes into play. Where literally any specifications or feature can be upgraded, due its modular system.
But I'm still Concerned about Build Quality,Phone Looks, button placement etc
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I completely understand you. But would 'technotons' or phone geeks as you say be concerned about anything else besides the specification(performance wise; ram, cpu, gfx card, etc.) of the device?
5.7-5.9" (Anything below 5.7" = NOPE.)
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Why is that? I know it's a personal preference thing, but what's your reason?
I'd like to see HTC making some more phones except high-end ones and flagships, and also, I'd like to see black ui in sony's android 5.0 skin. 4.3 and 4.4.x is too....white-y.
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I'm completely with you on this one. I received the 5.0 update on my Nexus 5 a weeks ago. And to me, the white is too overpowering. I don't mind it. I just prefer black.
Thanks to everyone again!!!

Hi every one i have a question a little bit diferent XD
What phone you recomend me for this 2015?
Please not a samsung because in my country all the samsungs have an exynos and no a snapdragon, i want a snapdragon mobile to have more roms XD.
And oviusli a long battery life
Can eny one help me?
Sorry bad english mode on XD
Sent from my SM-N900 using XDA Free mobile app

Expecting 0ne M9 and Sharp aqueos crystal 2015 edition

7242
Modular Phone !!
I would love to customize a phone in a way I always want.
6 inch screen.
13 MP camera.
A bigger battery maybe...
Project Ara is a great initiative by Google. Let's see how far it goes.

Hi every one i have a question a little bit diferent XD
What phone you recomend me for this 2015?
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Maybe look at reputable brands that are releasing flagship devices in 2015? Like HTC, Sony, Motorola, Google, Oppo, OnePlus, etc. Can't go wrong with that
Expecting 0ne M9 and Sharp aqueos crystal 2015 edition
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Sounds good. :good:
Project Ara is a great initiative by Google. Let's see how far it goes.
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I'll be aware of it too.

XTPN said:
Hey everyone! Hope everyone here is having a good day. So what would you guys/girls like to see on a 2015 smartphone?
I personally would like to see these specifications/features:
- Dimensions/size similar to a Nexus 5
- Unique design that stands out from other smartphones
- 5" Quad HD display
- Front-facing stereo speakers
- 8MP front-facing camera
- 21MP rear camera with OIS + 4K recording
- Stock Android
- Physical home button with pulse notification LED on it
- Aluminium bezel with a soft touch plastic back
- A multimedia panel like the Galaxy Edge but something less pronounced
- Snapdragon 810
- 4GB of RAM
- Adreno 430
- 4000mAh battery
- 16gb - 128gb storage capacity
- Variety of colour options
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd like to see a very capable phone aimed at the masses (I hate being asked to pay more than a ThinkPad laptop for a sim-free phone - )
- 4.7"-5.1" display with MotoX/MotoG-like easy to hold curves and backing
- Full HD resolution
- Snapdragon 610/615 performance or better
- Adreno 330 performance or better
- 3GB+ RAM
- minimum 16GB internal storage free for user (not 16GB total, 8/9/10/11 or whatever free)
- water/dust resistance ~IP68
- 3200mah+ removable battery
- rear camera that is at least as good as the Galaxy S4/iPhone4 from way back when (including near-instant response and optical image stabilisation)
- at least dual sim dual active with one easy swap sim slot like Nokia Asha phones (triple sim dual active would be even better)
- hardware switches (could be inside battery cover) to enable/disable camera, gps, bluetooth, mobile data, wifi, microphone
- samsung-like hardware home button (with capacitive on either side or not)
- full kernel source code
- full android device tree source code
- source code for the binary blobs (drivers etc) we have to deal with now

I mainly want more variety @ the $350 - $400 pricepoint. I don't see the big names suddenly dropping their prices into this range but if they were to make a few cuts to their flagship's specs, it could work. As it has already been mentioned multiple times, Google's project is very intriguing. That would be great to see if get off the ground.

@allyouwant
I wouldn't mind that either. Let's hope they come out soon.
@MiyagiSan
Nice one.
- minimum 16GB internal storage free for user (not 16GB total, 8/9/10/11 or whatever free)
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Totally understand and agree with what you said here. Most devices are like that and it sucks. Phone companies should make space for the pre-installed OS and other software's outside of the specified storage. If you get me.
@confed
Very true. I reckon the price tag of most devices turns most people off. That being said, I was hoping the N6 followed a similar price as its predecessor. I don't blame the rise in price, just disappointed a little.
Thanks for passing by everyone. And to those who haven't seen my video yet, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GZP5tiEko8
And finally MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM AUSTRALIA!!!!

OnePlus 5 Appreciation Thread

With all this hate around OnePlus 5 (jelly-gate (mine has none altough jelly-boys say I am scrolling it wrong ->here's my video -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdmDZm-8K8E&t=1s), wifi drops, faked benchmarks, iphone clone, no ois..) I wanted to post my own thoughts and findings regarding OnePlus 5 and why I find it currently to be best phone for the money. I have been a “phone-whore”* ever since Galaxy S6 and I have finally found the one I like the most, taking into account that every phone, OS has its flaws and there’s no perfect phone.
I certainly qualify as a phone whore since in last 3-4 years I’ve had 8 different phones – Nexus 6P, Sony Xperia Z3, Galaxy S6, Xiaomi Mi5, Iphone 7 plus, OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T, Galaxy S8 (2-3 week testing period, therefore I don’t count it as part of “8”) and now OnePlus 5. Here's the list of things I find to be the most crucial for me when deciding on a new phone/ or whether I should stay on the one I have -> 1. Fluid performance, which includes bloatware free OS with actually useful features like Gestures, which the OOS has), 2. Lightweight with screen size of ~5.5", 3. DT2W, 4. Dedicated Capacitive buttons (back and recents), 5. Above avg battery life, 6. Support.
So here are my main takeaways considering its price and place in the market:
1. Cheapest Snapdragon 835 equipped phone in the market;
2. Decent camera which has its flaws but is still very capable of taking awesome shots;
3. Equipped with probably lightest android based OS – OOS, which is full of neat features such as DT2W, DT2S, gestures, button customizations and so on;
4. Great support with timely updates – I haven’t had a android phone which is updated almost as fast as google based phones (Pixel, Nexus);
5. Dash charging is best in the market;
6. Great fluid performance throughout with no lag;
7. Very comfortable for 5.5" phone (only flaw that its super-slippery!) and although the back cover is copy-pasted iPhone 7 plus, I find it much more comfortable to hold and operate in one hand. iPhone 7 plus is a bulky as hell and impossible to operate in one hand even if you have MKBHD type of hands;
8. Lightest 5.5 inch phone in the market at just 153gramms <- this one is actually very crucial for me, since I wear a suit 5/7 days a week and larger phones like iPhone 7 plus, because of its bulk and weight, changes the complexion of the suit jacket and how it sits on you, so to say .. it might sound funny, but its true With OP5 I don’t feel like I am carrying ½ ipad in my jackets pocket;
9. Great battery life for 5.5” screen (~5-6hours of SOT on stock kernel in mixed usage (whatsapp, youtube, chrome, Spotify, bt and sync always ON and location ON with waze), mainly because they are sticking to 1080p, which is more than enough for such screen size.
10. True Premium feel - its a rare feature. I would say that of all phone I have had only few that actually had premium feel - problably all iphones, xperia z3 and none of the galaxies which all feel plastic to me.
With all that said, in my honest opinion, I find OP5 to be the best phone to spend 499 EUR – 559 EUR on, but it ain't perfect.

Agreed with most of it, but not sure of 'smooth' performance. While it seems smooth in almost all tasks, turning on GPU profiling from Developer options do show lots of frame drops all over. Check my other thread on this issue.

The Xiaomi Mi6 is probably the cheapest Snapdragon 835 phone on the market. For the rest I agree with you

1. Cheapest Snapdragon 835 equipped phone in the market; Mi 6 for example say hi, aside others but with offers.
6. Great fluid performance throughout with no lag:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-5/how-to/frame-drops-hell-t3631942
Good to see that, at least, there are some happy customers .

John Woot said:
1. Cheapest Snapdragon 835 equipped phone in the market; Mi 6 for example say hi, aside others but with offers.
6. Great fluid performance throughout with no lag:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-5/how-to/frame-drops-hell-t3631942
Good to see that, at least, there are some happy customers .
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For me, its the cheapest sd 835 based phone, since I cant get mi6 for the retail price because of local VAT being added when imported into LV + custom tax is being applied. Cant comment on the gpu/frame drop issue..
Addded one more point that I find crucial..
10. True Premium feel - its a rare feature. I would say that of all phones I have had only few actually had premium feel - problably all iphones (especially before No 6), xperia z3, 6P and none of the galaxies which all feel plastic to me.

jemeljsh said:
For me, its the cheapest sd 835 based phone, since I cant get mi6 for the retail price because of local VAT being added when imported into LV + custom tax is being applied. Cant comment on the gpu/frame drop issue..
Addded one more takeaway that I find crucial..
10. True Premium feel - its a rare feature. I would say that of all phones I have had only few actually had premium feel - problably all iphones (especially before No 6), xperia z3, 6P and none of the galaxies which all feel plastic to me.
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Hi, if you are from Latvia you can find stock of Mi 6 in Europe without customs, the VAT being inside Europe doesn't matter. Look at https://www.kimovil.com Search for Mi 6, 418 € 64 Gb, 487 € 128 Gb continental stock. For example the unlocked S8 dual sim now cost 570 € in Europe continental stock in global central, etc.

John Woot said:
Hi, if you are from Latvia you can find stock of Mi 6 in Europe without customs, the VAT being inside Europe doesn't matter. Look at https://www.kimovil.com Search for Mi 6, 418 € 64 Gb, 487 € 128 Gb continental stock. For example the unlocked S8 dual sim now cost 570 € in Europe continental stock in global central, etc.
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To be honest I am ever going to buy xiaomi phone. When I bought mi5 (with all taxes and shipping I paid about 500eur for it) I was quitte dissapointed when I actually got it - i felt a bit cheated since the build quality was one of the worse I have expierienced (maybe the ceramic one was better) - very plastic and easy to get scratches all over the place. Actually I thought this would be my last true china phone, but oneplus 3 made me a believer again - i was stunned actually that a phone (op3) so cheap felt so premium in hand build quality wise and OP5 continues in the same direction and although its super-slippery I have decided to use it without a case just because I love how it feels in hand and I dont want to hide this beast in a case. IMO, they shaved, if i can say so, OP3T design and made it rounder/slimmer although in mm the difference is not that huge.
And so what if its an iphone clone..iphone is in a league of its own in respect of design and if someone like OP takes their design and improves on it (takes away the bulk, the weight and makes it (5.5" size phone) very usable in one hand) I say take my money my chinese brothaaas

The oneplus 5 is my 24th or 25th phone in the past 3 years and I have to agree with the OP on this one. All things considered bang for buck. It doesn't get any better on this side of the pond. ?

Only thing i didn't like is that I can't use any 3d party camera app to take raw pictures as they all comes back with a pink tint.
Other then this, I'm pretty happy with the phone.

what i was feeling to share about 1+5 is beautifully shared by you my friend...i purchased first one plus mobile just waiting for dual camera launch by one plus earlier i was fan of Mi product whatever launched in INDIA but recently they decided for mid and lower price launch in indian market so i said bye to them but still i am fan of MIUI interface....

mrnovanova said:
The oneplus 5 is my 24th or 25th phone in the past 3 years and I have to agree with the OP on this one. All things considered bang for buck. It doesn't get any better on this side of the pond. ?
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really? how is that possible?!
and I though I was the ultimate-phone-whore chaning switching to a different phone every 3 months..OP3T was the first one to pass 6month trial

jemeljsh said:
really? how is that possible?!
and I though I was the ultimate-phone-whore chaning switching to a different phone every 3 months..OP3T was the first one to pass 6month trial
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Lol. I usually have 2 phones simultaneously and I have a phew repeats. The s7 edge (thanks to the note 7) the pixel and pixel xl, the iPhone 6s/plus, 7 /+, the note 5 {32gb/64gb) the note 7 while we're at it. My iron man is my 2nd s7 edge for four months and my minute man is the LG G6 which lasted two days. Coming up next are the essential, the note 8,the iPhone 8 and the Pixel 2. Yeah man I'm a phone junky for real. ?

mrnovanova said:
Lol. I usually have 2 phones simultaneously and I have a phew repeats. The s7 edge (thanks to the note 7) the pixel and pixel xl, the iPhone 6s/plus, 7 /+, the note 5 {32gb/64gb) the note 7 while we're at it. My iron man is my 2nd s7 edge for four months and my minute man is the LG G6 which lasted two days. Coming up next are the essential, the note 8,the iPhone 8 and the Pixel 2. Yeah man I'm a phone junky for real.
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Same here. I am always eager to test out new phones, so if I stick with something its gotta be close to perfect and it started with OP3T (the "max 3 month and the get a newever one" spell was broken . :laugh. I don't think I'll ever go back to an iphone though unless its something uber-revolutionary, since no matter what they do I find iOS to be very limiting and only good on iPads where all you do is watch movies and browse mail/internet. I need those dedicated capacitive buttons for recents and back, I need that freedom with customisation, attachments, transfers and so on, and that one button thing no matter the overall somewhat smooth operation seems like a slowed down expierence no matter how used to it I eventually get. I quite easily ditched my iPhone 7 plus because of its weight and bulk..

jemeljsh said:
Same here. I am always eager to test out new phones, so if I stick with something its gotta be close to perfect and it started with OP3T (the "max 3 month and the get a newever one" spell was broken . :laugh. I don't think I'll ever go back to an iphone though unless its something uber-revolutionary, since no matter what they do I find iOS to be very limiting and only good on iPads where all you do is watch movies and browse mail/internet. I need those dedicated capacitive buttons for recents and back, I need that freedom with customisation, attachments, transfers and so on, and that one button thing no matter the overall somewhat smooth operation seems like a slowed down expierence no matter how used to it I eventually get. I quite easily ditched my iPhone 7 plus because of its weight and bulk..
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You're preaching to the quire brother. My longest stint with the iPhone since I left iOS and my iPhone 4 behind, was 10 days with the iPhone 7 plus and shortest was 2 days with the iPhone 7, the LG G6 beat it out by like half a day. Lol. I just buy whatever is new and premium regardless of iOS and Android. I don't particularly like iOS but I'm not one to talk out the side of my mouth so I have to be able to tell the fan boys/girls at work why their iPhone sucks ??
---------- Post added at 01:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:50 PM ----------
To stay on topic though, I love the one plus. It made me notice the subtle lag in my s8 plus as I go back and forth. Oneplus 5 is my week phone paired with my Huawei watch and I rock my s8+ and gear s3 on the weekend. When I take more pictures. Which is just about the only thing that the s8 has got on the OP5.

jemeljsh said:
Same here. I am always eager to test out new phones, so if I stick with something its gotta be close to perfect and it started with OP3T (the "max 3 month and the get a newever one" spell was broken . :laugh. I don't think I'll ever go back to an iphone though unless its something uber-revolutionary, since no matter what they do I find iOS to be very limiting and only good on iPads where all you do is watch movies and browse mail/internet. I need those dedicated capacitive buttons for recents and back, I need that freedom with customisation, attachments, transfers and so on, and that one button thing no matter the overall somewhat smooth operation seems like a slowed down expierence no matter how used to it I eventually get. I quite easily ditched my iPhone 7 plus because of its weight and bulk..
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I think you guys are rich :laugh:..how do you manager buying phones every 3 months? Do you sell them on Swappa after 3 months?

ram4ufriends said:
I think you guys are rich :laugh:..how do you manager buying phones every 3 months? Do you sell them on Swappa after 3 months?
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You keep your phone pristine, and you save some money & so when your sell your phone & your 200 saved and your upgrading. You can save 200 in 6 months right?

Ok, so after a couple of weeks of using OP5 not much has changed. I stand by the points I have made and have grown accustomed using this phone even without a case. I simply like its design and premium feel too much for it to be cased although my back-ordered Karbon protective case came 1 week after I got the phone. I will cope with the consequences if it do falls, but as I said already – IMO, the copy paste design (back) is made so awesomely (thinner and lighter) that it simply must be displayed around Although sometimes camera shots need to be retaken to get that perfect shot, I find portrait mode to be at better state than it was on my iPhone 7 plus at the launch. There's room to improve but I already like what I get out of the camera a lot.
My OP5 has been running great on FreedomOS 1.X [7.1.1][OOS][[STABLE][SAFETYNET ✓] with default kernel (avg. SOT 6h-8h more hours is in those sessions where there’s a lot of youtube playback..usage pattern -> chrome, whatsapp, gmail, bt audio (spotify through bt to bt headphones), waze with Sync, BT Always ON and Location only when using Waze)). I find FreedomOS to be the best custom rom as it’s the closest to stock, but then again it (1) allows you debloat as much as you wish, (2) it has built in Viper4Arise and (3) AdAway. Must have for me is also [v4.1] Ozone - A substratum module for OOS for center clock and other neat visual details.

I purchased a OnePlus 5 on swappa. Almost didn't because of what some were saying about it. Glad I did. But still have a Galaxy S8. Have to sell one, but can't decide which one. The op5 has better Bluetooth, WiFi, and cellular, signal. But I work outside, and the S8 gets brighter, and has water resistant. Didn't expect the decision to be so hard. There are things that I really like about both. Maybe list them both, and see which sells 1st. ?
Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

jemeljsh said:
Ok, so after a couple of weeks of using OP5 not much has changed. I stand by the points I have made and have grown accustomed using this phone even without a case. I simply like its design and premium feel too much for it to be cased although my back-ordered Karbon protective case came 1 week after I got the phone. I will cope with the consequences if it do falls, but as I said already – IMO, the copy paste design (back) is made so awesomely (thinner and lighter) that it simply must be displayed around Although sometimes camera shots need to be retaken to get that perfect shot, I find portrait mode to be at better state than it was on my iPhone 7 plus at the launch. There's room to improve but I already like what I get out of the camera a lot.
My OP5 has been running great on FreedomOS 1.X [7.1.1][OOS][[STABLE][SAFETYNET ✓] with default kernel (avg. SOT 6h-8h more hours is in those sessions where there’s a lot of youtube playback..usage pattern -> chrome, whatsapp, gmail, bt audio (spotify through bt to bt headphones), waze with Sync, BT Always ON and Location only when using Waze)). I find FreedomOS to be the best custom rom as it’s the closest to stock, but then again it (1) allows you debloat as much as you wish, (2) it has built in Viper4Arise and (3) AdAway. Must have for me is also [v4.1] Ozone - A substratum module for OOS for center clock and other neat visual details.
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Not to degrade Freedom OS in anyway...but you may want to try xXx also..wonderful ROM and Dev just like Freedom OS

jemeljsh said:
taking into account that every phone, OS has its flaws and there’s no perfect phone
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+1
Complex devices with multiple feature sets (phone, camera, computer, GPS, physical, low cost, etc.) necessarily have inherent compromises. Add to that the diverse set of needs and priorities from a potentially massive customer base. The result is a product that can't possibly be perfect for all users and all uses, no matter the price point. I'm quite happy with the choices, tradeoffs and compromises that OnePlus made.
About the only feature I miss on the OP5 is the rubbery back surface on the Nexus 5 that it's replacing. The OP5's back, while it may look nice, is almost as slippery as an eel. If I believed in conspiracy theories I'd speculate that they did it intentionally to maximize the number of new OP5 phones they can sell to replace dropped ones

Not sure if I should get Xiaomi or Nokia

I am considering either getting A2 or Nokia 7 Plus.
The A2 has the same hardware platform but is considerably cheaper but there are a few things/questions that I am considering:
1. the updates on A1, if I read comments or on the A1 forum seem to be late and buggy. This is one of the major drawbacks for me as I want a stable device and I am afraid the same thing will happen with A2
2. on Nokia there seem a way to enable gcam without doing root on the device, on A2 I saw that root is needed... this would be a drawback as gcam seems to improve picture taking on many devices
3. How does the device feel in hand? Is it slippery? Is the camera bump annoying?
4. Any software/hardware issues reported so far? I read something about proximity sensor but other than that not much.
The reviews for the device aren't stellar. Most complain about nfc, jack and sd card. None of this are important to me, I care about updates and camera.
So, should I get the Nokia (better build, bigger battery, stable and fast updates, probably a bit better camera, gcam working, better screen, no PWM for brightness)
I'd like to hear your advices. Thank you for your time.

It'll be better if you buy the Nokia 7 plus Android One version! You'll get most the things needed in a flagship phone (not all) and it's better than Mi A2 in most of the time except the camera!

You should also bear in mind that Nokia phones have no official way of unlocking bootloader for now, so there won't be lot of custom development for their devices until HMD decide to provide way to unlock bootloader. And according to HMDs head twitter, they won't do it because of security (proof: https://twitter.com/sarvikas/status/910421837661790208)

There certainly are a ** lot ** of things to consider when buying a phone now-a-days.
One of the very first things I look at is appearance, and weight. So right off the bat, 2 knocks on the 7plus; it's gaudy looking with the faux gold trim, and it's 183 grams (and I thought 165 gram phones were heavy!).
I'm shocked you would say an issue with the Mi A2 would be build quality? I don't have mine yet, but the unibody construction of these devices, like the Huawei Mate SE, are as good as it gets. Could not feel more solid. There's a marked difference to how a device with a unibody and 2.5D raised glass feels compared to how a device (like the 7plus) that has a 'flat' band all around it, holding the top and the bottom panels together.
I much much prefer the rounded unibody, way more comfortable in the hand, less likely to slip. And the metal body of them isn't slippery.
Yes, the A1 has had some issues with updates / bugs. But the A2 already has the ota security patch / bug fixes for August available. Someone mentioned they seem to be doing better with the A2 and it may well be because it's Project Treble.
As someone else mentioned; Is the bootloader unlockable? That's right near the top of the list for me, if not the top. If the Nok is locked down (as said), it's off my list. At some point, and you might keep the phone that long, updates will stop. If you can't unlock it, then the phone is basically done.
As far as reviews go, actually the ones i've read, are stellar. Yes, the lack of nfc, expansion, no jack, are mentioned. They all mention it. I guess they have to or it won't be considered a decent review. But to me, I can live without them, not that much of a big. What is a big, and it's mentioned a lot in the reviews I've read, are the cameras. The f1.75 cams on the back will let in a ** lot ** of light. All reviews indicate they do well in low light (as you would expect), some even say the great cameras make up for the loss of the other items.
So what's important to you? I"m going with Android One is big, good cameras is really big, unlockable bootloader is huge, not too heavy helps to keep me from constantly pulling my pants up, available in black... I like black (not gaudy pls).
We all have our criteria don't we...

Build quality of the A2 is amazing. Feels like a flagship device. I was afraid how it would compare to my light Nexus 5x but man was I wrong. I loved it from the start
Custom roms were my main deciding factor compared to Nokia or bq even if there is no NFC or RGB notification LED. So I am ready to use the hardware until it breaks.
Headphone jack I don't care too much, get a fiio btr Bluetooth headphone amp and you are smartphone independent and can use your cable headphones which I won't change to anything purely bluetooth based unless Sennheiser comes out with some usb-c based ie80s.
SD card? You really need more than 64GB or 128Gb even? I am happy with the 64GB but depends a lot on what you are planning to do.
Oh I forgot the amazing camera. You can find some of my pics in the gcam thread. Guess I will upload a little camera showcase soon.

Thank you all for your thoughts.
@AsItLies I did not say there's an issue with build quality on A2. As you say, I am kind of convinced that it will fell better in hand as it is rounded, and that matters on big phones a lot. What I have noticed is that the camera bump is really big and that could make it wobble on the table.
So to set the list of pros and cons
A2
+ good feel in hand
- no way to use gcam without root and bootloader unlock which is something I don't want to do.
- no double tap to wake
+/- the software remains to be seen... A1 wasn't really great in that department
7Plus
+ double tape to wake
+ better screen quality
+ stable software with quick updates
+ google camera works without root
- like 25% more expensive
- not sure the looks in live preview with the copper accent.
- finger print scanner seems a bit too high, but A2 kind of looks at the same spot
- no notification led and glance uses battery since it has LCD
- bulkier and heavier
To be honest, I don't care for rooting the device. In 2 years, after no more updates, I am sure there will be other cheap alternatives to get.

Looks like you're not power user, doesn't need rooted device or custom ROM, etc. Based on this I recommend the 7 Plus, I think it's better than A2 for general usage. A2 to me strong in the community support and development since it has better value for budget phone.
7 Plus wins in many aspects, but A2 is slightly better at camera department based on some reviews I read. 7 Plus prices is very high compared to other mid range devices, I think if you have the money and can add few bucks more, you can buy flagship phone with Snapdragon 8XX instead of 7 Plus.

I care about:
1. updates - I have my concerns on updates given the previous history with A1.
2. camera - some say nokia is better, some say a2 is better. Probably nokia with gcam is better
3.handling- a2 seems to be more rounded, slimmer but has that huge camera bump what probably makes it wobble on table. Together with no double touch to wake makes it no so ergonomic.
Nokia kind of ticks most of the boxes really, however, a2 is 25% cheaper and may have life after 2 years with the community. At the price of 7plus, I could get a used pixel 2 for instance and that has better camera and updates.
Tough choice to make.

alinescoo said:
I care about:
1. updates - I have my concerns on updates given the previous history with A1.
2. camera - some say nokia is better, some say a2 is better. Probably nokia with gcam is better
3.handling- a2 seems to be more rounded, slimmer but has that huge camera bump what probably makes it wobble on table. Together with no double touch to wake makes it no so ergonomic.
Nokia kind of ticks most of the boxes really, however, a2 is 25% cheaper and may have life after 2 years with the community. At the price of 7plus, I could get a used pixel 2 for instance and that has better camera and updates.
Tough choice to make.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well hopefully you won't mind my version of your concerns, but always remember, these things are evolving and changing, due to experience. It's only natural with complicated things like this.
1. updates - While the A1 did run into a few issues, I'd say remember, this is a new thing for them. They'll probably get it right soon, evidenced by the August patch available now... and it's August! That's almost unheard of in itself.
2. Camera - I certainly like the Zeiss optics on the Nok, but Sony is no slouch either. Keep in mind the aperture of the 2 rear cameras on the A2 are f1.75. The Nok are f1.8 and f2.6 (for the optical zoom one). I don't know exactly, but the diff between the 1.75 and 2.6 is a Full Stop, if not more. That means, if u don't know, that the 1.75 will let in TWICE the amount of light. That's a huge difference, resulting in much better pictures.
The other thing re the GCam. I have a port on my LG G6 now. It's very good. Except it doesn't have all the features the OEM app has. For instance; taking a selfie in portrait mode, there is no timer. Also note the GCam ports won't use both lenses, as the pixel phones only have one lens. Some OEM apps use info from both lenses to create bokeh effects etc.
3. Handling - it is an individual thing for sure. My take on the camera bump is - I'd prefer it didn't have it, but I just don't set the phone down on the back (unless it's in a case). If I set it down I'll set it on the front. It's usually just in my pocket.
All cameras (except the G6!) have a bump, the A2 is just a bit bigger. Oh well. As far as double tap, for me... I've never used it, even once. Just use the finger print scanner.
Again! not knocking your concerns, they are valid for you, that's all that matters. Just giving a different perspective on them. Tomorrow, I may think differently! Haha, phones, they've become so complicated it's more and more time consuming to evaluate them. I've bought and sold so many lately, I never thought I would do that! I think I have a new addiction

About the handling, if you don't use a case with Mi A2, it is a bit slippery for me. The device is actually round but it is also thin. The metal at the back is very smooth and could be slippery for some.
And I think the cameras between two are not so different, depends on your taste. But the sensor with Nokia 7 Plus is larger so it should produce better images in low light.

@AsItLies thank you for your detailed info. I am very glad to receive info from an owner.
@Marciano09 thank you. To be honest, my comfort zone ends around the sizes of pixel 2, but the trend now is to have phones bigger and bigger so I guess I need to get used to it. So, bigger and slippery is not something that sounds comfortable. Nokia seems to have some ceramic back cover which probably improves handling but has rougher edges.
I saw some comparison videos on camera samples, sometimes I liked A2 ones, sometimes the Nokia ones. Nokia with gcam has some really nice photos where on xiaomi I depend on the OEM camera.
Really tough choice to make.

alinescoo said:
I care about:
1. updates - I have my concerns on updates given the previous history with A1.
2. camera - some say nokia is better, some say a2 is better. Probably nokia with gcam is better
3.handling- a2 seems to be more rounded, slimmer but has that huge camera bump what probably makes it wobble on table. Together with no double touch to wake makes it no so ergonomic.
Nokia kind of ticks most of the boxes really, however, a2 is 25% cheaper and may have life after 2 years with the community. At the price of 7plus, I could get a used pixel 2 for instance and that has better camera and updates.
Tough choice to make.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. they're both android one devices, sure, the nokia may not have as much dev support but it will get the same 2y official treatment because of android one.
2. both good cameras yep, the a2 will probably take some better nighttime pics, the nokia might be better at portrait mode.
3. forget about the double tap to wake... it's so much nicer to use the fingerprint to wake up instead! and yes, the a2 isn't stable on a flat table. even with the tpu case it still wobbles. the case helps, but it's still not standing nicely.
if you care about the price difference, go for the a2. but be aware that the a2 will drop in price over the next few months. this is the most expensive it will ever be. the nokia may have started to drop in price already.
the features that may point you to the nokia:
- nfc
- bigger battery
- 3.5 jack
- sd card support
- sturdier
a2:
- slimmer, lighter
- maybe better dev support (on the long long run however it's probably irrelevant since both phones are android one supported) - see LE
- maybe better night shots (it's still a phone however, and anything but the highest end flagships pale in comparison to real cameras - if you ask me never pick a phone based on cameras)
- cheaper (however expect the price to drop over the next months! this is the launch price)
did you consider/looked at the redmi note 5 pro (whyred)?
- already has some good custom roms (lineage)
- better battery
- 636 is a 660 running at a lower clock speed (even better use of battery)
- way cheaper
L.E.
- yes, the proximity sensor on the a2 seems a bit wonky, but not as bad as some reviews describe it
- updates are always a bit weird at first, android one is the fix for that (on both phones), only difference is the nokia had the time it needed to fix some already
- without a case yes, the a2 is slippery. use the included case from the moment you unbox it.
- yes, i own an A2, i love it and dont regret getting one, i recommend it to anyone looking to buy one.
- dev support...
*yes, it's very possible the a2 will get better unofficial support. however, and i don't know how i'm gonna say this without getting the full wrath of the forum thrown at me... that's irrelevant.
*you get a android one so you don't have to worry about the official support! you get one of these to be able to stay on the stock rom.
*either way you look at it, and in all honesty i really appreciate the work all the devs pull of unofficially for devices, thank you all and keep up the good work!
*however you cannot expect a handful of devs to be able to compete with google or big oem's. - again, this may seem like i am ungrateful, that's not the case. (only exception is when those oem-s choose to drop support). with android one they cannot do that even if they wanted to.
*both phones will get security patches and android updates for a minimum of 2 years. by then, regardless which one you buy you'll want a newer one that supports 6g or vr over lte or 5 cameras or a bendable screen. or whatever else gimmick they pull out of the hat by then. (if anything, i would be sorry for having to dump the nokia more)

I personally was debating between this or the 6.1 plus. I don't recall off hand what the deciding factor for me was. But I went with the a2 and it will be here Tuesday.

Nickdroid86 said:
I personally was debating between this or the 6.1 plus. I don't recall off hand what the deciding factor for me was. But I went with the a2 and it will be here Tuesday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
now that's a better comparison!
picked the a2 for the large screen and better cameras?
enjoy the new a2! and piece of advice... dont switch away from the standard android one for as long as you can. unlike the other xiaomi-s with miui, it's actually not a bad idea to stick to stock.
if you find the time share your opinions about it after a few days

Doing a little research and found on gsmarena u can not only compare phones, but also photo comparisons;
There are 3 categories it compares them in: Lowest ISO, Good Light, Low Light. There's some explanation of how they got their results, but they seem a bit vague (but at least they have SOME control they're doing).
An issue that comes up when comparing Cameras is some think it has to be an apples to apples comparison; Same ISO, Same Aperture, Same exposure time. They think that's the only way to have a true comparison.
But here's the thing; A comparison really should be 'take the best picture possible' for ea camera under the exact conditions and exact subject matter. That way, if one camera has pixel binning, it can use that. Or another camera has a wider aperture it can use that, etc.
But this does give 'some' idea of how the 2 phone cameras compare, it's pretty cool to fool around with, click in the design on the left to change what's focused on. Also note, the pictures do seem to indicate when a lense has a wider angle than another, noted by what's captured in the 'viewing box'.
https://www.gsmarena.com/piccmp.php3?idType=5&idPhone1=9140&idPhone2=9058

I think the build quality of A2 is very good but the metal back is really slippery. I have to use the TPU cover provided. After using the cover, the camera bump is not a big issue. The bump becomes much smaller.
I also considered Nokia 7 Plus but I think it's too bulky and heavy for me. As I don't need NFC and SD card because it's not my main phone, I can live with it.
The screen is vibrant and crisp. I really didn't expect that in such a low price phone.

Thank you all for your valuable informations. The price of Nokia 7 plus is around the same as a Pixel 2 (the smaller one) and I think I'll keep an eye on the market for a good deal. Pixel is more compact, has great camera and another 2 years of software updates.
Thank all again you for your time.

laviniu_c said:
now that's a better comparison!
picked the a2 for the large screen and better cameras?
enjoy the new a2! and piece of advice... dont switch away from the standard android one for as long as you can. unlike the other xiaomi-s with miui, it's actually not a bad idea to stick to stock.
if you find the time share your opinions about it after a few days
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will for sure. I love Android One software. I had it with my regular Nokia 6.1

Comparing 7 plus and a2 is like comparing apples to oranges (both are phones). In terms of price there is a stellar difference, if you can afford the 7 plus, better go for a pixel 1 (you said you wanted updates and camera), i personally bought a2 because it's cheap as hell and even if i'd be the richest person on the planet i would not pay more than 300 dollars for a phone.
Android is made for SD8XX, nomatter what these cheapsters hide under the lid (SD6XX) they will always hang, lag, overheat and die fast.
Component wise the a2 feels like a joke (sorry, copying the iphone x in this manner it's way beyond shame) and a toy for kids with the ir blaster (come on it's 2018) and the lack of nfc (if you're european you'll understand).
If you have the money buy the pixel 1, if you're a cheapster like the a2, go for it. I don't se the reason to buy the 7 plus.

strapabiro said:
Comparing 7 plus and a2 is like comparing apples to oranges (both are phones). In terms of price there is a stellar difference, if you can afford the 7 plus, better go for a pixel 1 (you said you wanted updates and camera), i personally bought a2 because it's cheap as hell and even if i'd be the richest person on the planet i would not pay more than 300 dollars for a phone.
Android is made for SD8XX, nomatter what these cheapsters hide under the lid (SD6XX) they will always hang, lag, overheat and die fast.
Component wise the a2 feels like a joke (sorry, copying the iphone x in this manner it's way beyond shame) and a toy for kids with the ir blaster (come on it's 2018) and the lack of nfc (if you're european you'll understand).
If you have the money buy the pixel 1, if you're a cheapster like the a2, go for it. I don't se the reason to buy the 7 plus.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android is made for SD8XX? Each phone is optimized for it's precessor, among other hardware. Some better than others. The sd660 in my mi a2 is hanging in there up against my sd845 in my s9+ and the sd835 in my pixel 2 xl..

Some Guys 24-Hour Review: Nokia 9 Pureview

PURPOSE
So 1st and foremost, the plan here is to give you my first 24-Hours experience with the Nokia 9 PureView compared to some other recent flagship phones I have tried. Granted, I have only used the Nokia 9 for about 24-Hours now and can say I have yet to fully break it in to find everything that may or may not be right / wrong with it. However, this will be a unbiased look and comparison. I'm neither a fanboy or sheep. No brand affiliation. Not a programmer either, just a pro-sumer Senior Member of XDA willing to get trolled, flamed, etc. for sharing a look at this phone. Hopefully, I can give "the everyday guy / gal look" without getting bogged down in stats, variables or benchmarks. Here goes...
MY BACKGROUND
No one special. Just a guy that likes the latest tech... phones being at the top of the list. I am a nerd. No doubt about that. I think anyone that knows about XDA probably is to some extent. No brand loyalty. I have had the privilege to try out the following phones:
1. Samsung S10 128GB / 8GB
2. Google Pixel 3 XL
3. Xiaomi Mi 9 Global Version 64GB / 6GB
4. iPhone XS Max
5. Xiaomi Mi 8 Pro Transparent Global
And probably some more, but these are the most recent. Does that make me qualified to make a review... Maybe. It does make me an idiot that likes new phones, though. I am always looking for something that meets my needs but also is a good phone. Currently with TMobile but have been with ATT, Verizon & Sprint at some point 20 years of using cell phones.
MY NEEDS
I drive about 45 miles each way everyday to work (yes, my work week is currently 7 days a week with a few occasional days off). So, with this in mind and where I drive. I need the minimum requirements:
1. Can Stream Music
2. Android Auto / Apple CarPlay Compatible w/ My 2018 Honda
3. An equalizer of some sort since I have only switch out my new cars speakers for better ones and don't plan on changing or adding a better sound system.
4. Decent pictures when needed
5. Relatively not laggy - will sometimes do some ROM-ing or some customization but since I tend to get rid of the phones quickly I try not to void warranties or make it too non-stock
THE COMPARISON
I am looking at my experience with the Nokia 9 and the other flagships under/around these requirements and some normal stuff like battery, screen, snappiness, camera & software. Here goes:
BATTERY
This has been a hot topic as of late as the larger phones continue to dominate this field (duh... larger phone mean more room for larger battery), however 3340 - 3800 mAh batteries seemed to be the "standard" for phones the size of the Nokia 9. During setup, from 100%, I tortured it setting up all my apps from scratch while on AC-wireless connection... then after all the app downloading, logging apps in and setting up further. I would say a good 5 to 6 hours of heavy use on Wifi drained it to 56% battery... decent performance given the amount of hammering on it I was doing. If normal day away from home is 12 hours with normal use, I feel it goes the distance... Is it a battery champ like the iPhone XS Max, no. Is it one of the better phones in its group like the S10 and Xiaomi Mi 9... you bet. I feel Android One has everything to do with it... More on Android One later.
SCREEN
At a 5.99" OLED at 18:9 aspect, I do feel that the forehead and chin on the phone is a little circa 2017 - 2018. With that said, I do feel it is more pleasant than "Mein Fuhrer" mustache going on with the Pixel XL 3... so much so I had to toggle no notchiness in the developer settings. The "Little Mac" swing and a miss punch out on the Samsung S10 is definitely not my cup of tea ... I found it annoying for one and the fact that they have graphics to swirl around it to make that much more noticeable is even more unsettling. As for the actual screen itself, the colors, brightness and clarity is awesome albeit small especially if you toggle down the screen size in settings... with that, it is a little difficult to manage photos properly with the size of screen. Not impossible but it can try your patience... but the screen itself is definitely better than the Xiaomi Phones and the Pixel 3 XL... the S10 still has the nicest screen but Samsung is getting me annoyed with the continue elongation of the phone... soon it will have a 76:5 aspect ratio... and will look like a Hershey Bar... btw Samsung, don't take design cues from a candy bar company... just sayin'
THE FINGERPRINT SCANNER
Probably the most controversial item on the Nokia 9. Yes it is not great.... I would place it below the scanner in the S10 & Xiaomi Mi 9 but better than the Mi 8.... Pixel 3 XL , you don't count with your don't rock the boat rear sensor... which of course is super fast. Honestly, this tech is not ready for prime time on any of these phones. The S10 comes with a plastic screen protector that makes it hard at first to register the scanner. I felt like I pressing my finger through the display. It did start working decently at about a 90% success rate, after programming fingers a few different time. The Nokia 9 is definitely 75% at best with just one scan of each of my thumbs... as mentioned in different threads, going to add a second scan of each thumb to see of that improves... I feel though that Nokia HMD will patch it to make it slightly better. With facial recognition available, although not as secure, helps for getting into the phone and really the finger print is only needed for the different apps requiring. There's a learning curve for sure to get it to work well but the same goes for the S10... Definitely, not the "deal breaker" everyone's trying to paint... it's the price of new technology
SOFTWARE
Android One to me, besides the Pixel 3 XL and the iPhone XS Max, is in a class of android that Samsung and Xiaomi can't touch. Vanilla Stock Android (for the most part) is a breath of fresh air. Everyone is creaming in their pants that One UI is so much better TouchWiz for Samsung. When your yardstick is the garbage that was TouchJizz, saying One UI is better without qualifying it further is not a great state of affairs. I personally did not find it "that much better" and was immediately looking to replace the launcher with the pixel launcher or similar iteration immediately. I feel as soon as they take away the google assistant screen to the left on the homepage, its a failure... that's of course is a personal preference. Bixby blows... kill him/her off Samsung... and have Bixby take Siri with them... Google Assistant, the swipe left news screen should NEVER be removed... if it happens, then google and android lose a customer for life... just saying... can't wait for timely security updates that will never come to Samsung. Xiaomi on their own do a great job to update. not much to say about their interface other than like most Xiaomi phones... notifications can sometimes be a pain to get to work right due to aggressive battery savings. Xiaomi also does not have the assistant screen to the left :crying: replaced easily with pixel launcher... the S10 was not as easy... could not just use pixel launcher from apkmirror and had to buy action launcher to mimic. The experience of as close to vanilla android on the pixel 3 xl and the nokia 9 just can't be touched. The 6GB phone rocking the 845 performs IMO better than the 855 8GB S10. Even the Xiaomi Mi 9 feels faster than the S10, 845 or 855.
CAMERA
Ok, camera... or as you all know cameras when speaking about any of these phones except you, you "one-eyed monster" pixel 3 xl. Although I haven't put it through the regiment of use cases, The Pentacular camera explosion that is the Nokia 9 is something I'm digging. If your looking for a point and shoot and send master class phone, get the iPhone 8 XS Max, Google Pixel 3 XL or the Xiaomi Mi 9 in that order. For me, Samsung always supposedly has good cameras in their phones but being a person that went to photography school, shot professionally and still cares about the pictures they take... the software non-sense that the S10 does with pixel smoothing, HDR, etc., etc. makes everything no genuine. The other phones too suffer from this at times as well. Don't get me wrong... Night Shot on the Pixel 3 XL is a feet of software magic... quite frankly, google needs to share this tech with other OEMs to make the sustainability of Android that much better. But if your looking for a genuine picture with great image detail and the ability to adjust in-box, the Nokia 9 excels. Yes, you pay for it in processing time. Are you going to want to take this phone to Monaco to caught a F1 car in motion... hell no, but if you want on par caliber shots with a DSLR with RAW Images on outdoor, standard to semi-low light situations... I don't believe there's a camera that compares... for the price... and that leads to...
VALUE FOR YOUR DOLLAR
Although not the cheapest phone, at $600 USD (pre-sale pricing, $700 now), you get a lot of phone for the dollar. The only better value is you just want to go the point, shoot and send route is the Xiaomi Mi 9 at about $530 USD. As always, Samsung at over $800 is not worth it. Not worth it for camera, not worth it for software, design, etc. Samsung Pay to me is the only thing Samsung uniquely has that I wish every phone did. The Pixel 3 XL which I was able to get around $550 was a good value too, but is barely worth it north of $600 buying new. Yes it has the best single shooting camera of practically any phone in its class, but I feel it doesn't run as smoothly as the Nokia 9 with the extra 2GB RAM increase. Of course, Apple cost to value is in a different class... yes the phone is $1100... but you'll also be able to probably sell it in 2 years for $600 as well. Try that with an android phone and you'll get laughed at that it retains 60% value after 2 years. The Nokia 9 packs the right amount of stuff to make it a great value IMO. It would be a slam dunk of course if it had a SD 855 as opposed to 845 but it would be probably $100 more expensive without adding much value. Android One is wonderful and a great choice. Wireless charging (OnePlus, you can't add wireless charging, are you just dumb or what at this point?) The 5 cameras is a great gimmick and works as advertised. Everyone expecting the world out of a $600 phone... it has a better camera then phones $200 - $500 more than what it costs. Can you shoot in a pitch black room... no? Why are you? You creep... you spying on me... it is a little weird
OVERALL
The Nokia 9 is not the phone for everyone. It's the phone for a person that want great value in a phone capable of taking amazingly detailed photos in its price category. Can you point, shoot, send... sometimes. Does the fingerprint reader work ok? Sometimes. Is it a phone pushing some new hardware envelopes in a cost affordable package? Always! The fingerprint reader hate is just that... hate without a 100% justification. Is it an annoyance, it can be... does it overshadow the value of this phone for those of us wanting more from their phone cameras, absolutely not. It is also by no means cutting edge on design... but it doesn't have to be sporting 5 cameras... chins and foreheads are nice when done tastefully (look at Angelina Jolie... maybe not 2019 Angelina maybe circa 2005 Angelina :highfive: ) It not an ugly phone is all I'm saying. Can the big boys in the cell phone game learn something from the once dominate Nokia (actually HMD) is that innovation is needed to remain relevant... think if Apple put 5 cameras on its next phone (would never happen) but what if it did. They'd be like "The Job-biness is Back at Apple" "Apple, the innovators again" and a multitude of other stupid headlines. Lets face it, this phone has a gimmick, a fairly great one but gimmick nonetheless. Will it catch on? Is it years ahead of its time? It just maybe. As always, this is just Some Guys 24-hour Opinion....... :good:

Great first 24 hour impressions

Camera question
Thanks for the review, mine arrives March 18 and looking forward to the camera. The processing time has been mentioned all over the place but I am still unclear as to whether the processing time prevents you from taking the next shot. For example, I would most likely always shoot raw with the full depth turned on. I am more interested in being able to take the next exposure quickly than looking at the last shot on the phone's screen. So, wondering how quickly one can take the next shot.
Thanks!

jhw61032 said:
Thanks for the review, mine arrives March 18 and looking forward to the camera. The processing time has been mentioned all over the place but I am still unclear as to whether the processing time prevents you from taking the next shot. For example, I would most likely always shoot raw with the full depth turned on. I am more interested in being able to take the next exposure quickly than looking at the last shot on the phone's screen. So, wondering how quickly one can take the next shot.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From experience it doesn't keep you from taking the next shot... I haven't done it with say more than 2 or 3 shots though... don't know how far it will let you go and tell you it can't process anymore. The processing is not unbearable either.... its just kids nowadays, if it isn't ready in 1.5 seconds, time to troll Nokia on a phone that is at least trying to change things up.... :victory:

Why is this phone getting crapped on so hard?

Every forum or YouTube videos I watch, all I see is people hating on this phone. I am actually pretty surprised, but how much negativity there is for the Pixel 4 line.
Android police poll, is heavily in the "hell no not buying" as #1
Two big tech forums I belong too, it's like 70% saying no way.
What's the deal?
I have a 64GB Clearly White 4XL on order. I go back to owning, the Nexus-One, Nexus S, Galaxy Nexus, Nexus 4, Motorola Nexus 6, Nexus 6P, Pixel 2 XL, and Pixel 3 XL. And yes I agree, the Pixel 4 XL could have been better, for the price at least do better than OnePlus, give us 8GB RAM, a larger battery of at least 4,000mAh, a brighter display for outdoor use, go easy n the large forehead bezel, like have the thickness if possible. But saying that, I buy the Nexus Pixel line for the software and monthly security updates.
I am interested in seeing the full blown real reviews this week.

For a few reasons:
1. Not priced like a Nexus / 3a
2. No fingerprint sensor
3. Lack of Ultrawide 3rd camera
4. Small battery
5. Removal of Ultrawide front facing camera
6. Removal of front facing speakers
7. Big top bezel for Soli
8. Soli gimmick
9. Removal of unlimited original photo upload
10. No big leap in camera hardware
11. No surprises since it was leaked all over the place
12. Only 6 GB of RAM (finally)
13. Only Snapdragon 855 instead of 855+ processor
Having said all that, I still have one on preorder.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Kusanagi Fire said:
For a few reasons:
1. Not priced like a Nexus / 3a
2. No fingerprint sensor
3. Lack of Ultrawide 3rd camera
4. Small battery
5. Removal of Ultrawide front facing camera
6. Removal of front facing speakers
7. Big top bezel for Soli
8. Soli gimmick
9. Removal of unlimited original photo upload
10. No big leap in camera hardware
11. No surprises since it was leaked all over the place
12. Only 6 GB of RAM (finally)
13. Only Snapdragon 855 instead of 855+ processor
Having said all that, I still have one on preorder.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3,9, and 12 are the disappointment for me. But that price thooooo, they could have gotten more attention if only they priced it right.
Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

Kusanagi Fire said:
For a few reasons:
1. Not priced like a Nexus / 3a
2. No fingerprint sensor
3. Lack of Ultrawide 3rd camera
4. Small battery
5. Removal of Ultrawide front facing camera
6. Removal of front facing speakers
7. Big top bezel for Soli
8. Soli gimmick
9. Removal of unlimited original photo upload
10. No big leap in camera hardware
11. No surprises since it was leaked all over the place
12. Only 6 GB of RAM (finally)
13. Only Snapdragon 855 instead of 855+ processor
Having said all that, I still have one on preorder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4 may be an issue for me but everyone's usage is different so I'll wait to see my personal results before I make a final judgement.
6 is a big one for me. Before the 4XL was officially announced, I was aiming to switch from my OnePlus 7 Pro so I could get front facing speakers. I always end up blocking the bottom speaker when watching stuff in landscape mode.
10 could be a reason for me but not too much since I know it's going to be better than my current OnePlus 7 Pro.
12 is similar to my point for reason 4 (wait until I can test myself). Users say Android 10 is RAM hungry so hopefully that 6 GB is enough.
13, Even though it's a slight upgrade, it would have been nice to get the + variant of the processor.
All other reasons I don't mind too much.
But yeah I do think the phone is getting a bit too much hate.

Honestly, just the fact that last year's Pixel 3 got discounted on Black Friday combined with the fact that the 4 isn't a massive leap in hardware / doesn't check some of the minimal requirements like 8 GB RAM, 855+, and Ultrawide camera (granted, there's not much more ground to cover these days) is reason enough for this phone to get tons of hate.
Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

Today Flossy admitted that he's been using the 3XL all along. He complained about that one much the way he will complain about this one in the full review. He'll says it's too expensive and many other things. Despite that he'll probably end up making it his work phone just as he did the previous Pixels. I wrote about this elsewhere but a search on Youtube will probably be able to find the dude from Unbox Therapy doing a pertinent video. He was in a suite in Vegas with a bunch of other young millionaires, Brownlee for example. The whole video was what is everyone carrying in their pocket, what was the phone they chose to use. The Pixel tied the iphone with few other phones mixed in. Brownlee had both. It wasn't because they were reviewing it, that was well past review time. It was the phone that millionaires who have tried everything and can afford anything decided they wanted in their pockets. There's a message there.
I do get it, the phone is too expensive for the specs, only a mother could love the looks, it's missing feature X and Y. But I'm sure that I'll enjoy using it in the day to day more than any other phone I could buy. It's always been that way. I couldn't make friends with the 3XL, the notch just killed it for me so I got a 6T. Nothing wrong with that phone but the next thing I knew I was picking up a 3AXL, should have been a downgrade, it was by the numbers. Wasn't long before I realized I wasn't going to use the 6T anymore and gave it to one of my grand kids. I've been using the 3A since.
Let the haters hate and enjoy your purchase. Flossy begin his quick look with talk of giving it a fair trial before he hung it, 5 minutes later he was giggling like a schoolgirl. The Pixel does that...

I agree with most here, the Pixel 4 XL could and should have been better;
- 8GB RAM
- 4,300mAh battery ( like the Note 10+ )
- Brighter display on par with the Galaxy S10 line
- Reduce the forehead bezel, to like half the size if possible, or actually do the Note 10 hole punch, and forget the faceID stuff, and keep the fingerprint scanner.
But it's funny, recent phones that I kept the longest last few years has been the Nexus or Pixel. Yeah I'd get bored with them, then I pick up the latest Samsung Galaxy whatever, and within in a few weeks already regret not having the Pixel. One time I went for the iPhone 7 Plus, when it was the hot new phone, and I was bored with my Nexus 6P, wow what a bad decision, not even a month later ran back to the Nexus, mainly because iOS is a Fischer Price kids OS, and totally blows, feels like a decade old operating system. Or I got the Note 5 at launch, was so happy to have that badass phone, but then I tried to turn it into a Nexus, deleting all the Samsung stuff, and downloading every Google app and setting defaults, and tried to make the Note 5 a Nexus Note LOL, where the phone I traded in for the Note 5 was the Motorola Nexus 6, and that thing was just so smooth, so cool, I regretted getting the Note
Point, the Nexus or Pixel phones, may be ugly, and not have the wham bam cool features, but using it day in day out, I just find them most comfortable and a joy. They are simple, they are minimalist, but they just work, and have a special thing about them.

Unfortunately, Google will never win because nothing is ever good enough for people and they will always complain about something.

techrider6262 said:
Unfortunately, Google will never win because nothing is ever good enough for people and they will always complain about something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This!
6GB RAM - My 3xl has 4 and I have ZERO problems running whatever. People need to learn that it's not necessarily about big specs, it's more about optimization. The 4's will run very smoothly with 6. Just because the S10 has 8, and the note has an option of 12 doesn't mean that does anything to speed up the phone.
128GB storage - This option is the same price as the s10 with that same storage. Maybe Google should add a third option with 256? Would that make some of you happy? It would be even more expensive though. But, again, same price as the s10.
Battery - My 3xl has a smaller battery and I get no less than 20+ hours with heavy use. Typically, I'll get 24+ hours on it. With the 90 Hz display being an as needed, I doubt the battery will last less than my 3xl.
Ultrawide camera - I DO have to agree here that it should have that. I know Google's camera's are amazing and this one will definitely be as good as the iPhone or Sammy's, but the ultrawide addition to camera shots would have been nice.
Removal of free original size photo backups - Sooo, Apple NOR Samsung, NOR any other OEM that I'm aware of ever offered this. I'm a system engineer and cloud architect. I'm here to tell you that the amount of storage and bandwidth required for unlimited originals for millions of users is INSANE. You have any idea how much this costs Google? There was no way that would ever last. It's $1.99 and $2.99 per month for the extra storage to keep original backups, plus you get other benefits. Also, grab Google Surveys app and you'll make more than the cost here by far every month. Get over it.
The front facing speakers - Definitely not happy about this. They could have fit the bottom speaker I bet. At least there's still stereo.
Anyway, anyone who wants to hate, please save us all from it and go elsewhere. This phone will be amazing and I'd put it up against ANY other smartphone. It'll be smoother and has release day updates and OS's.
Every year there are people trolling the new pixel (even the Samsung S7 edge though) threads for a couple months after release. It's incredibly stupid. If you don't like the phone, why are you here?

I haven't had time to watch the all reviews yet, but is the 4 XL battery life at least on par with the 3 XL's, or please don't tell me it's actually worse?
My Pixel 3 XL battery life is mediocre, not great, not horrible, I would like better, but certainly not worse, but could makedo with the same battery life. If the 4 XL has worse and less battery life than the Pixel 3 XL, then I need to cancel my preorder.

Zorachus said:
I haven't had time to watch the all reviews yet, but is the 4 XL battery life at least on par with the 3 XL's, or please don't tell me it's actually worse?
My Pixel 3 XL battery life is mediocre, not great, not horrible, I would like better, but certainly not worse, but could makedo with the same battery life. If the 4 XL has worse and less battery life than the Pixel 3 XL, then I need to cancel my preorder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm trading in my 3xl for the 4xl and I believe the battery life will be the same or better.
It has a larger battery so even the smooth display shouldn't hurt it too much.
The reviews so far today have trashed the 4 but pretty much everyone agreed that the 4xl should be fine.
I'm excited even if the changes are not dramatic from 3xl.

Zorachus said:
I haven't had time to watch the all reviews yet, but is the 4 XL battery life at least on par with the 3 XL's, or please don't tell me it's actually worse?
My Pixel 3 XL battery life is mediocre, not great, not horrible, I would like better, but certainly not worse, but could makedo with the same battery life. If the 4 XL has worse and less battery life than the Pixel 3 XL, then I need to cancel my preorder.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From The limited reviews and tweets that I have seen, it seems to be holding its own. Averaging between 4 and 6 hours of sot, from the initial reviews. But I'm sure that that will get better, over time, as it learns your usage. Definitely getting through a whole day though, and that's all that's important

I suppose a rooted 4 XL with the Franco kernel and his app Naptime, would extend battery life too?

Zorachus said:
I suppose a rooted 4 XL with the Franco kernel and his app Naptime, would extend battery life too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, these days the only reason I root is for custom kernels, and adaway

If the battery optimization time is the same as the 3XL then none of the reviewers have attained their final screen on time yet.

First reviews are out and they say battery life is horrendous, especially on the 4. I'll pass. Too expensive for too many compromises.

I have Android 10 running on my OG Pixel XL and have zero problems with it on an older chipset and 4 GBs, but I'm sure the extra 2 GBs will be beneficial/noticeable regardless.
I suppose the people complaining the loudest fall into 1 of the following 2 categories: trolls/iphone fanbois or people who don't feel the upgrade from the 3 (or any of the last gen phones) -> 4 is worthwhile. While that's a valid concern, it's worth noting that in recent years the yearly revision has become less substantial in recent years. I've held off for 3 years so going from the OG XL to 4 XL will be a massive improvement and something I'm greatly looking forward to.

msaitta said:
I have Android 10 running on my OG Pixel XL and have zero problems with it on an older chipset and 4 GBs, but I'm sure the extra 2 GBs will be beneficial/noticeable regardless.
I suppose the people complaining the loudest fall into 1 of the following 2 categories: trolls/iphone fanbois or people who don't feel the upgrade from the 3 (or any of the last gen phones) -> 4 is worthwhile. While that's a valid concern, it's worth noting that in recent years the yearly revision has become less substantial in recent years. I've held off for 3 years so going from the OG XL to 4 XL will be a massive improvement and something I'm greatly looking forward to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every phone I've pre-ordered, it always starts the same way. Everyone has something to complain about before they even have the phone in their own hands. After awhile, the complaining, for the most part, dies down, and people realize they love the device. What boggles my mind is, why come to the forum to complain? Nobody forces an individual to buy the phone, let alone pre-order it. Instead of focusing on the negative, focus on the positives.

I'm going to vent a little bit...
I'm an older guy (48) and I've been doing tech and gadgets for over 20 years now. I love this site and have participated on and off for many years. There is a problem growing online and it is only going to get worse. The system here isn't equipped to counter a growing troll problem, so we all fall prey to the effects. Every aspect of the online consumer space is being manipulated by "troll farms" and it is obliterating the signal-to-noise ratio in everything from entertainment to personal devices. Across the board, every device is eventually portrayed to have some fatal flaw rendering it inferior. When in actuality, it can adequately perform the primary task and may only fall short in a single aspect depending on a very specific need that varies individually by consumer.
I used to participate here rather frequently, then I began to only stop by during a device's release to gauge anticipations and thoughts. Every year the noise has increased. Not just here though, almost every forum beyond a certain size has the same issue. Online sources and articles are not immune and are populated with extremely vocal "detractors" in the comment sections, they rally with a frequency and voracity that no ordinary working person could maintain. The methods used by professional trolls is complex, and unfortunately, PROFITABLE.
Without giving too much personal information, my wife WAS a partner in one of the largest PR firms in the U.S., and I can tell you that troll farms and bogus self-cross-referring review sources are real. Her firm never participated, but they could see it coming and now there's an entire "dark" branch of marketing and PR that has arisen (some would say re-emerged) that essentially has the ethics model of the old cigarette industry with the agility of a modern digital campaign.
So if you're wrestling with specs, don't kill yourself searching for the ultimate device. You can do three things and I promise you'll be as happy as you can be.
If you really care about what you're going to buy ,to the point that it may cause a devastating case of buyer's remorse you should:
- First, make lists. Make a list of what's important, make a list of what specs make your tech-feels tingle, make a list of devices and start prioritizing and crossing off.
- Second, do a one afternoon search (not one second longer) of trusted reviews and ignore very tilted reviews.
- Third, and this is crazy... Go to a store, look at the physical functioning device and play with it.
This should be an extra separate step, but whatever, I'm not going back to edit...
- Buy what you want and be prepared to return it within 30 days and pay a restocking fee. Don't like the fee? Too bad, that's life... If you don't like something you may have to pay to return it, it's the world we live in.
This should be one more step too. Damn, I really messed up.
- Unless you are doing ongoing development NEVER revisit the topic of purchasing and specs. Go and enjoy your device and every once and a while keep up with updates and new features. There's a whole life to live out there, so don't waste your energy spec-gazing or griping with trolls.
Online communities are becoming less valuable to me every day because of the noise, it's unfortunate.

Dusty Rhodes said:
I'm going to vent a little bit...
I'm an older guy (48) and I've been doing tech and gadgets for over 20 years now. I love this site and have participated on and off for many years. There is a problem growing online and it is only going to get worse. The system here isn't equipped to counter a growing troll problem, so we all fall prey to the effects. Every aspect of the online consumer space is being manipulated by "troll farms" and it is obliterating the signal-to-noise ratio in everything from entertainment to personal devices. Across the board, every device is eventually portrayed to have some fatal flaw rendering it inferior. When in actuality, it can adequately perform the primary task and may only fall short in a single aspect depending on a very specific need that varies individually by consumer.
I used to participate here rather frequently, then I began to only stop by during a device's release to gauge anticipations and thoughts. Every year the noise has increased. Not just here though, almost every forum beyond a certain size has the same issue. Online sources and articles are not immune and are populated with extremely vocal "detractors" in the comment sections, they rally with a frequency and voracity that no ordinary working person could maintain. The methods used by professional trolls is complex, and unfortunately, PROFITABLE.
Without giving too much personal information, my wife WAS a partner in one of the largest PR firms in the U.S., and I can tell you that troll farms and bogus self-cross-referring review sources are real. Her firm never participated, but they could see it coming and now there's an entire "dark" branch of marketing and PR that has arisen (some would say re-emerged) that essentially has the ethics model of the old cigarette industry with the agility of a modern digital campaign.
So if you're wrestling with specs, don't kill yourself searching for the ultimate device. You can do three things and I promise you'll be as happy as you can be.
If you really care about what you're going to buy ,to the point that it may cause a devastating case of buyer's remorse you should:
- First, make lists. Make a list of what's important, make a list of what specs make your tech-feels tingle, make a list of devices and start prioritizing and crossing off.
- Second, do a one afternoon search (not one second longer) of trusted reviews and ignore very tilted reviews.
- Third, and this is crazy... Go to a store, look at the physical functioning device and play with it.
This should be an extra separate step, but whatever, I'm not going back to edit...
- Buy what you want and be prepared to return it within 30 days and pay a restocking fee. Don't like the fee? Too bad, that's life... If you don't like something you may have to pay to return it, it's the world we live in.
This should be one more step too. Damn, I really messed up.
- Unless you are doing ongoing development NEVER revisit the topic of purchasing and specs. Go and enjoy your device and every once and a while keep up with updates and new features. There's a whole life to live out there, so don't waste your energy spec-gazing or griping with trolls.
Online communities are becoming less valuable to me every day because of the noise, it's unfortunate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely this. It's pretty darn clear that some people in the crowd are trying to spike the punch. Don't obsess over the minutiae, don't allow yourself to be herded just because it seems like sentiment is tilted one way. Figure out what you want out of a phone (is an ultra-wide camera REALLY make/break for you, or are you only thinking that because XYZ said to?). Put your hands on the device by visiting a Best Buy or carrier store. And lastly, recognize that software learns your habits (battery life after a few days won't tell you what long-term battery life means) and also gets updated (features get added, functionality becomes improved).
Be aware of the echo chamber effect and do your best to make up your own mind about the worthiness of a phone.