Considering an S9 or S9+ - opinions appreciated - Samsung Galaxy S9+ Questions & Answers

Currently I have an iPhone 6S and want to make the switch back to Android. Part of the reason for this is the quality of the battery life in the iPhone 6S. I've had mine for a little over 2 years and the battery health is at 75% and I have to recharge during the day with moderate using, which is listening to music via Spotify over 4G and browsing the internet.
I am thinking seriously about buying the Samsung S9+ or S9, but thought that I would come here to get some opinions on it.
How does the battery life compare on both of these models? My typical usage consists of browsing the internet (I don't watch a lot of videos online on my phone), steaming music, emailing, texting and phoning.
The apps I mainly use are Amazon, Amazon Music, Bank of Ireland Mobile, Boots, BT Mobile, BT Wi-Fi, Ebay, Imgur, Instagram, PayPal.
So, forgetting about the price difference, what would be the recommended option? Battery life is important to me.
My other, non-Samsung option is a Huawei P20 Pro.

I recently upgraded to a S9+ I wish I had got the p20 pro or the S9

Well both are good with the S9 plus will be a bit better due to the extra 2gb ram but to be fair if you don't open to many apps at the same time won't be different. Had my S9 plus since lunch. Last year got the S8 lunch date and sold it after 2 week was good but there was something missing, with the S9 plus its like they fixed the little things I love it.
My brother has the 20 pro and ye camera is good baterry to but overall like the S9 software experience more.

centrezuk said:
I recently upgraded to a S9+ I wish I had got the p20 pro or the S9
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why do you say this? What makes you regret getting the S9+?
brunotuga said:
Well both are good with the S9 plus will be a bit better due to the extra 2gb ram but to be fair if you don't open to many apps at the same time won't be different. Had my S9 plus since lunch. Last year got the S8 lunch date and sold it after 2 week was good but there was something missing, with the S9 plus its like they fixed the little things I love it.
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Click to collapse
How do you find the battery on the S9+? Do you own an S9? Just wondering how the batteries compare on them.

My battery is OK nothing especial last me the day with good use video gaming social phone and text. Have 2 brothers one has the 20 pro and little one went to the S9 and he said is fine is battery he listens to music a lot and social and so far so good.

Wait for New iPhone

brunotuga said:
My battery is OK nothing especial last me the day with good use video gaming social phone and text. Have 2 brothers one has the 20 pro and little one went to the S9 and he said is fine is battery he listens to music a lot and social and so far so good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you like your S9+ or would you rather have got the 20 Pro?

RISHI RAJ said:
Wait for New iPhone
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So we can buy more overpriced hardware with buggy software holding it back?

bingefeller said:
Why do you say this? What makes you regret getting the S9+?
How do you find the battery on the S9+? Do you own an S9? Just wondering how the batteries compare on them.
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Click to collapse
Battery life on the S9+ is alrite nothing to brag about. I took my phone back into the Samsung shop as the coating has come off my phone after a month. I was playing with the S9 in the shop whilst waiting and it fits perfectly in my my hand Vs the plus.
I only got it as I wanted the extra ram and spec but in reality they are both equally as good

mjones73 said:
So we can buy more overpriced hardware with buggy software holding it back?
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Click to collapse
Considering that Android phones are also now 1000$,iPhone's price seems justified for more powerful chip & better optimisation leading to utter smoothness. Believe me when I say my 6s+ is still more smooth & without stutters than my S9+.Also op was using iPhone from past 2 years that's why I suggested him iPhone

bingefeller said:
Currently I have an iPhone 6S and want to make the switch back to Android. Part of the reason for this is the quality of the battery life in the iPhone 6S. I've had mine for a little over 2 years and the battery health is at 75% and I have to recharge during the day with moderate using, which is listening to music via Spotify over 4G and browsing the internet.
I am thinking seriously about buying the Samsung S9+ or S9, but thought that I would come here to get some opinions on it.
How does the battery life compare on both of these models? My typical usage consists of browsing the internet (I don't watch a lot of videos online on my phone), steaming music, emailing, texting and phoning.
The apps I mainly use are Amazon, Amazon Music, Bank of Ireland Mobile, Boots, BT Mobile, BT Wi-Fi, Ebay, Imgur, Instagram, PayPal.
So, forgetting about the price difference, what would be the recommended option? Battery life is important to me.
My other, non-Samsung option is a Huawei P20 Pro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if your aware but you can get the battery replaced in the 6s for about 29 or so dollars if your located in the United States . Honestly I'd do that instead of getting a new phone now and seeing something better come out and end up immediately regret my purchase.

Even an S9+ (or any phone honestly) will have a degraded battery after 2 years. Honestly that's not a valid reason to want to switch back to Android.
Now if you just didn't like iOS, then I could see wanting to to switch, but don't do it for battery life of your current device alone
Sent from my SM-G965W using Tapatalk

I had the Oneplus 6, P20 Pro and now on S9+
the Op6 is a beast but camera isnt that great so I switched to p20pro, the thing w that is I cant unlock the bootloader anymore so I went w the S9+, first I had a snapdragon one from HK then swapped to an exynos one. overall the s9+ is the one that got my heart although I had to wait a week for rmm jail time to flash stuff. snapdragon s9/s9+ has better batter for me though.

RISHI RAJ said:
Considering that Android phones are also now 1000$,iPhone's price seems justified for more powerful chip & better optimisation leading to utter smoothness. Believe me when I say my 6s+ is still more smooth & without stutters than my S9+.Also op was using iPhone from past 2 years that's why I suggested him iPhone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I agree they have better specs, iOS 11 is a pile of steaming crap that holds their potential performance back. Hopefully they fix their issues with iOS 12. I just couldn't justify buying one until they straighten their OS out.

Wait for the pixel 3

bingefeller said:
Do you like your S9+ or would you rather have got the 20 Pro?
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Click to collapse
S9 plus all the way. The pro is nice the camera and battery but the rest didn't like. The finger print on the back is natural to me the way I use my hand and the pro at the front was a draw back. Notch no so good

RISHI RAJ said:
Considering that Android phones are also now 1000$,iPhone's price seems justified for more powerful chip & better optimisation leading to utter smoothness. Believe me when I say my 6s+ is still more smooth & without stutters than my S9+.Also op was using iPhone from past 2 years that's why I suggested him iPhone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For sure it's not justified. I bought my partner iPhone x, she added 200 USD and got myslef and a her new s9+ 128gb and 64gb version (for me) instead of that one 256 iPhone x.
We both used to have iPhone before.
Utter smoothenes?? It's not 2009. My S9+ flies well. My Gf is just off her 6s plus it is not comparable to s9p don't be funny.
Better chip? Like I mind to be second faster or slower. I don't play scores. Reality is that you don't notice the difference whatsoever.
However, because phones nowadays getting so close my next move will be to One Plus. More bang for the money... Let's be honest.
It's not cos we don't have money. We both are well off bringing in more than most folks will ever have... But having said that I really like to Get good things for my hard earned money and iPhone and next samsung ain't that.
---------- Post added at 07:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:08 PM ----------
Go and get the S9+ the battery is good enough. I'm getting between 6 and 9 hours SOT. DEPENDABLE WHAT I DO Of COURSE. Easy to get 6+ hours in heavy use.
Initially the s9p had issues with battery, but I didn't get much of that since i bought my phone in August and indeed before I updated the phone, my battery was ridiculous. However, when Ive hit the android update button, stopping the ignorance of the software update. The phone worked wonderfully and the battery was beyond excellent.
Anyway the other reason to get S9p is the camera. It's amazing. I know ppl say for camera the huawei is also really good but for 80 USD extra i still love the Samsung more. Huawei is sure good phone but I don't think they are at the level to get the phones this priced. Not that I think it's necessary at all to spend so much money for any phone anyway.

This is turning into an iOS versus Android thread. Please, just stick to the main topic.
Both S9 models are good, but if you're into photography, get the S9+

i was using a Pixel 2 XL for 5 months i loved everything about it except the screen and weird bugs so i eventually move to the S9+ and HOLY JESUS the camera is GARBAGE maybe its a hardware issue with mine. i tried super slowmo and my video was Really dark as if i was in a room with no light on but i was recording in a fully lit room with lights on, the camera also isnt living up to the hype and the mode i cared about the most was Portait mode/Live focus and my god was that terrible im thinking maybe i need to adjust a few things or my phone might have a hardware issue but im gonna return it and go back to an S8. i bought the pixel cause everyone and everywhere i heard about how amazing the camera was and it definitely lived up to the hype

bingefeller said:
Currently I have an iPhone 6S and want to make the switch back to Android. Part of the reason for this is the quality of the battery life in the iPhone 6S. I've had mine for a little over 2 years and the battery health is at 75% and I have to recharge during the day with moderate using, which is listening to music via Spotify over 4G and browsing the internet.
I am thinking seriously about buying the Samsung S9+ or S9, but thought that I would come here to get some opinions on it.
How does the battery life compare on both of these models? My typical usage consists of browsing the internet (I don't watch a lot of videos online on my phone), steaming music, emailing, texting and phoning.
The apps I mainly use are Amazon, Amazon Music, Bank of Ireland Mobile, Boots, BT Mobile, BT Wi-Fi, Ebay, Imgur, Instagram, PayPal.
So, forgetting about the price difference, what would be the recommended option? Battery life is important to me.
My other, non-Samsung option is a Huawei P20 Pro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My two cents on your question
1. Go to the Apple store and replace your battery
2. If you don't want to do (1) - if you are concerned primarily about battery life get the s9+ (or note 9 if you can afford it, extra 500mah battery would be ideal)
3. If you can do (1) - wait for the next generation of phones, they will have the 7nm processors that look to be roughly 20% more efficient than the current generation so expect more longevity

Related

Nexus 6P vs. All Other Phones Discussion

As we know it, the Nexus 6P just got released and there are some big questions out there. I have the Note 4 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Some questions that other people ask as well as I is what makes you want to buy the Nexus 6P or use the Nexus 6P over a phone like the Note 4, Note5, or iPhone 6S/6S Plus? Any thoughts or discussions?
Price. Pure android. Thats about it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nexus for the WIN!!
Pure android, good camera, good battery life, and so many options to select rom / kernel. Came from note 5 and now I am happy with my device.
edwardjiang7 said:
As we know it, the Nexus 6P just got released and there are some big questions out there. I have the Note 4 and the iPhone 6 Plus. Some questions that other people ask as well as I is what makes you want to buy the Nexus 6P or use the Nexus 6P over a phone like the Note 4, Note5, or iPhone 6S/6S Plus? Any thoughts or discussions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
reeeeally not trying to be an arse, but the device has been out long enough now that there are countless posts, threads and articles on this exact topic
I also had all 3 and this phone hands down is better then the other 2.. I really think my Note 4 was a lemon because it lagged really bad right from the beginning and after numerous hard resets I sold it and just got a 6+ until this came out. Wont ever look back and wished I hadnt
^good choice!
I've had the G4, iPhone 6s, and Note 5 this past year. The 6P is by far the best phone out of all of them with the lowest number of compromises. After using the Nexus, I never want to use an OEM-skinned phone again on an ancient OS!
I'm surprised to see I can't even record video in 1080P at 60fps with the Nexus 6P. I use that mode all the time for video.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk
this is the Google’s Finest Android Phone Yet
Here is my feedback on it..
Nexus 6P: absolutely stunning design, feels good in the hand, one of the fastest and stable phones to date, beautiful camera quality, and yes pure androird.
Now the bad, BATTERY!!, for the size of the battery, i would not get over 4.5hrs of sot, this is crazy having most of the stuff and services i did not need turned off. Display very very low, no facebook app to drain, timed syns, it has to honestly be one of the worst batteries i have had. I actually sold it due to the battery.
I then went to a note 4 on kit kat. And my sot streaming netflix, facebook, over 2.5 hrs of calls, everything on 4glte no wifi what do ever since im on the road, i get from 6 to 7.5 sot, even though the note 4 isnt as fast, i cant see myself investing 500$+ for a phone whose battery wont last.
And the note 4 has the good old removable battery and sd card.
cmdbr03 said:
Here is my feedback on it..
Nexus 6P: absolutely stunning design, feels good in the hand, one of the fastest and stable phones to date, beautiful camera quality, and yes pure androird.
Now the bad, BATTERY!!, for the size of the battery, i would not get over 4.5hrs of sot, this is crazy having most of the stuff and services i did not need turned off. Display very very low, no facebook app to drain, timed syns, it has to honestly be one of the worst batteries i have had. I actually sold it due to the battery.
I then went to a note 4 on kit kat. And my sot streaming netflix, facebook, over 2.5 hrs of calls, everything on 4glte no wifi what do ever since im on the road, i get from 6 to 7.5 sot, even though the note 4 isnt as fast, i cant see myself investing 500$+ for a phone whose battery wont last.
And the note 4 has the good old removable battery and sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
7.5 hours SOT? Wow. Never needed that much SOT.
Fast updates (my Samsung is still on 5.0.1)
Pure android
Good camera
Good battery life
Easy to root
Stereo speakers
Fast fingerprint reader
I change my note 5 for nexus 6p. For me is better, more fluid, more roms, more updates, no lags.
Best phone I ve used in years.. Keep up the good work google!!! Pure stock is flawless, no need to root!
Only down side is the too sensible power button
I also find the power button to be very sensible- very sensible, indeed...
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
slaydog said:
I also find the power button to be very sensible- very sensible, indeed...
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, makes more sense than a coin change machine...
Guys
You write a lot regarding comparison to Note5/S6E+ and similar.
Currently i own Note4 and here are main factors which stops me from going to 6P.
- camera (OIS and overall quality)
- on screen buttons (making in fact screen smaller during daily activities , not movies or gaming)
At the moment i can't imagine phone smaller than 5,7 and use my Note for photo and movie watching.
DO You think this particular experience might be better on Note5/S6E+
placeks said:
Guys
You write a lot regarding comparison to Note5/S6E+ and similar.
Currently i own Note4 and here are main factors which stops me from going to 6P.
- camera (OIS and overall quality)
- on screen buttons (making in fact screen smaller during daily activities , not movies or gaming)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think for the majority of users, images taken without OIS are good enough for what they actually take pictures for: social media sharing, sending to friends and family, putting on their blog, keeping in photo albums, etc. I'd imagine most folks in those audiences can't tell the difference between an image shot with OIS hardware and the same image shot without, especially considering the 6p has a fantastic camera to begin with. See some examples of images shot from both devices and judge for yourself.
Aesthetically, you can hide the on-screen buttons much like you hide the taskbar in Windows, if you need to reclaim your screen real estate. You can even run a full swipe-gesture navigation setup (or something like PIE) if you really don't like persistent on-screen nav buttons. I also think the Nexus 6p looks much sleeker without hardware buttons on the front. There's nothing to accidentally press either when storing or transporting the device.
The dual, front facing stereo speakers on the 6p sound wonderful, and I can't emphasize this point enough. Coming from a mono speaker like an iPhone or a Note, you really can tell the difference. Add Viper on top of that to tune the sound, and you've got a clear and rich soundstage produced from your phone. Mono speakers just can't hold a candle to the 6p's.
Just a little Nexus apologetics from a recent convert.

LG G5 or Samsung Galaxy S7

First of all, sorry if this thread is in the wrong place, and I know that there have been a few comparisons between the two.
My 2 year contract is ending, and I was more interested about how you think they've aged during these 10-11 months since their release. In my country they are roughly the same price on a 2 year contract (the G5 is about 20-30 Euros cheaper than the S7).
I would like to hear from you about the everyday performance (battery, gaming, lags, heat problems?...basically every aspect). I've read that the cameras of the both phones are pretty much neck and neck, and that they are both excellent.
Which one would you recommend me for the next 2 years?
Thanks
Morphiuss said:
First of all, sorry if this thread is in the wrong place, and I know that there have been a few comparisons between the two.
My 2 year contract is ending, and I was more interested about how you think they've aged during these 10-11 months since their release. In my country they are roughly the same price on a 2 year contract (the G5 is about 20-30 Euros cheaper than the S7).
I would like to hear from you about the everyday performance (battery, gaming, lags, heat problems?...basically every aspect). I've read that the cameras of the both phones are pretty much neck and neck, and that they are both excellent.
Which one would you recommend me for the next 2 years?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
G5 by far, The lag of the S7 is insane...
Enviado desde mi LG-H860 mediante Tapatalk
As he said the G5 has no lag. UI is smooth and I prefer it over TouchWiz. By other hand S7 is beautiful with all those glass and metal. In my country G5 is much cheaper than S7 so it was easy. I would still choose the G5 I prefer the camera, the UI and we are about to get Nougat.
Enviado desde mi VS987 mediante Tapatalk
I love my G5, but I feel the S7 won this round. If you like big screeb, the V20 is the best out there. Great phone! If you want removable battery, IR blaster, wide angle lens and best camera manual mode, go for G5. Go for the S7 for the better build, the better point&shoot camera and the better screen. The G5 camera is better if you know how to use it.. it is more capable. But if you just want a quick point&shoot, the S7 will do a better job. Overall I want to recommend the G5 because I like it a lot, but it has 2 major faults. One is the GPS, there ia a problem with the golden pins that lose contact with the antenna on the back of the phone. Quick and easy fix but atill annoying and should not happen on a flagship. Second is image retention. If you are Rooted, there is a quick and easy fix. If not, you will need Blue Light Filter app in the background. I'm rooted so I don't have this issue. My only issue so far is the GPS. Happened to me after 7 months. Fixed it in 10 minutes but i had to open the phone. For common user, S7 IMO (unless you can handle the V20 size and then of course V20).
Ans yes, UI is better on the G5 and smoother. Also the camera , for me , is much better. I like the better manual controls and the wide angle lens.
Morphiuss said:
First of all, sorry if this thread is in the wrong place, and I know that there have been a few comparisons between the two.
My 2 year contract is ending, and I was more interested about how you think they've aged during these 10-11 months since their release. In my country they are roughly the same price on a 2 year contract (the G5 is about 20-30 Euros cheaper than the S7).
I would like to hear from you about the everyday performance (battery, gaming, lags, heat problems?...basically every aspect). I've read that the cameras of the both phones are pretty much neck and neck, and that they are both excellent.
Which one would you recommend me for the next 2 years?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing I am jealous bout with S7 is the water resistance and design. $20-30 cheaper? You sure? With my phone company huge price difference. I can get the G5 for $300 plus tax. S7 $800 plus tax.
The specs bout the same. LG g5 got a better cam. Just look at comparisons and you be the judge. I might have a biased view. LG G5 gets a lot of hate, but its a great phone.
I am sorry but that's a huge price difference and a bout the same specs. LG g5 has a better Cam, removable battery, sd slot, etc. Makes me pick LG G5 all day. Save yourself money bro get it.
Biggest issues with G5s is GPS and heat issues. GPS seems to not have issues with newer models. Mine was made in september. Check the box before you buy. Three people I know in real life bought new versions and no GPS issues.
That heat issue seems to happen a lot with heavy usage and full brightness up. Lowering the brightness seem to help a lot. It can be annoying at times. And a thick case like outter box seem to help that.
Sent from my LGE LG-H830 using XDA Labs
Nick216ohio said:
The only thing I am jealous bout with S7 is the water resistance and design. $20-30 cheaper? You sure? With my phone company huge price difference. I can get the G5 for $300 plus tax. S7 $800 plus tax.
The specs bout the same. LG g5 got a better cam. Just look at comparisons and you be the judge. I might have a biased view. LG G5 gets a lot of hate, but its a great phone.
I am sorry but that's a huge price difference and a bout the same specs. LG g5 has a better Cam, removable battery, sd slot, etc. Makes me pick LG G5 all day. Save yourself money bro get it.
Biggest issues with G5s is GPS and heat issues. GPS seems to not have issues with newer models. Mine was made in september. Check the box before you buy. Three people I know in real life bought new versions and no GPS issues.
That heat issue seems to happen a lot with heavy usage and full brightness up. Lowering the brightness seem to help a lot. It can be annoying at times. And a thick case like outter box seem to help that.
Sent from my LGE LG-H830 using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, the price for just the phone G5 is 650 euros vs the 680 euros for the S7 in my phone company. When buying them on a 2 year contract, the price difference is even smaller (20 smth euros). I don't know how that's possible...
I'm considering the G5, because my G3 still works without any lag, and somehow it's Samsungs' phones custom to start lagging just before a newer version of the phone is released
How's the camera for just point and shoot, because I don't think I'll be making to many pictures using manual control? What's the problem with the GPS? Is it easily solvable or does it require to get a replacement unit? And around how much of screen on time do you get?
Im a phone addict for saying it in some way, i had iphone 6 Plus, Galaxy s6, Galaxy s5, Iphone 5, Iphone 4 after using them all got a LG G4 and the rest named are all sold.. After that i went with the LG G5 and to be perfectly honest, it wins over them all, i dont even gonna try S7 since G5 runs perfectly, no issues, smooth, great battery life, great updates, in my opinion best overall phone atm.. My friend is a Samsung fan and even him said G5 its better overall S7, so go ahead without doubts with the G5..
Saying no LAG seems pushing the truth a bit, here is my view of a user who has been using the S5 901f for a couple of years.
What probably has not helped the G5's cause in my case is that samsung made massive performance improvements on their android 6 touchwiz for the S5.
So I have basically been comparing my 901f to the G5 and also to the S7 edge who my brother in law owns and let me have a go with it. Its the more powerful variant of the S7 here in the uk not the snapdragon 820 version.
Also to consider thanks to a good custom kernel my S5 is well tuned, especially with using the zzmoove governor.
So
In terms of overall performance, I would say sadly my S5 beats my G5, the S7 beats them both.
The G5 is very fast at multitasking, so once stuff is loaded, you can switch between apps very quickly and they keep their loaded state, but for stuff not loaded its for some reason slower than both samsung phones.
Some stuff wont stay cached e.g. better battery stats and sms messages, both visibly LAG on my G5 when the simc ard is inserted, I gave the phone to my brother in law to play with, I didnt mention the performance and he commented the phone was laggy. (this was before I did tuning).
Also performance is not everything, when comparing the phone features, samsung wins hands down. The colour tone can be changed, the unique samsung features are actually useful, 2g only mode can be set, has auto redial, better dialer/contacts app.
Samsung has much bigger dev community on XDA, e.g. unless there is a private hidden forum, there is not one single working custom kernel for the G5, that is juat a big wow.
Amoled vs IPS, amoled is a very clear winner, I think what doesnt help the G5 is that its IPS is a poor IPS, my oneplusone phone is also IPS but has less backlight bleed, and better viewing angles than the G5. Amoled is just the pinnacle of flat screen display technology, even apple I think are moving to amoled for their next phones. I only need to look at my G5 slightly off angle and I have contrast shift. I expect overtime I would get used to it, but if you used to samsung displays I think you in for a shock.
Samsung has water resistance, in practice I am not sure its a huge deal, as the LG phone is still splash proof (e.g. it should be fine in the rain).
All this doesnt mean I think the G5 is a bad phone, there is definite stuff about it which is nice.
Has FM radio
Always on clock
Speaker placement is better at bottom
Camera app is better (in my opinion)
USB-C is very nice
Fast charging is nice (although the S7 has this also, but not my S5)
Less bloat on stock rom than samsung.
Much better memory management, especially it doesnt aggressively kill background apps like samsung does.
Faster storage
I hope my feedback is helpful, and of course what I prefer to have on a phone you may not agree with, in which case what I listed as flaws of the G5 may not be relevant to yourself.
Also worth mentioning samsung S7 has 2 spatial streams for wifi so AC is 866mbit, N is 150mbit on 2.4ghz and 300mbit on 5.ghz
LG is 433mbit for AC, 75mbit for N on 2.4 and 150mbit for N on 5
Here in the UK on EE the S7 has a large price premium over the G5 still, over a 2 year contract its an extra �15 month x 24 which is �360.
Thanks a lot!

Galaxy A3 2017 experience after 2 days

Hi Everyone,
I thought I'd share some thoughts on this device after having purchased it yesterday afternoon.
I bought this phone because I felt it was the first device that gave me what I had been craving for a long time - an Android version of the iPhone 6s. I like the size, build and feel of the iPhone 6s/7, but not the software or the price.
I think I am in the minority of people who prefer a smaller handset, and even though Android devices tend to fit a lot more screen real estate into smaller bodies, I still feel that the 4.7in screen size is ideal for me.
The only phones that run Android of that size have been the Xperia compact line, and the Galaxy Alpha/A3 2016 models. There have been others, but only these have come close. Unfortunately, they have suffered compromised designs and specs that have left me wanting (I have owned them all, and this is my opinion which others are free to disagree with).
This new handset, however, has me ticking a lot of boxes.
- Size is fantastic. Just a little smaller than the iPhone 6s, and feels great in the hand. Premium materials, solid build quality, great ergonomics, clicky buttons, no camera hump.
- The display is good, not awesome, but vibrant and colourful without being too over the top. Can be tweaked to each user's preference, and gets both very bright and very dim.
- fingerprint scanner is fast and accurate.
- Camera is good, not amazing. An iPhone definitely trounces this setup, but I paid £280 sim free and my usage is not too demanding so it's absolutely fine for me. Daytime shots are actually very pleasant and I think here it punches above its weight; low light is where it struggles, but I feel that most shots at night are not too important for me so it's a compromise I'll happily make.
- Call quality is very good and it holds onto signal well in my area.
- Sound quality out of the side mounted speaker is actually surprisingly good, at least as good as an iPhone 6s. Headphone performance is also excellent .
- Performance has been nothing short of excellent. I feel we have reached a point where there are not that many tasks that we do that actually need a Snapdragon 821 to run smoothly - granted, some 3d games need serious power on tap to run at their highest settings on a quad HD screen, but with a 720p screen, the A3 2017 runs pretty much anything at best quality without delay or hiccup. And everyday operation is smooth as butter without any lag or slowdowns. Granted, this is very early days, but I am hopeful this will continue.
- Battery life is astounding. I charged it on Saturday night and hit 100% at 10.20pm. I took it off charger and only put it back on at 2% while writing this review and I had nearly 9 hrs and 30mins of screen on time over 1 day and 3 hours. That includes 64 mins of voice calls. Please note that I was home all day on Wifi, but still, I have never seen times like that, not least from a 2300 odd mah battery. Awesome. It also charges pretty fast.
- Other stuff - water proofing is great, finally have USB-C, charges really quickly with the included adaptive charging brick, finally has a blue light filter.
And now for the balance of the review:
- Slippery despite its size, so a case or a skin is advisable.
- 16gb of internal memory nearly broke the deal for me, but a 64gb card and some transferring of apps has left me with 3.8gb left to play with internally. Definitely not ideal and a very cheap move from Samsung, but I'm also hoping Nougat brings adoptable storage soon which will eliminate this as an issue (here's hoping!).
- No notification light is something I have to adjust to, but the always on display does help *somewhat* ( I prefer the light as it's something that alerts me from afar, whereas the display is on regardless of whether you have a notification or not).
- Camera as described above has some shortcomings.
- Usual Samsung software compromised with bloatware - lots of useless stuff on here that eats into that 16gb that I cannot delete (Microsoft suite, Samsung junk, usual duplicate apps that we all use the Google version of). I'll keep trying the usual routes to rid the phone of this but I may have to wait a while.
Other than these points, I am really pleased. It feels nice to have paid relatively little for a device that feels so premium. I know there are other phones at relatively low prices that kill this on specs (OP3, Axon 7, Honor 8, etc) but they are generally much bigger handsets, so for anyone looking at something smaller, this is a great buy.
TL;DR, it's great, buy one if you like small phones ?
I always wanted a phone with an small amoled screen and water proofing so i jumped ship from the huge mate 8 to witch i am comparing. I agree with your pros but i found: 1-the camera is average and lacking OIS (need very stable hands), 2- cannot use sd card as default storage (very handy on mate 8), 3- phone very slippery, 4- Design and Screen of a3 2016 seemed better (personal opinion), 5- no stutter but little slow (comparing to mate 8). Only lacks IR blaster to check all boxes but we can't have everything.
Great feedback, thanks guys.
You mentioned not display is good but not awesome, could you elaborate? Is issue clarity or something else? Thanks.
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
mario24601 said:
Great feedback, thanks guys.
You mentioned not display is good but not awesome, could you elaborate? Is issue clarity or something else? Thanks.
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from a larger phone with a quad HD screen, it's never going to look as dazzlingly sharp, but on a 4.7 inch screen 720p still looks great and it is perfectly sharp and clear - if you've ever seen an iPhone screen, this feels much the same. Colours can be adjusted to your preference - I prefer accurate rather than punchy, but you can set it to either or somewhere in between.
I've had everything from a galaxy s6 which has crazy high pixel density to a Moto x, and personally I prefer the 720p smaller screen because it's far more efficient and I don't notice the pixel density difference after an hour or two.
Hope this helps.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Coming from a larger phone with a quad HD screen, it's never going to look as dazzlingly sharp, but on a 4.7 inch screen 720p still looks great and it is perfectly sharp and clear - if you've ever seen an iPhone screen, this feels much the same. Colours can be adjusted to your preference - I prefer accurate rather than punchy, but you can set it to either or somewhere in between.
I've had everything from a galaxy s6 which has crazy high pixel density to a Moto x, and personally I prefer the 720p smaller screen because it's far more efficient and I don't notice the pixel density difference after an hour or two.
Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
Sent from my Moto X using Tapatalk
Thanks for sharing this. I am also very happy with this phone so far. It's my second day with it, the battery is at 39% with 4h45 sot and 1d3h total since unplugged. In a night of 9 hours, the phone just lost 3%.
I have noticed though that wifi is constantly detected as running by betterbatterysats, even if it's turned off. Any idea how to fix this?
patci32 said:
I have noticed though that wifi is constantly detected as running by betterbatterysats, even if it's turned off. Any idea how to fix this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
F157 said:
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed, I didn't know. Thanks, I hope this works.
---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
F157 said:
Have you checked in Settings -> Connections -> Location?
There are some wifi settings behind it (in location method and improve accuracy) you can deactivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, could you please tell me if you use other settings to improve your battery life?
patci32 said:
Indeed, I didn't know. Thanks, I hope this works.
---------- Post added at 01:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:33 PM ----------
Also, could you please tell me if you use other settings to improve your battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mm, nothing special yet, as I'm really happy with battery life so far.
What I did in the past with other devices is for example use the app greenify (needs root) to hibernate apps you don't want to run in the background.
Also, something that really helped me with my old s4 mini was to set mobile network to 2g, and only switch to lte once required.
And as always, use wifi instead of mobile network as often as possible, disable Bluetooth if not needed, etc.
£280?!?! That's highway robbery for a device with 720p, small battery and everything in budget-range. You get this, all the bells and whistles for £150 with a well known Chinese brand. Now I know why I'd never ever get a Slamsug.
iMaterial said:
£280?!?! That's highway robbery for a device with 720p, small battery and everything in budget-range. You get this, all the bells and whistles for £150 with a well known Chinese brand. Now I know why I'd never ever get a Slamsug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please could you elaborate on one of these phones that you can get for £150? I'm pretty clued up but if I've missed something I'd be keen for you to share what you've found for myself and the community - my mother needs a new phone so if you've seen something better than the A3 for less I'd love to buy it
Sunil_Kaura said:
Please could you elaborate on one of these phones that you can get for £150? I'm pretty clued up but if I've missed something I'd be keen for you to share what you've found for myself and the community - my mother needs a new phone so if you've seen something better than the A3 for less I'd love to buy it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which stats are you looking for? Battery? Screen res? SoC power?
Compare, with €150 phones, battery, res, SoC, well anything really part from 10 mm in size.
iMaterial said:
Which stats are you looking for? Battery? Screen res? SoC power?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I'm referring to your comment that you could get a better phone for £150, so I guess I'm wondering what phone you are saying is better for that price...
The battery life of the A3 is epic, the PPI is still perfectly decent (720p on 4.7 inches is still perfectly usable and arguably 1080p is unnecessary) and the SoC is both fat and frugal.
So really I'm wondering whether you can get something the same or better for less money
I'd be happy with an alternative with same form factor. Any recommendations? The A3 still not available in US.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
mario24601 said:
I'd be happy with an alternative with same form factor. Any recommendations? The A3 still not available in US.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4.5 to 4.7" screen, 720p res. 2015 - today, only 4-5 options comes up.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&nHeightMax=135&nDisplayResMin=921600&fDisplayInchesMin=4.5&fDisplayInchesMax=4.7
Only A3, Sony X and Z5 compact, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro has enough RAM, battery and goodies. LG Spirit and Alcatel Idol 3 only has 1 GB and 1.5 GB RAM, not really a viable option.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Well I'm referring to your comment that you could get a better phone for £150, so I guess I'm wondering what phone you are saying is better for that price...
The battery life of the A3 is epic, the PPI is still perfectly decent (720p on 4.7 inches is still perfectly usable and arguably 1080p is unnecessary) and the SoC is both fat and frugal.
So really I'm wondering whether you can get something the same or better for less money
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Redmi 4 Pro can be had for €150 and its battery life is Epic also, the Redmi 3 Pro is way better than A3 and Redmi 4 Pro, with 720p but alas 5". Redmi note 3 is also really good, for even less than €150. Samsung is priced at least £100 than it should, but the same can be said about Sony and Apple also.
iMaterial said:
4.5 to 4.7" screen, 720p res. 2015 - today, only 4-5 options comes up.
http://www.gsmarena.com/results.php3?nYearMin=2015&nHeightMax=135&nDisplayResMin=921600&fDisplayInchesMin=4.5&fDisplayInchesMax=4.7
Only A3, Sony X and Z5 compact, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Pro has enough RAM, battery and goodies. LG Spirit and Alcatel Idol 3 only has 1 GB and 1.5 GB RAM, not really a viable option.
The Redmi 4 Pro can be had for €150 and its battery life is Epic also, the Redmi 3 Pro is way better than A3 and Redmi 4 Pro, with 720p but alas 5". Redmi note 3 is also really good, for even less than €150. Samsung is priced at least £100 than it should, but the same can be said about Sony and Apple also.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree the Xiaomi phones are compelling - my main issue is the fact that they are all grey imports - many purchasers have reported that they do not get any warranty support whatsoever, they generally require a more experienced android user to side load the Google play store, and they have sketchy android skins which have also been reported to spy on their users.
Don't get me wrong, Touchwiz (or Grace UI as it's now known) is not exactly great, but I'd rather know I can walk into a Samsung store and get a problem fixed than rely on a Hong Kong based website for support.
I think it's only fair to compare this phone to what can be had in Europe, and in that regard, it blows the Sony X Compact, Alcatel and others out of the water.
And given its build quality and design, it's good value compared to phones that retail for double this cost.
Also, most Xiaomi phones don't come with NFC (no android pay), some don't have scratch resistant glass, no quick charging, etc
The A3 also uses a processor built on the 14nm process which is up to date technology, whereas the Xiaomi phones at that price point use outdated processors like the 650 and 616.
The 14nm process is what gives the A3 it's great battery life without needing a 4000mAh battery and heavier construction.
A final point - check out the videos of the Redmi note 3 bend test - not encouraging! (I will add the Redmi 3 pro did significantly better though which is good progress).
Sunil_Kaura said:
I agree the Xiaomi phones are compelling - my main issue is the fact that they are all grey imports - many purchasers have reported that they do not get any warranty support whatsoever, they generally require a more experienced android user to side load the Google play store, and they have sketchy android skins which have also been reported to spy on their users.
Don't get me wrong, Touchwiz (or Grace UI as it's now known) is not exactly great, but I'd rather know I can walk into a Samsung store and get a problem fixed than rely on a Hong Kong based website for support.
I think it's only fair to compare this phone to what can be had in Europe, and in that regard, it blows the Sony X Compact, Alcatel and others out of the water.
And given its build quality and design, it's good value compared to phones that retail for double this cost.
Also, most Xiaomi phones don't come with NFC (no android pay), some don't have scratch resistant glass, no quick charging, etc
The A3 also uses a processor built on the 14nm process which is up to date technology, whereas the Xiaomi phones at that price point use outdated processors like the 650 and 616.
The 14nm process is what gives the A3 it's great battery life without needing a 4000mAh battery and heavier construction.
A final point - check out the videos of the Redmi note 3 bend test - not encouraging! (I will add the Redmi 3 pro did significantly better though which is good progress).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Redmi 4 Pro that I bought for a friend in Jan has the 14 nm Snapdragon 625. I can agree that it might lack a few finishing touches, but I could buy it for €150 inc shipping from aliexpress and get it in 7-9 days. But it's half the price, and I know the Adreno is a better GPU than the Mali.
Both on the Xiaomi and the Slamsug, first thing I would do it TWRP and LAOS ROM, they can keep their crap TW and MIUI, can't stand it.
Never the less, it shouldn't be 2x the price for something that is almost inferior in some points and better on others. Esp not in 2017, maybe some years ago, but every day there are better and better phones for under €200, like the Moto G5 and such, only problem is they are so damn big, and big phones are 99/100 new that are coming out, these days, sadly.
iMaterial said:
The Redmi 4 Pro that I bought for a friend in Jan has the 14 nm Snapdragon 625. I can agree that it might lack a few finishing touches, but I could buy it for €150 inc shipping from aliexpress and get it in 7-9 days. But it's half the price, and I know the Adreno is a better GPU than the Mali.
Both on the Xiaomi and the Slamsug, first thing I would do it TWRP and LAOS ROM, they can keep their crap TW and MIUI, can't stand it.
Never the less, it shouldn't be 2x the price for something that is almost inferior in some points and better on others. Esp not in 2017, maybe some years ago, but every day there are better and better phones for under €200, like the Moto G5 and such, only problem is they are so damn big, and big phones are 99/100 new that are coming out, these days, sadly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't disagree there - it's frustrating how few phones there are under 5 inches available.
I will say though that besides the Xiaomi phones which look to have a nice build, the Moto G4 is very cheap feeling, as are most of the other phones available here in that price bracket, so I would happily pay a little more for a nice looking and premium feeling device.
If the Samsung we're £220 I think it'd sell by the bucket load as £20-40 above phones like the G4 would likely tempt many up, but at £280 I agree that it's a harder sell for the lay person.
I'm looking at from the other side - it's a mild compromise from an S7 or a iPhone 6s/7 , but it's half the price, rather than double that of a cheaper device.
And it absolutely looks and feels as good as a £5-600 phone.
Sunil_Kaura said:
Can't disagree there - it's frustrating how few phones there are under 5 inches available.
I will say though that besides the Xiaomi phones which look to have a nice build, the Moto G4 is very cheap feeling, as are most of the other phones available here in that price bracket, so I would happily pay a little more for a nice looking and premium feeling device.
If the Samsung we're £220 I think it'd sell by the bucket load as £20-40 above phones like the G4 would likely tempt many up, but at £280 I agree that it's a harder sell for the lay person.
I'm looking at from the other side - it's a mild compromise from an S7 or a iPhone 6s/7 , but it's half the price, rather than double that of a cheaper device.
And it absolutely looks and feels as good as a £5-600 phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are so many on this forum and in other places that airs the same frustration, so few options for a mobile ca 130mm lenght and 4.5 - 4.7" screen (720p at least), that I'm starting to wonder if we should do something about it, maybe talk to so manufacturer to make at least 1-2 phones under 5"
The Redmi 4 Pro I used for a few weeks felt no worse in build than the Iphone 6 or 6S I have tried a few times, both in metal around 140 - 145mm size. But for €310 I can get a Xiaomi Mi 5 with 820 and have €100 in change over. I have never held a Moto G, last Motorola I have tried was the 4.3" Razr Maxx and it felt solid as a rock.
The J5 goes for around €180-190 here and I see no reason why this smaller, entry level A3 shouldn't be priced in a similar fashion. These days due to deaths in the family and such I'm so poor that €100 is more than I can spare and my Android mobile that I have now is from 2012 or so, single core with 512 MB RAM and I hate every minute when I'm using it. I'm lucky to have been given a 2009 Sony Ericsson C901 as my main caller.
Just my 1¢ (It used to be 2¢, but due to the recession I've had to make cutbacks)
---------- Post added at 07:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:16 PM ----------
What annoys me a lot is also that this A3 is bigger than the A3 (2016) and the battery is only 50 mAh bigger. They could easily have put a 2500 - 2800 mAh battery in this one, just like the Sony Z3, Z5 or X compact, which is 5 mm smaller.
My last perfect phone was the original moto x. I still use it. I am not a power user but the X just needs lil more power but on cm13 it's not bad.
I don't even mind going with old phone as long as has some custom roms to improve performance.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

Upgrading from note 4 to Mate 10 Pro...anything I should know..issues etc?

Hello!
So I am getting my wife the Mate 10 Pro to finally upgrade from her Note 4. While she is not a fan of 18:9 screens (I hate them too) there is not much to choose for OLED and newer phones these days.
I was debating the OnePlus 5T over this but it seems the camera is still better on this one plus the unit looks better to my eyes which is a plus for my wife too.
Just wondering if there are any issues I should know before I buy it.
Thanks
Yes there are many
Don't believe the reviews
The only good thing is the camera
Phone lags
Bad at games
Battery is bad. Don't believe the hype. To make it good u have to use Huawei battery to kill every single app in the background
It suffers when it comes to smoothnes and scrolling
Emui is just BAD
Stereo speakers is a joke. The secondary is extremely low
I believe it's a 800usd phone... U better think Samsung or pixel or even v30 from lg
Don't listen to the guy above, it's an amazing phone. He must have wandered in from the samsung forum.
I've had samsung, LG, motorola and nexus phones and this is the best by far. I can easily go a full two days without charging regarding the battery life. Emui takes some getting used to but grows on you and gives you full control over the system and apps which stock and other brands do not.
The camera could be better but it is still damn good for a phone and better than most other phones.
As for the 5T I think the main differences are the dust and waterproofing and the battery life, u have to decide if that's worth the extra money.
Any phone you buy can have problems! It is the luck of the draw! Just go to any forum you want and read about the problems they "ALL" have. Much of it depends on the phone you actually receive and how you use it!
I have the Mate 10 (non-pro) and I feel that it is superior to the pro version for many reasons that can be found in the spec comparison. I prefer an LCD screen! But either way it all depends on the phone and you. I think mine is the best phone I have ever owned (and I have owned too many to remember) and I have now lost the desire to even look at anything else to possibly replace it for years to come! Also, the way I use it I can go 4 days...yes that is FOUR DAYS between charges. Show me any other phone that can do that!
I have a mate 10 pro for a few days now and I can sum it up with two words : thumbs up ! I upgraded from a note 3 (battery dead, my only issue to be honest), and you really feel the difference thanks to the camera, the autonomy and you'll get used to the MIUI quck fast. if not, just change the laucher (NOVA, Microsoft, etc.). It really looks and feels great. The only BS part of it IMAO is the AI thing, you cannot feel it at all. But for all the other aspects, go ahead...
Seriously some owners are just weird and not honest
i am not from Samsung forums (whatever that is) i have the mate 10 since day one it was launched here in Kuwait. The only difference is I prefer to give a true life experience not if I like it or not.
I DARE anyone says it doesn't lag to open champions game for example and video record it and share to prove how smooth it is. Or even scroll in Instagram or Facebook. It feels pathetic.
I DARE anyone to turn on all notifications from social media and emails and show us the battery and how great it is. It won't last 4 hours SOT.
I DARE anyone says it's smooth to compare the scrolling with any other flagship from 2016 not even 2017
I have the OnePlus 5 and in comparison the mate 10 is a heckup joke
I dare anyone says emui does't feel like a stupid copycat version of a Chinese knockoff of iOS
I still owns the device cuz of infrared, PC mood and i like the monochrome camera but to advice someone to own it and spread what's proven to be pure lies is not my cup of tea.
I have no speed problems or whatsoever, besides there are a few comparison between the 10 Pro and the Pixel 2XL and both are on pair on speed.
Tbh for me EMUI was always nice and smooth, since I tried it the first time on the ascend mate 7, specially when compared with Samsung Experience, although the Note8 seems to bug down much less often.
EMUI does many things its own way, like it's not possible to expand notifications on the lockscreen, neither is it possible to drag the notification shade down from the lock screen.
Although I've found a way to keep background apps working just by putting them on the system exception, some apps specially the ones not optimized for Oreo might still give you headache, between EMUI own battery saver and Oreo's default background app policies, you might find some apps that won't run properly if they need to do stuff on the background.
There is not smart unlock based on location or voice.
As for bugs, the most annoying I have is Bluetooth audio is half broken, AAC codec cannot be selected.
Huawei needs to improve the portrait mode, specially on the front camera.... the Pixel app port does a much better job.
Cameras are amazing, specially if you wanna do things on manual.
[email protected] said:
Yes there are many
Don't believe the reviews
The only good thing is the camera
Phone lags
Bad at games
Battery is bad. Don't believe the hype. To make it good u have to use Huawei battery to kill every single app in the background
It suffers when it comes to smoothnes and scrolling
Emui is just BAD
Stereo speakers is a joke. The secondary is extremely low
I believe it's a 800usd phone... U better think Samsung or pixel or even v30 from lg
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My experience with the phone is basically the opposite of yours.
I'm very satisfied with the phone.
I upgraded from a Note 4 to the Mate 10 (non-pro) and would do so again. Definitely an adjustment period, but it's speedy and has an amazing battery. Routinely getting 8 hours screen on time and about 2 days of standby. But as others have said, the power management can be over-aggressive, so if you read the forums, there are some apps (like KinScreen) or scrollable calendar widgets that will keep being killed. The Huawei launcher also is useless IMO.
I installed Nova and then rooted, which enabled me to kill the system app Power Genius and I no longer had the apps dying issue, but still had my battery life (especially with a little tweaking using Greenify).
I like the non-pro model better (front finger-print scanner) and it doesn't seem to have the bluetooth sound issues that some are reporting on the pro.
[email protected] said:
Seriously some owners are just weird and not honest
i am not from Samsung forums (whatever that is) i have the mate 10 since day one it was launched here in Kuwait. The only difference is I prefer to give a true life experience not if I like it or not.
I DARE anyone says it doesn't lag to open champions game for example and video record it and share to prove how smooth it is. Or even scroll in Instagram or Facebook. It feels pathetic.
I DARE anyone to turn on all notifications from social media and emails and show us the battery and how great it is. It won't last 4 hours SOT.
I DARE anyone says it's smooth to compare the scrolling with any other flagship from 2016 not even 2017
I have the OnePlus 5 and in comparison the mate 10 is a heckup joke
I dare anyone says emui does't feel like a stupid copycat version of a Chinese knockoff of iOS
I still owns the device cuz of infrared, PC mood and i like the monochrome camera but to advice someone to own it and spread what's proven to be pure lies is not my cup of tea.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I came from OnePlus 5 and mate 10 pro feels equally smoother. Also I have all the main social apps installed with the Huawei battery manager disabled and I get easily 7 hours sot. A lot better then OnePlus 5.
Don't know about gaming because I'm not a gamer.
I don't understand the negative comments... Battery life is highly dependent on what you do. On WiFi you can get 7+h SOT, but when out and about using cellular it will be closer to 5 or maybe 4. The camera is very good, especially if you use manual controls but I wish it wouldn't completely crush noise in low light by making it way too soft (though I suppose this is a matter of taste).
If I were you I'd consider this phone mainly for the battery life and CONSISTENT performance. EMUI isn't broken but it certainly behaves strangely sometimes. E.g. sometimes when I open Gboard it goes underneath the navigation buttons which makes it impossible to use the space or change to numbers/symbols.
I would also say that this phone isn't worth $800. The Galaxy S9 isn't far off in terms of price and it's likely a better phone in everything except price and software.
My Mate 10 Pro hasn't suffered from any significant slowdown and even if it does a simple cleanup from the phone manager will do the trick.
If you can get it for $600 then I think is a fantastic value and overall an excellent phone that I don't regret getting for the equivalent of €550 over a 30 month contract.

Help me decide. galaxy 9+ or Mate 10 Pro?

me and a friend are set to go out at the end of this week to buy a new smartphone. I'm upgrading from a mid range clunker and his selling his Iphones and going Droid. I need the community help to decide which of these 2 we should go for. or at least I should go for since he is set on the 9+ more. there is no direct comparison between these 2 online so I'm still undecided.
here is my line of thought.
galaxy S9+ pros
1- awesome screen.
2- great audio and 3.5 jack.
3- beautiful phone eye catcher.
4- expandable storage ( not very important for me).
5- great low light Camera.
6- faster processing power ( exynos version the one I'm getting)
7- wireless charging.
8- status symbol, everyone knows galaxy when they see it, like iphones.
9- crisp mic quality.
10- great GPS.
galaxy S9+ cons
1- mediocre battery life.
2- costy more expensive than mate 10 pro.
3- slow charging compared to mate 10 pro.
4- battery might not retain it's capacity over time even though samsung caims so.
Mate 10 Pro, pros.
1-fast charging 1:30min to charge fully
2- costs 250$ less than galaxy s9+
3- great battery life.
4- comes with screen protector and case.
5- great GPS module.
Mate 10 pro cons
1- looks like any other phone
2- no status symbol, whats this phone: mate 10 pro, wut ?, it's huwaei, ah chinese phone u mean? :cyclops:
3- inferior screen.
4- horrible resale value.
what do you guys think? coming from asus zenfone max I greatly value battery life but this time I really want to buy the best and cry only once. processing power isn't really an issue for me since I don't game much. but since I'm a photographer who post on instagram frequently I value good camera.
any thoughts are appreciated.
I've had both. I had the Mate 10 standard first and did love it but couldn't deal with the adaptive brightness bug that randomly dimmed the screen despite auto brightness being turned off. I sold it at a rather large loss, a little over $200.
So far I'm really liking the S9+. The screen does look more saturated and colorful than the Mate 10 but the Mate 10 seemed sharper. I much prefer LCD over AMOLED, mostly do to the latter's issues with burn in and screen degradation. Mate 10 also seemed a little quicker.
My Mate 10 also had to have the International rom flashed as it never made it to the states, so there was little issues with that. The S9+ works better on US networks.
Battery life is better on the Mate 10 but the S9+ isn't a slouch, either. The camera is excellent on both but I don't use them enough to go into a detailed comparison.
Just for background information, these are the phones I had in the past 6 months: Mate 9 Pro, Pixel 2 XL, U11+, P20 Pro and S9+.
Taking this in mind, I can say that S9+ is the most balanced of them all, and overall the best device.
I can't say directly about Mate 10 Pro because I never had one, but I guess is pretty much the same as my Mate 9 Pro/P20 Pro I had, so I'm basing my comments on these experiences.
The cons you wrote about the S9+ are half truth:
* Battery is not mediocre as long as you know how to properly configure your device. I'm not getting less than 5-6 hours SOT over a day and a half; is true that Mate 10 Pro will have a better battery life, but from my experience, I never had more than 1 hour SOT difference between the S9+ and the Huawei ones.
* Is true that Mate 10 charges faster, but is a matter of 10-15 minutes difference at most. My S9+ charges fully in around 1:40.
* I would add as a con that S9+ has lower coverage and maybe this could turn into a problem if you live in a zone where there are not many antennas, thus it can impact battery life.
If you care about the camera, then go with the S9+, because Huawei phones have horrible video even when photo is pretty decent.
For me, the S9+ is the most rounded phone I have ever had and it has no real deal-breakers, like all the others I had.
S9+ is very well rounded device. I have both S9 and S9+, and I must say battery is very very good. I get on average 6-7 hrs sot and over a day usage on S9+ and my wife can go 2.5 days on a single charge on her S9 with 4-5 hrs sot. She not as heavy a user as me but def on the moderate to heavy usage side of things. She finishes with about 15% left, me about 11% battery left. Battery life is fantastic IMO.
thanks for your answer, it was very insightful, I didn't know about the burn in information before you comment, after looking this up it doesn't appear to be something I should be concerned about. also the mate 10 pro is listed as having a AMOLED display so the issue would be present in both I guess. I'm glad to see that the battery life of the S9+ is good.
thanks for sharing your experience, 6 hours of screen time is all I really need, the s9+ you have, is it exynos or Snapdragon ? 1:40m of charge time is actually quite decent, I placed my facts on numbers posted by people online, it seems that their S9+ charges in 2:30h. thanks to your comment I'm leaning more toward the S9+ more now.
galaxy S9+ pro? the S9+ is the ultimate eye candy, excellent battery life, sound is great now with dolby and never heard of the Mate 10 Pro.
I don't know what kind of moron is saying that the S9+ is charging in 2:30, but I always get it at 1:40 and most people get the same times.
Take a look at these:
https://youtu.be/Oy2HXrDNpYA
https://youtu.be/HCWTfuBZ2hA
https://youtu.be/GR55y1O-bgM
I have Exynos version, but is supposed that Snapdragon is a little bit better regarding battery life. I'm happy with the device and so far I haven't had any problem with it.
your reply is very assuring. 6 SOT is more than I need actually. you guys actually have 2, so 2 testimonials, this is very assuring, thank you.
LMAO ur proving my point, my friend has a mate 9. in every social event. oh this boxy looking phone looks cool, what is it ?, it's Huwaei Mate 9. . . . . MMM wut?.... u know huwaei the company the make routers ....... oh really!? u mean the chinese company......... sigh yes... ah cool chinese phone, looks flashy
I think you get them from wish.com for $4-5.
Had the mate 10 pro, kept it for 3 months then sold it. Camera was truly VERY BAD...all due to oversharpening...everything looked like an oil painting.
Software updates were another big problem... 1 update every three months.
I found the screen perfectly fine...not as good as the S9 + though.... but you are paying top dollar for the s9+.
Sold mine for a big loss too.... price on these plummets... so don't expect to take a minor hit on any resale.
And.... Might not be of importance !!!.... but the mate 10 pro has the street cred of a 3 wheeled Robin Reliant (go look it up) !!!!
On the other hand...The S9+ takes great photos. Has frequent updates. Superb screen. Wireless charging. Fast fingerprint scanner.....you know which one I'm going to recommend !!!!
Hope this helps.
"3 wheeled Robin Reliant"!!!! the line of the month!!!
And yes the fingerprint scanner is very very good.
double post
Guys I haven't had time to reply here since I went out me and my friend went out last Thursday and got 2 titanium gray s9 plus!.
There is a lot to be said but for now its suffice to say I love it! I'm blown by this amazing phone. My friend sold both his iphone 8 and iphone x and today he bought his second so plus, liliac purple. If u guys want to see pics of the phones check the post out out on @Headon_collision on Instagram. I'm still discovering the phone and I'll comment more in few days
Are you experiencing the low volome notification issues? Some users are saying they can barely hear the notification or had missed calls. Even though the volume was turned up all the way.
No such problem. Volume is good with everything. We are currently experiencing a heatwave 45c outdoors and I'm very impressed on how efficient the heat dissipation is on this device, indoors 30c ambient the cpu and battery are both 35c. Outdoors they both dont seems to go over 43c degrees in 40c ambient
@Galaxo60 - I've just got an SM-G965F - immediately had to flash another firmware to get VoWifi - what do you mean by properly configuring the device?
Just remove apps you don't use, and disable background activity of "Android System" and you will be good.
I came from the Mate 10 Pro, wasn't impressed with the camera

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