FIrst impressions - Motorola Edge + (2020) Guides, News, & Discussion

I know its late for first impressions, since the phone was released 1 year ago and motorola has released "an upgraded version" (honestly cant see much of an upgrade apart for the 144hz oled, more so mostly downgrades), but i just got it in a, in my opinion rather good, deal from lenovo directly for 499e new.
Ill start with negatives first as there are rather few that i saw until now.
Most of them have to do with the curved display:
1. The edges are extremely curved, have color distorsion and the part of the display is there but unusable for reading, hence the real estate is smaller as advertised. The display is not optimally calibrated, is slightly blue and you can change it manually (like on samsung or lg phones)
2. The aluminum frame at the side is slightly protruding from the the rest of the phone, so when holding it with one hand its somewhat annoying/irritating, almost painful when holding it for prolonged times. Somewhat slippery with dry hands. No protective casing.
3. As far as i can tell the camera isnt able to do more than 120fps in slow motion (i dont think its 240fps), even if i try with gcam only 1/4 works, with 1/8 not working. This is quite the schocker as most other sd865 phones can do 960fps, or at least 240/480fps
4. Gcam (7 and 8) works good with the main and the tele camera, but fails with the ultra wide (white dotted lines/raster on the whole image). The good thing is, the stock camera seems to be a modified gcam version.
5. apparently only 2 OS updates (one being Android 11, so only 12 coming) / but on the bright side, the edge 20 pro will get only 1 ^ ^ Naturally its not as good as Samsung or Google but its for half the price.
6. No custom Roms, apparently bootloader unlock damages the FP function (not sure if in android 11 as well)
7. Only single sim - at least the international variant. No SDcard
Positives
1. The phone feels really solid in the hand. It is a real premium feel. Entirely comparable to the samsung note series
2. The battery life is awesome. Currently at 42% and over 5 Hours SOT
3. The main camera and the ultrawide make great photos, the tele is somewhat underwhelming (zoomed in main photo, has almost same detail as the tele picture native)
4. 12GB ram, 256GB UFS 3.0, USB 3 connection, Displayport/HDMI support all for 499e
5. The motorola desktop experience, works like samsung dex, really useful gimmick
6. doesnt heat up much, consistent performance
7. 90 Hz display, doesnt eat up as much battery and subjectively its not different to 120hz
8. The moto gestures and functions are absolutely awesome. Especially the Peek Display. I really missed this from the moto z i had and sold a few years ago.
9. loud stereo speakers, though they could use a bit more bass and less mids and highs. There is some kind of equalizer which doesnt seem to have too much effect though.
10. For me with smaller hands the width is perfect for single handed use, both left and right sided. Though because of the high display its sometimes hard to press things on the top.
11. Almost no bloatware (except for the google bloatware) so basically as if you would be getting a pixel phone.
12. Bootloader unlockable.
13. 3.5mm Headphone jack.
14. Charger and headphones in the box!
Will be adding things when i use it more. If anyone has questions i can try to answer them. And if anyone doest agree with me, bring it up so i can try it out.

Related

What are Non-Sony users saying about the Z5C ?

I read a lot of reviews and opinions here about the Z5C that are from people that were or still are using a Sony device. The Z5C is usually compared in terms of the Z3C or even the Z1C. Those comparisons are good if you own those devices, but I have no prior contact with Sony. My current device is a Moto G (1st Gen).
So I'd like to know what people who had no prior contact, or at least not in the past years, with Sony say about the phone. How does it feel and how much "crap" is on a Sony phone compared to a Nexus or Motorola phone? How good/bad are the Sony-Apps ? What "oddities" do Sony phones have?
Thanks for your opinions.
I came from a Moto G (2nd Gen) to the Z5C which is my first Sony phone. So a similar path to what you are considering. It comes with way more "crap" on in than the Motorola did. Where my Moto G (2nd Gen) might have had 5 Motorola utilities, the Z5C has maybe 30. Many of them are app/tools that seemingly connect you into the Sony Sphere. PlayStation stuff, Dinosaur images pop up in the camera you can stamp on your photos and super cheesy Japanese schoolgirl emoticons for your text input.
If you like the clean native Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Photos messaging and so on you will find yourself having to disable the Sony versions.
One oddity my Z3C has is that is is fussy about which micro USB cable will charge it. So if like me you have a collection of micro USB cables and chargers from previous phone they may not all work. I guess this may be due to tighter tolerances required water proofing the charge port. Not a biggy but worth knowing.
I find the Xperia Keyboard gesture input (aka Swype input) to be a PITA. Miss rate is too high and deleting errors is tedious. Shame becuase it works very well on other phones.
Small size is great. Can easily slip it in a front trouser pocket.
BUT I have yet to feel "vibrate on for calls" when it is my pocket. When someone does call when Z5C in pocket when I am doing somehting noisey like mowing a lawn, I dont feel the vinration alert, it seemingly wakes the phone and thereafter movement leads to random screen presses. So when I eventually retrieve it form my pocket an hour later the screen is still on and it is in some weird screen such as the camera or emerg dialer. Perhpas I am missing something here though. Oh and definitely don't buy it for the camera if you are expecting a point and shoot with a high % of great shots.
That's my thoughts.
Coming from a nexus 5, I love this phone! Never charge it from the mains only from my car every day(1 hour commute each way) and it keeps going strong! Pretty quick and feels good.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Coming from Samsung S3
This Z5 is very bad...unstable sw, no optimization, really slow...bleah! I think i will never buy again a sony device. Oh...customer care is bad too.
Camera is slow and poor quality, GPS is very inaccurate, BT disconnet and reconnect every 15 secs (i think the problem is trhow but i can't disable it...)
So...i'm not a satisfied user..
Thank you all for your replies.
logger said:
I came from a Moto G (2nd Gen) to the Z5C which is my first Sony phone. So a similar path to what you are considering. It comes with way more "crap" on in than the Motorola did. Where my Moto G (2nd Gen) might have had 5 Motorola utilities, the Z5C has maybe 30. Many of them are app/tools that seemingly connect you into the Sony Sphere. PlayStation stuff, Dinosaur images pop up in the camera you can stamp on your photos and super cheesy Japanese schoolgirl emoticons for your text input.
If you like the clean native Google apps such as Gmail, Calendar, Photos messaging and so on you will find yourself having to disable the Sony versions.
One oddity my Z3C has is that is is fussy about which micro USB cable will charge it. So if like me you have a collection of micro USB cables and chargers from previous phone they may not all work. I guess this may be due to tighter tolerances required water proofing the charge port. Not a biggy but worth knowing.
I find the Xperia Keyboard gesture input (aka Swype input) to be a PITA. Miss rate is too high and deleting errors is tedious. Shame becuase it works very well on other phones.
Small size is great. Can easily slip it in a front trouser pocket.
BUT I have yet to feel "vibrate on for calls" when it is my pocket. When someone does call when Z5C in pocket when I am doing somehting noisey like mowing a lawn, I dont feel the vinration alert, it seemingly wakes the phone and thereafter movement leads to random screen presses. So when I eventually retrieve it form my pocket an hour later the screen is still on and it is in some weird screen such as the camera or emerg dialer. Perhpas I am missing something here though. Oh and definitely don't buy it for the camera if you are expecting a point and shoot with a high % of great shots.
That's my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I actually never use the original cables since I have set up a "charging station". Which cables does the Z5C not accept? Is there a pattern?
And I'm not buying this for the camera, I have a DSLR for that
Tuonorosso said:
Coming from Samsung S3
This Z5 is very bad...unstable sw, no optimization, really slow...bleah! I think i will never buy again a sony device. Oh...customer care is bad too.
Camera is slow and poor quality, GPS is very inaccurate, BT disconnet and reconnect every 15 secs (i think the problem is trhow but i can't disable it...)
So...i'm not a satisfied user..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have the newest firmware ? AFAIK a few things should have been fixed with the latest update. What experience do you have with the customer care ?
ricostuart said:
Coming from a nexus 5, I love this phone! Never charge it from the mains only from my car every day(1 hour commute each way) and it keeps going strong! Pretty quick and feels good.
Sent from my E5823 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How was the Z5C in terms of "snappiness" compared to the Nexus ?
nazgoul said:
Do you have the newest firmware ? AFAIK a few things should have been fixed with the latest update. What experience do you have with the customer care ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, last fw: 32.0.A.6.152
Customer care have reset the phone 4 times. Each trial did not resolve the problem. In the end they told me to bring it to service but they had no idea of the repair time and they not given me any temporary phone.
My phone has only one month and i need it for work...i can't stay weeks without it. For a 600$ phone i think this is unacceptable.
At this time i have the same initial problems...
I hope in Marshmallow ...
Coming from Moto G first Gen (falcon)
Coming from Moto G 1st Gen. This is my first Sony Phone.
I am loving the Z5C.
Few things to note that that will give you an idea between the two phones
1. The flash on the moto g is noticeably brighter and warmer. Idc about cameras, but I find I use the flashlight a lot
2. The chip on the Z5C does feel much faster. Not sure how to describe it other than the UI on the Z5C being more "fluid"
3. The chip on the Z5C does get noticeably warm (but not hot) on the back under certain loads. E.g. running long sessions of RDP or installing lots of apps in quick succession or recording 4K video. Under normal use like browsing the web or watching youtube it does not get warm.
4. The camera is way better than the Moto G
5. The hardware feels really solid. It feels dense. I like it
6. The battery life is significantly better. At my usage, the Moto G will die at about 8pm or 9pm (taking off the charge at 7am). I have yet to kill the Z5C in a single day in my normal use
(my normal use usually has a few hours of music, and at least 4 hours of screen time)
7. The stereo speakers are much nicer, but the stereo effect is small, and they aren't not as loud as the moto g's single speaker
8. The max brightness of the Z5C's screen is about the same as the one on the Moto G. The min brightness is on the Z5C is lower though.
9 The physical dimensions of the Z5C is smaller in width and height. The Z5C does feel thicker because of its more boxy shape though
In terms of bloatware, there is quite a bit. I have a lot of apps disabled from settings or hidden (I use Apex)
There are some features that sony added that are nice though.
1. Built in screen recording
2. "Small Apps" - a bit like floating widgets
3. Nice audio optimizations that make my music experience nicer
4. Being able to customize the quick settings in the notification center
5. Battery percentage in the status bar (this is important to me )
6. The screen colours can be calibrated to your liking
Other things to consider
- The fingerprint sensor is pretty bad, but that could be just my fingers.
- The phone is really slippery compared to the Moto G. A case is highly recommended.
- Stamina mode - I havent tested if this has a positive effect on battery life, but i'm letting the placebo effect take place
- The microsd slot is nice for future proofing, although given that I had a 8GB moto g, and the Z5C comes with 32GB, Im not going to need a microsd in the near future.
- Water proofing
- Of the 32GB, about 10GB is taken up by the android system, and thus we cannot use for our own stuff
- I found the volume button placement on the Z5C wierd until I got used to it in less than a week. Unless you actively need access to it all the time, its not annoying
- I find that everything on screen is too large for my liking, so I have my DPI set to 280, the same as what I had on my Moto G
In response to some of the things said above:
- Bluetooth works fine for me. It has never lost connection to my Microsoft Band when I needed them to be connected
- I've used my Z5C with 3 different usb cables, none of them have a problem.
- Camera does launch slow if Photo Analyser Service is not disabled. The camera launches quite fast now (but admittedly not as fast as say an iPhone 6s)
- The GPS locks quicker than the Moto G, and has yet to be inaccurate for me.
I am really looking forward to Marshmallow
I hope that answers your questions. Sorry for long response lol
I have both nexus 6p and z5 compact. Previously had nexus 6.
I went for the z5c as it had wifi calling, and is a pretty small but powerful phone.
Notables, z5c is under-clocked, could be because heat dissipation on small device yielded unsatisfactory result, could be another one of those battery optimisation things.
It also seems to be on a conservative or power save profile, making it slow to start, but if you launch a game it gets into gear.
It was stuttering even with the OTAs of which i had received two, just a few days ago, even with factory resets it did not go away.
I used the sony PC companion to do a full firmware flash, not an incremental OTA and it became pretty smooth and slick to use again with all 0.5 speed animations and about 20 apps installed. I also disabled all of the original media apps and extra Sony stuff and use my own, poweramp and mxplayer is all i really need.
Pretty good experience to use now. Too bad about it using some sort of powersave profile even with stamina disabled. Good thing i have an nexus 6p to play with too.
you5urf said:
I used the sony PC companion to do a full firmware flash, not an incremental OTA and it became pretty smooth and slick to use again with all 0.5 speed animations and about 20 apps installed. I also disabled all of the original media apps and extra Sony stuff and use my own, poweramp and mxplayer is all i really need.
Pretty good experience to use now. Too bad about it using some sort of powersave profile even with stamina disabled. Good thing i have an nexus 6p to play with too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know how to disable throw?
Coming from the N5:
Disadvantages:
- Much less free RAM (N5X also has this issue, I think it's related to Android 64 bits).
- Much lower photo quality
Advantages:
- 200% or much more battery life.
- overall quality
- vídeo quality
Sent from my E5823
I am coming from the HTC One M7 which can be considered an old phone now I guess.
Good:
-Battery life finally gets me over the day and sometimes into the second.
-Better camera, but by far not great.
-Better display brightness
Bad:
-Sonys Android design looks like a toy. It lacks the beautiful HTC Sense look and features.
-Even with the latest firmware and fresh format its doesnt feel any fast than the old HTC One. Sense had a nicer flow overall.
-In general, switching between apps is not faster, once in the app, the processor surely shows its power. Antutu gave me 31k on HTC One and 62k on Z5C, so technically twice as fast.
-Having the phone in the front pockets of your jeans just looks stupid with the hard edges. The HTC one with its beautiful round design was basically invisible in your pocket.
The HTC One was far from perfect and had its issues, but my heart is still with that phone and I dont beleive I am gonna buy another Sony phone. I wanted a small powerful phone, but its not easy to like this phone I am afraid.
eivissa said:
I am coming from the HTC One M7 which can be considered an old phone now I guess.
Good:
-Battery life finally gets me over the day and sometimes into the second.
-Better camera, but by far not great.
-Better display brightness
Bad:
-Sonys Android design looks like a toy. It lacks the beautiful HTC Sense look and features.
-Even with the latest firmware and fresh format its doesnt feel any fast than the old HTC One. Sense had a nicer flow overall.
-In general, switching between apps is not faster, once in the app, the processor surely shows its power. Antutu gave me 31k on HTC One and 62k on Z5C, so technically twice as fast.
-Having the phone in the front pockets of your jeans just looks stupid with the hard edges. The HTC one with its beautiful round design was basically invisible in your pocket.
The HTC One was far from perfect and had its issues, but my heart is still with that phone and I dont beleive I am gonna buy another Sony phone. I wanted a small powerful phone, but its not easy to like this phone I am afraid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also coming from a HTC ONE M7 and I'm feeling exactly as you. I have had the phone for 5 days now and I'm seriously considering to sell it and keep using my M7 since I'm seeing the same things than you see.
I have great expectations for this phone but now that I have it, I'm a little bit disappointed...I don't know if it's cause I'm so use to my old phone or cause my old phone is sooo good that I don't see anything new or improved on the z5c...maybe expect for the waterproofing things.
I'll give it another week to see If I can fall in love with it...maybe when the custom roms start showing up I'll start to see the advantages of changing.
I've been used some HTC and got a Z1c and S6. Guys plz give sometime to this phone, my S6 also took a couple of months to improve before got satisfy result. I believe Android 6.0 will give a new life to this phone.
I've only experienced Apple's devices so I came over from an iPhone 3G, iPhone 4S and then an iPhone 6S. I absolutely LOVE this sucker. And I must have gotten very lucky because I haven't seen any of the issues that others have.
Pros:
1. Fascinated by the Android OS. There's just so much you can do with it! So much more freeing than Apple's IOS. They both have a few positive and negative quirks, but I'm not really missing IOS that much. I did miss the Safari left/right swipe browser initially, but found out about the Rbrowser app with built in ad-block and the swipe feature, and couldn't be happier.
2. The device is quick. Compared to my iPhone devices haven't experienced nearly as much lag even under load.
3. I love the camera and video. Takes far better pictures and video than any camera I've ever used before, and with the latest update, the menu selection is so easy to use. I think the side button to open the camera app is a genius. I also never experienced the blur issue that a lot of others complained about.
4. The size and look of the device totally compliments me. I find modern phones like the Galaxy S6 and the iPhone 6S way too big and clunky. This device is exactly the right size. Slightly larger than my old 4S, but still comfortable to hold, and type one handed with. I also absolutely love the sharp right angles on the phone. I dig the thickness of the Compact, and I love the bright punky yellow of the case color I selected.
5. The fingerprint scanner is so fun to use. I had one on the 6S that worked maybe slightly better, but that's only because there was more surface area to press, but still having a fingerprint reader makes me feel like a spy a bit.
6. I haven't had any issues with the heat of the phone. It gets warm, but after a month of use, I've never experienced it getting warmer than the 4S or the 6S even while playing graphic intensive games, using the GPS, or recording video. It never gets warm while browsing websites, or doing day to day smartphone things.
7. The device did have a little bit of bloatware, but then, so did Apple's devices. Removing/disabling the bloat was easy to do.
8. So far no unexpected surprises. The alarm works. the phone rings and vibrates as it ought. The apps all open fine. I get all my expected alerts and then some. Messaging works fine. The screen is bright and easy to read and watch. I love the little FM radio app (though I don't use it too much). Haven't had any issues with the GPS. Everything does what it's supposed to do.
Negatives:
1. Coming from devices with only one bottom speaker, I thought that having two front facing stereo speakers would make this device monster loud....it isn't. In fact, it's slightly quieter than the 6S (though louder than the 4S). That said, I do love the stereo effect, and I think having so many audio controls is awesome. I just wish the device was a bit louder. Hopefully when the device becomes rootable I can find a fix for that.
2. The boot up time on this device is pretty slow. From powered off, the 6S starts up in a matter of a couple seconds. It takes like half a minute or longer for the Z5 to start up. Course, this isn't much of an issue most of the time since the device doesn't usually need to be powered off or restarted.
3. The iPhone 6S 3D touch is pretty amazing, and I can see them doing some cool things with it over time. There was nothing about it that was super amazing while I had it. No apps to really take too much of an advantage of it yet, but I can see that it'll be awesome to have some time down the road.
4. The voicemail was a bit odd to set up. I'm used to Apple's easy voicemail integration that just works out of the box. For this device I had to download and setup a "visual voicemail" system that I'm not used to, and that I found a bit annoying.
My first Android phone was a Sony xperia mini. Was worse than Motorola Milestone (gsm droid) that replaced it. I since moved onto Samsung original Galaxy S and then Galaxy Nexus. Then the original Moto X dev edition which is the same size as this Z5C. I love the form factor. Ever since the Nexus 6 which I have one of those, Moto is obsessed with phone size. The Nexus 6 was named Shamu for a reason. I am hoping the just under 5" phones are not s dying breed because this device is the perfect size for me. I also like the subtle tweaks Sony does with their ROM compared to vanilla stock. Its also a fast device and I like the build quality compared to the Samsung devices I have owned. Those are my thoughts anyway.

The Galaxy S8 and S8+ are very nice but...

... the price! Those phones can't possibly be twice as good as the Axon 7 to justify such a price. I for one can't wait to see what the Axon 8 will look like. My wish list:
A screen a little bit bigger.
(Having used a 6.4" Z Ultra for a long time, I find the AX7's display rather limiting. And the trend is towards bigger displays anyway, as the S8 and S8+ demonstrate.)
Illuminated hardware keys.
(For ****'s sake how hard can that be?)
A camera a little bit better.
(A flash on the front camera and a dedicated camera button - like on Sony's phones - would not be bad ideas either).
Keep the speakers and sound quality!
(Absolutely don't mess with that, ZTE, it's absolutely perfect as is.)
Waterproof.
(I know speakers are hard to waterproof but the rest of the phone shouldn't die if it gets dropped in water.)
A bigger battery!!
(The battery is never big enough.)
That's about it! The rest of the AX7 is pretty close to perfection.
The only thing I agree with is the camera although the one in the Axon 7 is okay.
Illuminated buttons I don't like. I always kept them disabled on the Note 4.
What I'd improve is the vibration motor, which sucks and makes the phone feel cheap every single time I type a letter... It's too strong and makes an annoying audible sound.
Way overpriced.
How is this related to forum?
ГАСООП said:
How is this related to forum?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not, but also not forbidden.
Should be moved to general I think.
On topic now:
Seems like the actual improvements in the smartphone industry have decreased over the years, and so, most companies do whatever they brainstormed at the labs, and call it revolutionary and try to reinvent the wheel, year after year.
I don't like the S8, I personally think it's pointless.
Not to mention the fact that it's overpriced as hell.
Negligible differences over the S7.
Nothing major going for it really.
aLexzkter said:
Illuminated buttons I don't like. I always kept them disabled on the Note 4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To each their own. If the illumination can be turned on and off, then everybody's happy.
I probably wouldn't consider touching the new Samsung devices with a ten foot pole.
As for the Axon 8, I agree with you about needing illuminated hardware keys, a (much) better set of cameras with their own dedicated flashes, the same or better audio quality, and waterproofing (because why not). I would also like an updated SOC, a screen with better viewing angles, and less proprietary crap going on. It kills me that this phone is handicapped on custom ROMs because ZTE wanted to use their own stuff rather than going with standard APIs (e.g. camera software).
Oh, don't get me wrong, the S8 looks like a nice (and gorgeous) device. Samsung always seems to do hardware right. Bixby might be good, but I generally assume most people I'll replace it with Google's offerings.
For $750? Fat chance. No way is a phone worth that. Hell, a person could spend just a bit more than the price on the Plus' tag to get any number of great computer components, the greatest laptop of the year, or something else actually worth close to one grand. I don't understand how these expensive phones continue to sell.
I also couldn't willingly choose a phone without official support for an unlocked bootloader.
Here's to hoping the next best thing comes along and actually fulfills the requirements of that title.
aLexzkter said:
The only thing I agree with is the camera although the one in the Axon 7 is okay.
Illuminated buttons I don't like. I always kept them disabled on the Note 4.
What I'd improve is the vibration motor, which sucks and makes the phone feel cheap every single time I type a letter... It's too strong and makes an annoying audible sound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can turn down the vibrate in Gboard settings it doesn't suck it's too powerful
gtshiftin6 said:
You can turn down the vibrate in Gboard settings it doesn't suck it's too powerful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I turned it all the way down and it's still way too powerful. And it makes a high-pitched sound like the phone is not well constructed.
PiArc said:
I would also like an updated SOC, a screen with better viewing angles, and less proprietary crap going on. It kills me that this phone is handicapped on custom ROMs because ZTE wanted to use their own stuff rather than going with standard APIs (e.g. camera software).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't know what you're talking about. The camera software can be used on LineageOS, first phone I have that can do that (LG G2 and Galaxy Note 4 couldn't)
Better viewing angles? It has the same display as the Galaxy S7, an amazing AMOLED screen, which have the best viewing angles possible. And this is not even a TV anyway so it's not a crucial thing.
I've never felt like the viewing angle needs improvement. But a few times while using the phone outside in broad sunshine I found myself wishing for more brightness.
aLexzkter said:
You don't know what you're talking about. The camera software can be used on LineageOS, first phone I have that can do that (LG G2 and Galaxy Note 4 couldn't)
Better viewing angles? It has the same display as the Galaxy S7, an amazing AMOLED screen, which have the best viewing angles possible. And this is not even a TV anyway so it's not a crucial thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By no means am I saying the device is a bad phone or anything. In fact, this honestly is probably my favorite device ever.
Still, I would greatly appreciate DNG support, which the device would have if ZTE had used Google's camera API 2. Unfortunately --as far as I know-- raw photos are only supported through the ZTE's own camera in manual mode. That bugs me. I don't like being forced to use things I wouldn't otherwise in order to get the experience I want.
If you use Lineage you know the camera is not the sole or even the most apparent place in which ZTE's awkward implementation of software and drivers has caused trouble for development. I only chose it as my example because it affects me the most, but issues such as the one any non-stock based ROM has with audio distortion are only present because ZTE either didn't stick to standards or chose to complicate their drivers and stuff.
Customizability is Android's core selling point for me, so being unable to use whatever I want exactly as I want it detracts from a device's appeal. I should be able to use whichever camera app I want with DNG support. I should be able to listen to good quality music in a non-stock ROM. ZTE made it harder for developers to give users those options than they should have.
As for the SOC and the screen, I'm just adding stuff to a wish list for an updated phone. Again, by no means are either the screen or the chip poor. Quite the contrary, they were perfect last year. However, there's no point in the 8 having anything other than the best of this year's silicon if it is to be marketed as another flagship killer. There are people who would choose not to buy the phone just because the number 835 looks greater than 820. The Axon 8 deserves just as much consideration as every phone that comes out, and not choosing to upgrade the SOC would unfortunately place it at a disadvantage (despite the fact that the 820 is a magnificent beast in it's own right).
The viewing angle thing is literally the world's slightest grievance. I spend a lot of time reading on my phone because I haven't got a dedicated e-reader anymore. If I'm lying on my stomach with the display pointed a bit away from my face there is a very slight blue tinge. It is extremely minor and no worse than what I've seen on any phone (much better than many). Just, moving forward I'd rather see the screen further refined rather than changed to something bigger or with a higher resolution or something else unnecessarily showy just for the hell of it (as will likely have to be the case for marketing purposes).
Sure a phone isn't a TV, but they're being used increasingly for media consumption and the like (hence the push for fancier aspect ratios and all that this year). There's no reason to leave a display that will be used for media consumption with an inaccuracy due to narrow viewing angles that will widen a bit by simply using a more recently manufactured screen.
On another note, I wish the 2.5D glass were just flattened so that tempered glass screen protectors could be properly compatible. I tried to get my nephew to upgrade to an Axon 7 rather than an iPhone and the only thing that kept him back was his bad luck breaking devices and the tendency to slap on a tempered glass protector that emerged from the same. That basically completes the list of what would make this phone perfect for me, if not necessarily for other people.
None of that is to say the device is bad. With some very slight refinement, the Axon 8 should once again be a serious contender for the best phone of the year.

LG G5 SE (H840) - Any impressions?

Are there any owners of the G5 SE here who would be able to share impressions/thoughts on the phone, specifically battery life and also general performance.
There are plenty of video reviews on YouTube but they all seem to be non-English, which makes things a little hard to understand. I've found a few foreign language reviews which I have run through Google Translate but none seem to have any 'scientific' battery life impressions and figures.
G5 SE is on Amazon UK for £288 and specs wise its probably better than anything else under £300. But lack of English reviews makes it a bit of an unknown quantity.
Thanks for any help.
I have it for 4 months now (silver color), i would definitively suggest it. The only major drawback is a little weak battery, with medium usage you can go from morning till evening without recharging it. I like how sleek and super slim its designed. It feels nice in hand, i cant say its finishing metal or not. I didn't have any major heating issues. G5 se is a real boss between all major brands.
Thanks for those impressions. The battery is what most concerns me the most, at the moment I have a Galaxy Note 5 which barely makes it through the day, and that's with power saver mode permanently on so I'm running the phone at 70% of what its capable of. :/
I use 2G network and my battery two days without recharging.
I've had mine since December, and it's been pretty good. Only a few niggles, which I will highlight after the positives:
Positives
1) The image quality from the camera is REALLY good; very sharp in some cases. On a par with the Note 4, which I previously owned, but with more natural colours. The widescreen mode is also very handy and cab make for some stunning photos, if a bit low in resolution. Just a shame the focusing performance isn't better (see below).
2) The OS itself is fine; Nougat has really helped it out in terms of split-screen for all apps. This means you can free up a home button for another task.
3) It feels really nice to hold and isn't too big
4) It can take a drop or two without waving a white flag - take note, Samsung: your screens suck.
5) Double-tap to unlock!
6) Fingerprint sensor is second nature once you get used to it, and you wonder why it isn't in the same place on other phones
7) Screen is very nice for watching movies on, especially for an LCD, but does suffer a bit in strong sunlight; a bit too reflective at times
8) Sound on the B & O plugin is lovely, but standard sound still very competent (especially speaker)
Niggles
1) Battery life isn't that great, but probably par for most android phones nowadays; morning to early evening before needing a top-up, which, thanks to the fast-charging, it does pretty quickly.
2) The USB socket on the standard plugin is already starting to feel flaky; not quite holding the cable in place, so can come out. This is rectified by using the B & O play plugin, but this has it's own issue.
3) The B & O play plugin sounds great, but doesn't sit flush with the phone when connected. The USB port also craps out when transferring files to the PC, whereas the standard plugin doesn't.
4) System process used to crash on startup; turned out to only happen when SD-Card connected. Doesn't happen now Nougat update has been applied
5) Camera autofocus is crap in bright sunlight or busy areas; the laser component isn't as efficient as it is made out to be, which can mean lots of missed shots
Hope that helps!
2pintsofinsulin said:
I've had mine since December, and it's been pretty good. Only a few niggles, which I will highlight after the positives:
*snip*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, very thorough impressions. :good:
Bit worrying to hear about the battery, but I suspected as much.
The G5 and SE model are both solid phones, I just don't know why LG cheaped out on a 2800mah battery, especially paired with that QHD screen.

Mate 20 Pro vs Pixel 3 XL

I've got both at the moment. But one has to go.
So I'm a bit torn between which is the better option, what do you guys think?
On the one hand, the Pixel:
- No LED
- No Wifi calling (certainly not for Three UK)
- 'Pixel' navigation (I'm just not used to it, I know traditional can be re-enabled via ADB - but can you just use a new launcher?)
- No facial recognition (This feature is particularly good on the Mate 20 Pro)
- Smaller battery
- Single camera (but I'm not sure this is an issue)
- No Pro camera options
- Bigger notch than the Mate 20 pro
However:
- Clean Android
- gets quickest updates
- No stupid background killing processes - this in particular is annoying and takes some configuration to get things working right on the Mate 20 Pro
- Excellent night camera
- Good fingerprint sensor. It's crap on the Mate 20 Pro.
- It doesn't have the curved edges like the Mate 20 Pro - but I'm not sure I even like them.
SD845 vs Kirin 980.
Anything else I'm missing? Any thoughts or opinions?
i really really hate emui, and love stock android , butt the hardware on the mate 20 is just kicking some p3 xl ass.......
I don't like the design of the Pixel, the notch is unnecessarily deep, what's going on with the weird glass design on the back and I don't like rear fingerprint readers.
The night mode on the M20P is fine for me and I've always a phone with a decent macro mode.
Yes there are some niggles with the M20P but I'm using a different launcher and fluid gestures and am happy with how I've got it set up.
It all depends on what you value the most.
On paper they're pretty equal in terms of camera performance.
I like my phones to last tho, I can charge this phone and not charge it for 2 days sometimes 3 (if it's light use). Yes, emui is hated by many, I just use nova launcher, debloated this phone with adb and now it's the best phone I've ever owned.
The battery life and camera are fantastic, reverse wireless charge saved a few mates of mine and if you're running low on juice you just charge it for about 15 minutes to half an hour and you got juice for a day.
Also, face unlock works like a charm for me.
The notch doesn't bother me, I don't even notice it most of the times.
Performance wise there isn't a faster phone atm, it's pretty much as fast as the op6t.
The only true difference would be the android updates, but coming from a mate 9 which still gets its security updates I wouldn't stress about it that much.
My first phone mate9 4+32, battery storage is not enough to change the Honor 10, the National Day was stolen, support for a month and other mate20pro. I don't know much about other brands, so this post will not be discussed.
Before I bought it, I was still hesitant to be choose a magic or a Honor edition. After all, the price difference was more than a little, and the two mobile phones had their own advantages. After the release of the foreign country, I went to the experience store and touched it, and suddenly fell. I have to say that the Honor user played mate20pro is without any resistance, the whole devices feel, weight, integrity and technology sense are impeccable, a feeling of elegant. At that time, I booked the Jade green pro 8+256 UD directly in the experience store. I didn’t have any plans to buy the 6+128 version. It’s worth more than a thousand teeth.
At that time, the most controversial Arrangement lens was actually not ugly, and even had some good-looking (maybe my aesthetic was raped). The high recognition can be said to be an advantage, and a ball can be recognized.
In terms of appearance, everyone knows the combination of Samsung and Apple. I have been tangled for a long time, but I am finally get used to it. The structured light is really convenient. not to mention the unlocking. Pro-test grimace tongue can be used on the flat screen, the mask can not be solved, and the nose must be leaked at least. On the back, the back is very good, and the reason for the reservation is not hesitant because of the back panel, the texture of the small lines is too comfortable. Huawei's previous mate and p series can be described as ugly, unlike the p20 youth color, mate20 is stable and beautiful, The curvature of the frame in the side curved screen is particularly cool and feels better than my Samsung. After using it for so long, I still haven’t looked tired, and I am very satisfied with the overall appearance (except for Norch).
In terms of battery life, the factory version is particularly good, and it is used heavily for one and a half days. The current 176 version is also good, second only to the factory version. But the middle version update is too bad, you have to charge it in one day. Charging is also first-class, 40w gets me flying, you plug in, do something, it is full . It is estimated that it is not possible to return to the 18w charge. When the new machine is charged, there is still some high temp. The upper right corner is a little hot. It is estimated to be 50 degrees. The power adapter is also very hot. I am worried that it is not a problem device. The result will be fine. It is estimated that Huawei’s theory of metaphysics . Now, no matter whether it is used or charged, there has never been a case of overheating. It is estimated that the hottest time is only 40 degrees, and winter can't warm up.
In terms of performance, the 980 is really strong. I haven’t met stuck in two months, and it even goes a bit more faster. krin980 is really worthy.
I too have both (and a Note 9) and there are lots of pros and cons on both sides for me though being able to expand the storage on the Mate is the clincher, 128gb on the 3XL is just about enough but does require some managing, on the Mate or any other phone with expandable storage it is a non-issue.

Overall love

Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Google Pixel 4, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Google Pixel 4 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Do we have a section for navigation? (GPS and compass)
I still need to go outside but inside my home the accuracy is perfect so far.
Phone also hasn't asked for calibration neither. So I hope this stays this way and is not ruined after a few hours or days.
Sent from my Pixel 4 using Tapatalk
So many good things. Quite a few bad. Loving the look and feel, disliking newly created contacts going missing, lack of a pattern/thumbprint unlock, battery life is, at best, ok.
Have had this phone for a few days coming from s10+. So far I love this phone. Size is perfect. Battery gets me through a full day for my usage. Camera is amazing and the 90hz display is incredible.
I like the industrial design the mat finish and the white and black colours are striking. Not a fan of the glitches caused by gesture navigations in some apps. And that battery is very disappointing. I have to top it up at least once a day. Not sure it's good for the battery in the long run. Tbh I don't notice the 90hz had the OnePlus 7pro for a minute and went back to the s10+ I really can't tell the difference between 60 and 90hz.???
Got the new Pixel 4
Pros:
-Display and flashing is gone from the Pixel 3
-Buzzing earpiece is finally gone and sound is clear
Cons:
-No fingerprint reader. Face unlock is a hit or miss
-under speakers, instead of front facing
-phone is slightly larger and heavier than pixel 3
.......overall i am glad I got the phone. The pixel 3 was the worst phone I own. The display failed on the original one i had after 5 months, the new and old display kept flashing, there was a perpetual earpiece buzzing that was from likely hardware quality. The pixel 4 is an improvement. I think the best pixel was 2. The front facing speakers, display was fine for me, and size/weight.
Glad to have the pixel 3 gone. That was a total lemon.
I noticed the camera switches back to the wide lense if the subject is too close and can't focus, even when using 2x+ and uses super res zoom instead.
Quite a few bad. Loving the look and feel, disliking newly created contacts going missing, lack of a pattern/thumbprint unlock, battery life is, at best.
Just Google. By Google.
Just bought this phone as an alternative to my galaxy fold when in environments that might not be too "fold friendly" (still love the Fold though) Waited a year post launch and price has dropped considerably, outstanding device, easy to use with all the features I need!

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