It seems pretty obvious to me that many of the gushing reviews and hard sell on the net is from people who have received a free phone from Huawei, and don't want to jeopardise that position for future releases. I paid for mine, so I can provide an honest overview. I'm reasonably familiar with Huawei stuff, having used a P20 Pro since release.
Hardware:
Simply stunning. Little more to say. I agree with everyone who says that it's beautifully designed and clearly innovative in places. Downside to this is that it feels incredibly fragile. I'm pretty confident in predicting that it will not survive a drop onto any hard surface of more than a few centimetres without cracking or chipping. This is nothing that couldn't be said of pretty much any other manufacturer, though.
Comfort is subjective. I found the rounded edges unpleasantly sharp, but if you invest in a case that'll solve the problem. You will, however, be taking a big phone and making it bigger.
The fingerprint scanner is a neat idea, but stopped recognising my fingers within 12 hours of purchase. The face scanner worked as described, and I didn't have any issues with high contrast environments.
Speakers tinny as expected.
Fast charging very cool, definitely as fast as described. In face, the whole phone is lightning fast in most places.
Software:
"Unfinished" is perhaps the kindest way to describe it. "A bit ****", "lazy", "derivative", are other words, and "what the hell were you thinking" is a phrase you might find yourself applying. Dialog boxes where someone has forgotten to add padding around buttons, strange font size choices, notifications that run off the side of the screen etc etc.
It's as if it's been designed by someone with absolutely no sense of aesthetics, which is even stranger when you consider the simply sterling job that Huawei did on the hardware. It's very similar to iOS of a few years ago, which to be fair you might expect when you buy it. What's unforgivable though is that these lazy design choices conflict with Google's own standards, and it leaves a very conflicted operating system on the phone.
Backing up? Should I use Google or Huawei Cloud? I would use HC, but it experiences exactly the same problem that it does on the EMUI 9 beta on my P20 Pro, where it massively over-calculates the size of the photo gallery and just tries to sell you an upgrade. This is a £1000 phone. It deserves more than 2GB of cloud storage, Huawei. Huawei Calendar will conflict with Google Calendar. OK Google doesn't work. The whole EMUI launcher starts lagging after an hour or two of phone uptime, with elements "popping in" and frame rate drops when returning from an app.
Oh, and the gesture navigation. Jesus. Don't even go there. If you can get it to work, it'll just make you increasingly angry as your palm accidentally sends "back" commands, and the next moment inhibits the one you wanted to do.
Huawei still beholden to the operators with updates. Interestingly it downloaded a small network operator update when I got it, but it never installed, just hanging at 100%. Remember, this is supposed to be a premium device.
Camera:
I've seen a lot of criticism of the camera UI, and I don't really understand why. It works for me, and the Master AI thing was very good at picking out the correct scene. It's suffering from the lack of a monochrome sensor in the dark though, as my P20 Pro is consistently beating it in night shots. All phones should have a wide angle lens, and this is the bit I'll miss most.
Conclusion:
I'm returning mine to EE, and will be getting a Pixel 3 instead. The hardware will feel like a year back in time, but I just want the phone to work and not be beholden to Huawei to apathetically fix bugs. I feel quite sad about this, as it actually feels like huge potential squandered by extremely poor decision making. Had this hardware been fastened to a vanilla Android OS like the Pixel, they wouldn't be able to make enough to keep up with demand.
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
David Horn said:
It seems pretty obvious to me that many of the gushing reviews and hard sell on the net is from people who have received a free phone from Huawei, and don't want to jeopardise that position for future releases. I paid for mine, so I can provide an honest overview. I'm reasonably familiar with Huawei stuff, having used a P20 Pro since release.
Hardware:
Simply stunning. Little more to say. I agree with everyone who says that it's beautifully designed and clearly innovative in places. Downside to this is that it feels incredibly fragile. I'm pretty confident in predicting that it will not survive a drop onto any hard surface of more than a few centimetres without cracking or chipping. This is nothing that couldn't be said of pretty much any other manufacturer, though.
Comfort is subjective. I found the rounded edges unpleasantly sharp, but if you invest in a case that'll solve the problem. You will, however, be taking a big phone and making it bigger.
The fingerprint scanner is a neat idea, but stopped recognising my fingers within 12 hours of purchase. The face scanner worked as described, and I didn't have any issues with high contrast environments.
Speakers tinny as expected.
Fast charging very cool, definitely as fast as described. In face, the whole phone is lightning fast in most places.
Software:
"Unfinished" is perhaps the kindest way to describe it. "A bit ****", "lazy", "derivative", are other words, and "what the hell were you thinking" is a phrase you might find yourself applying. Dialog boxes where someone has forgotten to add padding around buttons, strange font size choices, notifications that run off the side of the screen etc etc.
It's as if it's been designed by someone with absolutely no sense of aesthetics, which is even stranger when you consider the simply sterling job that Huawei did on the hardware. It's very similar to iOS of a few years ago, which to be fair you might expect when you buy it. What's unforgivable though is that these lazy design choices conflict with Google's own standards, and it leaves a very conflicted operating system on the phone.
Backing up? Should I use Google or Huawei Cloud? I would use HC, but it experiences exactly the same problem that it does on the EMUI 9 beta on my P20 Pro, where it massively over-calculates the size of the photo gallery and just tries to sell you an upgrade. This is a £1000 phone. It deserves more than 2GB of cloud storage, Huawei. Huawei Calendar will conflict with Google Calendar. OK Google doesn't work. The whole EMUI launcher starts lagging after an hour or two of phone uptime, with elements "popping in" and frame rate drops when returning from an app.
Oh, and the gesture navigation. Jesus. Don't even go there. If you can get it to work, it'll just make you increasingly angry as your palm accidentally sends "back" commands, and the next moment inhibits the one you wanted to do.
Huawei still beholden to the operators with updates. Interestingly it downloaded a small network operator update when I got it, but it never installed, just hanging at 100%. Remember, this is supposed to be a premium device.
Camera:
I've seen a lot of criticism of the camera UI, and I don't really understand why. It works for me, and the Master AI thing was very good at picking out the correct scene. It's suffering from the lack of a monochrome sensor in the dark though, as my P20 Pro is consistently beating it in night shots. All phones should have a wide angle lens, and this is the bit I'll miss most.
Conclusion:
I'm returning mine to EE, and will be getting a Pixel 3 instead. The hardware will feel like a year back in time, but I just want the phone to work and not be beholden to Huawei to apathetically fix bugs. I feel quite sad about this, as it actually feels like huge potential squandered by extremely poor decision making. Had this hardware been fastened to a vanilla Android OS like the Pixel, they wouldn't be able to make enough to keep up with demand.
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the Mate 20 Pro annoys you in this way, the Pixel 3 will destroy you; It charges slow, has slow wireless charging, the camera crashes and lags the phone, it doesn't save a photo if you switch to another app after taking the photo, it closes apps playing in the background such as spotify/deezer when you want to use the camera, generally has awful memory management, it has very bad battery life, the hardware design is not worth the price, finally, navigating the Pixel 3 via the new gestures is the most infuriating thing about it.
David Horn said:
It seems pretty obvious to me that many of the gushing reviews and hard sell on the net is from people who have received a free phone from Huawei, and don't want to jeopardise that position for future releases. I paid for mine, so I can provide an honest overview. I'm reasonably familiar with Huawei stuff, having used a P20 Pro since release.
Hardware:
Simply stunning. Little more to say. I agree with everyone who says that it's beautifully designed and clearly innovative in places. Downside to this is that it feels incredibly fragile. I'm pretty confident in predicting that it will not survive a drop onto any hard surface of more than a few centimetres without cracking or chipping. This is nothing that couldn't be said of pretty much any other manufacturer, though.
Comfort is subjective. I found the rounded edges unpleasantly sharp, but if you invest in a case that'll solve the problem. You will, however, be taking a big phone and making it bigger.
The fingerprint scanner is a neat idea, but stopped recognising my fingers within 12 hours of purchase. The face scanner worked as described, and I didn't have any issues with high contrast environments.
Speakers tinny as expected.
Fast charging very cool, definitely as fast as described. In face, the whole phone is lightning fast in most places.
Software:
"Unfinished" is perhaps the kindest way to describe it. "A bit ****", "lazy", "derivative", are other words, and "what the hell were you thinking" is a phrase you might find yourself applying. Dialog boxes where someone has forgotten to add padding around buttons, strange font size choices, notifications that run off the side of the screen etc etc.
It's as if it's been designed by someone with absolutely no sense of aesthetics, which is even stranger when you consider the simply sterling job that Huawei did on the hardware. It's very similar to iOS of a few years ago, which to be fair you might expect when you buy it. What's unforgivable though is that these lazy design choices conflict with Google's own standards, and it leaves a very conflicted operating system on the phone.
Backing up? Should I use Google or Huawei Cloud? I would use HC, but it experiences exactly the same problem that it does on the EMUI 9 beta on my P20 Pro, where it massively over-calculates the size of the photo gallery and just tries to sell you an upgrade. This is a £1000 phone. It deserves more than 2GB of cloud storage, Huawei. Huawei Calendar will conflict with Google Calendar. OK Google doesn't work. The whole EMUI launcher starts lagging after an hour or two of phone uptime, with elements "popping in" and frame rate drops when returning from an app.
Oh, and the gesture navigation. Jesus. Don't even go there. If you can get it to work, it'll just make you increasingly angry as your palm accidentally sends "back" commands, and the next moment inhibits the one you wanted to do.
Huawei still beholden to the operators with updates. Interestingly it downloaded a small network operator update when I got it, but it never installed, just hanging at 100%. Remember, this is supposed to be a premium device.
Camera:
I've seen a lot of criticism of the camera UI, and I don't really understand why. It works for me, and the Master AI thing was very good at picking out the correct scene. It's suffering from the lack of a monochrome sensor in the dark though, as my P20 Pro is consistently beating it in night shots. All phones should have a wide angle lens, and this is the bit I'll miss most.
Conclusion:
I'm returning mine to EE, and will be getting a Pixel 3 instead. The hardware will feel like a year back in time, but I just want the phone to work and not be beholden to Huawei to apathetically fix bugs. I feel quite sad about this, as it actually feels like huge potential squandered by extremely poor decision making. Had this hardware been fastened to a vanilla Android OS like the Pixel, they wouldn't be able to make enough to keep up with demand.
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally a brave review , totally agree in every point... Had it for a week and i also dont get how reviewers givin it 10 of 10 Spot on mate
David Horn said:
Hope this helps. It's a really shame and I'm a bit sad to be sending it back, but the software drawbacks outweigh the hardware advances.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your feedback. I'm personally expecting bull**** software, it is EMUI after all. Not the unfinished part though.if I do end up returning mine , for the reasons you mentioned, I'll probably get the OnePlus 6t though. I have to give Theis years Pixel a hard pass. I'd even consider the LG V40 before the Pixel 3 xl.
Related
There will be no tl;dr here so if you're not into long rants this may not be the topic for you.
Smart phone manufacturers think we're raccoons. Or idiots. Possibly both. Idiotic raccoons for the purpose of this rant. I liked it when Apple was the only company that made premium but dumb phones. I liked that they only gave users 1GB to 2GB of RAM, because what were they going to use it up on? But now, EVERYONE is doing it. They take whatever level of affordable hardware they can get away with and then wrap it in aluminum/glass and send it out touting refinement of the brand. The only thing they "refined" was their ability to market things that shouldn't even be sold. These phones are supposed to be built by ENGINEERING teams and engineers are supposed to innovate and solve problems. And there are plenty of problems with the cell phone that need to be addressed. A few examples:
Texting and driving:
How is safety with these devices not at the top of the list for these companies? People cannot help themselves when it comes to looking at their phones. I did a quick survey of 10 cars coming onto my campus and 4 out of 10 were texting near a crosswalk. 40% as a sample of the population on my campus who would rather look at their phone than look out for people walking or riding their bikes. I guess barreling down the road at 60 mph doesn't give people the thrill it used to so now we're adding the thrill of driving with one hand busy and not looking. What an exciting time to be a pedestrian. For the love of all that is holy in this world use the GPS technology in the phone to detect speeds over 20mph and lock the screen until it stops. And if you need your GPS for directions you open the app before you move and it replaces your lockscreen blocking usage of the rest of the phone. And before someone jumps in here yelling, "government overreach!" cool your jets, there is a reason seatbelts are not an optional feature in your car. The CDC reports that 9 people, per day in the U.S., die because of distracted driving SOURCE: http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/distracted_driving/. I would bet that a few a of those deaths are people who aren't in the car at all, but walking somewhere and hit by someone who doesn't have the common courtesy to drive like their life, or other people's lives, depended on it.
Texting and walking:
If you do this you're probably going to be hit by the cars I mentioned above.
Thermal Throttling:
A genuine issue with modern smartphone processors. We are to the point where transistor traces are 14nm apart and yet our only method of heat dissipation is the wind. That's preposterous. Engineering majors are required to take thermodynamics and it's because heat is a real issue. But you're telling me that allowing heat to just be carried away passively is the best we can do in a several billion dollar industry? My laptop is 13mm thick and has an active fan when plugged in and a passive fan on battery power with 10 hour battery life pushing 1080P. Smartphone manufacturers just aren't doing it because it isn't sleek and sexy. And why do I think they should be cooled? This thing is supposed to replace every device in my living room and be near me 24 hours a day. Why is is that I get frame rate drops when I'm enjoying one of my favorite games? Oh yeah, it is because my processor decides that it gets too hot and stops running as fast as it was before. Oh, and that "advertised speed" you paid all that money for? Really only reaches its peak when you'e browsing the web or doing less intense activities. If any of our other serious electronics did that, we would throw them out. Your game consoles and desktop PC's run at full speed until they reach their thermal threshold and then shut off. They don't vary their speed in intensive tasks, they go hard until they can't go any further and they shut down. Hell if your microwave changed power settings while heating your dinner and you had to wait an extra 2 minutes to get your food you would have it replaced. In a world demanding more battery life, I demand better cooling and maintained top speeds for CPUs and GPUs while gaming.
Aesthetics:
While I never wanted an Apple phone I always respected that they decided to make an uncomplicated operating system, wrapped in a very professional package and served to the masses as "premium". What I don't understand is why innovation is being stymied in the name of "premium" feel? When people in this forum heard that the new Nexus 6P was going to have the Snapdragon 810 in it, they almost in unison said there was no way they would buy a phone with that processor. In fact, response was so bad that LG refused to put an 810 in any of their devices (bravo!). However, now that the 6P is out and it looks "premium" people are rescinding on their stance about how they won't buy one. It's like a phone being pretty is enough to forgive it for being partly broken on the inside. Now that I've written that, it seems like a deeper human issue, but back on topic we lamented as a community about how 2015 was the worst year for cell phones and that seems to be changing with those same people considering the 6P. And that isn't my only example. let's take the Galaxy Note 5/S6/6Edge+ (now with plus sign!) and pay attention to what they did in the marketing department. 3 phones, identical hardware, different cases. Identical hardware at astronomically more expensive prices because the screen is larger. But the processor in the S6, which came out early this year, is in a device that came out two months ago. How are consumers who have access to this information convinced that these devices are worth more of their money. Samsung just increased their profits because they didn't have to innovate, at all, and just pushed the same old board out with a high-end screen. Example 3!: LG G4 to the LG V10 is going to have the same processor as its predecessor. It is recycling hardware used within the same year by wrapping it in a different shell and calling it "premium." What makes me sad is that people are going to buy it. Probably thousands of people and probably some people who actually already have the G4. It boggles my mind that people see this happening and just jump on the train.
Software:
This is my last piece of rant and then I'm done. Being here I love Android; anyone that knows me knows that. I will defend it and what it stands for until it betrays me in the night and locks my sweet bootloader into oblivion while hiding its source code in the dark shadows of Google's labs. But let's get down to brass tacks: there is only one Android OS and that is pure Android on Nexus devices. If your manufacturer put their name somewhere inside your software you just landed at the mercy of not one, but two teams who decide if you can have access to an open source operating system update. How is it that people are just OK with buying phones that insist the consumer like what the manufacturer thinks is aesthetically pleasing? I thought the whole point of Android was to choose how your phone was supposed to behave yourself? Why is is that we bash Apple users for accepting whatever they are given whenever they can get it and we are stuck complaining about how Samsung/LG/HTC might never release their revisions of Android to our devices? Manufacturers paid for the hardware, they didn't pay a dime for the software other than what they pay their team to change it to their liking and then we are deprived of updates because it is too much work for the teams that they put in place themselves! How hard it is to just develop device trees and pass them to Google so that pure Android runs on everyone's devices? CM does it every new release and people who purchased software from for-profit manufacturers may never see Marshmallow. This is a real problem and I know that circumstances are different but Apple supports devices for an incredibly long time before dropping it from updates. The iPad 2 was released in 2011 and it is getting updates for iOS 9 the same time as everyone else. That is 4 years of support. And the Note 3/4 are one to two years old and almost two releases behind? Software updates should not be sold as a feature (especially not open source software), it is updated to protect consumers and their personal information from being compromised and misused through security patches and release fixes. And no, not everyone can ride the train forever, I get that. But a company dropping support because they didn't think their devices would last 5 years so they didn't hire the manpower to continue making releases sounds like a corporate issue, not a consumer issue. The only thing we can do is vote with our wallets. Oh, and case in point for updates for old devices: Google is dropping support for the Nexus 4 (2012) in Android 6.0 but maintaining security patch releases so people using that device are not left open to security vulnerabilities. If you needed a reason to support a manufacturer, it would be because they support you.
Rant over. I'm just tired of reading the same articles and comments on here, being disappointed by each subsequent phone release, let down by a huge lack of innovation by smartphone manufacturers, and let down by people who continue to be part of the trend and not fight it in some way. I'm also mad at people who text and drive--cut it out. If I had an answer to fix all of these things I would post them here, but I don't. There should be a way to change the status quo of the current hardware industry and push them to innovate as opposed to buying into their hardware subscriptions plans. Hopefully you know how much you pay a year to do all that Jump!ing and upgrading of those devices. We're tethered to a yearly fee and we just let it ride.
You don't have to leave your thoughts but I'm open to them. I'm open to your own personal rants about the topic. I'm open to ideas and solutions that haven't been presented and ways to fix things that we know are broken. This community is amazing for that because we have talented people here who aren't satisfied with the idea that what you get is what you are stuck with. They work hard and use their time to make something better. There has to be answers here and a way to fix the calamity that is the smart phone market. /rant
Nice rant. I am not developer but I am with you. Got a couple of rants my self. Me to brings apple as example to look at for tey updates and I would say reliability. Both of them matters to me because I don't root and tinker and I want my phone to work well an safe for a few a couple of years at least maybe 3-4 years. I know its xda dev page but the period I had iph6 in truly got to know what is reliable and consistent in respect. So if I pay £500 for a brand new phone I expect it to work accordingly or even £200 worth phone.
O am willing tonpay phone even more than I said but in return I want brilliance O was talking aboit just like buying iPhone.
I hate oersaturated screen tendency and in general pop out colour display trend but that come from my work because I retouch photos and work on calibrated monitor . first of all I prefer panelnto be natural then I can decide if I want it to be saturated or not. At least give that choose like sammy does , I think lg does but the screen still is from ideal. I envy those sharp panels that China OEMs mounting on the phones. Anyway nothing makes me more annoyed than temporarily trends. Give us an option to choose from!
Not much reading any review on here or articles looking at other tech websites it seems they simply making business out of t, yes they have to earn BUT don't take you reader for fool. It seems just because they have writing skills they can trick us into believe phone B is a an A class phone. Luckily many of us speak out fearlessly and with much furious and I liken a lot . there are people and a lot of them tech educated. Reviewers get easily tempted into era of electronic corruption and do what they asked to do. Trustworthy reviewer is the thing of the past-dinosour.
Just about it.... I think
nebulaoperator said:
Nice rant. I am not developer but I am with you. Got a couple of rants my self. Me to brings apple as example to look at for tey updates and I would say reliability. Both of them matters to me because I don't root and tinker and I want my phone to work well an safe for a few a couple of years at least maybe 3-4 years. I know its xda dev page but the period I had iph6 in truly got to know what is reliable and consistent in respect. So if I pay £500 for a brand new phone I expect it to work accordingly or even £200 worth phone.
O am willing tonpay phone even more than I said but in return I want brilliance O was talking aboit just like buying iPhone.
I hate oersaturated screen tendency and in general pop out colour display trend but that come from my work because I retouch photos and work on calibrated monitor . first of all I prefer panelnto be natural then I can decide if I want it to be saturated or not. At least give that choose like sammy does , I think lg does but the screen still is from ideal. I envy those sharp panels that China OEMs mounting on the phones. Anyway nothing makes me more annoyed than temporarily trends. Give us an option to choose from!
Not much reading any review on here or articles looking at other tech websites it seems they simply making business out of t, yes they have to earn BUT don't take you reader for fool. It seems just because they have writing skills they can trick us into believe phone B is a an A class phone. Luckily many of us speak out fearlessly and with much furious and I liken a lot . there are people and a lot of them tech educated. Reviewers get easily tempted into era of electronic corruption and do what they asked to do. Trustworthy reviewer is the thing of the past-dinosour.
Just about it.... I think
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think a lot of screen oversaturation stems from consumers responses to reviews and critic description of what the "perfect screen" is. Consumers will agree not based on personal opinion and then OEMs try to emulate the visuals that type of screen renders.
Or Samsung dictates everything since they are the majority seller of device screens.
Thanks for adding to, I appreciate knowing what about the industry bothers other people.
AlkaliV2 said:
I think a lot of screen oversaturation stems from consumers responses to reviews and critic description of what the "perfect screen" is. Consumers will agree not based on personal opinion and then OEMs try to emulate the visuals that type of screen renders.
Or Samsung dictates everything since they are the majority seller of device screens.
Thanks for adding to, I appreciate knowing what about the industry bothers other people.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes indeed. OEM's will push trends that appeal to the mass and mass wants and craves for an eye popping colour utterly unnatural and repelling to my eye.... and when they look at the same image on the computer monitor it suddenly lost all it it's magic and now they want to go back to their phone. My background is related to colour accurate calibrated monitor and this must be the reason I don't see amoled technology so appealing to me but again hundreds of millions of iphone users are perfectly satisfied and not only but happy.
If we take Android market we have bloggers, tech websites, youtube channels. media that are constantly praising that unnatural deviation in colour. Another myth is those magic amoled blacks! No they are not great they and in fact bad because there are no shadow gradient it's just a black blob while IPS panel can't have those perfect 0 pitch blacks but what it can do is gradient from the darkest shadow to the lighter shadow. Watch a film on your phone and pay attention to the dark scene you will know what I mean.
There were 2 ocassions in my life after going round and round in circles, chasing my perfect phone I heard hundred of times : oh this amoled screen is super, it has super accurate colours like never before and though I saw that super duper screen my self I could not help my self but to go again to shop and see if there was anything I missed in my judgment. All I wanted is to run basic mode on a S6 BUT whites on the basic mode looks dull and yellowish while in wider gammut mode it pops out like never before. I checked all the possible panels in the shop. S6 S6+ S6 edge S6 edge + . Yes I am purist and it is hard living for me. I think I am just wasting time in my life My point is your mind will most likely be brainwashed and you will buy perfect amoled screen.
Indeed Samsung will push anything that is related in visual agenda because everyone knows Samsung TV and they awesome. Easy to follow and trust trendy technology or product.
I am so happy Moto choose IPS panels this year because they look marvelous a little on the saturated side but nothing overblown like other OEM's.
I don't try to sell anything I said here to anyone if you prefer other panel that is your choice and I don't have a problem with it.
Battery life
While most manufactures claim weeks of operation the truth is often obscure and bent.
I like your rant.
And I agree with all of it.
Some companies will deny overheating and shove their source code 50 miles deep into their butt.
Some devices are so pretty but have horrible hardware other are so ugly but have brilliant hardware.
I'm so sick of people just blindly buying devices that are a total joke.\
On the note of displays.
It's all pointless unless we have hardware that can drive a 50000000000000000000000K display where 90% of the pixels are so small they could never be seen.
Rant mode OFF
Hey, apologies if this is too long of a post. Was hoping to share my recent experiences.
Background: Was on contract with a carrier using the XS Max. Needed to switch carriers, so sold iPhone to cover the contract balance. Switched carrier and got the Mate 20 Pro. After a week returned the Mate 20 and got a Note 9. And now I'm here I guess posting with the Note 9.
Mate 20 Pro: I ended up returning it because my top half of the screen had a red tint to it and the center part of the display had greenish colour to it. For the record, I've owned a Mate 8 in the past. To my surprise, when I started using the Mate 20 Pro I could immediately tell that (a) it's a beautiful and fast device, and (b) that EMUI haven't changed one bit... Whether it's android 7, 8, or 9 -- frustration levels remain high. I hope no one gets me wrong, I love Huawei. Kinda always did. I love the fact that they copy everything they can from Apple and other manufacturers. That's a good thing because it means its users can enjoy awesome features like 3D face unlock (which worked great for me! I think they implemented it really well) or no headphone jack (I'm joking), or even new features like in display finger print scanner or having the Google now integrated to the launcher, or what about the small zoomed in screen when you're moving the typing cursor? Nice touch! But the truth is, you're gonna be googling for hours trying to understand why you can't receive notifications or so many other things that are unique to EMUI. Even me being a user that is already very familiar with EMUI, I still couldn't figure out why I'm not receiving notifications until I wake up the screen in the morning, or why I can't set a live lockscreen wallpaper, or why am I getting punished for switching to Nova Launcher? Or why can't my DPI settings apply to the notification shade. No kidding the battery is awesome, nothing is allowed to run in the background and gets closed after you open a few apps. Also, the device is not as smooth as people make it seem. You do notice lag, and sometimes in places you wouldn't expect. For example, when YouTube plays as PIP, there's no way you're not gonna notice lag everywhere. Did that make me return the phone? No. But the screen issue did. And while returning, I decided to give the Note 9 a chance.
Note 9: Overall, the Note 9 has a better screen, slightly worse cameras, worse facial recognition, no notch! Worse one handed usability, slightly worse battery, much better speakers, a headphone jack! Comes with headphones you'll actually try to use, has a s-pen (not useful for me), AOD that is actually useful, and a better software experience. Do I hate Bixby? Yes. Am I able to remove Bixby and use nova launcher with zero problems? Yes. The battery probably gives me an hour less screen on time. But remember, this is with all my regular apps refreshing in the background and multitasking that keeps much more apps ready to go in the background. The screen is also noticibly better with better viewing angles and better implementation of how the rounded corners look. This phone actually seem to perform better as well. I don't care about Android versions or what nanometer is the processor... All I care about is my experience using the phone. And with the Note 9 it's simpler and smoother. Here for example, the phone doesn't lag when YouTube is in PIP mode or lags less when I'm double pressing the multitasking button (quick app switching). Having no notch allows me to see all my notification icons in the status bar, which is awesome. In terms of user and multimedia experience, this device delivers.
Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind in the future. As it stands now, the thought of returning this device and getting another Mate 20 Pro (potentially with a better screen) haven't crossed my mind...
Returning this device and getting another Huawei.
Samsung Note9 is not for you.
Was in the same boat had both, if I could just keep the facial unlock and cameras from the 20
both iris scanner and face unlock are obsolete coming of congress in Barcelona in 3 weeks, all flagships will greet us with punch hole cameras and in display scanners , same for P30 series on 31st march, with trend to get rid of that front facing camera gimmicks at the end of 2019. As for Note 9 vs Mate 20 pro there's absolutely no contest here to speak of, every professional reviewer concluded that current quad bayer sensors are lackluster compared to 12mp offerings which was to be expected.. hype train is pretty much the only thing Huawei has, and it lost momentum with poor processing and worst software experience on android
Hello, i also had the Mate 20 Pro since day one, and i had the famous LG screen problem , i had to return it and get another one, but after few weeks i couldn't stand the screen that is sooo edged, it was annoying to me, also the weird screen size, it looked so long and not even while watching videos, after all i had to return it and get the Note9 and i never looked back, i found Note9 screen to be a lot better, Always on display with full features is awesome unlike the Basic AOD on the Mate 20 Pro, and the One UI/ Android 9 update made the Note 9 even better.
Cheers
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:
Hi everyone,
Like many people out there, I'm the proud owner of a Pixel 2 XL which I love. I pre ordered and received a Pixel 4XL last week, but I haven't opened it yet out of... doubt.
I have always liked Google's phone (have had one of them for the last couple years, since the Nexus era), and I was really looking forward to get the Pixel 4XL this year, however, as many of you know... we are missing:
A fingerprint scanner: I could just use the Mod to use Face unlock on all apps, so fine, I can live without it.
Photo/video backup: I don't mind paying, but backing up videos is not going to be a $2 a month deal...
A wide-angle lens: My Pixel 2 doesn't have it either... so ok?
A real 90hz screen support without killing battery by forcing it
I'm getting tired of trying to convince myself that I should keep it, specially after I started comparing it to the OnePlus 7 Pro... which has a similar price point.
Should I just give up? Help me find reason to keep it, I have always cared more about the experience more than the hardware specs but this time it's getting tough.
Kennyeni said:
Hi everyone,
Like many people out there, I'm the proud owner of a Pixel 2 XL which I love. I pre ordered and received a Pixel 4XL last week, but I haven't opened it yet out of... doubt.
I have always liked Google's phone (have had one of them for the last couple years, since the Nexus era), and I was really looking forward to get the Pixel 4XL this year, however, as many of you know... we are missing:
A fingerprint scanner: I could just use the Mod to use Face unlock on all apps, so fine, I can live without it.
Photo/video backup: I don't mind paying, but backing up videos is not going to be a $2 a month deal...
A wide-angle lens: My Pixel 2 doesn't have it either... so ok?
A real 90hz screen support
I'm getting tired of trying to convince myself that I should keep it, specially after I started comparing it to the OnePlus 7 Pro... which has a similar price point.
Should I just give up? Help me find reason to keep it, I have always cared more about the experience more than the hardware specs but this time it's getting tough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love mine, not concerned with reviews. It's fast, fluid and Android 10 runs as intended. Face Unlock is awesome. Soli gestures are cool and promising for the future I think. Camera is crazy good. 90hz works well, not sure why you'd say not real 90hz. You can force it on and it's sweet. New Assistant is awesome. It's the first phone I've ever enjoyed running stock. Everyone is different, but this is my favorite phone since Nexus 6 so far.
Can't convince you, sorry. I sent mine back. Honestly though I'm waiting till a price drop and by then maybe they will clean up the 90 hz and other minor issues ie apps not supporting face unlock.
As far as battery life goes, it lasted long enough for me. So not really concerned about that.
I would have opened that puppy, and run it through the ringer for a week. You have 2 weeks to return it...well maybe just a week now, but really, how else are you gonna know? I don't pay much attention to reviews, I buy what I like. I love my P2XL as well, but the experience for me is so much nicer than the 2, except for the FP sensor. But oh well, that's likely going to be the norm from here on out. As the saying goes.....fortis Fortuna adiuvat
:good:
Yeah you wasted a week with it just sitting in the box. Open and use it. How can you decide without giving it a try especially if you already have it right there.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
With Pixel it's not about the specs, it's about how it works every day. Some people forget that, we use phones to get stuff done, not to attain the biggest number in stat columns. As said above, give it a try, send it back if your not feeling the love. Unless of course you know you could put the ching to better use and purchased only because you lusted your way into clicking the buy button after getting a few pints in your belly.
krabman said:
With Pixel it's not about the specs, it's about how it works every day. Some people forget that, we use phones to get stuff done, not to attain the biggest number in stat columns. As said above, give it a try, send it back if your not feeling the love. Unless of course you know you could put the ching to better use and purchased only because you lusted your way into clicking the buy button after getting a few pints in your belly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Completely agree here, what are some of the features that are Pixel-specific? I can only think of Soli support, better google assistant (but I feel like this will be brought to all devices later?) and better photos. But I'm assuming that there are ROMs out there that port most of the Pixel features?
Like I said, I have been using Google devices only, so I don't have a reference of what I would be missing, that's mainly the reason I posted this
I had the 3 XL and I'm not looking back. Sure I miss the fingerprint sensor at times but everything else is sweeter.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
I had the 2xl and loved it but haven't doubted the switch to the 4xl at all. It's a far superior experience.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
Kennyeni said:
Hi everyone,
Like many people out there, I'm the proud owner of a Pixel 2 XL which I love. I pre ordered and received a Pixel 4XL last week, but I haven't opened it yet out of... doubt.
I have always liked Google's phone (have had one of them for the last couple years, since the Nexus era), and I was really looking forward to get the Pixel 4XL this year, however, as many of you know... we are missing:
A fingerprint scanner: I could just use the Mod to use Face unlock on all apps, so fine, I can live without it.
Photo/video backup: I don't mind paying, but backing up videos is not going to be a $2 a month deal...
A wide-angle lens: My Pixel 2 doesn't have it either... so ok?
A real 90hz screen support without killing battery by forcing it
I'm getting tired of trying to convince myself that I should keep it, specially after I started comparing it to the OnePlus 7 Pro... which has a similar price point.
Should I just give up? Help me find reason to keep it, I have always cared more about the experience more than the hardware specs but this time it's getting tough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went with the 4xl over the OnePlus 7 pro, I honestly couldnt be happier. I am coming from the pixel 3a as well.
Photo and video back up is still free, its just not in original quality from what I understand.
Why is everyone blaming google for app developers not incorporating face unlock into their apps. Google literally has no control over who adds face unlock.
I agree about the camera, this is also my least looked at feature.
I have the 90hz forced and I have zero issue with battery life on my xl. Battery life is subjective to the user and all reviews have zero real world use of battery life after a single week.
This is an amazing device and I really wish people would stop paying attention to these youtube reviewers who make money based off of how many clicks they get. We all know bad press and harsh titles get the most clicks. People also need to understand that a reviewer who is paid to never put down the phone is not real world use, nor does it reflect actually battery life based on ones usage.
I guess if you want the internet to tell you how to spend your money, I would just send it back. Seems like youtube has already made up your mind for you, seeing as how its been in a box for a week. When you could have opened it and made the choice yourself already.
Kennyeni said:
Completely agree here, what are some of the features that are Pixel-specific? I can only think of Soli support, better google assistant (but I feel like this will be brought to all devices later?) and better photos. But I'm assuming that there are ROMs out there that port most of the Pixel features?
Like I said, I have been using Google devices only, so I don't have a reference of what I would be missing, that's mainly the reason I posted this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lets see; the easiest way might be to point out a few Pixel moments during my day today. This morning I needed to send a picture of a document as a PDF. I pulled out my trusty Pixel and took a picture of it with lens which will recognize a document and offer the option to create a pdf and send as such and I was done. Later I was getting driving directions from my daughter to a local cafe which had just opened and wasn't showing on Maps. She just moved into the place but hasn't got the road names down yet so I used the recorder to get verbal directions of the "turn right at the big yellow house" kind and referenced the recording on the way. I didn't help cook dinner which made me the dishwasher when the much maligned Soli stepped in to show that it does have a use case. I've recently discovered Electronica, mostly trance, some of it I love and some of it, well, I hate. While washing dishes I swiped away several songs of the uh uh variety without having to do the quick dry off of hands. Very convenient. A general thing; I used the assistant many times trying to keep up with the Seahawk game along with a few random tasks. I find the quicker response of assistant to be a big improvement which for me was unexpected, I never felt bothered by the delay before but I find I'm liking not having it now. I also took some shots of my fast moving grandkids and the motion shot did fetch me a couple shots that were better than what I would have got without it. I also didn't get a single spam phone call today which is just like yesterday and probably tomorrow, Goog is getting really good at blocking which is much appreciated. So that's what my Pixel did for me today.
Some of those features have trickled down to previous Pixel devices or were already there and some of them have been ported over to OnePlus. I own one of those so I keep up with that side. Take the camera, they already have a port but it doesn't work as well there. It didn't with the 7, didn't with the 6T, the 6, etc. There are always missing features or bugs or something, it never just works. Same with grabbing the dialer. You get some things to work, sometimes you get all of them to work but they never all work all the time. You really do get some of the goods to work properly but you wont be recreating a Pixel experience on the OP device of the day, it's been this way all along from the first Pixel till now. This isn't to say the OP isn't a good device or that you shouldn't buy it but you shouldn't buy it thinking you're going to grab all the Pixel stuff in the ROMs, that isn't going to happen. Some of it you'll get and it works, some you get and it's buggy and/or partially works, and some you wont get at all.
Going back to the start, it's about the experience with Pixel. It's nothing revolutionary or exciting, just the little things like hearing a song you don't like and swiping it away in the middles of dishes. Seeing your grandchild blink right as you press the button but you got the picture anyways. These Pixely things don't make great bullet points but they make for a satisfying device to own.
You'd be surprised. But there was a test out there with the OnePlus 7t with the Snapdragon 855+ vs the pixel 4 with the Snapdragon 855... processing video. And the pixel 4 killed the OnePlus somhow with a slower processor and less ram. It really isn't all about the specs. This pixel 4 feels very well optimized. And let's be honest, 1+ cameras aren't as good as the pixels... Plus I'm sorry but certain things on the OnePlus when I had it, completely sucked and made it feel cheap, like the microphones, the vibration motor.
Just open up your pixel 4 and enjoy it. If you had the 2, you will love it. Plus all these silly reviews about the phone having bad battery life is ridiculous, I have force 90 on and I'm getting a full day very easily, as are many others on here.
I have had the 4XL for just over a week now and I am conflicted myself. In the UK we do not get no questions asked returns (did not buy direct from Google) so I'd have to sell it on if I decide not to keep it, I am on the fence though TBH and I think there are 3 main things that are bugging me:
- The build, some seem to like the industrial design but every time I pick it up it just feels underwhelming. Honestly I think it feels a little cheap, maybe it is those plastic look edges.
- No ultra-wide
- Storage needs managing. I have the 128gb, it is just about enough but I have to think about what I put on there. With larger storage or an SD card I can have all of my music plus some local FLAC files, Netflix or Amazon for my commute and not even think about it. 256gb rather than 128gb solves this
The thing is that there still isn't a droid that ticks all of my boxes so for me at least it is pick your compromise, I also have a Mate 20 pro (resale so low I have kept it) and I really really like it even if the OS is a little rough around the edges and the camera slightly behind the Pixel and new iPhones now. Having had both of the Note 10s and the S10 I am leaning towards thinking that Samsung maybe still offer the best overall droid package. OnePlus are so so close now though!
Google have IMO had an open goal for the last 2 years, and just do not seem able to finish the job
Lets see; the easiest way might be to point out a few Pixel moments during my day today. This morning I needed to send a picture of a document as a PDF. I pulled out my trusty Pixel and took a picture of it with lens which will recognize a document and offer the option to create a pdf and send as such and I was done. Later I was getting driving directions from my daughter to a local cafe which had just opened and wasn't showing on Maps. She just moved into the place but hasn't got the road names down yet so I used the recorder to get verbal directions of the "turn right at the big yellow house" kind and referenced the recording on the way. I didn't help cook dinner which made me the dishwasher when the much maligned Soli stepped in to show that it does have a use case. I've recently discovered Electronica, mostly trance, some of it I love and some of it, well, I hate. While washing dishes I swiped away several songs of the uh uh variety without having to do the quick dry off of hands. Very convenient. A general thing; I used the assistant many times trying to keep up with the Seahawk game along with a few random tasks. I find the quicker response of assistant to be a big improvement which for me was unexpected, I never felt bothered by the delay before but I find I'm liking not having it now. I also took some shots of my fast moving grandkids and the motion shot did fetch me a couple shots that were better than what I would have got without it. I also didn't get a single spam phone call today which is just like yesterday and probably tomorrow, Goog is getting really good at blocking which is much appreciated. So that's what my Pixel did for me today.
Some of those features have trickled down to previous Pixel devices or were already there and some of them have been ported over to OnePlus. I own one of those so I keep up with that side. Take the camera, they already have a port but it doesn't work as well there. It didn't with the 7, didn't with the 6T, the 6, etc. There are always missing features or bugs or something, it never just works. Same with grabbing the dialer. You get some things to work, sometimes you get all of them to work but they never all work all the time. You really do get some of the goods to work properly but you wont be recreating a Pixel experience on the OP device of the day, it's been this way all along from the first Pixel till now. This isn't to say the OP isn't a good device or that you shouldn't buy it but you shouldn't buy it thinking you're going to grab all the Pixel stuff in the ROMs, that isn't going to happen. Some of it you'll get and it works, some you get and it's buggy and/or partially works, and some you wont get at all.
Going back to the start, it's about the experience with Pixel. It's nothing revolutionary or exciting, just the little things like hearing a song you don't like and swiping it away in the middles of dishes. Seeing your grandchild blink right as you press the button but you got the picture anyways. These Pixely things don't make great bullet points but they make for a satisfying device to own
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice explanations
Demolition49 said:
You'd be surprised. But there was a test out there with the OnePlus 7t with the Snapdragon 855+ vs the pixel 4 with the Snapdragon 855... processing video. And the pixel 4 killed the OnePlus somhow with a slower processor and less ram. It really isn't all about the specs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://youtu.be/PkVW5eSXKfw
Here's the video of anyone's curious.
Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk
arsenal74 said:
- The build, some seem to like the industrial design but every time I pick it up it just feels underwhelming. Honestly I think it feels a little cheap, maybe it is those plastic look edges.
- No ultra-wide
- Storage needs managing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. The build has been complimented alot this year for feeling more premium. Also do you slap a case on your phone? If so then that point is kind of out the window anyway. But I understand it is a subjective thing. There may even be way a way to strip that anodizing off the borders if you are the creative type.
2. Honestly even if it had an ultra wide, you cannot use it in anything but the best lighting conditions because of the aperture. Just look at the iPhone photos in anything but perfect lighting. You are much better off if you want wide angle shots using a moment lens on your main snapper to get a proper shot... Which is exactly what I have and do. This would apply to all phones with those different lenses. I do find the tele useful though because I can actually take tele on tele shots with my zoom lens and get about 4x optical zoom, which is absolutely fantastic.
3. Storage I agree you can get in to a dead end if you like large apps and music stored on your phone locally... But if you stream and use the cloud for photos it is very doable.
I'm not going to try and convince you, but I am happy with both the 2XL and the 4XL. Each for their own reasons. There's gains and losses no matter which one you pick. With that said, I'm content with my 4XL, and I made reasons to justify the 4.
My reasons for keeping the 4; my son gets my 2XL, and I get new hardware.
I went from 2XL to 4XL and won't look back at all. The Camera has gotten me several great shots already and it just feels smoother and faster.
I'm new to the pixel family. I was with Samsung Galaxy when I had my first major brand-name phone then went to lg. Now a happy owner of the p4xl to me this phone is great great camera but lg cam 8s better hardware wise but software wise p4xl has it. I think with all the complaints I keep hearing and reading about the cam, I feel Google focus on so and software more then anything and they did a great job. Plus you get updates faster then any brand out there.. I hear people complaining also about how cheap the phone feels but this phone feel heavier then I'm use too. I feel the ones who are really complaining are not appreciative of where Google's trying to go to in the future where just thinking about hardware and how each phone out me to another phone or another competitor but I feel good doing this right sore for it was hardware wise and it's just going to get better I think but that's for a first time Google pixel 4 user experience
If you need convincing I would say you don't want it. Just my opinion but I usually know when I want to keep or return something.
Hello everyone, hope the weekend is going well.
A Huawei user here (current devices Mate 9 and Mate 10 Pro), I'm at the verge of purchasing ROG II with 12GB/512GB from AliExpress.
I've gone through this forum & seen a lot of comments. TBH, I want a powerful gaming phone and out of all the options (redmagic 3s, blackshark 2 pro, IQOO pro, Nubia Z20, OnePlus7T etc), the air triggers are the pulling factor for me using a phone to game without always having to use accessories (maybe in a meeting or somewhere I have to look serious:laugh
I noticed some complaints on dust getting into the wide angle camera. Now that's a serious issue for me being in a Sub-Saharan environment and planning to use the phone for the next 3 years or so. Is it batch-specific or general as buying from AliExpress I doubt if there's warranty.
Also, display quality (regardless of 90Hz/120Hz) is very important to me. I love puchy amazing oled displays like the the top-tier Samsung S10+, iPhones and OnePlus7T
I believe none is in the best position to advise than you guys here already with the device.
What do you think?
ROG II?
Or any other one....
Thanks
zayidhs said:
Hello everyone, hope the weekend is going well.
A Huawei user here (current devices Mate 9 and Mate 10 Pro), I'm at the verge of purchasing ROG II with 12GB/512GB from AliExpress.
I've gone through this forum & seen a lot of comments. TBH, I want a powerful gaming phone and out of all the options (redmagic 3s, blackshark 2 pro, IQOO pro, Nubia Z20, OnePlus7T etc), the air triggers are the pulling factor for me using a phone to game without always having to use accessories (maybe in a meeting or somewhere I have to look serious:laugh
I noticed some complaints on dust getting into the wide angle camera. Now that's a serious issue for me being in a Sub-Saharan environment and planning to use the phone for the next 3 years or so. Is it batch-specific or general as buying from AliExpress I doubt if there's warranty.
Also, display quality (regardless of 90Hz/120Hz) is very important to me. I love puchy amazing oled displays like the the top-tier Samsungs, iPhones and OnePlus
I believe none is in the best position to advise than you guys here already with the device.
What do you think?
ROG II?
Or any other one....
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have been decorating in my house for the past month, dust everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE! (see screenshots), and I haven't got dust in the camera with my phone on me all the time... So it could've just been a rare case or cases, I can't remember if it was only one user...
Also, the latest update allows you to customise the air triggers for gradual slide eg. when drifting cars or running /walking in a game. Pretty nifty... Again, see screenshots.
The only thing I think you might be downgrading on is the cam quality. I can't say from experience as I never had those phones to compare with...
Hope that helps...
reg66 said:
Well, I have been decorating in my house for the past month, dust everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE! (see screenshots), and I haven't got dust in the camera with my phone on me all the time... So it could've just been a rare case or cases, I can't remember if it was only one user...
Also, the latest update allows you to customise the air triggers for gradual slide eg. when drifting cars or running /walking in a game. Pretty nifty... Again, see screenshots.
The only thing I think you might be downgrading on is the cam quality. I can't say from experience as I never had those phones to compare with...
Hope that helps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear that. I think this will give me more strength to go ahead with ROG II.
BTW, what do you think of the screen's beauty? Is it punchy and beautiful like them Samsungs or it's just meh?
Thanks so much, it really helps.
Oh, enjoy decorating the house ??????
zayidhs said:
Glad to hear that. I think this will give me more strength to go ahead with ROG II.
BTW, what do you think of the screen's beauty? Is it punchy and beautiful like them Samsungs or it's just meh?
Thanks so much, it really helps.
Oh, enjoy decorating the house ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TBH i haven't used a samsung in years, nor iphone etc - been using xiaomi etc, so i can't really comment on the vibrancy in comparison... sorry fella
reg66 said:
TBH i haven't used a samsung in years, nor iphone etc - been using xiaomi etc, so i can't really comment on the vibrancy in comparison... sorry fella
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's ok, thanks for your time
zayidhs said:
Hello everyone, hope the weekend is going well.
A Huawei user here (current devices Mate 9 and Mate 10 Pro), I'm at the verge of purchasing ROG II with 12GB/512GB from AliExpress.
I've gone through this forum & seen a lot of comments. TBH, I want a powerful gaming phone and out of all the options (redmagic 3s, blackshark 2 pro, IQOO pro, Nubia Z20, OnePlus7T etc), the air triggers are the pulling factor for me using a phone to game without always having to use accessories (maybe in a meeting or somewhere I have to look serious:laugh
I noticed some complaints on dust getting into the wide angle camera. Now that's a serious issue for me being in a Sub-Saharan environment and planning to use the phone for the next 3 years or so. Is it batch-specific or general as buying from AliExpress I doubt if there's warranty.
Also, display quality (regardless of 90Hz/120Hz) is very important to me. I love puchy amazing oled displays like the the top-tier Samsung S10+, iPhones and OnePlus7T
I believe none is in the best position to advise than you guys here already with the device.
What do you think?
ROG II?
Or any other one....
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i live in a dusty city too i didn't have any issue of dust going into camera
As a fan of Huawei I get where you are coming from. My last two devices were Huawei.
Dust: I say just cover the vent like I did and never worry about it again. The increase in temps is very slight while gaming. You can always use the active cooler to prevent thermal throttling in long game sessions.
Display: Zero Complaints from me. Its great.
The downsides are no VoLTE which isn't a deal breaker for me. No WIFI calling which I don't understand why this isn't a thing. Its a bit heavier than I'm use to. Something I never noticed before is the way I handle my phone. I rest the whole phone on my pinky finger and it leans against my other fingers. This allows me to reach most of the screen with my thumb (I have long fingers) for easy one handed operation. Well the added weight of the phone I can feel in my pinky finger so I can't hold it like this indefinitely any longer. My pinky starts hurting now. The finger print sensor is trash. I use face unlock.
Despite that, I'm really enjoying my device. Its a great phone.
TLDR:
Cover vent to prevent dust if you are concerned
Display rocks
no VoLTE calling in USA
no WIFI calling in USA
Heavy depending on how you hold the phone.
Finger Print Sensor is trash. May get better with updates.
This is an awesome device and I'm enjoying it.
I personally love this phone so much (loved...) but right now, because i have problems with accuracy of my COMPASS and slow catching GPS signal, sent it back and waiting for results. On other side, all aspect like loudness, 120hz display and performance - this phone is absolute beast. I love it so much, even though is quite heavy. Wanna have it already back home fixed or got replacement
Scar_14 said:
i live in a dusty city too i didn't have any issue of dust going into camera
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that's comforting, how long have you been using it?
deekjx said:
As a fan of Huawei I get where you are coming from. My last two devices were Huawei.
Dust: I say just cover the vent like I did and never worry about it again. The increase in temps is very slight while gaming. You can always use the active cooler to prevent thermal throttling in long game sessions.
Display: Zero Complaints from me. Its great.
The downsides are no VoLTE which isn't a deal breaker for me. No WIFI calling which I don't understand why this isn't a thing. Its a bit heavier than I'm use to. Something I never noticed before is the way I handle my phone. I rest the whole phone on my pinky finger and it leans against my other fingers. This allows me to reach most of the screen with my thumb (I have long fingers) for easy one handed operation. Well the added weight of the phone I can feel in my pinky finger so I can't hold it like this indefinitely any longer. My pinky starts hurting now. The finger print sensor is trash. I use face unlock.
Despite that, I'm really enjoying my device. Its a great phone.
TLDR:
Cover vent to prevent dust if you are concerned
Display rocks
no VoLTE calling in USA
no WIFI calling in USA
Heavy depending on how you hold the phone.
Finger Print Sensor is trash. May get better with updates.
This is an awesome device and I'm enjoying it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
VoLTE isn't a deal breaker for me either. Neither is the weight.
It seems I may just go ahead and make the purchase.
Thanks
CRYPTfromCATACOMBZ said:
I personally love this phone so much (loved...) but right now, because i have problems with accuracy of my COMPASS and slow catching GPS signal, sent it back and waiting for results. On other side, all aspect like loudness, 120hz display and performance - this phone is absolute beast. I love it so much, even though is quite heavy. Wanna have it already back home fixed or got replacement
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Hopefully, you'll get it fixed or replaced soon